Pandagon on 'The Kinkadization of Political Life'

Pandagon writes:

Regular readers know I'm big on Republican heuristics, all the surface shit they do to appear virtuous while surreptitiously picking Oliver Twist's pocket. But those shallow markers of Republicanism, which are really low-quality outgrowths of nationalism, also train voters to think in a certain way. They train them to think in narratives, in frames, and to discount policy arguments and deeper debates. When Bush's backdrop is an almost-psychedelic pattern of slogans, vaguely attentive viewers of the nightly news need merely glance at the screen to learn what Bush was speaking about, they certainly don't need to go dig up the speech or demand from the anchor a fuller rundown of its contents. When bills are named Healthy Forests and Clear Skies, few feel forced to dig deep for their contents, the intent is telegraphed right there in the title!

The crowning virtue in the current political world is at-a-glance politics. Whatever you're doing, whatever you're saying, voters should be able to receive and understand your message with nothing more than a glance. And this isn't a merely Republican trait, Clinton was a master of it. But the Republicans have infused it with their special Essence of Cynicism? and begun to telegraph messages entirely divorced from the event or policy's content.

As I've suggested before, "at-a-glance politics" is something we have to fight not just in those who voted for Bush but in those who voted for Kerry. And there are a lot of things militating against a resurgence in people paying attention. Lack of time, fear, avoidance and denial, and the taboo on discussing politics at work,the place most adults spend most of their waking hours.