Democrats meeting here in Florida are convinced that the American people are looking for a sense of “community” but their ideas are for a Nanny State. From an AP story:

“There is a hunger in America, a hunger for a sense of national community, a hunger for something big and important and inspirational that they all can be involved in,” Edwards, the party’s 2004 vice presidential nominee, told delegates at a weekend convention of Florida Democrats.

“Americans don’t want to believe that they are out there on an island all alone,” the former North Carolina senator said.

[...]

Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean has commissioned confidential polling and analysis that suggest candidates in 2006 and 2008 should frame their policies - and attacks on Republicans - around the context of community.

It seems to be the emerging message from a party that has been bereft of one.

Yes, Americans do respond to “something big and important and inspirational that they all can be involved in,” but the devil is the details, as they say. The first detail is that they misunderstand the problem.

“What’s happening in this country is we’re losing our sense of common purpose,” Vilsack told Florida Democrats. “We’re losing a sense of community.”

The second-term Iowa governor said two-thirds of parents do not think their children will fare better in life than they did and that 40 percent of children do not believe in the national dream.

He ascribed that pessimism to job and pension insecurity in a global economy, increasing health costs, and the rise of terrorism - an unsettling mix that has created “general anxiety” in America. Vilsack said Democrats should remind voters that Republicans failed to ease those concerns while they held power.

As an optimist, I don’t get the idea of pessimism at all. That’s just me. Still, I don’t think the American people are nearly as pessimistic as the dems seem to think they are. To the degree that they are pessimistic, I believe it has been caused by the Crisis du jour media mindset, and the relentless “woe is me” rhetoric from the left bombarding the people with their doom and gloom message.

As far as the miss the mark on this, they are even further off on how they think the president should have reacted to the events of 9/11.

The three Democrats also shared the view that Bush missed an opportunity after the Sept. 11 attacks to rally the nation behind a cause such as weaning the country from foreign oil or, if Edwards had his way, fighting poverty.

If ever the American people were together, it was when President Bush stood on the rubble in New York and said, “We need to come together and buy hybrids so we’re not so dependent on foreign oil”. I mean, “See what poverty can do? We need to fight poverty!” Oh, wait. What He really said, “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon.”

The Democrat plan with the future is the wrong plan for America. Their idea of what bring people together and what community really means is far out of touch with reality and the wants and desires of those people.

To avoid showing any preference, the Florida Democrats reserved their keynote address for a Democrat who has not signaled his intention to seek the presidency, freshman Sen. Barack Obama.

The eloquent Illinois lawmaker stitched together a narrative of two century’s of American life - the previous 100 years and the ones to come.

Spellbound delegates heard him criticize GOP plans to give people more control over their retirement plans, their choice of schools and their health care savings.

Equating the GOP agenda for Social Security, public school vouchers and Medicare with “social Darwinsim,” Obama said the key to the nation’s success is striking a balance between individual and collective responsibility.

Senator, you’re wrong. It isn’t a balance that must be struck. Get The State out of the way. Do the things that strengthen the individual, place responsibility back on the individual, and free the individual and you will never have to worry about the nation as a whole.

It is strong Americans that will make a strong America. Increasing government dependence in the name of community will weaken the country and it’s people.

Of course that may be their real goal after all.

Cross posted at Pyjamas Media.

Linked with Sunday Brunch at basil’s blog and Open Trackbacks 11 at MacStansbury.org