David Sirota: The Rise of Seinfeld Politics & The End of Principles

Here’s just one more example illustrating why David Sirota’s writing is the most lucid embodiment of what I think of as progressive populist:

Berating the entire concept of ideology has become something of a fad in contemporary Washington, D.C. The David Broders lead us to believe that ideology - defined by the dictionary as “a set of beliefs” - is exactly the same thing as rigid, counterproductive dogma that prevents people from compromising. Of course, the chattering class is perhaps the most rigidly dogmatic demographic in America, loyally clinging to a rather strident elitist ideology on everything from trade, to the war and to democracy itself.

Put another way, “ideology” is berated even as an ideological war is being fought by the beraters. And while the conservative movement actually believes in movement politics and rejects the idiotic attack on the concept of having “a set of beliefs,” many Democratic Party elites buy the whole frame hook, line and sinker - for clearly corrupt reasons.

[...]

We are expected to believe that the American people want candidates who stand for nothing but have good “personalities” - that, say, a gameshow host like Alex Trebek or Bob Barker is the ideal Democratic Party candidates. We are expected to believe that you can “sell leadership” without actually SHOWING any leadership. And perhaps most ridiculously of all, we are expected to believe that the way to “reclaim fleeting authenticity” is to eliminate a coherent belief system - the critical ingredient of authenticity itself.

Go read the rest at the HuffingPost.com, and see why Sirota takes Sen Obama’s campaign manager to task for being guilty of exercising "Seinfeld Politics" — that is, the politics of nothing.