Monday, September 04, 2006

Doc Searls -- party politics in a nutshell

This is how we can appreciate both political parties. Worth repeating...

My old business partner David Hodskins had the best characterization I'd ever heard of the Republican and Democratic parties: "The republican party is about income production and the democratic party is about income redistribution". Maybe he said "wealth" instead of "income". Either way, he nailed it. And in the process also nailed my sympathies in both directions.

He follows up by illustrating how core differences play out in tax policy. Having been a designated manager in a labor-intensive environment all my life I get it. I wish more people did. I'm still trying to think like a Republican because that is how managers are s'posed to think. My heart just isn't in it, but I keep trying. Some of my best friends are Republicans, you know.

It's kinda like having two parents, one of whom is a man, the other a woman. When we finally grow up we come to the understanding (hopefully) that both contributed something important to our development. Abuse and neglect can enter the picture, but in a healthy society we presume those to be exceptions, not the rule.

In other news, Doc points to next-generation advertising as seen at YouTube -- ads within ads. Love it.
And there was also the guy who thought that geriatric 1927 was viral marketing. But he couldn't say exactly what was being sold.

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