My dominant impression from a distance is not of technocracy, but that she is simply a hack. The Dem establishment there runs on inertia and self-entitlement. Periodically they get their comeuppance (Gov Weld, Gov Romney). Meanwhile the White House has been out to lunch. The Congressional leadership is in a permanent defensive crouch. Oh and we're in a giant honking recession and the D's have walked away from that too.
On Wed, Jan 20, 2010 at 11:15 AM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't know enough about Martha Coakley to know for sure, but her > campaign seems an example of the "Gray Davis" syndrome (named after > the former governor of California).[*] The Democrats are pretty good > at appointing technocrats (rather than ideologues of the sort that > Dubya brought in), though they sometimes have also appointed > representatives or allies of local political machines and the like. > The technocrats are pretty good at rationalizing the situation that > they encounter, making it work. But they also tend to be gray, > disconnected with voters, and even arrogant toward them. This may fit > Martha Coakley and help explain her recent loss of the seat once > filled by Edward Kennedy. > > Of course, technocrats aren't really anti-ideological as much as they > rationalize the currently dominant ideology. These days, that's > neoliberalism (so that Obama's technocrats love cap'n trade > "solutions" to global warming). Back when the Democratic Party had a > backbone -- formed by the AFL-CIO and other labor organizations -- and > were subject to external pressure from the left (the anti-war > movement, etc.), the technocrats tended to be more social-democratic > (New Deal) in their policy proposals. Of course, the technocrats > worked hard to avoid being under the influence of labor and the > anti-warriors (etc.) This eventually contributed to their movement in > the neoliberal direction away from social democracy, as did conflicts > within the "Democratic Coalition" between labor and the more insurgent > folks. > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > > [*] I remember Dubya appointing some marginally neo-Nazi woman to some > high post (national archivist?) during his first year. I couldn't find > it by a Google search. Does anyone remember this case? > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
