Jim Webb, teacherken, & SECURITY, LIBERTY, OPPORTUNITY. (+g10)

     Having thought for months that "security, liberty, and opportunity" would be a nice set of bywords/slogans for the Democratic Party, even more succinct than the legendary "lower taxes [and smaller government], strong military, family values" of the Republicans, I was pleased to see in Jim Webb's recent recommended-list Daily Kos diary My Netroots Victory, teacherken's comment he has addressed some of these,

     (continued below)
     

he has addressed some of these (8+ / 0-)
and give him and the policy team a little time to put it all together.
One think Jim does not want to do is simply throw out policies to have policies.  He has core values -- about security, equity and privacy/liberty.   I hope that the positions he expresses with tie together on these three principles, or perhaps a set of three key principles that includes at least some of these ideas.  I used these three because I heard him express them
security  -- from foreign enemies, energy security, economic security, health security, etc.
equity - equality of opportunity, a hand up for those who have been deprived, not exporting American jobs
privacy/liberty  -- the government stays out of my house, my sex life, my religion, my guns unless it can show a compelling reason for coming into those affairs.  And I mean COMPELLING
this would cover so many things -- NSA spying, support for GOOD public schools,  access to health care, etc
just the thoughts of a half-cracked teacher
Those who can, do. Those who can do more, TEACH!
by teacherken on Fri Jun 16, 2006 at 01:07:39 PM PDT
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     So, on the "great minds think alike" tip, it looks like I am in good company, and I am writing this diary. --I would use "liberty" instead of "privacy" as a rule, as "liberty" sounds more inspirational; and "opportunity" instead of "equity", because, unfortunately, in our country, "equity", like "the common good", will sound faintly Communist to a lot of people. (It's not bad to mention "equity" or "the common good" occasionally, but to have either of them as one of the three prime pillars, maybe not...)

     It's also nice to see Jim mentioned "security" first; I am tempted to mention "liberty" first (see more below), but just from a poetic aspect, "security-liberty-opportunity" has "4 syllables-3 syllables-5 syllables", giving a little more variance than "liberty-security-opportunity", which is "3 syllables-4 syllables-5 syllables", a little less variance and more monotony.
     However, there is more to life than sound, so "liberty" could come first, at least occasionally.
     But did Jim Webb invent this, or is there some shocking revelation here about one of his enemies?

     George Allen invented this first?!!

     To my horror, when I Googled "security" "liberty" "opportunity'' last night, I found on the top ten list...a January 2006 "Forbes Book Club" book by GEORGE ALLEN, Webb's Republican opponent, called George Allen: A Senator Speaks Out on Liberty, Opportunity, and Security!!!
     Uh oh! So if Webb (and other Dems) talk "liberty, security, opportunity", will a furious George accuse us of plagiarism? Did our boat sink before it left the harbor??

     Majikthise to the rescue!

     Fortunately, the very TOP entry on Google, in majestic HTML glowing blue, is Majikthise : Liberty, opportunity, and security, by famed progressive blogger Majikthise (Lindsay Beyerstein).
     And it is from November 15, 2004, long before George Allen's book. ("Who's the plagiarist now?")
     Here are some of Majikthise's magic themes:

I can sum up Democratic values in three words: liberty, opportunity, and security.

If my elevator interlocutor wants to know more, I will expand as follows:

Liberty means civil rights, reproductive rights, marriage rights, intellectual freedom, and the right to unionize and bargain collectively.
Opportunity means education, employment, and a progressive tax system that rewards work over inheritance or investment.
Security means managing our military, diplomatic, and intelligence resources competently and humanely; it also means freedom from want at home: Social Security, healthcare, sustainable environmental policies and financial responsibility.

     So, thanks to her, not only are there good ideas, but George Allen has nothing on us.

     The source? Bill Clinton's "Opportunity, responsibility, community"

     Bill Clinton, his personal foibles aside, was a skilled politician, and he doubtless wanted his own set of slogans to counter the Republicans' "lower taxes etc." So, in his 1992 acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention (cached, highlighted version), we see,

In the end, my fellow Americans, this New Covenant simply asks us all to be Americans again- old-fashioned Americans for a new time. Opportunity, responsibility, community.

     So arguably, Jim Webb's (and my) "liberty-security-opportunity" or "security-liberty-opportunity" theme is just an updating of that, to reflect post-September 11, 2001 conditions. If it worked for Clinton, then maybe an updated version could work for today's Democrats.
     (Unlike Majikthise and George Allen, and like Jim Webb, military man that he is, I don't want to put security last on the list though. Especially since 9/11.)

     georgia10, political philosophy, and "words"

     I have enjoyed georgia10's recent diaries on political philosophy vis-a-vis Democrats, A New Direction--Sort Of and Debating Political Philosophy, and partially agree with what she says today in the latter diary,

It's not about the tired line of "we just need better marketing." This problem goes way beyond marketing. It's about a disconnect in our party that cannot be cured by fancy slogans or brilliant framing.  It's not about words, but about worldview.

     However, while slogans are not enough, they do have their uses. Jim Webb (and teacherken) saw the use of words, not to mention Majikthise and the nefarious George Allen. (I like georgia10 a lot better than George, by the way.)
     In closing, I'll note that Daily Kos actually had a frontpage debate on this very topic about a year ago. (If someone is willing to hunt down the diaries and URL's, I'll be grateful.) I forget what I myself said at that time, but I believe a general consensus was that it would be nice to have a three- or four-part platform or set of slogans that would be easy for people to remember. So I hope for the maximum amount of discussion below.
     Is "liberty-security-opportunity" good enough? (I myself would also like "responsibility", "community", "privacy", "equity", "decency", and "diversity" tossed into speeches as well.) Is there a better three- or four-word platform available? (Proving that you are smarter than Jim Webb, if you think so!) Or is there anything else we should know? Thank you for your time and contribution.    

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