I don't know how to respond. I hope this doesn't offend any loyal Jayhawk's nest readers, and that is not my intent, but I will say it anyway: This is certainly effective advertising for people who are persuaded by platitudes.
Wikipedia's definition is exactly what I have in mind... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platitude
To make a more specific critique, the makers of this video could simply have said, "The Republican party represents everything bad about the world", and they would have done no further injustice by simplifying the major debates facing our country today. For example, no one on the right wants their child to have a lack of attention in classrooms, just as no one on the left wants their child to graduate high school with a 3rd-grade reading level (i.e. lack of standards). These types of simplifications are harmful to the discussion, by making people dismiss credible opposing arguments.
These types of simplifications are harmful to the discussion, by making people dismiss credible opposing arguments.
Indeed they are and the video is not an accurate portrayal of Republicans or the Republican party. However, it symbolizes how the Republican party is being perceived. Sometimes, perhaps often, it's the perception more than the actual substance of a person or organization that matters, especially in politics.
And what about the 54 million who voted the other way? The makers of this commercial must think pretty highly of themselves to think that 54 million people are idiots who "vote republican because i think corporations should have no responsibility for the environment", or whatever they said.
Let's get beyond this immediate commercial, though, because it brings up an interesting point about the changing political spectrum in America. I am not impressed with either Democrats or Republicans, and I think the big wins that the D's will gain in 2008 will stand for little more than a repudiation of George Bush and the Republican party. This may be fine for most Americans, but it will be hard for the Democrats to build something lasting on such a shaky framework (i.e. vote for us! our last president was bad!). My guess is that while the Democrats will continue to dominate in the next few election cycles, at the level of ideas -- that whole thing about positive vision -- our politics will remain unsettled for a long time. Many people find appeal in Obama (myself included) because he seems to offer this positive vision. However, I dont buy it: beneath the charisma there is nothing new.
With the end of the Cold War, the Republicans had the clear advantage in terms of a philosophical vision: free market virtues, coupled with traditional/family values. However, that is now changing. Neither party, it seems to me, has the answers to the deepest challenges facing our country. I suspect that these challenges have more to do with culture than government ("Our country is not being destroyed by bad politics; it is being destroyed by a bad way of life," says Wendell Berry), and so there is little that politicians can do. At the same time, politics can not be, and is never, irrelevant.
To conclude, I think that politically we're still waiting for What's Next. The Democrats may be the ones who hit upon it. Or perhaps the re-constituted post-2008 Republicans will hit upon it. But just as the election of Reagan in 1980 ended the New Deal era of politics (the FDR era), the 2008 election ends the Reagan era. Something new is coming, and there is no telling whether it will ride in under the banner of R or D. But it is not coming this year. Sorry Barack.
ok I just watched the video for the first time and I would have to agree with P-ditty that the videos main message is "The Republican party represents everything bad about the world."
That said, the JayHawk is right that the Republican party, true or not, is being blamed for much of this. And perception is reality to most, if not all.
Baring a catastrophe, Barack will win. Not just based on his charisma but on the fallout from the Bush presidency and the hostile political climate. It has really been a bad 8 years hasnt it? (terrorist attacks, war in Iraq, housing crisis.....)
Anyways, P-ditty, I dont necessarily agree with your statement about Obama when you said: "...beneath the charisma there is nothing new." I think that is hard to tell at this stage. We dont know what a president is worth until he gets a chance to do the job. Right now, like in all previous elections, the candidates will posture and bullshit but when it comes down to it, how they perform in office is how they will be judged and remembered.
I will be voting for Obama come November. Yes its partially because of his charisma. And yes its partially because of his fresh voice and promise for change. But most of all its because Im so pissed off at the Bush administration I cant justify voting for another candidate that politically associates himself with our current president.
If there is anything good that can come from this next election, with respect to the Republican party, is that it will give them a chance to regroup, figure out their identity, and come back stronger. Because, quite frankly, God knows the Democrats fell into this one and by no means, as a party, did they win it.
