Current Issue
Back Issues
BartBlog
 Subscribe to BartBlog Feed
How to Read BartCop.com
Members ( need password)
Subscribe to BartCop!
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Link to Us
Why Donate?
BartCop:
Entertainment
The Forum  - bartcopforum@yahoo.com
Live CHAT
The Reader
Stickers
Poster Downloads
Shirts & Shots
BartCop Hotties
More Links
BFEE Scorecard
Perkel's Blog
Power of Nightmares
Clinton Fox Interview
Part 1, Part 2
Money Talks
Cost of Bush's greed
White Rose Society
Project 60
Chinaco Anejo
EVEN MORE LINKS

 
Web BartCop.com









Search Now:
 
In Association with Amazon.com

Link Roll
Altercation
American Politics Journal
Atrios
Barry Crimmins
Betty Bowers
Buzzflash 
Consortium News 
Daily Howler
Daily Kos
Democatic Underground 
Disinfotainment Today 
Evil GOP Bastards
Faux News Channel 
Greg Palast
The Hollywood Liberal 
Internet Weekly
Jesus General
Joe Conason 
Josh Marshall
Liberal Oasis
Make Them Accountable 
Mark Morford 
Mike Malloy 
Political Humor - About.com
Political Wire
Randi Rhodes
Rude Pundit 
Smirking Chimp
Take Back the Media 
Whitehouse.org
More Links

 





Locations of visitors to this page

Subject: Noisy, Demanding Liberals and the Overton Window

Hi Bart!

A word about liberals criticizing Obama for not making enough lefty nominations. There's something called the Overton Window. Although I've been vaguely aware of the concept for a long time, I didn't know it had a name or anything. A good illustration here:

http://www.correntewire.com/the_overton_window_illustrated

The Overton Window is a window in the political spectrum of what's considered reasonable. As the linked page shows, the Cons have succeeded in dragging the Overton Window at least two clicks to the right of where it sanely belongs. How? By letting their wingnuts make crazy demands so that their slightly less fascist core doesn't seem crazy.

To counter this, it is good to have noisy lefties dragging the window back to the left, making demands of Obama and of lawmakers and media. Instead of lefty firebreathers fighting the center-liberals, both should understand that the firebreathers create room for the center-liberals to maneuver.

(Slight digression follows)
Me? I am a firebreather! (From North Carolina, the sane one). An old, old school friend once asked me: "Tom, you used to be the most conservative person I knew. Now you're the complete opposite. What happened?" I replied, "I learned a lot over the years... especially, that the conservatives hardly ever tell the truth about anything."

Having noted that, why NOT Kucinich at Defense? GOPists appoint people to sabotage agencies they want to destroy ALL THUH TIME. The vast war budget, basically half the federal government, has gone far to bankrupting Ameria and hence the world. What if we spent half that money on environmental measures, new energy development, and helping the world's poor? Betcha that would buy just as much security, because they'd love us. Alas, this has not been tried.

Tom B
 

  Back to Bartcop.com

Send e-mail to Bart  |  Discuss it on The BartCop ForumComment on it at the BartBlog
 

Privacy Policy
. .