Media Key to Democrat Success, Panelists Say

The keys to the future success of the Democratic Party lie in improving media relations and taking credit for its own achievements, agreed four top-level Democrats Friday at the Kennedy School of Government’s ARCO Forum.

But political consultant James Carville, Rep. Barney Frank ’62 (D-Mass.), Democratic Leadership Council Chief Executive Officer Al From and Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) were unclear on how exactly the party could achieve these goals.

Both Tauscher and moderator David Nyham ’62, a former columnist and associate editor of The Boston Globe, blamed the media for its lack of responsibility in political coverage, which they said has dwindled and become more scandal-driven in recent years.

Nyham told a story of a TV station in Sacramento, California’s capital city, which he said had no full time state house correspondent.

“‘If it can’t be filmed from a helicopter, it’s not news,’” he said a Los Angeles TV news director told him when he questioned the lack of a political correspondent in the state’s capital.

Tauscher said the media does not pay attention to Democrats in general because they do not create enough of a stir.

“When you’re reasonable, that’s all you are,” she said. “If it bleeds, it leads.”

But Carville, campaign manager of both the 1992 and 1996 Clinton campaigns, and a newly minted co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire,” placed the impetus on party-members themselves, saying there is a need for Democrats to be more aggressive in garnering media attention.

He said that Democrats have been too timid and reserved in securing airtime, pointing to Republican political advertising and the Democrats’ lack of any public response to the current Enron controversy.

“We’re not tough enough,” Carville said. “America will not trust a party to defend America which will not defend itself.”

Carville also said that Democrats need to be more assertive in taking credit for their sucesses.

Criticizing the Bush administration for its pinning of the recent economic downturn on Clinton-era policies, he asked, “Was it Clinton’s fault that it was the mildest recession in history?”

Yet others on the panel urged for a balance they said was key to the party’s identity.

“Democrats need the compassion to care, and the toughness to govern,” From said, quoting a mentor.

Both he and Tauscher said the criticism the party has recieved regarding its lack of a unified public presence was largely undeserved, and due to the lack of a party-member’s presence in the oval office.

In two years, From said, the public will see unfication once again in the party.

“Boy, does that Democratic party have a strong voice again,” From predicted commentators musing.