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Are Liberals Too Nice?
Do liberals need to adopt more of the attack dog tactics of conservatives? Veteran strategist Democratic National Committee Ann Lewis says yes, Democrats have been too nice.
Now the official party weblog is called ”Kicking Ass”. A liberal group is closing deals on five radio stations to start their own liberal talk show network designed to counter Rush Limbaugh and his local minions. Veteran conservative organizer Paul Weyrich says Republicans had better worry because angry people are motivated to get out and vote. But does anger work for liberals? It stirs up the troops to heap invective on your opponents, but can it create backlash? Will it turn off Americans in the middle? Is there something illiberal about ceaseless aggression?
I sent in this via email, and it was read on the air (most of it, anyway): the fact it got on so fast tells me how little response this topic elicited.
If we assume that by talk radio, we mean the inflammatory stuff we hear from Rush Limbaugh, et al, it won’t work for the progressive side.
the core of the progressive movement is inclusion and working for everyone: the conservative side is not as obviously so
(which side works for and against health insurance and labor issues?). By being inclusive, you will have people in your tent who share values but may not like each other: this is not a conservative problem, in general, since the progressives are generally more diverse.
And you mentioned another issue with someone like Al Franken who by way of making a point might alienate some members of the diverse audience he would otherwise appeal to.That said, I’ve like to see someone as mean-spirited as Rush Limbaugh or Lee Atwater making the progressive case.
And in response to the host’s question as to whether those two are mean-spirited, I would say they are.
Lee Atwater was willing to make one opponent’s teenage bout with depression a campaign issue.