The Blog @ Spolitics

Repackaging a Turd — The New Democrat

There’s an old saying… you can’t polish s—t. Despite the adage, it looks like Dems are going to try. They finally seem to realize voters don’t want their policies but rather than taking a good hard look at themselves, they’re simply repackaging their old products and hoping the voters won’t be able to tell the difference.

Case in point: Kos seems to be promoting his idea of the Libertarian Democrat. At first it seems like a departure from big government. That is, until Kos defines this creature:

A Libertarian Dem believes that true liberty requires freedom of movement — we need roads and public transportation to give people freedom to travel wherever they might want. A Libertarian Dem believes that we should have the freedom to enjoy the outdoor without getting poisoned; that corporate polluters infringe on our rights and should be checked. A Libertarian Dem believes that people should have the freedom to make a living without being unduly exploited by employers. A Libertarian Dem understands that no one enjoys true liberty if they constantly fear for their lives, so strong crime and poverty prevention programs can create a safe environment for the pursuit of happiness. A Libertarian Dem gets that no one is truly free if they fear for their health, so social net programs are important to allow individuals to continue to live happily into their old age. Same with health care. And so on.

So essentially Libertarian Dem is nothing more than an old Dem who’s using a new label to sell stale ideas. Environmental regulation, welfare, national healthcare all in the service of the taxpayer’s “freedom.” At the bottom of the post Kos writes:

Update: Ha, framing… Yeah, “Lib Dem” reads just like “liberal democrat”. So I edited.

Considering how he defines this “new” Democrat, he was closer to the truth with “Lib Dem.”