Left Wing

Iraq: The "Gift" That Keeps On Bleeding

Shortly after the November 2006 election the Democracy Alliance, an exclusive group of about 100 Democratic Party millionaire activists, met in Miami, Florida. Members and their guests heard their keynote speaker and liberal legend Mario Cuomo analyze the Democratic Party in the wake of its stunning electoral victories that had given Democrats control of the US Congress. Cuomo criticized the Democratic Party for lacking vision, big ideas and a winning political argument. His recipe for future Democratic victories was simple: "You seize the biggest idea you can, the biggest idea you can understand. And this is what moves elections."

Cuomo then dared to voice an inconvenient truth: "Now it's 2006 and we're all rejoicing. Why? Because of Iraq. A GIFT. A gift to the Democrats. A lot of whom voted for the war anyway." The former New York governor challenged his partisan audience, "If Iraq is not an issue, then what issues do we have to talk about? … Where does that leave you? It leaves you in the same position you were in in 2004 – without an issue. Because you have no big idea."

Democratic Party-Aligned Think Tanks Publishing Furiously

US News & World Report observes the furious activity among Democratic Party-aligned think tanks. "With the party back in power on Capitol Hill and an open field of presidential candidates to influence, they're racing to get their ideas out in white papers, newspaper op-eds, and conferences. ...

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The Bipartisan Nature of the Revolving Door

"Scores of Washington [Democrats]" are "ensconced in firms working to advance corporate agendas that don't look that different from policy we see emanating from the Bush administration," writes Russ Baker, summarizing a report released by his Real News Project.

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A New Brand for the Democrats: Hispanic-Friendly

"A group of former Clinton administration officials not fully satisfied with the Democratic National Committee's outreach to the Hispanic community are participating in a soon-to-be launched multimillion-dollar effort to brand the Democratic party among Hispanic residents," reports Alexander Bolton.

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"True Spin": An Oxymoron or a Lofty Goal?

"Officials from giant corporations meet all the time to share their latest and greatest PR strategies," read the conference website. "Now it's our turn."

spinning topOn February 2 and 3, some 180 people attended the True Spin Conference in Denver, Colorado, which was billed as "a PR conference for progressives." The event was organized by CauseCommunications, a small Denver PR firm whose clients have included Ben Cohen's Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, Winona LaDuke's Honor the Earth, and The Progressive magazine.

Is That "Anti-war Left" or "Anti-gay Right"?

Media Matters caught Sean Hannity on Tuesday blaming the "anti-war left" for protesting at the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq. In reality, the protesters were members of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) in Topeka, Kansas, which claims that terrorism and other disasters are divine retribution against America for the "sin" of tolerating homosexuality.

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Venezuela Promotes Lefty Image

Venezuela has launched an advertising campaign "pitching itself as an egalitarian nirvana where petro-dollars are funneled straight to the poor," reports the New York Times. "The idea, say Venezuelan officials, is to show American business executives and policy makers that a happy country is a stable one, even if many in Venezuela would disagree." The ads were created by Underground Advertising, a small San Francisco firm that does work for non-profit and progressive organizations.

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