dagblog - Comments for "Take a Sentrist"

Even George Will

AmericanDreamer — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:08:39 +0000

In reply to I'll give you a half-hearted

Even George Will acknowledged a few years back that Americans are philosophically conservative but operationally liberal--what you said.

The "America is a center-right" country is a frame the GOP aggressively has promoted, with considerable success. An awful lot of Democrats have bought into that and, to the everlasting joy of GOP strategists, drawn all manner of wrongheaded conclusions on that account. On a philosophical level the "center-right" characterization is true. But anyone who has looked at the data knows that is operationally false on issue after issue.

Recognizing that, it is tempting to try to win campaigns based on issues. Because campaigns are, or should be, based on issues, right? Well, no, not necessarily. What people are experiencing in their day to day lives often does not get well connected--by the potential or actual voter or the candidate--to either specific policy stances or a larger narrative that offers an interpretation of those experiences relevant to how, and whether, people vote.

Like Genghis wrote: tell me a story. When Dems tell a good story (BClinton) we will often have a great chance of winning.

When Dems don't tell a story...well, the GOP usually tells a story (McCain didn't--Bush made that really, really hard for him to do, even if he were inclined to want to tell a story, which I don't think he is, unlike Reagan, who was a natural story teller). It's largely wrong and it sucks for the country. But it's a story that does resonate on some level with many people.

And it competes fairly well, surprisingly often, against nothing.

I have the sense that, since he got himself elected, Obama thinks that narratives and story lines are something to use when you tuck your children into bed. So he has, for now, lost much of the public and may not understand why. We'll see.

How about Sentrust Party ?

cmaukonen — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:07:16 +0000

In reply to Take a Sentrist

How about Sentrust Party ?

Mr. Smith, you make some

wabby — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:14:04 +0000

In reply to I'll give you a half-hearted

Mr. Smith, you make some thoughtful, excellent points that are causing me to think. That's not always a good thing. ;)

I'll give you a half-hearted

MrSmith1 — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:21:03 +0000

In reply to Take a Sentrist

I'll give you a half-hearted amen, just for the earth and the anti-war sentiment and the fact that I like you and your writings. But I'm not real excited about your call for watering down again what we've already watered down just because we've been told that America is a "Center-Right" nation. That notion is mere public relations shouted through the gigantic megaphones of the right wing disinformation and indoctrination machine. It's repeated often because it's what they want you to believe and it's not true, or if it is, it's true by re-definition. Remember when we used to talk about asking people about issues without political labels? When people are asked if they want Social Security they do. When you ask them about civil rights, they're for it. When you ask them about Medicare, they want it. On and on and on. They believe in Liberal ideas, but are being led down the path of Fascism and Neo-Conservatism because of the 24/7/365 indoctrination techniques being showered upon them non-stop and in lockstep from the far right media.

My feeling is that IF we're a center-right nation, it's because the chartmakers had to make an adjustment and center-right now means left. The extreme right has skewed the polling so much, it's moved the line of what defines people further to the right.

Look what happened to all the Republican moderates. They got pushed out unless they joined the neo-cons and moved to the right. Wanting to become a Sentrist seems akin to pushing Liberals to an ideological Center just to get people to like us. What's the point? To make us more amenable? Being sensible already on issues isn't enough? Making us more palatable to the so-called Independents is not worth the effort in my opinion snd will only leave us with few real friends. Besides, when we water down how we feel just to be more popular, what guarantee do we have that the Center will like us? We would have only watered down ideas to offer, after all. So, my question to you dear Lisb, is what ideas were ever devised, espoused and enacted by the watered-down middle?

Besides, if you re-brand Liberals as Sensible Centrists, blink your eyes and Sensible Sentrists will be re-defined as the New Wild-Eyed Socialists by Faux News.

We're in a war of ideas and if we keep changing our uniforms, the people hiding in Switzerland will never know which army has come to rescue them.

Does this mean you're buying

Donal — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:58:33 +0000

In reply to Take a Sentrist

Does this mean you're buying a Sentra?

A centrist third party would be a nice switch from the usual fringey third parties.

Yes, Flower, I forgot to

LisB — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:47:08 +0000

In reply to And also, too. War no more.

Yes, Flower, I forgot to mention our mother earth when I brought up peace. But somehow I always thought the two were hand in hand. Can we fracking get an amen?

And also, too. War no more.

wabby — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:06:10 +0000

In reply to You know, Lis....I could

And also, too. War no more.

You know, Lis....I could

wabby — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:03:14 +0000

In reply to Take a Sentrist

You know, Lis....I could mebbe get behind this Sentrist Party. I am not a registered Democrat...I'm 'undeclared'... but I volunteer to work with my county Dems. All dozen of 'em....a great bunch of dedicated, hard-workers. But, the apathy that we continually ran into was a heart-breaker. The Dems seem old and tired and on some level are as uninspired as the Republicans.

It is a new century, after all. Mebbe a new party would do some good. But, not a Tea Party. I don't want to take my country back. I want to take it forward. And, I like sensible. I like efficiency, too. And, I'm not as interested in making a quick financial recovery as I am in making one built on a good foundation so that when we get hit by an economic storm again, and we will, it doesn't hurt so goddam much or for so long.

Our county Dem did get elected, but nearly everything else fell into the R column. That means that environmentally, my state is f*cked. There will be more deregulation of the already gutted DNRE which means the acid mining will go ahead and kill my rivers and the oil industry will get the go ahead to drill in the Great Lakes....my beautiful lakes, and the shelved coal burning plants will get dusted off and everybody, well, not everybody, just the already wealthy, gets to live off the fast buck made for the next few years and after that, well, who gives a shit. And that gravatar thing won't let me upload my pitchfork. So, yeah. I'll be a Sentrist. Or an anarchist. At this point, it's all the same to me.

Okay, seriously, how did I

LisB — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:12:05 +0000

In reply to Take a Sentrist

Okay, seriously, how did I end up in the middle of the page?? Half of this was a joke.

That being said, though, I think we need a new party, but I know I'm gonna take flack from those on the far left for wanting a centrist party. But, truth be told, liberals don't make up that much of America according to some stats I just read in another comment tonight.

So I'm sort of seriously suggesting a new party that comprises Independents who refuse to go Tea Party crazy on us all, and comprises disaffected Republicans and those on the left who aren't happy with the gridlock but know that the Green party ain't moving fast enough.

Since getting into the left side of politics in 2006 I've been a member of MoveOn, the ACLU, OFA, and I can't tell you how many other groups. All of them yell at me every day in my email inbox, and some of them text message me, but none of them have the same message. They're all up in arms from one day to the next about THIS or THAT, but....no coherent message. No underlying theme. Gets to the point where I just wanna shut them all off and just go for the fights that make sense to ME personally. My main fight? War. I've always hated it, it makes no sense, and thanks to Bush and Cheney I now have two bad ones to fight. Okay, we're pulling out of Iraq, but at what cost? And why didn't they warn us we'd have that huge complex over there for the rest of our lives? Afghanistan made more sense to me, at first, but even that one is a lost cause.

So, with my main message as being: Stop spending on wars and start spending on US, I am jokingly starting a new party. Unless, of course, the Democrat Party can fall in line behind me. Wink wink.