Posted on 07/11/2006 11:00:23 PM PDT by neverdem
Civility Is In, Rancor Out on Web Site Begun by Democratic, GOP Strategists
A group of political strategists who have spent years firing heavy artillery at each other came together at the Hay-Adams Hotel yesterday, put aside their weapons, decried the polarized state of debate in America and vowed a new approach to peaceful coexistence.
Toward that end, they are launching a Web site that they hope will eventually reach 30 million opinion leaders, elevate public discussion on matters from politics to sports to culture and, in the process, make them some money.
Mark McKinnon and Matthew Dowd, who were senior advisers in President Bush's last two campaigns, are joining forces with Joe Lockhart, who served as a spokesman for President Bill Clinton, and Carter Eskew, a top strategist in Al Gore's presidential campaign, in creating what they have dubbed HotSoup.com.
"There is nobody who knows how broken the system is more than us. . . . Everyone in the room could say they contributed to the polarization," Lockhart said.
"The perceived polarization that exists in this country today is not a good thing," said Dowd, adding that people are tired of watching "food fight" debates on television.
But HotSoup -- a name chosen to evoke a tasteful mixing of ingredients -- faces a substantial challenge in a cluttered online marketplace. The most popular political Web sites and blogs are fiercely partisan on both the left and the right, which is precisely what attracts their fans. McKinnon, Lockhart and their partners, who are investing their own money while seeking outside financing, say they will be a regular presence on the site but will not be exchanging partisan blows.
They have hired Ron Fournier, former chief political writer for the Associated Press, as editor in chief. A key consultant is Allie...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Finally a website for pros. Hopefully they can keep the BS out!!
Sounds boring. I predict failure in short order, unless it is to be artificially propped up for the purpose of supporing some agenda that appeals to both sides of the supposed political divide that theoretically separates the founders. Hmmm..
http://www.hotsoup.com
They won't launch officially until Oct 2006.
They have s illy poll, where they are lacking the choices one would really like to make.
Frankly, I'm getting tired of civility and compromise. From what I've seen of it, it means we get something like the Senate's immigration bill. It's about time to get some people pushing hard for true conservative ideals against the unholy alliance of country club Republicans and liberal Democrats.
And another thing...It's a sad day for the country when people like myself are considered far right fanatics for being against illegal immigration, gay marriage, and abortion. It's like living in the Twilight Zone!
Ah, nice to see Dowd is keeping busy. Wouldn't want him to get pigeon holed into only sponsering rigged polls supporting amnesty. Though perhaps a guy that has supported Democrats and Liberals, as Dowd has, isn't the best example of the RIGHT in the laying down of "arms" in partisan warfare.
What Dowd apparently is really announcing is that he is yet another member, at least in spirit, of the SOROS wing of the Party prominently recognized by their figurehead..John McCain. In short, Liberals. So we have a Liberal who's last two elections have been to represent "Republicans" (Bush/Arnold) joining with Liberal Democrats to attempt to defeat Conservatives.
That's my read of this. The Whitman's, the Danforth's the McCains, etc...are all on their little kick to attempt to control a "New RePublican" Party that is liberal in nature but doesn't answer to Kos. And they are attempting to develop their own communication structure so eventually they don't need the NYT's.
I don't see what the point is here unless these guys are just trying to make money.
They sound a little like Unity'08 which is a new third party with some pretty heavy hitters on their "Founders' Board". They're wanting to run a Pubbie and a Dem on the same ticket for Prez and VEEP e.g. George Allen & Joe Lieberman or Al Gore and Rudy Guiliani.
I thought at first it was a bunch of kooks, but they're dead serious; I think. Check 'em out if you desire at
www.unity08.com
I'll check them out. I wouldn't be surprised. Just like Perot's reform party -- it did plenty of damage.
Maybe they'll run Hillary/McCain.
I bet they have a concept of civilized discussion that goes something like this:
Democrat - we need a $25 billion program to provide reproductive services (abortion on demand) for the poor.
Republican (RINO) - A $10 billion program should do the job, but we should probably air a few public service ads on family values to placate the ignorant rubes.
Either way, we conservatives lose.
Ron Fournier, Joe Lockhart and Carter Eskew are nothing but Democrat lap dogs, and at the same time the lowest form of humanity on the earth. This project is doomed before it gets started. Another group of elitist, liberal, left-wing, egomaniacs living in the "Bubble of Democrat liberalism". This scheme is already dead on arrival!!!
They can't, they won't, and it'll go down in flames.
That and being "power brokers"/king makers.
They may be "serious", but they're still a bunch of KOOKS!
"That's my read of this. The Whitman's, the Danforth's the McCains, etc...are all on their little kick to attempt to control a "New RePublican" Party that is liberal in nature but doesn't answer to Kos. And they are attempting to develop their own communication structure so eventually they don't need the NYT's."
Ah, the new Weicker wanna-bes.
Gosh, the Rockefeller pubbies were fun in their day, weren't they, whipping inflation now, starting affirmative action as we know, making big government 'efficient,' etc.? The problem is that Americans don't want them around any more. Every time we turn over their rock they scamper away. But they keep up the charade knowing the MSM is on their side, and if they can juuuuust get a single issue to click for them and fool conservatives one more time, it'll be all over!
Joe Lockhart has that look in his eyes of a dope fiend trying to scam someone...
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