One would-be hero of the revolution is former California governor Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown, who is in the process of filing exploratory papers with the Federal Election Commission, officially signaling his interest in a presidential run. Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey is also considering a roll of-the-dice candidacy, based in large part on his appeal as an outsider. Both men will run against the entrenched bipartisan establishment in Washington, blaming insiders for the country’s problems. Brown rails against the system as “a feast of self-interest” that relegates the homeless to the “corridors of our collective conscience.” During the ’70s Brown’s mystical approach to politics earned him the nickname “Governor Moonbeam,” and he is sure to be the butt of more jokes. Kerrey will be taken more seriously if he runs. A war hero who lost part of his right leg in Vietnam, Kerrey is one of the party’s few charismatic figures. He is respected as a deep thinker but is sometimes derided as “Cosmic Bob” for preferring broad themes, such as the lack of altruism in public life, to the hard details of national policy. Kerrey’s “Health USA” plan has gained little support in Washington because of its $250 billion price tag, which Kerrey would fund chiefly through a 5 percent payroll tax. As Gary Hart learned in 1984, it’s not enough to spout new ideas; they need to be plausible.
Kerrey, 48, and Brown, 53, are oddly similar in their maverick polities, offbeat style and even physical appearance. Slightly built and intense, with eyes that reveal their inner journeys, both are admirers of Mother Teresa. Brown spent time with her in Calcutta ministering to the sick; Kerrey once said, “She needn’t fear losing anything because she’s given it all away.” If either decides to run, Democratic politics may never be the same. Instead of the usual intramural squabble between right and left, the primary race could be transformed into a debate on a different dimension. Brown recently delivered a series of radio addresses on greed, corruption and the country’s moral crisis. Kerrey wants radical overhaul of government institutions.
The outsider message transcends both ideology and traditional party labels. At a time when voter cynicism is high but George Bush is popular, it may be the only opening for a challenger. Indeed, every potential Democratic contender is positioning himself as an outsider running against the mess in Washington. Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, touring New Hampshire last week, happily compared himself to Jimmy Carter, another outsider Southern governor. The fact that Kerrey has only been in the Senate a little over two years is considered an asset. Kerrey promises a decision by next week, barely time to jump-start a national presence by traditional standards. But strategists say this time it’s different, and the prize won’t go to the biggest money raiser or the best grass-roots organizer. “American polities isn’t a matter of engineering anymore,” says Carl Wagner, a Democratic strategist. “It’s chemistry.”
The last presidential election left such a sour aftertaste that voters may be ready for an antipolitician. It’s easy to imagine Kerrey, unpackaged by consultants, confronting the policies that have left a majority of Americans believing the country is on the wrong track. He was one of only eight senators who voted against the huge savings and loan bailout, calling it “money down a rat hole.” Pollster Patrick Caddell, who advises Brown, called earlier this year for “a campaign of insurgency,” one that challenges not only the GOP but “the confederacy of officeholders, party leaders, lobbyists and consultants” who hold the Democratic Party hostage. The irony for Democrats is that they can win only if they run against themselves. With a flawed messenger, the party could invite further disaster.
The successful outsiders of the past had more than geographical distance or eclectic style. Ronald Reagan’s manifesto against the state was as bold as Yeltsin’s. Carter had the leverage of Watergate, which made a return to decency a program by itself. It’s not yet clear what Kerrey and Brown have to offer beyond their personas. But that’s what the primary campaign will be about. And if they fulfill the promise of their rhetoric, the Democrats have the chance to articulate a new kind of politics, one that could survive even if Bush wins.
