Wednesday, February 26, 2003

 
Be Aggressive

Give force a chance. No. Not against Iraq, against the true enemy of the United States... ...George W. Bush and the Republican Party.

I've heard it, read it and said it. Progressives are simply not suited for political war. Strangely, when it comes to the issues, progressives generally have the public's support. When it comes to translating that support into action, however, progressives flounder like Bush without a script.

What's the problem? My best guess, based on years of observations, is that progressives are simply too concerned with being polite. It sounds ridiculous but that's what I see.

One example that festers in my mind was a CNN "news" show that aired some months ago. The host had two guests, one on the left, the other on the right. I was impressed with the level of knowledge and insight that the progressive displayed. He was calm and dignified, a pleasure to listen to. Then came the Republican, with vitriol to spare, spewing one mouthful of bile after another and mercilessly attacking the progressive. I thought, wow! Here is our chance to lambaste the wingers and really show indignation toward the ceaseless lies, low-brow tactics and hateful prejudice of the Republicans.

And then came the progressive's power-laden retort:

"Bob (or whatever the host's name was), I thought I was coming on this program for a civilized debate."

What? That's it?

What a wimp! What a miserable, spineless, policy-wonk wimp! What an absolute let down. I think my jaw literally dropped.

Nevertheless, after some contemplation, my outrage was replaced with frustration. I thought, why am I so surprised? Spineless progressives are the bane of the progressive web and perhaps even its raison d'etre.

In the end, this self-imposed restriction of politeness is something that could be selectively and effectively done away with when fighting the enemy. With that said, we as progressives could learn a lesson or two.

Like it or not, The Bush Administration has taught us much about the art of political war. They have made it clear that truth is optional. Thus, they've created their own advantage over the Democrats. If the truth doesn't fit their agenda, they simply fabricates one that does.

Of course, refusing to be cowed by the demands of truth gives them a freedom not available to their adversaries. A freedom that Democrats must scheme to mitigate. Am I saying that Democrats must produce lie after blatant lie to support their position. Absolutely not. One of the benefits of being a progressive is that the truth is always on our side.

In reality, what I am proposing is far more complex. Lying (and getting away with it) is but one asset in a much more complex portfolio of political tactics and assault mechanisms incorporated by the right. These tactics are accentuated by the ability of Republicans to proceed forward, blind to, or at least aloof toward, their boldly hypocritical stances. They are unencumbered by popular opinion and unaffected by potential catastrophic consequences. (Hmmm. Sound like Saddam.)

What these things tell me is that, barring an overnight takeover by progressives of both the government and the media, progressives just might have to stoop a little lower and more aggressively to sweep the feet out from under the Republicans.

Now, I'm sure that there are many out there who immediately gasp, "We can't stoop to there level! We're not like them and we certainly don't want to be." To those people, I can only say that I understand and in principle, I agree. Unfortunately, the world we live in is based more on the practicality of positioning and propaganda and less on policy and principle. This, of course, does not mean that I am suggesting that we abandon our principles. To the contrary, I am suggesting that we have to fight fire with fire in order to preserve our principles.

We do have a choice. We can stand by our principles, the truth, justice and our appeal to commonsense and dignity and wait to see if these things prevail against a boldly aggressive opposition bent on destroying all of the above. Or we can take a boldly aggressive stance of our own with an "ends justify the means" mentality, understanding that such actions may well be preserving the American sense of liberty and equality that we hold so dear, for our children and subsequent generations.

With such an objective at stake, we should dare to throw down our gloves of politeness and cordiality and crush the conservative opposition with bare-fisted blows of aggression and fearlessness. Indeed, they give us little choice, as conservatives have been beating down progressives since before the 2000 selection.

Being aggressive is also important given our limited media exposure. According to Roger Ailes, head of Fox News, the press only covers four things in politics: polls, gaffes, scandals and attacks. Even if they hit first, you should retaliate aggressively.

The bottom line: Being aggressive helps push the debate to an issue most favorable to you. It puts your opponent on the defensive and gives the impression that you are tough, that you will not be someone's doormat. Whether right or wrong on the issues, aggressive actions command respect if for no other reason than for the pure fear and intimidation that such actions instill. In addition, being aggressive, even ruthless, makes people take notice. It forces people to hear what you have to say and demands more credibility when attacking the enemy.

Sure, we would like the masses to analyze all the facts, recognize the spin, uncover the deceit and proceed with a rational thought process, concluding correctly that progressive policies are in the best interest of this country. The fact of the matter is, however, that relatively few look behind the headlines and the soundbites, things typically dominated by the aggressive.

As it is truly political war, we must treat it as such. It is not to be taken lightly and it must not be written off as "just politics". It affects our lives and more importantly our children's lives. It is as important as any battle that has ever been fought and it requires courage to fight it and win. Indeed, it is our effectiveness in this political war that may determine whether or not we are forced to sacrifice the lives of our loved ones in future military wars.

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posted by Thomas Ball 1:10 PM