To think outside the blogosphere

For David S. Broder, op-ed columnist at the Washington Post, thinking outside the blog is essential for the future of the Democratic Party. Kossacks, believes Mr. Broder, are too heavy on vituperation of GOP targets to leave room for creative thought. Fortunately, he thinks, there are also other think tanks for the Dems - Mr. Broder analyzes two new publications that started last week aiming at more substantial policy ideas for the Opposition. One of these two publications is The Democratic Strategist - it is on-line, while the second, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas is in print.

The editors of the Democratic Strategist (William Galston, a former Clinton adviser, Stanley Greenberg, pollster for both Clinton and Gore, and Ruy Teixeira, an author affiliated with the new Democratic think tanks) declare that the Democratic Strategist will be firmly and insistently based on facts and data. It will seek strategies rooted in empirical research from the fields of public opinion research, political demography and other social sciences and will avoid empty rhetoric and abstract theorizing.

The editors of the second publication are very young: the 33-year-old Kenneth Baer and the 30-year-old Andrei Cherny, both former speechwriters for Gore. Their first issue, considers Mr. Broder, is really impressive, with provocative ideas that challenge people for creative thinking. Some features: The New Biopolitics, Our Unhealthy Tax Code.