Get This Party Restarted

The last several days have seen Henry A. Kissinger resign from leading the 9/11 commission, Trent Lott (R-Miss.) imperil his post as incoming Senate majority leader and former Vice President Al Gore pull out of politics. A little political tumult is good for the republic.

The families of the victims of 9/11 may get the honest assessments they crave from the commission. The GOP may reconsider its wink-and-nod courtship, as personified by Lott, of “states’ rights” Southern Republicans.

And the Democrats? They could grab the chance to come out of hiding and take some stands.

Everyone from former NATO Cmdr. Wesley K. Clark to Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has a better (though still long) shot at the Democratic presidential nomination. The important question, however, is whether any of the contenders would give the Bush White House a run for its money in 2004.

Gore’s withdrawal, after midterm elections that clobbered the Democrats, exposes a party that seems downright frightened of opposing Republicans. The nadir was perhaps Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle’s mealy mouthed defense of Lott after Lott made remarks that the non-Beltway world saw as openly racist. As for Gore’s own recent decision to take traditional Democratic stands on tax cuts and backing the United Nations on Iraq, they came too late to help him or his party.

Now the Democratic candidates can start by targeting each other, and more power to them. Where should the party stand on secret court proceedings for proclaimed terrorist enemies? For the idea of monitoring the daily lives of ordinary citizens? Does it make sense, as President Bush is urging, to give the CIA a largely free hand in assassinating foreign leaders? Then there’s the economy. What is the Democratic message going to be -- roll back the Bush tax cuts? Targeted tax cuts for low- and middle-income workers? Health insurance reforms?

If the Democratic Party doesn’t find a way to make itself relevant, it could be in the political wilderness like the GOP after Richard Nixon narrowly and bitterly lost to John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election. It took eight years for the party -- and of course Nixon himself -- to come roaring back.

The Democrats’ success will depend on their being able to summon the gumption to challenge the White House, which can only benefit. One-party government doesn’t help any party. Every government, even one that prefers keeping the focus on terrorism, needs its loyal opposition.