a scratch pad for half-formed thoughts by a liberal political junkie who's nobody special. ''Hard Heads, Soft Hearts'' is the title of a book by Princeton economist Alan Blinder, and tends to be a favorite motto of neoliberals, especially liberal economists.
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skimming through the party links, here is an amusing example of the difference between the two major parties. While the Republicans composed a polished and elegant oath, which they dictated from up on high as *the* oath of the Republican party, the Democrats ran a contest asking people to send in explanations of "why I am a Democrat", and then published a long list of the replies: amateur, unpolished, but very diverse, empowering, grass-roots bottom-up and Democratic.

I found it amusing, anyway. Also, the Democratic National Committee seems to be recruting volunteers to call in radio talk shows and spread the DNC gospel. I'm sure the RNC does something similar, most likely worse, but I still find it. . .well, not quite cricket.
Talk Radio Volunteers Needed

another surprise: the Green Party platform is more sensible than the Libertarian platform. for example:

Libertarian platform, milltary matters: "We call for the withdrawal of all American military personnel stationed abroad, including the countries of NATO Europe, Japan, the Philippines, Central America and South Korea. There is no current or foreseeable risk of any conventional military attack on the American people, particularly from long distances. We call for the withdrawal of the U.S. from commitments to engage in war on behalf of other governments and for abandonment of doctrines supporting military intervention such as the Monroe Doctrine."

granted it was written in July 2000, but still.

the Greens:

"1. With half of all discretionary spending now going to the military, the president requesting spending even the Pentagon thinks is wasteful, and the Congress proposing even more than the president requests, Greens believe the more than $300 billion DEFENSE BUDGET MUST BE CUT. The Green Party calls for military spending to be cut by 50% over the next 10 years, with increases in spending for social programs. Preventive diplomacy, a strong economy and humane trade relations are our best defense. We must maintain a viable American military force, prudent foreign policy doctrines, and readiness strategies that take into account real, not hollow or imagined threats to our people, our democratic institutions and U.S. interests. Even so, Greens seek strength through peace. "

all right, neither party seems exactly sensible, but at least the Greens seem amenable to reason and compromise, rather than the fanatically dogmatic Libertarians. There is a good reason that, despite the generally Libertarian outlook of most Americans, the Libertarian Party remains small and marginal

posted by Anonymous at 12:14 AM