Crossposted at Daily Kos.
I don't think there's enough dialogue in this country.
You have to excuse me. I'm a peacemaker by temperament, and I'm a trained mediator, so I have a thing about dialogue. Let me explain.
There's not enough dialogue in the American culture. Between leaders and voters. Between party factions. With anybody. But I want to talk about politics and civic participation.
We are starved for real political dialogue in this country. The Party and our government is this separate behemoth. The public feel isolated, alone, not fully informed. People feel talked at, manipulated, condescended to, ignored. And we are left to speculation and gossip, and we feel they don't want our input, they just want us to just do what they say. "Give us your money and your vote and shut up."
I've got several dialogue stories below the fold:
· WI-08: Wingnut plans to run as "conservative independent" (desmoinesdem)
· 50 percent of southerners say Obama better president than Bush (desmoinesdem)
· What Yesterday Says About Young Voters (Mike Connery)
· Max Blumenthal on the dysfunctional movement driving the GOP (Mike Connery)
· IA-Gov: Culver launches second tv ad (desmoinesdem)
· Hilarious Vid On Why We Must Vote No On Issue 2!! (Cliff Schecter)
· NY-23: Scozzafava Drops Out! (lipris)
· NY-23: Pataki Goes Rogue, Endorses Teabagger Darling Doug Hoffman (lipris)
· Dunne Considering Run For VT-Gov (Nathan Empsall)
· McGovern Grandson Looks to Challenge Thune in 2010 (Jonathan Singer)
· IA-03: Two potential challengers for Boswell (desmoinesdem)
· NJ-Gov: Daggett Goes After Christie and Corzine (Jonathan Singer)
