September 27, 2003

That Is The Question

Atrios' Quote of the Day kicks off a fascinating comments thread, which comes back to the central question facing the Democrats in 2004:

How does the Progressive Left frame its position in a way that appeals viscerally and rationally to middle America, without descending to the soundbite mudslinging propaganda that the Right has so finely crafted?

Because when you think about it, the Right - particularly the Bush administration - has pulled off the unthinkable. They've united three groups (neocon hawks, slash-and-burn tax-cutters and religious wackos) that, logically, should have nothing to do with one another.

So this is the not inconsiderable challenge facing the Democrats. Somehow keep the base - the unions, the greens, the minorities, the intellectuals, the social and sexual libertarians - motivated and energized, while at the same time reaching out to the vast uneasy middle who know that America could and should be better, but somehow fell for the idea that Bush and Co. could make it happen.

Scroll down in particular to the comment by "mondo dentro" (he who coined the Quote of the Day) at 1:29 - although it got cut off by the comment software, it's a very important beginning to a conversation about how the Left ought to frame its message.

Comments

Post a comment