Left Out: Young People and the Democratic Party

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A surprising role model for culturally impaired Democrats might be the late Tip O’Neill, who was Speaker of the House during most of the 1980s. When Reagan became president, O’Neill was an overweight, aging, old-fashioned machine pol with no previous connection to mass media communication. But O’Neill was no snob. He cared more about winning political victories than looking good to Washington insiders. O’Neill surrounded himself with media-savvy advisers such as the young Chris Matthews (the current host of MSNBC’s Hardball), and at the height of Reagan’s popularity, he crafted powerful messages in opposition to the president. O’Neill not only recast himself as the proud voice of New Deal compassion, he was hip enough to appear as himself on the hit TV show Cheers. Most importantly, he spoke in emotionally powerful, unambiguous, and easily understandable terms. Under O’Neill’s leadership, the Democrats fought successfully to prevent cuts in Social Security and prevented Reagan from embroiling the United States in a war with Central America.

Bill Clinton is another role model widely renowned for his ability to reach younger voters because of his authentic affinity for American pop-cultural touchstones and his believable idealism. But without Clinton as the messenger, Clintonism doesn’t reach outside the Beltway, much less touch young people. If Democrats can’t speak the language and address the aspirations of the young, they can forget about retaking the White House.

A former music journalist, Danny Goldberg is CEO of Artemis Records, which represents artists as diverse as Steve Earle, Susan Tedeschi, and the late Warren Zevon. From 1997 to 2001, Goldberg and his father, Victor Goldberg, published the liberal Jewish magazine Tikkun and last year edited with Robert Greenwald the anthology It’s a Free Country, a collection of essays on civil liberties written in the wake of 9/11. Goldberg recently wrote his first book, Dispatches from the Culture War: How the Left Lost Teen Spirit (Miramax, 2003). From The American Prospect (July/Aug. 2003). Subscriptions: $39.95/yr. (6 issues) from 5 Broad St., Boston, MA 02109.

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