<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1141" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>Reading the NY Observer piece and other accounts of the neocons, it strikes me that the last time the left had anything approaching such fusion of its movement, ideological and political wings was during the New Deal. (Not that the New Deal was tea and roses, but you get my point.)</DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>What would it take to create a neoleft that brings together an organized base of people, a clear philosophy/agenda to project in the public debate, and which seriously contests for political power?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Or is that not in the cards for the left, given a host of differences in its composition and outlook from that of the right?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For example, a related meditation: Julian Bond used to tell me that the difference between the left and the right is that they've got the money, but we've got the numbers -- if we can just organize them. But how does that equation change when the right strategically expands its control of the media, controlling the message our "numbers" get to hear, and in fact is able to turn most TV networks into bully pulpits for rallying the masses around their agenda?</DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>CK</DIV></BODY></HTML>