A Liberal’s Handbook

by digby

Bill Sher of Liberal Oasis has a new book and it’s a great guide for those who are looking for common sense arguments to use as an activist and in your every day life.

Here’s an example:

Promote the Three R’s of Liberal Government

Don’t refer to “the government” and feed the image of a distant, oppressive entity. Always speak of “our government,” to accurately paint government as an extension of the people that we control and direct.

Don’t accept that the core debate between Democrats and Republicans is whether government should be big or small. Define liberal government as representative, responsive, and responsible and conservative government as elitist, callous and reckless.

In conversations about politics, cite examples from your community where our government makes a positivie difference in people’s lives, such as when veterans receive good medical care from a veterans Administration facility or children get access to the Internet at school or in a library thanks to federal funding. At the same time, point out instances where the lack of government involvement made a situation worse, such as when electricity deregulation increased rates and degraded service.

Don’t leave it to anti-government conservatives to criticize our government in places where it is not working well. The more we lead the charge for reforming ineffective government, the more credibnility we will have when proposing effective government solutions and the harder it will be for conservatives to exploit those examples and fan overall distrust of government.

The book is full of down-to-earth advice like this as well as a thorough analysis of our goals and prospects. And it’s written in the clear and entertaining prose you find on Liberal Oasis every day.

I’m sure you already know that Bill Sher is one of the sharpest bloggers around. His insights are always invaluable and this book very nicely distills his best stuff into one inspiring, but practical, guidebook.

Support your local blogger by buying this book.

Update: The Talking Dog interviews the man himself about the book and other matters.

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