Forget the one-dimensional left-center-right BS framing. It's a deliberate lie designed to divide.

[ConsAreLiars]

And to conquer.

It's useful for labeling and fighting, but not for organizing.

All the political operatives who perpetuate that deception are on the same side, and it isn't ours. Different factions, more odious or less, but serving the same master. Yes, that's the way politics is discussed by the "consultant" class of hirelings. But it does not describe reality. It is a lie designed to keep us from pulling aside the curtain and seeing the monster which is our true enemy.

The potential for change that the Obama presidency might make possible lies exactly in his rejection of that mindset and his redefinition of the political landscape. He is a reality-based community organizer, not a utopian or an ideologue.

Obama chose a life of service, working for the common good of the people he grew up with, rather than a life as a servant to the ruling powers and the master class. And to achieve anything for the community, all the diverse elements and interests and tendencies and ideological groupings had to recognize both their shared goals and the need to exert their influences in all the varied ways these various sectors could.

Labeling, name-calling, excluding, blaming, and all that -- these lessen the chances of being effective in bringing about the kind of changes that might serve the common good. I believe it is essential to look at Obama's many decisions from with this "community organizer" framework rather than trying to look at his decisions as if they were merely markers on that ideological left-center-right dimension.

All that said, I think the ideological debate has its importance, and calling out right wingers for their subservience to corporatism or their ignorance or gullibility or cowardice, and so on, all that has its value. So this is by no means a call to shut up or not take a stand on left-muddled-right issues. But such debates, despite their value, are not the way to organize the human community to take back control of our world, and that is the job that President-elect Obama has campaigned for and accepted.

[Rebellious Republican]

1. I like the way you think ConsAreLiars, here is kick for a well thought out post.

:toast:

[ConsAreLiars]

2. Thank you. And a kick for some daylight exposure (nt).

[autorank]

3. Give the guy a chance.

Geez he had to spend face time with Bush. That's worth a few days recovery time.

AND he's not in office yet. Obama will clearly call the shots. Lets see what happens
and be happy we're rid of the worst of the worst.

[ConsAreLiars]

6. I think you misread what I was saying.

The point was that looking at his decisions from the single left-right dimension is not particularly instructive. As the Community-Organizer-in-Chief he is operating in a much more complex reality than simplistic labeling will describe or allow us to understand.

[autorank]

7. I wasn't disagreeing with you.

That's just my general sentiment. Your concept and estimation of his M.O. is interesting and may be correct.

I'm more interested in results on climate change, Iraq/militarism, and the economy (including putting away the crooks who did this). I think that those three are at different levels for most people but the top three in general. The issues orientation of the public is found in the dismissal of peripheral issues and smears out of hand.

Obama's already committed to a massive project on climate change, he's quasi committed on Iraq (although improved since the campaign started by a lot), and unknown, imho, on what to do with the bailout and the larger economic issues. The economy is the key. We'll see.

[ConsAreLiars]

9. Ahh. I misread you. Thanks for the clarification.

I was a bit puzzled because you are one of those posters who always seems to have a pretty good insight on how things actually work. I think if people examine Obama's actions as those of an organizer rather than just through left-right filters they will be less inclined to gripe.

[CADEMOCRAT7]

4. I completely agree. Let us get past the dichotomies and get to work to get things done NOW.

I am in alignment with "Smart Government" and "Strategic Leadership" for the 21st century.

[SnoopDog]

5. Recently I have been wondering what these labels mean as well...

What exactly is a Liberal? or a Conservative? Or a Progressive? or like you said left-middle-right? Or Democrat or Republican for that matter...?

So what do we do? Should there be 'classifications' of our views? How can a person be 'classified' when each of us have a variety of positions?

Maybe it is possible that the majority of Americans are all on the same side regarding issues, policies, and needs of our country.

[Radical Activist]

8. Community organizing is an anti-authoritarian philosophy.

Its almost non-ideological except for the principle of taking power from those at the top and giving it to everyone else. I'm not sure we've ever elected a President who comes from that kind of philosophical background. I think it caused some liberals to misinterpret him during the primary. We'll see how much that way of thinking influences his decisions as President.

[ConsAreLiars]

10. Yes. It is the Alinsky model rather than the ideologue/demagogue model.

From the Wikipedia article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alinsky

"There's another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevski said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution. To bring on this reformation requires that the organizer work inside the system, among not only the middle class but the 40 per cent of American families - more than seventy million people - whose income range from $5,000 to $10,000 a year . They cannot be dismissed by labeling them blue collar or hard hat. They will not continue to be relatively passive and slightly challenging. If we fail to communicate with them, if we don't encourage them to form alliances with us, they will move to the right. Maybe they will anyway, but let's not let it happen by default."<4>

....

Alinsky's teachings influenced Barack Obama in his early career as a community organizer on the far South Side of Chicago.<8><9> Working for Gerald Kellman's Developing Communities Project, Obama learned and taught Alinsky's methods for community organizing.<8>

(add one word)

[Hannah Bell]

11. alinsky's big successes were?

[ConsAreLiars]

12. That's a valid question.

There are a large number of small community based waging small isolated struggles, but the only changes in the power relationships between people and corporations have been for the worse. The major victories in the human rights and justice struggles of the '30's through '60's (and before and since) were waged by more militant means and more traditional means (by many methods and on many fronts simultaneously).

I posted mainly to help people see how Obama is doing his organizing work, as a counter to the one-dimensional view so many seem to hold. Whether it will succeed or even what goals he seeks remain to be seen.

[Hannah Bell]

13. Thank you for your honesty.

[Selatius]

15. As Noam Chomsky says, the US suffers from a "democratic deficit."

Even though the US has the system in place for voting and a Congress that elected by the people, for some reason these institutions do not work in favor of the people the institutions claim to represent.

It may be easier to enact change in countries with governments that actually respond to bottom-up methods towards change as opposed to more authoritarian methodologies that are more top-down oriented.

I would say, sadly, the US leans towards the latter. It would explain why a lot of things have failed.

[4lbs]

14. I agree with the community organizer analysis of how Obama will preside.

When he was doing his community organizing in Illinois, before becoming a state senator, he didn't check party affiliation IDs of those he was helping. He didn't care if they were Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Green party, etc. All he cared about was that they needed help and he wanted to provide that help.