I am not entirely sure the old labels of left and right even work anymore

[Perky]

at least no generically.

The labels seem a bit anachronistic; born out of the politics of the Great Depression, Jim Crow, and the Great Red Menace and preserved in its modern equivalent: the Culture War.


But today:

Communism is pretty much dead and most American want to hut down and destroy al Queda

Jim Crow was vanquished by the civil rights movement and we have just elected our first African-AMerican President not nearly so much not even so much for his race but in spite of it. The American electorate voted competence over partisanship; change over labels.


And while we may sit on the precipice of another Great Depression, certainly the traditional lines of what defines the role of government in crisis have ben largely, even conclusively blurred.

In significant wat we seem far more able to define the other guys more than we can define ourselves.

I am not entirely sure DU has a working definition of what is "Left"...but we can certainly define what is "Right".

We seem to have reached a stage in our national political development where the spectrum is defined more by issues than overarching philosophy and even then the issues are transitory and the solution sets quite permeable.

The american electorate is neither center-right nor center-left. We all seem to want small, competent government that stays out our way as much as possible at least on most issues that are important to us.

Our politics are cross-partisan/post-partisan, driven far more by the issue themselves rather than fidelity to platform or loyalty to leadership. The only thing we can agree with it that we are blue and the other guys are red.

For the next quarter century winning coalitions are not going to be define by colors or labels, but by competence and pragmatism on issues of economics and energy, education and the elderly, and obviously healthcare. In the coming era, the real governing coalition is going to be forged by the suburban middle class as it struggles to survive with little regard to party loyalty. We need to get used to the idea that in the new era, legislative coalitions will be built on specific issues rather fidelity to an ideologic label that beloges to the old era.

Toy will see this playing out initially in the tax code and on a bailout of the Auto industry, but it will swing into high gear with post partisan gerrymanaderinf in about 20 states where you will see a sifnigicant power shift to suburban districts and away from rural and urbam dominance.


In short pocketbook/kitchen table issues are going to trump old-school labels, ideologies and wedge politcs.

It is in this context that the president-elect seems able to to reach out to to John McCain and Joe Lieberman before he reaches out to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and why Pawlenty and Jindal are championing the need for wholesale change among the vanquished and why Dobson and Robertson are having great difficulty in holding the zealots together.

[FSogol]

1. How will I ever know which shoe goes on which foot? n/t

[Perky]

5. good point

[Mist]

2. I remember that back in the 70s, single issue citizen lobbying did quite well. It's

probably no coincidence that starting in the 80s, and continuing up to the present, we began to see the polarization of all issues into "liberal" or "conservative." As in, conservatives think of consumer protection as a liberal issue, and are encouraged to have a knee-jerk reaction against consumer protection (really? even for the goods they themselves consume?)

This polarization has worked well on an emotional level for conservatives.

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. a new paradigm for the 21st century!

sounds good to me ! It is way past time for somw soul searching

[CADEMOCRAT7]

4. Yes, 21st century smart politics and strategic leadership, I am all for it.

Where have the divisions gotten us...corruption, stagnation, the one with the most toys wins, I am right and you are wrong...
There is too much at stake with the global economy and two wars. Pakistan is in very near danger of becoming a failed nation state. The Congo has no rule of law. The list goes on here, and abroad.

This is not the time for partisanship and ideology. We do not have that luxury. It is time for action. We have tent cities right now in the United States, tent cities ! I am not going to bicker over Lieberman, or this appointee or that one, whatever it takes to provide Maslow's very basic hierarchy of needs for people. Then, we can move up Maslow's pyramid.