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The Democracy Diet

by: James Boyce

Tue Sep 14, 2010 at 14:37:23 PM EDT


It doesn't take a doctor to look around and see that our body politic is not healthy.  We've been gorging on too much corporate cash, and special interest distortions.  And while that looks really good on the surface, it is not giving us what we need to keep our body healthy and strong.  So today, when there are primary elections in New Hampshire (not to mention DE, DC, MD, MN, NY, RI, VT, WI, and HI) I want to suggest a great cleanse: The Democracy Diet.

Last week, the Live Free or Die Alliance (LFDA) unveiled a massive warehouse of all-natural election information that is essential to consume regularly for a well-balanced perspective at the polls.  The way it works is this: we already have all of that unnatural, over-processed stuff in our system, so add Election Central, the LFDA ingredient, and it will immediately start working to break down those compound masses of unhealthy vitriol - which are often cancerous to the body politic - into their more simple and benign elements.  We immediately start to feel less anxious, and we can think more clearly.  It improves our vision too.

It is not easy to farm good, nutritious information for the body politic.  The good folks at the LFDA have been working all summer in the fields of knowledge to produce this harvest.  They dug up every single candidate for public office in New Hampshire, washed off the dirt and smears, and posted what they found in the warm light of day.

What do they charge for this political super-food?  Nothing.  So c'mon and get some of the good stuff, and help our body politic to have a better self image, to stop hating itself, and shed some of the unnecessary weight it has been putting on.

Next, consider enrolling in regular De-spinning classes by joining the Live Free or Die Alliance, and by becoming part of the community on the Facebook Page.

James Boyce :: The Democracy Diet
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The Democracy Diet | 3 comments
No such thing (4.00 / 2)
I appreciate the effort, but, there is no such thing as objective political discourse, no matter how hard one may try.

The survey for state canddiates asks, "Should we repeal the gay marriage law?"

Not, "Do you support marriage equality?" It may be a small difference in words, but the use of specific words make a big difference.  

And why ask this question?  Inserting this question into the survey is in and of itself a value judgment.

It also asks about what revenue sources candidates support. One response is "LLC tax". There is no such thing as an LLC tax. There was an expansion of the interest and dividends tax to include distributions to members of limited liability companies. The term "LLC tax" leaves out a big part of the story.

There is no question about whether the minimum wage should be increased, but there is a question about whether NH should adopt a law requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets.

The survey is a reflection of what is important to the people who are part of the LFODA, which makes it not objective. Also, it has this inherently elitist attitude toward "partisanship", as reflected in some of the comments in this diary. Politics is not a tea party, you do need to be prepared for a brawl at times.  That's okay - the issues sometimes are important enough to brawl over.  



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    


I read the survey (4.00 / 1)
A litmus test with a conservative bias.

They should dub it "The Rinometer."

www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com


I agree n/t (0.00 / 0)




"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    


[ Parent ]
The Democracy Diet | 3 comments

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