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It’s useful to remember there are other dualities in politics other than right/left. A very, very important one is open/closed. The open/closed spectrum explains handily why liberalism is, in certain ways, the direct opposite of far-right monarchism/nationalism/fascism as well as far-left communist dictatorships. The liberal polity is ideally completely open where the dictatorships of right and left are closed.

Liberalism at its best has few secrets, many avenues for the will of the individual and the many alike, freedom of speech, thought, movement and association, democratic decision-making and decentralization of power. The liberal society is open in every way its citizens can make it.

Closed societies of the right and left have many secrets, and much is centralized and monopolized. The few, whether because they are rich or Party members, favorites of the king, or leaders of the church, have most of the control in a closed society. The few will tend to hold monopolies in all things: money, land, speech in the media, freedom to travel, control of the army, and even decent food and water. In open societies taxes tend to be spent on the welfare of the many; in closed societies taxes are levied on the many to fill the coffers of the few.

Look at the United States and ask yourself this: did our nation become more open or closed under the GOP? Did it become more open or closed ten days ago?

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I thought we were getting somewhere. So I’ll recap. I think the right wing of the political spectrum is grounded in racism and hate. That’s all I was trying to say, sorry if you find that uncomfortable.

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They don’t like him because of liberal policies (some of which I agree with, but I digress), not because he’s black.

Become what you hate.

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Here is an interesting piece from yesterday that ties the two concepts together nicely and blames Fox/NPR’s Juan Williams for much of the pandering. I couldn’t agree more, in fact, as I’ve said here before, Mr. Williams is one of the right’s greatest propagandists. Skilled, smooth and dangerous, the man is a master of lies and twisting the truth.

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Folks reading this who are unhappy with Shuler’s vote might want to call his office to let him know. I just got off the phone with one of his staffers who estimated that calls to his office were running roughly 75% in opposition. The bill will probably have to be voted on again once it comes out of conference, so there’s time to ask the congressman to change his position.

Heath Shuler’s DC office: (202) 225-6401. Congressional switchboard: (800) 828-0498.

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it let mainstream Americans know that the gloves are off when addressing the reality of the racist based hate mongering that he and his Fox News ilk specialize in.

Silly me.

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When the government sent me my Bush check, I wondered: when a family goes and spends the money on clothes, does the clothing store hire more workers as a result? No. Well, the family might buy a TV. Does Best Buy hire more workers? No. A set of tires might go on the car. Does the tire store boss have to hire another man? No.

There maybe is a small increase in retail activity for a little while, but stores aren’t going to hire workers because there are government checks headed our way.

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he’s more liberal than anything IMO

yes he is more liberal then the last 4 but that still does not put him left of center – especially if compared to the world – In Germany Obama most likely would be in the CDU and not in the SPD, never mind Die Linke or Bundniss90 – I guess what I am saying is it’s relative

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randallt, so you’re saying that the main reason the “extreme right” oppose Obama is because they’re racists?

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And speaking of Rush, I think Obama used a calculated strategy by calling him out. On one hand it gave the far right wing extremist element in the country something to rally around. On the other hand, it let mainstream Americans know that the gloves are off when addressing the reality of the racist based hate mongering that he and his Fox News ilk specialize in.

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It’s a stupid name given to center left Democrats. Center left.

I have to strongly disagree with the idea that the Blue Dogs are center left – not even close. Even Obama is center right. Take a look at this:

http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2008

Of cause if you keep redefining the center then even Rush Limbaugh is “center left” which would put me somewhere over the rainbow.

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Only eleven Democratic congressmen voted against this bill. I don’t know if they were all Blue Dogs, but even assuming they were, that puts Rep. Shuler in a superminority even among the self-proclaimed fiscal hawks.

And our beef isn’t just with this vote. What about SCHIP? On these fiscal issues, I get the feeling that Shuler’s gut instinct is that if the government is spending money, that’s bad, and the arguments that these are investments or that these are ways we can address the structural injustices of capitalism don’t carry much weight with him. On the other hand, though, his frugal principles didn’t seem to apply to Iraq War spending. Whether he votes to fund them or not, he has no problem with the government sponsoring programs in his district.

So he’s not a mainstream Democrat. Fine. But judging by this vote he’s not a mainstream Blue Dog, either. And I think we’re all wondering why, here at the beginning of his second term, having trounced his opponent in November, he can’t try to move a little toward the mainstream of his own party.

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Started out as get rid of the chain saw and then saw favorable merit in him. Favorable enough to feel good about him. I even defended him from some folks when Markos came to town and some people in the audience called Heath a dumb shit. He’s also a nice guy and I like him and that’s why I commented that I do this with a heavy heart.

Fair enough. You’re not alone. And yes, he is a nice guy, very personable and friendly with a winning smile and a handshake that’ll dislocate your shoulder if you’re not careful (which was refreshing after the dead fish handshake I got from Taylor once). Initially, my ideological disagreements were tempered by nuance – for example, his pro-life stance extends to opposing the death penalty, which certainly sets him apart from most conservatives (and even a few of his Democratic colleagues).

As to him being a dumbshit… well, dumbshits don’t go back to school after their NFL careers wash out and get degrees in psychology or start successful businesses, Wonderlic scores notwithstanding.

I also don’t think he deserves a shot at running for Senate. But then again, what do I know? I didn’t think John Edwards deserved a shot at Pres/VP. Then again, the possibility of running a conservative Democrat and beating Richard Burr combined with the ascension of a progressive Democrat to the Eleventh is a future I could find comfort in. Deserving is in the mind of the observer after all.

Anyone who qualifies constitutionally (at least 30 years old, US resident for 9 years, current resident of the state you’re seeking office in) deserves a shot at running for Senate. Whether they stand a chance or not is a different matter altogether. Personally, I don’t think Shuler does. But NC-11 could be his for as long as he wants it, provided that he keeps up his “Blue Dog Fetish” to appease the fiscal conservatives, and provided that the GOP keeps finding Carl Mumpowers to run against him.

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Maddening and upsetting as it may be for us Progressives, the current wave of Democratic victories have NOT come through Borg-Size-Fits-All-Mentality, but by understanding that Heath Schuler’s North Carolina district is not Sheila Jackson Lee’s in Texas is not Barney Frank’s in Massachusetts and that, if we want to be a national party, we’re going to have to take some lumps in order to keep that coalition together.

So, bash the 11 who broke bread with the Republicans, but take some solace in the fact that the Borg are now ALL-IN, their entire stack of chips bet on economic collapse, forgetting that “We Saved Your Hard Earned Dollars” doesn’t work when you’re only “Hard Earning” LUCK.

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If we don’t like what Shuler does, should we just be quiet about it?

Seriously – why shouldn’t we be openly critical? And for those of us who are Democrats and who have spent hours and hours of our time building the party and helping its candidates, it’s hardly unfair for us to accuse Shuler of disloyalty. He was one of only eleven Democrats to vote against this bill, and the only one from North Carolina.

Mike freakin’ McIntyre voted for the stimulus bill. John McCain is saying that it needs more spending on infrastructure. So why should we give Shuler a pass? Why shouldn’t we expect him to come out and say exactly what bothered him? And how can we expect him to explain himself unless we let him know we aren’t happy about his vote?

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America needs relief now! Frankly I have very little faith that these New Deal-esque make work measures will right the ship just like it didn’t in the 1930′s.

It is the job of the private sector to prop up the public sector never the other way around. The job of the public sector is to make sure there is an even playing field, and then to get out of the way.

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