Recently, George Bush has been traveling around, preaching to the choir, about staying the course and keeping Americans safe from terrorists. Rumsfeld’s been singing “We Can See Clearly Now,” while trying to convince us that the United States is more secure because of the war. And Rice has brazenly averred support for the administration while facing questions about America’s secret prisons and its propensity to spy on its own citizens.
What if we had the opportunity to hear from people with different ideas? Not just the legislators who like to hear their own voices, but from real people, with real ideas and real policies who could make a difference?
What if we – as in all Americans – had an opportunity to hear (on a consistent basis) and adequately evaluate various perspectives on an issue and help determine what was best for all Americans?
Well, one answer is that we might begin making forward movement rather than stagnating at best and regressing at worst.
Another answer is, let’s put it to the test and find out.
Recently the Progressive Government Institute founded by me in 2003 and the Backbone Campaign founded by Bill Moyer have merged together and for the past many weeks have put together weekly public conference calls and podcasts with various leaders within the progressive movement to get their take on the issues.
Now, beginning on Monday, December 19, we’re changing our focus a bit and are asking these leaders how they would deal with the issues – if they rather than current appointees in the Bush Administration – had been appointed to positions of power within the executive branch of government.
On Monday, we’ll be talking with Ambrose Lane, Sr., chairman of the board and interim executive director of Pacifica Radio Foundation, someone we think is progressive. He will speak as if he were chair of the Federal Communications Commission, an appointment currently held by Kevin Martin, former deputy general counsel for the Bush campaign, with no communications experience, and a strong advocate of Internet phone taxes.
So on one hand, we have an inexperienced loyal Bush supporter helping define federal communication regulations. On the other hand, we have a man experienced in radio broadcasting and programming willing to talk about his ideas of where the FCC should be headed were we to live under a progressive government.
And in the end, we have divergent opinions from which we can gain a better sense of what is needed of someone in this role and why it matters.
We invite you to join us on the conference call on December 19 at 8:30 pm eastern.
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Written in collaboration with Jennifer Hicks