Wine track vs Beer track Democrats and the Obama campaign

[pampango]

I don't know much about the Washington Independent or the author of this article Bruce Schulman, but this is an interesting comparison of Obama's campaign and those of previous "insurgents".

http://www.washingtonindependent.com/view/commentary-a

"In a much-cited column in The Los Angeles Times earlier this year, Ron Brownstein linked Obama to other “wine-track” contenders—“brainy liberals with cool, detached personas and messages of political reform” like Eugene McCarthy in 1968, Jerry Brown in 1976, Gary Hart in 1984, Bill Bradley in 2000, and Howard Dean in 2004. Those insurgent campaigns lost the nomination to old-style machine candidates who had strong connections to union labor and party leadership. The rare exceptions who got the party’s nod—Adlai Stevenson in the 1950s, George McGovern in 1972—fared badly in the November elections.

The coming of age of the baby boom, and the turbulent politics of the 60s, made such values liberalism a potent political force. New Democrats often stressed governmental reform—efforts to eliminate corruption, partisanship and horse-trading from national politics. Whether voiced by McGovern, Dean or Obama, these promises energized idealistic young people bent on transforming the political process. The disinterested commitment to general welfare, technocratic appreciation for the complexities of modern life, and distrust of populist rhetoric also appealed to educated, white collar workers in the growing high-tech, medical and financial sectors.

But those campaigns generated little excitement among blue collar Democrats or minority voters. Backed by union labor and party leaders, Humphrey defeated McCarthy in 1968 (and would likely have staved off Robert F. Kennedy, if an assassin had not ended his campaign). Echoing a Wendy’s ad, the establishment candidate, former Vice President Walter F. Mondale derailed Gary Hart when he asked “Where’s the beef?” Bradley and Dean’s campaigns similarly failed to translate widespread admiration into concrete support at the polls.

Obama lacks the residual appeal with blue-collar white urban ethnics that Bobby Kennedy, being a Kennedy and an Irish Catholic, could draw on. But like RFK, Obama has assembled an insurgent’s campaign, strong among educated, affluent Democrats, energizing young voters, and simultaneously, exerting powerful appeal among African-American Democrats. That’s a formidable coalition, and one that no previous insurgent Democrat could manage. From McCarthy to Dean, minority voters have found earlier reformers cold."

[earthlover]

1. Obama might be "wine track" but I can't picture Hillary drinking a beer....below her station in life

[pampango]

2. The author views Hillary as the establishment candidate with appeal to

party leaders and organized labor, like Mondale and Humphrey. The author links Obama with Bobby Kennedy, Howard Dean, and Eugene McCarthy, but he differs significantly by appealing to African Americans whom none of these previous "insurgents" have much appeal to.

"Echoing a Wendy’s ad, the establishment candidate, former Vice President Walter F. Mondale derailed Gary Hart when he asked “Where’s the beef?”" Hillary supporters here often post that Obama is all flash and no substance which is a variant of the "Where's the beef?" that Mondale used.

Interesting to read some of the similarities and differences between previous Democratic "insurgents", their "establishment" rivals, and the forces that come into play.