You say "narrative". I say "campaign speech." "Propaganda." "Bedtime story."
They are similar. The reason I'm using 'narrative' is to try to put the problem in context. The connotation of campaign propaganda is that it is the usual empty campaign promises.
The narrative is a lot more sophisticated than simply telling people what you think they want to hear. Instead the narrative is all about triggering related neural networks. "Class warfare" for example is not a campaign promise. Calling infrastructure investment socialism is more than a campaign promise or simple propaganda.
It seems like an odd thing for a skeptic to base their political preferences on a bedtime story. On propaganda. On a campaign speech.
Why should Obama's ability to tell a good bedtime story be a good reason to vote for him? That seems like a trick only a brainwashed sheeple would fall for.
If you're talking about me, you're making a false assumption. I like the narrative because I think it's likely to play better in the 2012 election. I like the Democratic Party because it's the lesser of the evils and there is no viable other option.
For those skeptics among us on the right who don't think GW Bush's 8 years were incredibly damaging to this country, or who only now are disowning Bush and hypocritically claiming he wasn't the Republican they
really supported, I ask, why are you so smitten by the Republican narrative? It's a failure. Tax cuts for the rich are not helping the economy. Food stamps for the poor are actually dollars that get recirculated when spent.
One can argue all one wants about how one thinks social safety net programs take from the rich and give to the poor. But the truth of the matter is, the rich hoarding their savings means the money is not being put back into the economy creating wealth and jobs. So take your pick, Ayn Rand's Libertarianism "it's all about me" and an economy that continues to only benefit a small minority, or investment in infrastructure, education and social programs that stimulate the economy and promote recovery.
The country was demonstrably better off under Clinton and Obama compared to the disastrous Presidency of Bush and Reagan's fake prosperity where he pumped deficit funding into the economy and pretended it was the tax cuts that made the country more prosperous. And if the Repubs weren't obstructing everything they possibly can the Democrats would have a lot more to show at the moment.
As for crony capitalism, Bush and the Repubs are the kings of crony capitalism. Obama is a lightweight.
And speaking of narratives, how do you know you've got the real Republican narrative, and not accidentally internalized the Democratic false consciousness about the Republican narrative?
Because I've been paying very close attention. Actually, the Democrats have been sadly slow and ineffective promoting their narrative.
