Why they say we have no ideas. [View All]

[More Than A Feeling]

As we have all heard, the Republican Party has come up with another reason why Democrats suck. Formerly it was that we were too liberal, out of the mainstream. Now it is that we have no fresh ideas. The two are related, though, as we shall see.

The first thing that is obvious is that what they say is false. We have many new ideas, in the sense that they are not traditional, they are different from what has been done before. From gay marriage to universal healthcare, these things are very new, at least in the United States.

So why do they say it? Well, one reason might be that they have not heard of these ideas, because we have somehow failed to communicate them properly. If that were the case, then they should stop doing their darndest to interfere with that communication via their constant manipulation of the media, so that cannot be it.

Another reason might be that they have no scruples, and so will say anything against us, true or not. However, in order for what Republicans say to be effective, someone has to believe it, otherwise it would be worse than if they had never said it, because of the loss of credibility that would follow.

So why do Republicans think they will be believed if they say that we have no new ideas, and why do some people believe that to be the case? The answer is they do not believe our ideas to be legitimate. Its part of their "with us or against us" mentality. In their minds, we have no ideas because we do not have their ideas.

Think of a hypothetical conversation between one democrat and one republican. The Republican says "you have no fresh ideas".
The Democrat replies, "Yes, I do. I think we should have gay marriage, which we have never done before."
Will the Republican say, "Oh, I was wrong, you do have new ideas?" No, he will not. He will say, "I don't like that idea, try again." Odds are, when he goes and talks to someone else, he will continue to say, "Democrats have no new ideas."

Well, since when has a Republican ever liked a new idea, anyway? Therefore, rather than bemoaning the lack of Democratic ideas, we should go on having them when we have them, not forcing them in response to a political critique that we could never answer anyway.

(Credit goes to Jonathon Chait and the Decembrist Blog for inspiring these thoughts)