Article from Mother Jones By Kevin Drum

| Sun Oct. 10, 2010 10:35 PM PDT

: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/liberal-branding

My comment:

Read Paul Krugman’s “Conscience of a Liberal”. He beautifully states:
“I believe in a relativity equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I’m proud of it.”

The platform of a liberal progressive party should be modeled after FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights. Found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bill_of_Rights

The problem with finding a brand is that liberals embrace individuality and personal expression while conservatives demand conformity and group think. As a movement, the liberal cause is too fluid, too open-minded, to fit in a box - and that’s a good thing. It’s what makes us appealing to those who seek to affect change.

Conservatives don’t expect, they demand, ridged orthodoxy to the message. Conformity is key.

In contrast, liberals are more apt to remain broadminded, embracing change and allowing for a fluid, dynamic modeling of their message. In fact, there is rarely a single message to which to adhere.

This fluidity stems from a liberal camp that embraces a broad spectrum of disparate ideologies – ideologies that may or may not coexist harmoniously at any given moment. For example, one liberal may be fighting for better safety regulations for coal miners, while another is advocating for an end to fossil fuels and funding for alternative energies. Hence a mixed message, counter-productive to philosophical unity.

So the question becomes how do liberals and progressives coalesce and stay on point? Or does there need to be a reeducation of the audience to accept that seemingly conflicting messages may in fact be in accord?

In our present reality, liberals should be drawing a clear delineation - we are for the people, conservative are for the corporations. But when was the last time a liberal actually went on the attack and stood up, rather than meekly defend, social justice? He/she can’t, without being derided as a “socialist”. Conservative wave the flag and wrap themselves in Jesus - and as long as they paint themselves as the “family values” party, the Christian conservatives won’t care that they are voting against their economic interest.