You know, in watching the Republican National Convention last week, I could not help but marvel at how offensively homogeneous the party constituency appeared. Can everyone truly identify with this party? Does the shrinking Republican Party truly believe it is representative of a 21st century America? CNN senior analyst Jeffrey Toobin was even moved to comment, "The country is changing; I'm just not sure this party is changing with it."
And as these party insiders were waving their "Country First" placards amidst a barrage of
character assaults on Barack Obama by the likes of Rudy "9/11" Giuliani and Fred "Droopy" Thompson, I couldn't help but reflect on how effective the party has been in hijacking certain themes from the American vernacular and branding them as their own. These brands - personal responsibility, small government, family values, party of the military, party of religion, etc. - have been very effective political tools for the Republican Party. Now they are so arrogant as to go after Barack Obama's theme of "change." Brilliant.
I do not believe, however, they have the patent on these ideologies, and in a year of critical mass and yearning for true change in this country, these brands are up for grabs. And Barack Obama had an opportunity to seize them, redefine them and use them as tools to further promote his candidacy, or at the very least inoculate himself from the standard GOP attacks that utilize many of said themes. He did not.
One particular theme the Republicans have been exceedingly successful at hijacking as their own also happens to be one of Senator Obama's greatest missed opportunities in this election cycle - patriotism. Patriotism has been bandied about by the Republican Party as a unilateral tool to question one’s love of their country if you don't fall into form behind their ideals and party platform. They have used it with so much exclusion that you wound up with a republican convention that looked more like a Carolina country club than a party of America. But Country First was their call to arms.
To Senator Obama's credit, he did briefly touch on some of these themes during the campaign but he never stuck with one and hammered the point home. Patriotism desperately needs to be redefined in this country. It certainly could be expanded to be more inclusive of disenfranchised non-voting Americans from all cultural and religious backgrounds who have come to feel as though they simply aren't 100% part of the club. Patriotism should not be defined by whether one wears a flag lapel pin on one's suit or not. Patriotism should be defined as a compendium of very different people united to serve one purpose. Those things that divide us serve only to make us stronger. Patriotism has to be progressive and graduate to the 21st century. Its definition must now include environmental consciousness. It must now include global awareness and an understanding of global interdependence. Patriotism must embody a humanitarian spirit.
The Country First definition of Patriotism has always seemed to suggest that either you are with them or against them. We can no longer afford to allow that definition to persist. The stakes are now too high. And the country is changing.
With eight weeks left, I don't believe Senator Obama can effectively seize any of these themes from the republicans. My guess is that for now, "It's the economy stupid."
I do have a few ideas on what Senator Obama can do to help his candidacy in these ensuing eight weeks and I will discuss those in my next entry. So, until then...
And as these party insiders were waving their "Country First" placards amidst a barrage of
character assaults on Barack Obama by the likes of Rudy "9/11" Giuliani and Fred "Droopy" Thompson, I couldn't help but reflect on how effective the party has been in hijacking certain themes from the American vernacular and branding them as their own. These brands - personal responsibility, small government, family values, party of the military, party of religion, etc. - have been very effective political tools for the Republican Party. Now they are so arrogant as to go after Barack Obama's theme of "change." Brilliant.I do not believe, however, they have the patent on these ideologies, and in a year of critical mass and yearning for true change in this country, these brands are up for grabs. And Barack Obama had an opportunity to seize them, redefine them and use them as tools to further promote his candidacy, or at the very least inoculate himself from the standard GOP attacks that utilize many of said themes. He did not.
One particular theme the Republicans have been exceedingly successful at hijacking as their own also happens to be one of Senator Obama's greatest missed opportunities in this election cycle - patriotism. Patriotism has been bandied about by the Republican Party as a unilateral tool to question one’s love of their country if you don't fall into form behind their ideals and party platform. They have used it with so much exclusion that you wound up with a republican convention that looked more like a Carolina country club than a party of America. But Country First was their call to arms.
To Senator Obama's credit, he did briefly touch on some of these themes during the campaign but he never stuck with one and hammered the point home. Patriotism desperately needs to be redefined in this country. It certainly could be expanded to be more inclusive of disenfranchised non-voting Americans from all cultural and religious backgrounds who have come to feel as though they simply aren't 100% part of the club. Patriotism should not be defined by whether one wears a flag lapel pin on one's suit or not. Patriotism should be defined as a compendium of very different people united to serve one purpose. Those things that divide us serve only to make us stronger. Patriotism has to be progressive and graduate to the 21st century. Its definition must now include environmental consciousness. It must now include global awareness and an understanding of global interdependence. Patriotism must embody a humanitarian spirit.
The Country First definition of Patriotism has always seemed to suggest that either you are with them or against them. We can no longer afford to allow that definition to persist. The stakes are now too high. And the country is changing.
With eight weeks left, I don't believe Senator Obama can effectively seize any of these themes from the republicans. My guess is that for now, "It's the economy stupid."
I do have a few ideas on what Senator Obama can do to help his candidacy in these ensuing eight weeks and I will discuss those in my next entry. So, until then...
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