WHAT OPPOSITION PARTY?

Democrats should pay attention to this thoughtful interview with Noam Chomsky.

Democrats read the polls way more than I do, their leadership. They know what public opinion is. They could take a stand that's supported by public opinion instead of opposed to it. Then they could become an opposition party, and a majority party. But then they're going to have to change their position on just about everything.

Take, for example, take your pick, say for example health care. Probably the major domestic problem for people. A large majority of the population is in favor of a national health care system of some kind. And that's been true for a long time. But whenever that comes up -- it's occasionally mentioned in the press -- it's called "politically impossible," or "lacking political support," which is a way of saying that the insurance industry doesn't want it, the pharmaceutical corporations don't want it, and so on. Okay, so a large majority of the population wants it, but who cares about them? Well, Democrats are the same.
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Same with global warming. They're not stupid. They know that they're increasing the threat of a serious catastrophe. But that's a generation or two away. Who cares? There's basically two principles that define the Bush administration policies: stuff the pockets of your rich friends with dollars, and increase your control over the world. Almost everything follows from that. If you happen to blow up the world, well, you know, it's somebody else's business. Stuff happens, as Rumsfeld said.
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What gives me hope actually is public opinion. Public opinion in the United States is very well studied, we know a lot about it. It's rarely reported, but we know about it. And it turns out that, you know, I'm pretty much in the mainstream of public opinion on most issues. I'm not on some, not on gun control or creationism or something like that, but on most crucial issues, the ones we've been talking about, I find myself pretty much at the critical end, but within the spectrum of public opinion. I think that's a very hopeful sign. I think the United States ought to be an organizer's paradise.

Amen to much of this. If the Democratic Party doesn't begin to present itself as the party of the people and characterize, properly, the Republicans as the representatives of and panderers to corporate interests and the uberwealthy, we have no chance to capitalize on the mistakes and scandals of this administration. How can we be the opposition party when so many Democratic politicans are panting to be in the same pockets as the Rethugs?

And when Noam Chomsky finds himself in the mainstream of public opinion, it's time for Dems to pay more attention to the polls and campaign, legislate, and vote according to the will of the people.

Tags: Noam Chomsky, tips for Democrats, Bush administration