But really, I think that Dean isn't as uberliberal as everyone thinks. He's actually pretty fiscally conservative. He's certainly in favour of spending far less than what the current administration has done so far.
I think also that what is considered 'conservative' today has no relation whatsoever what was true in, say, the Eisenhower administration. What we have now is a society feeding on fear, and in my opinion (and it's just that), the current administration is feeding into that fear. I'm interested in seeing what life is going to be like in a post-Ashcroft era. I'm hoping for a lot less fear.
As sad as it is to think, most people aren't like you and me--they don't fashion informed opinions, and most of them don't get much news beyond what's on at six and eleven. I work with a nurse who didn't decide who to vote for in the election until the day she voted, and this was after reading a little about each candidate on the internet (she voted for Kerry, but even though I agree with her choice, I think she went about making it in an extremely ignorant manner). Most people who voted against Kerry based on Swiftboatgate never read anything about it--they heard it from someone who heard it from someone else. I think that whether you vote liberal or conservative, you have to be informed. You are, honey, and although I don't agree with your conclusions, at least you come to them after actually thinking about it. Most people don't--so I think the current 'conservative' bent out there is based on hearsay, and I do think the gov't is feeding into their fear and paranoia.
What Dean needs to do is DEFINE the party, whatever that will mean. There's a muddiness among the Democrats now that needs to be cleared up before they can even begin to show the world their 'agenda', no matter what it is. I don't think that right now they even know it themselves. I think Howard Dean, with his sharp intellect and (in my opinion) genuine love of his party and his country, can bring a cohesiveness and a direction to the Democratic party that hasn't been there. I think the reason why the Dems lost is because they didn't really have a good idea of who they were themselves.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-10 05:54 pm (UTC)But really, I think that Dean isn't as uberliberal as everyone thinks. He's actually pretty fiscally conservative. He's certainly in favour of spending far less than what the current administration has done so far.
I think also that what is considered 'conservative' today has no relation whatsoever what was true in, say, the Eisenhower administration. What we have now is a society feeding on fear, and in my opinion (and it's just that), the current administration is feeding into that fear. I'm interested in seeing what life is going to be like in a post-Ashcroft era. I'm hoping for a lot less fear.
As sad as it is to think, most people aren't like you and me--they don't fashion informed opinions, and most of them don't get much news beyond what's on at six and eleven. I work with a nurse who didn't decide who to vote for in the election until the day she voted, and this was after reading a little about each candidate on the internet (she voted for Kerry, but even though I agree with her choice, I think she went about making it in an extremely ignorant manner). Most people who voted against Kerry based on Swiftboatgate never read anything about it--they heard it from someone who heard it from someone else. I think that whether you vote liberal or conservative, you have to be informed. You are, honey, and although I don't agree with your conclusions, at least you come to them after actually thinking about it. Most people don't--so I think the current 'conservative' bent out there is based on hearsay, and I do think the gov't is feeding into their fear and paranoia.
What Dean needs to do is DEFINE the party, whatever that will mean. There's a muddiness among the Democrats now that needs to be cleared up before they can even begin to show the world their 'agenda', no matter what it is. I don't think that right now they even know it themselves. I think Howard Dean, with his sharp intellect and (in my opinion) genuine love of his party and his country, can bring a cohesiveness and a direction to the Democratic party that hasn't been there. I think the reason why the Dems lost is because they didn't really have a good idea of who they were themselves.