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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Wise words from Granny D Doris "Granny D" Haddock spoke yesterday to students in Massachusetts regarding a possible winning message for the Democratic Party. Excerpts of her remarks follow.---------------------------------------------Thank you... I believe the politics of abstraction is dead in America, and the political leaders have not grasped the politics that can win in this new environment: the politics of pragmatism. Take Hurricane Katrina…please. But, first, let's go back a few elections. Why is it that a very Republican state can have a very Democratic governor, and vice versa? How can the mayor of New York City possibly be a Republican or the governor of Arizona be a Democrat? And yet they are. Well, sometimes the majority party spits its votes, but how, then do these winners win reelection, even gaining votes from the opposite party? You know the answer, It is because voters want government that makes things work, and their desire for a pragmatic, efficient leadership that actually solves the problems of the city or the state far outweighs their more abstract political inclinations. Well, we are at a time where what works for cities and states will now work at the federal level. Katrina was the literal watershed. The Iraq misadventure certainly set the stage, along with the government inefficiencies that led to the missed cues leading to 9-11. Politicians have been so busy taking apart our functioning government that the only kind of politician we really have any need for right now are leaders who can put things back together and make things work again. We don't really mind paying taxes when it means we have real security, real protection of our air and water, real disaster response. We are so willing to pay for those things that we pay billions to charity, because our government is so dysfunctional and can't handle what should be its job. Let me talk about the Democratic Party for a moment. People in our party are bemoaning the fact that the party does not have its message clear, and that its leaders are not more eloquent in speaking out against an insane war, the looting of the middle class, and the trashing of our Bill of Rights. Yelling louder isn't the key to winning. Looking pragmatic is the key to winning. Most of those same issues can be dealt with in ways that are less about abstract principles and more about getting from here to there. I'm not saying that war crimes shouldn't be prosecuted and the looting of the treasury or the creation of massive deficits shouldn't be opposed in the strongest possible ways. But the winning message is, let's make America work right. Come out not with anger but with plans for making America work, making FEMA work, making the budget work, making schools work, making defense work. Bill Clinton's most brilliant moment as president happened just before he was actually president. He held a televised symposium of economic experts to shape policy for his coming administration. He listened to the experts and put the policies into effect. The economy took off and stayed in the stratosphere for his full two terms. I am oversimplifying, but not by much. Americans want pragmatism from their leaders, and they have almost given up on that at the federal level. The most misunderstood thing about Clinton's success is that people think it happened because he co-opted the Republicans on their own issues. His real success came because people thought he was a competent manager of government, and they forgave him all else. If the Democrats want to win, they need to bring in people with a track record for making states and cities actually work. It isn't enough for a John Edwards to cry about the Two Americas, we need people who have a plan for mending the gap, and who have a track record of doing that in a state or city.For a party chief, the Democrats should bring in someone who has organized at a national level for a successful labor union—someone who can talk about middle class jobs and medical insurance and the other things we need. The pragmatic political party should establish a Democracy House in each low-income neighborhood and housing project, not to gather votes, but to serve the people's practical needs better, help them to speak up for themselves, and to learn the practical ideas that should be reflected in public policy. The people will vote for the party again when the party better serves the people. A pragmatic political party, by the way, would first call for the passage of the public financing of our political campaigns, as is now done in three states, so that we can pull the very asphalt from under K Street and get Congress back in the business of representing America and Americans. A pragmatic party would also insist on the passage of a new conflict of interest law, which would make it illegal for an elected or appointed official from acting on any issue affecting his or her significant political donors. That would of course force the public financing bill through... posted by Liz @ 12:40 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. 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Doris "Granny D" Haddock spoke yesterday to students in Massachusetts regarding a possible winning message for the Democratic Party. Excerpts of her remarks follow.---------------------------------------------Thank you... I believe the politics of abstraction is dead in America, and the political leaders have not grasped the politics that can win in this new environment: the politics of pragmatism. Take Hurricane Katrina…please. But, first, let's go back a few elections. Why is it that a very Republican state can have a very Democratic governor, and vice versa? How can the mayor of New York City possibly be a Republican or the governor of Arizona be a Democrat? And yet they are. Well, sometimes the majority party spits its votes, but how, then do these winners win reelection, even gaining votes from the opposite party? You know the answer, It is because voters want government that makes things work, and their desire for a pragmatic, efficient leadership that actually solves the problems of the city or the state far outweighs their more abstract political inclinations. Well, we are at a time where what works for cities and states will now work at the federal level. Katrina was the literal watershed. The Iraq misadventure certainly set the stage, along with the government inefficiencies that led to the missed cues leading to 9-11. Politicians have been so busy taking apart our functioning government that the only kind of politician we really have any need for right now are leaders who can put things back together and make things work again. We don't really mind paying taxes when it means we have real security, real protection of our air and water, real disaster response. We are so willing to pay for those things that we pay billions to charity, because our government is so dysfunctional and can't handle what should be its job. Let me talk about the Democratic Party for a moment. People in our party are bemoaning the fact that the party does not have its message clear, and that its leaders are not more eloquent in speaking out against an insane war, the looting of the middle class, and the trashing of our Bill of Rights. Yelling louder isn't the key to winning. Looking pragmatic is the key to winning. Most of those same issues can be dealt with in ways that are less about abstract principles and more about getting from here to there. I'm not saying that war crimes shouldn't be prosecuted and the looting of the treasury or the creation of massive deficits shouldn't be opposed in the strongest possible ways. But the winning message is, let's make America work right. Come out not with anger but with plans for making America work, making FEMA work, making the budget work, making schools work, making defense work. Bill Clinton's most brilliant moment as president happened just before he was actually president. He held a televised symposium of economic experts to shape policy for his coming administration. He listened to the experts and put the policies into effect. The economy took off and stayed in the stratosphere for his full two terms. I am oversimplifying, but not by much. Americans want pragmatism from their leaders, and they have almost given up on that at the federal level. The most misunderstood thing about Clinton's success is that people think it happened because he co-opted the Republicans on their own issues. His real success came because people thought he was a competent manager of government, and they forgave him all else. If the Democrats want to win, they need to bring in people with a track record for making states and cities actually work. It isn't enough for a John Edwards to cry about the Two Americas, we need people who have a plan for mending the gap, and who have a track record of doing that in a state or city.For a party chief, the Democrats should bring in someone who has organized at a national level for a successful labor union—someone who can talk about middle class jobs and medical insurance and the other things we need. The pragmatic political party should establish a Democracy House in each low-income neighborhood and housing project, not to gather votes, but to serve the people's practical needs better, help them to speak up for themselves, and to learn the practical ideas that should be reflected in public policy. The people will vote for the party again when the party better serves the people. A pragmatic political party, by the way, would first call for the passage of the public financing of our political campaigns, as is now done in three states, so that we can pull the very asphalt from under K Street and get Congress back in the business of representing America and Americans. A pragmatic party would also insist on the passage of a new conflict of interest law, which would make it illegal for an elected or appointed official from acting on any issue affecting his or her significant political donors. That would of course force the public financing bill through...
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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