The new political landscape. Stay Tuned.

As the Republicans take control of congress and the Tea Party starts to weild real power, the American Political landscape will again change. Too many analysts seem confused by what is wrongly perceived as a shift in the way people view big government. Obama's election was not an endorsement of big government - rather it reflected the powerful desire on the part of the public for new people and new approaches. In some ways the electorate is "experimenting" with politicians - bringing in new ones until they find something they like. Dissatisfaction with GW Bush and the feeling that neither Hilary Clinton nor John McCain would bring new and inspired innovation and leadership largely account for Obama's win. Those factors were probably more important than his own policies.

In many ways the "seesaw" Democracy we have is inefficient, but it does serve to change the game. Unfortunately we don't see this in the congress and Senate. Founders such as Franklin and Jefferson generally advised in favor of term limits but these rules were only constitutionalized for the office of the Presidency.

What's in store? If events immediately preceding the elections are any indication, Obama may continue to find ways to cooperate and compromise to avoid the gridlock many are predicting. Was Obama to some extent handicapped by Democrats control of the congress which forced him to support fiscally questionable policy making? Now in power, will Tea Party folks continue to fight for the strident conservative spending principles of their campaign?

Stay ... Tuned ... America

Dumbing Down the Democracy Dialog

As the election season heats up the Tea Party has now cleverly taken a page from the online media playbook of MoveOn.org and started their own propaganda garbage "network". Called "TeaPartyHD", it's filled with the same kind of stuff we see from MoveOn - irrational pieces designed to sway the gullible and ignorant (that would be ... many of us) using scare tactics and distortions rather than reasoned discourse.

There's nothing really new in that approach to politics, but I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that the internet has diminished rather than enhanced the political dialog. The medium isn't really to blame here - if we were an enlighted bunch we could have spirited discussions with candidates going on 24/7, with transcripts and summaries and a huge level of interaction with real people.

But, alas, we're not that kind of creature. So the most effective use of media dollars is to create online networks to spread negativity and distortions about your opponents, yet keep an arms length from the candidates so they can deny involvement in the junk.

Free speech is a wonderful benefit but by paying attention to the garbage we really diminish ourselves and the process. I don't expect that to change, but if you pay attention to this nonsense OR help spread it, you should at least recognize that we are degrading our democracy with this approach. Strategically it works, so I can't suggest either side would be wise not to continue the distortions and negative campaigning, but there may be compromises where we can start to address real issues somewhere in the mix.