If Americans won’t investigate the Bush administration, Germany will

If the American Congress has no interest in investigating the Bush administration's abuses of power, we can always rely on the Germans to lend a hand. As reported on NPR this morning, and also in Time and elsewhere on the internet, Germany's chief prosecutor is seeking a criminal investigation and…

Continue ReadingIf Americans won’t investigate the Bush administration, Germany will

The Democratic Party doesn’t need cohesion. It needs better marketing.

The Democratic Party’s “lack of unity” has become an oft-cited criticism of conservative pundits. The Republican right has successfully exploited intra-party dissent—primarily regarding the Iraq War—and cultivated the image of the Democratic Party as weak, faltering, and therefore ineffective. Republicans have artfully crafted a fear of uncertainty, and suggested on no uncertain terms that a divided party accomplishes nothing, and the divided Democrats would run the Iraq War and America into ruin if given the opportunity. As we all know, the Democrats have finally begun to recover from the GOP’s fear-mongering tactics, but the complaints of lacking cohesion remain nearly as strong as ever.

Analysts say that the Democrats need to create a new image, and they need to do this by creating a unified front. A few gained House seats won’t last if the Democrats continue to look weak and vulnerable. The talking heads seem to see cohesion as a wholly beneficial aim, something to achieve and advertise on the part of the Democrats.

Let’s inspect that assumption for a moment. Polls throughout the decades have indicated that most voters don’t fully subscribe to a party; they instead tow-the-line in the moderate middle. An independent “American Moderate Party” exists on the fringe, but allow us to face reality: most Americans feel they have but two choices when they go to the polls. In most cases, they really do only have a Republican and a Democrat candidate from whom to choose. And when an …

Share

Continue ReadingThe Democratic Party doesn’t need cohesion. It needs better marketing.

Want to convey your political message on the cheap?

The inventive minds at freeway blogger have one solution: With some ordinary cardboard (taken from big box retailers' dumpsters, of course), some poster paint, and a bungee cord, you too can reach a captive audience of thousands in the span of a few minutes. In the age of corporately owned…

Continue ReadingWant to convey your political message on the cheap?

The One-Percent Doctrine

The “One Percent Doctrine” is the title of a new book by Ron Suskind about the so-called “strategic thinking” of our current presidential administration. In case you are still wondering why we attacked Iraq, and you don’t buy any of the president’s ever-changing explanations, you might want to check out…

Continue ReadingThe One-Percent Doctrine