[lbo-talk] Noam goes with Barry ?

[nathan tankus]

what I think Chomsky misses here is the effect a republican president
has on that culture of democracy. I think a decent argument could be
made that a large swath of the small, medium and large organizations
organized around issues or politics Chomsky talks a lot about
essentially shut down when a democrat is in office. Like journalists,
liberals tend to censor themselves when they feel what they say
undermines a democratic adminstation. I mean, liberals have basically
completely shut down for the last 3 years only to rear their ugly head
and get in the streets within days when republicans started talking
crap about vaginas.

I'm not completely sold on this view (considering the counterargument
that people wish for a democrat when a republican is in office and
wish for democracy when a democrat is in office), but i don't think
it's unreasonable.

--Nathan Tankus