Noam Chomsky often talks about the importance of setting the limits on acceptable arguments, on what can be discussed in public. In many ways Chomsky parallels Machiavelli: he understands the rules of the game more consciously than his contemporaries, and is reviled for stating obvious facts about social attitudes that no one wants to hear. Presumably being consistently right is some compensation.
The liberalization of the nomination process has left the upper echelons of both parties less able to determine directly who wins. However, they have indirect power. They can influence which candidates are seen by the voters to be credible candidates. Through their dialogue with one another as well as their direct communications to the public, they help establish voter expectations, and therefore the range of viable alternatives voters perceive. The more they talk up a candidate’s viability, the more viable he becomes. The less they talk it up, the less viable he becomes. This is the power to set the agenda.
This perfect Chomskian statement came from — you guessed it! — the Wall Street Journal.
I couldn’t have said it better myself, although I tried on January 3:
As we know from the sliming of John McCain in the South Carolina primary eight years ago, however, no relation to truth at all is necessary when the GOP grownups get down to the short strokes…
Count on it. Whatever vile measures may be necessary to destroy a Baptist preacher with suspiciously New Testament tendencies and to throw the nomination to an spectacularly unelectable Mormon billionaire, those measures the GOP leadership is prepared to take.
Posted by: Jerry Doolittle on January 16, 2008 9:59 AMIt's hard to be as socialist as I am out there. Still, I have the hardest time to appreciate Chomsky. I went to one of his lectures in UCLA, in which he basked in such narcissism. The man, surrended by all this youth. And man, this guy can rant! But as to promote any kind of axioms or even the sketchiest plan as to resolve the problems of the world... rien du tout.
Within a full ninety minutes, I heard no vision, nor any path for the youth to take, no solutions... Chomsky is just a magnificient dissenting machine. Nothing more.
If I do crave a Gandhi moment, i'd rather go "YouTubing" for some bits of kuchinich instead...
Posted by: Sebsainclair on January 17, 2008 12:27 AM