A rallying cry "for Democrats who dream about governing and are
eager to get their party back on track."--"CBS News""" In this
powerful and provocative manifesto, former senator Gary Hart offers
a call to action for Democrats to embrace moral principles and
progressive leadership and not to fall back into a pattern of
caution and calculation. He urges a return to the principles
bequeathed to the party by its great twentieth-century presidents:
Franklin D. Roosevelt's commitment to a single national community;
Harry S. Truman's security through internationalism; John F.
Kennedy's ideal of civic duty and service to the nation; and Lyndon
B. Johnson's insistence on equality for all citizens. With the
Democrats now in control of Congress, Hart speaks directly and
passionately to those who seek to transform this political
opportunity into a robust progressive program. As the 2008
presidential election approaches, it is the wake-up call so many
Americans have been waiting for. Gary Hart represented Colorado in
the U.S. Senate from 1975 to 1987. He is currently a professor at
the University of Colorado, a distinguished fellow at the New
America Foundation, and chairman of the American Security Project.
He resides with his family in Kittredge, Colorado. In this
provocative manifesto, a cri de coeur for Democrats who have grown
increasingly frustrated with their party's leaders, former senator
Gary Hart takes the Democrats to task for choosing caution and
calculation in place of moral principles. That path, Hart says,
will lead only to sorrow--for the party and for the country. "The
Courage of Our Convictions" is Hart's call to action--a clear-eyed
and plainspoken manifesto that urges a return to the principles
bequeathed to the party by its great twentieth-century presidents:
Franklin D. Roosevelt's commitment to a single national community,
where no American would be left behind; Harry S. Truman's
internationalism, which preserved democracy after World War II and
led eventually to the defeat of communism; John F. Kennedy's ideal
of civic duty and service to the nation; and Lyndon B. Johnson's
insistence on equality for all our citizens. With the 2008
presidential election just over the horizon, Hart speaks directly
and passionately to the many Democrats who seek a principled change
of leadership in Washington. It is the wake-up call that many
Americans have been waiting for. "Hart outlines a unified approach
to the reconstruction of domestic politics and international
relations . . . [He gives] penetrating insights, particularly
regarding the tension between libertarianism and civic
duty."--"Kirkus Reviews" "Hart remains a strong voice in the
Democratic Party and has proven himself an effective writer. Both
his voice and his writerly talent are exercised in his latest book
. . . Not empty words, not shallow ideas."--Brad Hooper,
"Booklist""" "The former Democratic senator from Colorado, Hart
captures the frustration of many grassroots Democrats with their
party's timid and rudderless response to the Bush administration.
Hart pointedly mentions the advice that former Senate Majority
Leader Mike Mansfield gave him when he first entered the Senate:
'Draw a line. Fix a point beyond which you will not go and stick to
it.' In Hart's view, far too many Democratic politicians have no
such line of principle. He advises them to return to the four
guiding ideas that were the foundation of the party's success in
the 20th century: FDR's sense that all Americans are one community,
Truman's internationalism, JFK's call to service, and LBJ's
dedication to social equality. Hart believes that Democrats must
counter right-wing social Darwinism, imperial isolation,
corruption, and the veneration of the super-rich at the expense of
all others. To regain power, he writes, Democrats need to offer
policies that will provide healthcare, a cleaner environment, and
opportunity for all. This book will find a ready audience of those
seeking an alternative to contemporary policies."--Duncan Stewart,
University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, "Library Journal " "A
former senator exhorts the Democratic Party to lead the recovery
from the catastrophic Bush years by returning to its core
principles . . . Hart outlines a unified approach to the
reconstruction of domestic politics and international relations. He
begins with a declaration of defeat in Iraq and the excoriation of
the Democratic leadership that supported or condoned the invasion:
if only they had listened to the few brave souls, such as himself,
who in 2002 were opposing intervention. The Iraq war today is the
precise analogue of the final years of the Vietnam War, just as the
Bush administration's outrages against civil liberties, the author
says, are akin to those of the Nixon Administration . . . The four
great Democratic presidents of the 20th century epitomized the
party's core principles: Franklin Roosevelt, for his defense of
community; Harry S. Truman, for his belief in alliance-based
internationalism; JFK's call to civic duty; and Lyndon Johnson's
push for equal rights. In the 1980s, however, the Democratic
Leadership Council induced the party to abandon principle in favor
of centrist positions and electoral success. Hart acknowledges that
the party has suffered in part because it sought to realize its
tenets in outmoded ways. 'Security, ' he suggests, is the umbrella
concept that can cover all those principles in the future: security
of livelihood, community, the environment, energy supplies and
borders. These goals cannot be achieved on just the domestic level,
he says--they require the re-integration of the United States into
the international community."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Former Senator
Gary Hart's role as a lifelong Democratic reformer comes to the
fore in this thought-provoking manifesto, part housekeeping and
part call to action, taking on the Democratic party's current
identity crisis. Dismissing Democrats' hunt for a 'an exciting new
candidate who will lead the Democratic party out of the wilderness,
' Hart observes that 'this search has become a substitute for
thought, for purpose, for conviction . . . No politician can save a
political party that does not know what it stands for.' For Hart,
it's the principles and convictions of leaders past--such as FDR
and JFK--that will lead the Democrats forward. In addition to
putting to work 'Twentieth-Century Principles in a Twenty-First
Century World, ' Hart focuses on thoughtful approaches to U.S.
obligations--as opposed to detailed policy proposals--including
redefining security, safeguarding liberty and protecting the
environment. Hart saves some of his harshest criticism for
Democratic leaders who stood silent as the country went to war.
Pressing for damage control and repair--rather than 'election by
default'--Hart asserts that 'in 2008, the American people will look
for a leader who was willing to say, "I made a mistake . . . and I
am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who
will talk to me."' Though it may prove no more than a pipe dream,
Hart's stand may prove just what many confused and foundering
Democrats need to read."--"Publishers Weekly"
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