I think you misunderstand my use of the term "movement." I'll take one more try. If you want to have a serious, long term, influence on politics, say, a third party, for instance, you can't go straight from feelings of discontent over the present set of options. Granted that's a necessary component. But, to steal the usual logical thunder, it's not sufficient. To get to sufficient, you have to translate those feelings of discontent into something that is organized. That's lacking right now. And nothing is on the horizon.
In fact, as I've typed, the political space is already occupied. Not by the Dem party. I'm not arguing that. It's a coalition of sorts, a big tent. Rather, it's occupied by the portion of the party which occupies something like a political center outward, leftward to some undefined extent. There is next to nothing, at least at the moment, comparable on the Rep side.
What Friedman has identified is something quite easy to identify--discontent. He's then wrapped some problems and solutions around the present discontent. That's, to repeat myself, not a platform for an existing group. The only place that platform has some political vibrance is in the center-left of the Dem party. |
