Weekend Rant

I am a regular reader of The Nominally/Arbitrary Project and Don't Be a Hero, and the authors of those blogs frequently raise issues that make me think (thank you both for that). Zoe and Joanne have been writing about how to set aside one's own agenda and collectively unite behind a single message.

Having done coalition building for more years than I care to remember (my first campaign headquarters had a mimeograph machine), I've had this conundrum on my mind for a while. The very nature of coalition building brings together groups with mixed messages. So, from the gitgo, this is going to be hard – or is it something only Republicans can do?

I have always been impressed with the ability of the right to walk lockstep with a single theme. They know how to beat the drum in unison, all playing the same beat. I always believed that the right's abilities to be united in its message stems from (at least) two things:

* Republicans learned communications from advertising agencies. As far back as the 50's, Madison Avenue helped plan and focus their message.

* Republicans don't mind lying.

So, if our strength is in numbers, and the very best coalitions are made up of a number of diverse groups, how do we get everyone on the same page? I'm not even going to try to answer that one, but I can tell you that everyone is fighting over the same thing, and it's not pretty: money. And the tool used to get funders' attention is media attention.

Every group is jockeying for face time on TV and news clippings to send to funders. Everyone wants to be at the top of the press release. Elbows are flying everywhere as we try to place our banners in the most prominent spot at photo ops. Rather than using the media to promote the issue, the message becomes merely a conduit to cash.

I don't know if the left can ever achieve that singular message which resonates so beautifully in the media. Maybe our greatest strength is our diversity, and we need to develop strategies that will magnify that diversity rather than shrink it to a single view.

The left is a grand mosaic, a quilt made up of thousands of different patches. And like any great work of art, we look different to all who see us.