[lbo-talk] Frank on election

[Stephen E Philion]

But change the subject the left must.  Since there is no way the left can 
out-Hallelujah the Republicans, the left must base its appeal on material 
terms and simply offer a better deal -- guaranteed lifetime employment, 
healthcare, pensions, etc.  Despite the powerful momentum of the trends 
Frank identifies, no tree (as I believe Herbert Stein said) grows to the 
sky.  Americans will not put "values" before economic security forever.  
America has had periodic religious "Great Awakenings" throughout its 
history, but in the long run Americans have been powered more by 
materialistic concerns than anything else.

Carl

--indeed, check out David Wagner's The New Temperance: The American
Obsession With Sin and Vice which makes exactly that point:
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0813325692/qid=1099691987/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1611471-9261638?v=glance&s=books>