Na Sayers, Critics & Obstructionists Welcome
Well, sort of …
With this first post, let us try to make one thing clear. While we will exercise an editorial overview to try to keep the discussion on track, we will not censor negative comments and criticism.
We are inviting the contribution of good examples from all over the world (hopefully we’ll actually get some 
)
At many points it may occur to you why something will not work in Canada or is not right for Liberals or whatever. Please, bring forward these contributions with enthusiasm. You are probably touching upon something that needs to be considered.
Please do your best to explain your critical thinking and perhaps spend at least as much time contributing possible solutions to the problems that you recognize.
But generally, recognize that we hope all will take a ready, fire, aim approach to this effort. This is not the place to refine ideas or criticisms into a dissertation. Everyone has a million things to do.
Do what you can, we will too. Many hands make light work. Invite the talent you know to add their bit.
We know something amazing is possible.
6. January 2009 um 03:47
Read this, it agrees with you: http://openpolitics.ca/Troll+Age
However, the “Manifesto” over here:
http://redliberals.ca/about-liberal-20-manifesto/
seems not to. It doesn’t allow comments. It asks good questions, then forbids answer:
“What do you want to see the Liberal party change, in terms of how they connect with you?
What do you see as the key technologies to employ, why and what are good examples to point to?
Did you work on Obama’s campaign? Are you a Politics 2.O expert in Europe? Anywhere … have read a great article or book recently about how Obama overcame the conservative organisation in some of the most difficult to win areas of America or another success story? Please post a link and if possible share some insight on how the approach can be applied in a Canadian setting?”
I’d love to answer these questions, but, I’m discouraged by the inability to comment immediately after that very post. Then there’s this demonstration of cluelessness and good old top-down-we-see-you-you-dont-see-us Panopticon/1984 ideology:
“If you do not share your authentic identity, we are unlikely to publish your comments.”
Um, why is that? Anonymity is considered a right by almost all advocates of e-government and e-democracy and citizen journalism, and we enshrine it in the secret ballot and the journalists’ tradition of anonymity of sources (at least). To assume anonymous comment is mischievous is disabling to any democracy. I’d remind any Canadian, especially, that Rene Levesque broke from the Liberal Party of Quebec over exactly this issue: It refused to allow a secret ballot vote on his “sovereignty-association” proposal, opening the door to a witchhunt. I’ll say this for the first time: When do you people learn?
“If you clearly do not share our enthusiasm for the Liberal Party, then there are likely better places for you to express that then here.”
Again, you discourage input from exactly the people you need to hear from. Clearly people who share enthusiasm for any party in its current form are not those who can tell you what is truly wrong with it or why they can’t work for it or advocate it. So I’ll ask the second time: When do you people learn?
“If you consider yourself non-partisan or a worthy opponent and you have a great idea for us that will make the country better in your view then you are welcome!”
It seems you have intentionally excluded any “worthy opponent” and take procedural positions that further exclude them and have historically driven them out of the Liberals’ fold. Yet you ask for a great idea “for us”? So who’s “us”? Your party, as opposed to the country? I repeat for the third and last time: When do you people learn?
6. January 2009 um 04:41
Craig – thanks, I just checked the settings. I don’t know why the comments are not showing up on the About page. We’ll check into that.
Hey – how would like to write a constructive post for us (not some scary “US”, just the few of us who are hangin’ out by this blog) reviewing the best use of wikis for democracy & political action? Please include openpolitics.ca.