Friday, June 22, 2007
Say 'Thanks!' and Hug a Leftist
My good friend E.J. Dionne is checking out the political landscape today …and liking what he sees:
“…the dynamic in American public life, which is the move away from the right and a discrediting of the conservative era. The political "center" of today is not where the "center" was even five years ago.” E. J. Dionne Jr. - 'The Left' Moves Front and Center
Yep – we’re moving leftward according to Mr. Dionne and it’s all because “the left” does such a good job of framing the issues:
“But the "good ideas" that voters are demanding mostly have to do with problems that have been framed by the left, not the right: the need to disengage from Iraq, to create health security, to ease economic inequalities. It's time to update our sense of where the political center lies and to adjust our view of "the left" accordingly.”
But conspicuously absent from his litany of problems framed by the left is immigration…probably because after all the talking, pen had to go to paper and details emerged.
Look, the Left is great at sounding populist themes that resonate in the abstract. Who doesn’t want lower gas prices, available health care and peace on earth? Where the Left comes up short though is in formulating and articulating plans that don’t scare the beejeesus out of many of us. Because invariably, those plans involve turning over more of our money to the good people (read: fellow Liberals) who will sacrifice themselves to control more of our lives.
“…the dynamic in American public life, which is the move away from the right and a discrediting of the conservative era. The political "center" of today is not where the "center" was even five years ago.” E. J. Dionne Jr. - 'The Left' Moves Front and Center
Yep – we’re moving leftward according to Mr. Dionne and it’s all because “the left” does such a good job of framing the issues:
“But the "good ideas" that voters are demanding mostly have to do with problems that have been framed by the left, not the right: the need to disengage from Iraq, to create health security, to ease economic inequalities. It's time to update our sense of where the political center lies and to adjust our view of "the left" accordingly.”
But conspicuously absent from his litany of problems framed by the left is immigration…probably because after all the talking, pen had to go to paper and details emerged.
Look, the Left is great at sounding populist themes that resonate in the abstract. Who doesn’t want lower gas prices, available health care and peace on earth? Where the Left comes up short though is in formulating and articulating plans that don’t scare the beejeesus out of many of us. Because invariably, those plans involve turning over more of our money to the good people (read: fellow Liberals) who will sacrifice themselves to control more of our lives.
