(2003-11-24) Progressive Talk Show

Thomas De Zengotita suggests (not online yet) a Progressive Talk Show

Links:

• bit of excerpt

• a Hip-Hop perspective

• Amitai Etzioni says the problem is the message, not the messenger. One would think that the formula for a winning message for the Democrats is clear: anything but Liberal. Yet many left liberals - including the same Democrats who voted for Ralph Nader, thus helping to defeat Al Gore - have become particularly influential in the party since 2000.

• Al Giordano has different recommendations

Zengotita mentions Al Gore's interest.

Thom Hartmann says he already does this.

There are many things that annoy the heck out of me about this article - not even sure where to start...

The nearest thing going to what I have in mind is the (Jon Stewart's) Daily Show... This show will be more extended and meandering, sardonic, comid - but serious too, angry and bitter... The basic problem is this: Political Engagement - especially from the left - is no longer cool. The right has managed an astonishing cultural-political reversal: they turned us into the Establishment and themselves into rebels. This is completely ridiculous, given what is going on in the world, but that was the genius of the PoliticalCorrectness gambit. This show aims to make political engagement cool again... Most people in our demographic will not respond to yet another advocate hyping yet another cause with horrific graphics depicting mass suffering. They've seen too many ads. That's why they're disengaged... The Host is looking to expose the hate and fear - and sheer stupidity - that shape reactionary beliefs... When they're hanging out in the bar after work, the way they talk, the way they laugh - nothing's changed. Vicious bigotry. And we are out to expose it. That's the way to win back Soccer Mom-s terrified by images of O Saddam Bin Laden.