I find the entire obsession on values and bringing up our values, absurd and pathetic.
- Because we can only talk about values, not coherently state what they are
- Because we assume that we'll somehow be able to communicate our new values to the American people, magically.
- Because we are ignoring the fact that a right leaning media has successfully brainwashed a large percentage of the electorate and will refuse to carry and will actively undermine any new Dem "values" platform.
Haven't folks noticed that the values voters sound strangely like Bill O'Reilly and Michael Savage. Haven't people realized that these "value" voters are responding to a constant, anti-liberal, pro conservative billion dollar branding campaign by the right? Folk, it is depressing but true, marketing works. Why do you think people spend billions of dollars on Coke worldwide to allay their thirst?
Fox, O'Reilly are never going to give us a fair point of view. And, by allowing the DLC and others to sucker us in to agreeing that our problem is communicating values (and not being vastly beaten on a media front) we are setting ourselves up to fail.
Every reporter will look at the repackaged Democratic party skeptically in the current media environment because every talk show will be stacked with pundits reading RNC talking points designed to belittle the repackaging and appealing to the snarky, frustrated nature (of the Jodi Wilgorens) who can finally make fun of a politican (when they cannot get away with making fun of the GOPs -- look at what a boot licker Elisabeth Bumiller is).
So, what is the solution?
- Recoganize that we don't primarily have a message problem , we have a message delivery problem -- opinion media as documented by Alterman is dominated by the conservatives.
- Support liberal media (like Air America and this blog). Ask XM radio to create a new category of Air America listeners.
- Make it clear to the networks that we'd like a liberal version of Fox
- Pray that John Malone is going to actually take over Fox from Murdoch (and that Gore is successful in his new outlet)