Comments on: Where to find new blog entries http://redbluerichpoor.com/blog/2009/02/where-to-find-new-blog-entries/ Why Americans Vote the Way they Do Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:59:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Glenn Gannaway http://redbluerichpoor.com/blog/2009/02/where-to-find-new-blog-entries/comment-page-1/#comment-1720 Glenn Gannaway Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:25:40 +0000 http://redbluerichpoor.com/blog/?p=334#comment-1720 The book explores some assumptions about American politics, but it could have dug a lot deeper. For instance, the authors seem to take seriously the idea that the words "liberal" and "conservative" have any real meaning in American politics. the notion that there are substantive differences between the Republicans and Democrats -- and their "liberal" and "conservative" wings -- is pure propaganda (following Jacques Ellul's discussion of integrative propaganda). Example: once the 2008 election was over and there was no need to entice people to go to the polls (propaganda functions to incite action), Obama made some remarks during a press conference that sounded like they were composed for George W. Bush. Perhaps Obama found some old cue cards lying around the Oval Office... More later. The book explores some assumptions about American politics, but it could have dug a lot deeper. For instance, the authors seem to take seriously the idea that the words “liberal” and “conservative” have any real meaning in American politics. the notion that there are substantive differences between the Republicans and Democrats — and their “liberal” and “conservative” wings — is pure propaganda (following Jacques Ellul’s discussion of integrative propaganda). Example: once the 2008 election was over and there was no need to entice people to go to the polls (propaganda functions to incite action), Obama made some remarks during a press conference that sounded like they were composed for George W. Bush. Perhaps Obama found some old cue cards lying around the Oval Office…

More later.

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