Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Maryscott O'Connor has no clue
A rough quote from Maryscott O'Connor asking Kos and the other people on the last panel a question: "Why are the Democrats always reacting instead of framing? Why are the issues immigration, gay marriage, and flag burning? We should say, 'I'll answer your gay marriage question, but I'd like to spend the next 25 minutes talking about health care, poverty, education.'"
There are two answers here. The first is that the Democrats react because the Republicans have Fox News, talk radio, and the New York Post, which reach a number of people in the low tens of millions, and the Democrats have blogs reaching a number of people in the high hundreds of thousands.
The second is that flag burning isn't an issue, immigration's an issue on which most Americans support the liberal position, and gay marriage's an issue insofar as Dean tells the 700 Club that the Democratic Party says marriage is between a man and a woman (yay, civil rights).
I'm all for talking about health care and poverty, but you need to answer people's questions. Evasiveness makes you look bad. When you have a machine that reaches more than 500,000 people, you have the privilege of starting discussions about your own issues. For the sake of comparison, in 1968 Nixon emphasized his own issues instead of evading questions. Note that Feingold keeps winning even though he tackles civil liberties issues heads on.
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I Have Many Clues
But unfortunately, people like you prefer a mocking soundbite than an actual examination of the question and an attempt at solving the problem addressed in the question.
If you think I am actually UNAWARE of the fact that the corporate media controls the "dialogue," then you are clueless yourself.
But either the Democratic leadership in this country lacks the imagination, resources and intellect to find a SOLUTION to this situation -- to create an end-run around the stacked deck, to mix my metaphors -- or there is a PAY-OFF in this circumstance for them
More and more lately, I have begun to believe the problem lies in the fact that the latter scenario is far more likely the case than the former. These are not stupid people. They have, however, proven themselves time and again all too willing to fuck over their true constituents in favour of their corporate ones; far too willing to do whatever it takes to maintain their tenuous grasp on whatever semblance of power they can, rather than stand up to tell the truth, regardless of whatever temporal negative effect it might have on their own puny existence.
And people like you, BR, merely make that craven, scandalously selfish behaviour of these so-called Democrats easier when you purport to "respond" to criticism like mine with banal attempts at scathing and withering mockery of people who want the truth, who want change, who want to wrest the Democratic party from the greedy, grasping fingers of these cowards and thieves -- people like me, for instance.
I have no clue? Forgive me, sir, but I followed the clues and unfortunately for us all they led me not only to the Democrats and their betrayal of constituency and country, but to people just like you and Markos Moulitsas, who seem to care more for the sound of your own voices and the illusion of having a seat at the table than about true and lasting change.
Enjoy it while it lasts; they'll keep you around for just so long as you are useful. I'll spare you the epithet that comes after "useful" in such circumstances -- people of such lofty intellect as you must surely be able to infer the rest, anyway.
my, scary scary
That would be a threat if the democratic party payed for this website. Unless I'm very much mistaken they don't.
You're right though that if the Democrats seriously want a win that's not based on people wanting a change from the greedy power hungry Republicans they need to start looking at the voters. Sigh: this is why I wish our electoral system were more socialist and less capitalist as I feel this would, shall we say, encourage politicians to play more for the people and less for the big companies that pay their tickets (yes, I know that's not a great solution but when you're stuck in a rut you wiggle). Honestly one thing I am very tired of is the Dems and Reps getting all the attention at election time, there are smaller parties that put forward candidates that really deserve to be heard.
Not A Chance
I pay for this website out of my own pocket. I make a teeny, tiny little bit of ad revenue, but not enough to cover expenses. Not even close.
But the democratic party financing me? That's laughable. For one thing, I'm not a democrat. I'm a registered Libertarian. I have some liberal views, but I also have some decidedly conservative views as well.
I am multitudes. Heh.
You just
You just bolstered Alon's cluelessness accusation a bit. You should have said, "People like you, Alon Levy...". Brent didn't write this post.
people
I agree with it.
Personally, I believe that
Personally, I believe that if you have strong principles and are willing to speak out in defense of them, it doesn't matter as much whether you're attacking or reacting: people will see that you stand for something, and react accordingly.
I don't think strong principles matter that much
What matters is knowing how to speak eloquently in favor of whatever it is you believe. And for that you don't need framing or anything similar; you need good rhetoric. What I say online is a pretty good example of it, I think, though offline I seem to be all kinds of bad.