January 02, 2006: Republican Leninists
It's interesting that the contemporary Republican political machine so closely mimics Lenin's conception of a disciplined party.
Republican commentators stress the party line. They call it "talking points", but the concept is the same. Republican public figures from elected officials to journalists to talk radio hosts weave and duck in lock-step as new talking points arrive from on high. In the morning, the President is a courageous leader for refusing to bow to criticism. In the afternoon, he's a figure of historical weight for acknowledging mistakes. They turn together, and they turn on a dime.
It seems to me that the major difference is that the Bolshevik leadership determined the party line in an open way which allowed rank and file members to understand how it was arrived at and to criticise it via a structured process. Who determines the daily tactical shifts of contemporary Republican talking points?
