[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: A Party for All of Us

[michael at intrafi.com]

The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

 I HEART HUCKABEES - OPENING IN SELECT CITIES OCTOBER 1

 From David O. Russell, writer and director of THREE KINGS
 and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER comes an existential comedy
 starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Hupert, Jude Law, Jason
 Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts.
 Watch the trailer now at:

 http://www.foxsearchlight.com/huckabees/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


A Party for All of Us

August 30, 2004
 By EDWARD W. BROOKE 



 

Warrenton, Va. - As the Republicans gather this week in New
York, I find myself thinking back to the first Republican
National Convention I attended, 40 years ago, at which
Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona received the
presidential nomination. At the time I was the attorney
general of Massachusetts and opposed the rise of Goldwater
conservatism, aligning myself with many national party
leaders. I supported Gov. Nelson Rockefeller of New York
for the nomination and, after he withdrew from the race,
Gov. William Scranton of Pennsylvania. 

Despite our efforts, Senator Goldwater won the nomination,
and in the general election proceeded to carry only his
home state and five states in the South. It was a
resounding defeat for his brand of "conservatism," and it
was devastating to the Republican Party at every level of
government. 

I see alarming parallels between that disastrous convention
of 1964 and this week's convention, at which President Bush
will be nominated again. Now as then, many of the
candidate's advisers and supporters show signs of
arrogance, self-righteousness and intolerance, and of
losing touch with the basic values of the vast majority of
Americans. This extremism shows itself in any number of
ways: excesses committed by the Justice Department under
the Patriot Act, unilateralism in international affairs,
crude political tactics in the Senate that have produced
legislative gridlock and made a mockery of that chamber's
great tradition of bipartisanship. 

In foreign affairs, more and more Americans - almost a
majority now - question the wisdom of the bloody and
expensive war in Iraq, as the promise of democracy there is
overwhelmed by the reality of chaos. Our party must not
forget the pitiful spectacle of Lyndon Johnson, elected
overwhelmingly over Goldwater in 1964, but forced out of
office four years later because he persisted in an
increasingly unpopular war. There is an urgent need for
more candor about this war and for a specific plan to end
it. 

At home, the issues are the same ones we have faced for
decades: an unconscionable rise in poverty, the need for
universal health care and safe and affordable housing, the
failure of American education, the need for more jobs at
living wages, and the continuing challenge of equal rights
for all. 

I spent much of my political career unsuccessfully trying
to bring black voters into the Republican Party. It was a
difficult task, and it remains so. Understandably, black
voters still see domestic policies that do little to
advance their hopes for a better life for themselves and
their children. They see black unemployment rates more than
double those for whites. They also see too many young black
men in jail and too few in college. 

Moreover, I fear that, as in 1964, they will see far too
few black delegates at our convention. One reason Barry
Goldwater failed so totally was that he and his advisers
hoped that by opposing the civil rights movement - or, less
gently put, supporting racism - they would sweep to victory
both in the South and elsewhere in America. This strategy
failed because it underestimated the decency of the
American people. If our party writes off black votes in a
cynical appeal to votes based on prejudice, it too will
fail, both politically and morally. 

The same is true with the issue of same-sex marriage. A
great many Americans oppose a constitutional ban on such
marriages, and if our party ignores their opinion and
caters to homophobia, it will once again be wrong - morally
and politically. There is a great need, too, for more
tolerance on the difficult issue of abortion and more
respect for those on both sides of the debate. 

Barry Goldwater's fate was sealed when, in his address to
the 1964 convention, he defiantly endorsed "extremism."
Later, when I served in the Senate, I came to know Barry
Goldwater and to count him a friend, but at the 1964
convention he was intoxicated by ideology - and it led to
disaster. Now as then, instead of alienating mainstream
voters with radical views, our party must find common
ground with them. 

I believe in the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt,
Eisenhower and Reagan, and I want it to succeed. I devoutly
hope our party will show America a more open mind and a
more generous heart this week, and that President Bush will
reflect this message in his acceptance speech to the
nation. 

Edward W. Brooke, the first African-American elected to the
United States Senate by popular vote, represented
Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979. He was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in June. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/30/opinion/30brooke.html?ex=1094904373&ei=1&en=c2d546a04031c408


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company