To the Editor:

Re “How to Grow a Democratic Majority,” by Daniel Galvin (Op-Ed, June 3):

As a disillusioned Democrat, I am not surprised that my party’s leaders are arguing over “party strategy.” They are debating party strategy because they lack the courage and creativity to begin a discussion of the substantial issues confronting our nation today.

Memo to my party’s leaders: Forget about “strategy” and devote your energies to presenting clear, concrete proposals for these national problems:

¶How to end the American involvement in Iraq.

¶How to solve America’s health care crisis.

¶How to balance the federal budget.

¶How to make the United States energy independent.

¶How to deal with illegal immigration.

Propose practical solutions to these problems, and voters will pull the levers for the Democrats in November. Continue to dodge these issues, and watch our party become the 19th-century Whigs, who disintegrated because they failed to confront their most pressing national political issue — slavery.

James Tackach
Narragansett, R.I., June 3, 2006

•To the Editor:

Daniel Galvin endorses the recipe for the growth of the Democratic Party proposed by Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but doesn’t factor in one ingredient essential for success.

No political organization can succeed without a coherent, broad-based program that allows people with differences, even on hot-button subjects like abortion and gay marriage, to keep their differences and vote the Democratic line on other social, economic and foreign policy issues.

The development of such a program is the prime responsibility of the party’s chairman, and Mr. Dean has failed to do anything meaningful in this regard.

To be successful, any business needs a good product to sell. A political party is no different. It, too, needs a product — a platform — that draws its customers — voters — to the polls.

Mr. Dean’s emphasis on organization over program is misguided and avoids meeting his responsibility to broadly articulate what the Democratic Party stands for.

Bertram Perkel
Wellfleet, Mass., June 3, 2006

•To the Editor:

The Democratic Party’s vision has deteriorated into anti-Republicanism after the failure of its vision of the welfare state as an ideal.

If the Democrats don’t wake up and realize that more government can evolve only into totalitarianism, all the strategy and tactics for getting elected will be for naught.

The Democrats need a plan that they can articulate after they get into office that says more than “I hate George W. Bush.” So far, they haven’t gotten over that hurdle, and given the current demagogues, the possibilities are as small as their platform.

Dale Netherton
Farmington, Iowa, June 3, 2006

•To the Editor:

It is certainly true that Democrats have failed woefully to build effective organizations at the state and local levels, Ohio being perhaps the most glaring example.

But I think that Daniel Galvin (Op-Ed, June 3) misses the most important reason that Democrats are impatient and anxious with Howard Dean’s strategy to focus on the long term, rather than on the coming fall elections.

This year may well represent one of those historic electoral moments, like 1932 or 1974, that Democrats simply cannot afford to squander. Voter disgust with the current Republican regime — both on the national level and in key states like Ohio — has created an enormous vacuum of political vision and leadership.

If Democrats fail to fill it now, they may well be punished for that failure for several election cycles to come.

The Republicans, through a combination of corruption, incompetence and ideological zealotry, have gift-wrapped the 2006 election.

Democrats cannot afford to look this gift horse in the mouth.

Steven Conn
Yellow Springs, Ohio, June 3, 2006
The writer is a professor of history at Ohio State University.

•To the Editor:

It is surprising that it has taken so long for the Democratic Party leaders to realize the need to organize their operations across the United States.

A key strategy should be to strive to capture the votes of individuals who are disillusioned with President Bush’s leadership and his administration. People are frustrated by Republicans who have neglected social and economic issues.

Our country has more than 37 million people who are classified as living in poverty, and affordable health care continues to be elusive for many Americans.

Democratic leaders must reduce their internal conflicts, which undermine their ability to operate effectively an extensive number of political campaigns.

Democratic leaders should affirm their dedication to addressing vital domestic and national security issues with creativity and determination.

Brent Muirhead
Alpharetta, Ga., June 3, 2006