The Party's Not Over: A New Vision for the Democrats

The Democratic Party, charges Faux, echoes a Republican view of the world by positioning itself as a socially conservative, pro-business, centrist party with a long-term commitment to austerity. President of the Economic Policy Institute, Faux, who was an adviser to Clinton's 1992 campaign, believes that the Democrats, trapped by their timidity, have betrayed their historic role. As an example, he cites Reagan's brainchild, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Clinton campaigned for and which, Faux estimates, has cost the U.S. some 300,000 jobs. Faux envisions a revitalized Democratic Party grounded in a ""liberal nationalism"" built around the class interests of working Americans of all colors. Among the salient proposals in his vigorous manifesto are: Rebuild America first, aiming for full employment with a higher minimum wage, investment in infrastructure and cities and lowered interest rates; slash the military budget and retrain and retool defense-related firms and workers; invest in public education; widen corporate responsibility to include employee training, profit sharing and portable pensions. (Aug.)