6 comments:
I don't know how to respond. I hope this doesn't offend any loyal Jayhawk's nest readers, and that is not my intent, but I will say it anyway: This is certainly effective advertising for people who are persuaded by platitudes.
Wikipedia's definition is exactly what I have in mind... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platitude
To make a more specific critique, the makers of this video could simply have said, "The Republican party represents everything bad about the world", and they would have done no further injustice by simplifying the major debates facing our country today. For example, no one on the right wants their child to have a lack of attention in classrooms, just as no one on the left wants their child to graduate high school with a 3rd-grade reading level (i.e. lack of standards). These types of simplifications are harmful to the discussion, by making people dismiss credible opposing arguments.
These types of simplifications are harmful to the discussion, by making people dismiss credible opposing arguments.
Indeed they are and the video is not an accurate portrayal of Republicans or the Republican party. However, it symbolizes how the Republican party is being perceived. Sometimes, perhaps often, it's the perception more than the actual substance of a person or organization that matters, especially in politics.
Perceived by whom? The type of people who watch too much Lou Dobbs or Keith Olberman!
Perceived by whom? Perceived by 50 million Americans who voted blue in 2004, and a much larger number outside the US.
And what about the 54 million who voted the other way? The makers of this commercial must think pretty highly of themselves to think that 54 million people are idiots who "vote republican because i think corporations should have no responsibility for the environment", or whatever they said.
Let's get beyond this immediate commercial, though, because it brings up an interesting point about the changing political spectrum in America. I am not impressed with either Democrats or Republicans, and I think the big wins that the D's will gain in 2008 will stand for little more than a repudiation of George Bush and the Republican party. This may be fine for most Americans, but it will be hard for the Democrats to build something lasting on such a shaky framework (i.e. vote for us! our last president was bad!). My guess is that while the Democrats will continue to dominate in the next few election cycles, at the level of ideas -- that whole thing about positive vision -- our politics will remain unsettled for a long time. Many people find appeal in Obama (myself included) because he seems to offer this positive vision. However, I dont buy it: beneath the charisma there is nothing new.
With the end of the Cold War, the Republicans had the clear advantage in terms of a philosophical vision: free market virtues, coupled with traditional/family values. However, that is now changing. Neither party, it seems to me, has the answers to the deepest challenges facing our country. I suspect that these challenges have more to do with culture than government ("Our country is not being destroyed by bad politics; it is being destroyed by a bad way of life," says Wendell Berry), and so there is little that politicians can do. At the same time, politics can not be, and is never, irrelevant.
To conclude, I think that politically we're still waiting for What's Next. The Democrats may be the ones who hit upon it. Or perhaps the re-constituted post-2008 Republicans will hit upon it. But just as the election of Reagan in 1980 ended the New Deal era of politics (the FDR era), the 2008 election ends the Reagan era. Something new is coming, and there is no telling whether it will ride in under the banner of R or D. But it is not coming this year. Sorry Barack.
ok I just watched the video for the first time and I would have to agree with P-ditty that the videos main message is "The Republican party represents everything bad about the world."
That said, the JayHawk is right that the Republican party, true or not, is being blamed for much of this. And perception is reality to most, if not all.
Baring a catastrophe, Barack will win. Not just based on his charisma but on the fallout from the Bush presidency and the hostile political climate. It has really been a bad 8 years hasnt it? (terrorist attacks, war in Iraq, housing crisis.....)
Anyways, P-ditty, I dont necessarily agree with your statement about Obama when you said: "...beneath the charisma there is nothing new." I think that is hard to tell at this stage. We dont know what a president is worth until he gets a chance to do the job. Right now, like in all previous elections, the candidates will posture and bullshit but when it comes down to it, how they perform in office is how they will be judged and remembered.
I will be voting for Obama come November. Yes its partially because of his charisma. And yes its partially because of his fresh voice and promise for change. But most of all its because Im so pissed off at the Bush administration I cant justify voting for another candidate that politically associates himself with our current president.
If there is anything good that can come from this next election, with respect to the Republican party, is that it will give them a chance to regroup, figure out their identity, and come back stronger. Because, quite frankly, God knows the Democrats fell into this one and by no means, as a party, did they win it.
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