[RC] How to Write a Platform for Unity '08

[Dr. Ernie Prabhakar]

Hello again,

So, inspired by Billy's magnum opus, I thought I should actually  
write down what I think a good, actionable Platform would look like.   
Or, more precisely what we'd need to do in order to do the job  
effectively.

The basic process would be to:

A) Identify the audience we want to connect with

B) Determine what kind of message would resonate with them

C) Figure out which of our principles would suit that message

D) Articulate them with sufficient specificity to attract an  
audience, but not so precise as to foreclose debate or generate a  
negative reaction

Make sense? So, let's see how far I can get.

A) Audience

So, the nominal audience for our Platform is anyone paying attention  
to Unity '08, which includes students, participants in the forum, the  
Decision Makers and Funders behind Unity '08, and ultimate the  
candidates who will compete for the vote.

The total audience is enormously diverse, and it is impossible to  
articulate anything that everyone would agree with; if we try to  
please everyone we'll alienate everybody.  On the other hand, we  
can't be so radical that we please nobody.  The 'radical middle', if  
you will, would be to articulate a minimal platform that a solid core  
of people could fully back, that most others would at least  
grudgingly support, and that alienated only the fringes.

This requires having some understanding of what draws people to Unity  
'08, in order to help us decide whom to target.  Let me posit a few  
attributes that the bulk of Unity '08 participants share:

a) They have above-average interest in politics

b) They are frustrated by partisan gridlock

c) They don't identify strongly with one party over the other (but  
may have once)

d) They believe that the "other side" has at least a few good ideas

e) They consider "compromise" a positive, not negative term

f) They feel there is a fundamental crisis with our two-party system

Obviously not everybody involved feels this way, but I think anything  
that targets this hypothetical voter would probably go a long way.

B) Message

Given the noise levels (and our small size), I believe that we need  
One Big Idea as the core of our platform.   The reason is that we  
have no leverage -- by default, we have to rely on word of mouth,  
which means we need something so concise that people can intrigue  
their friends with a single sentence. We can (and should) address a  
wide range of topics, but they all need to logically support each other.

The other reason for such internal coherency is that we need a united  
movement.  Ideally, we want something so well-constructed that if you  
accept the core principle, you'll immediately be comfortable with the  
whole enchilada; otherwise, we'd waste all our time infighting  
_within_ our core base.

C) Principles

GIven that goal, there's several possible concepts that might provide  
such a foundation;

* The Radical Middle (interpolating between two extremes)

* Systems Theory (positive and negative feedback)

* Communitarian (balancing individual and society)

* Radical Centrism (humility, justice, and love)

and there may be others.  The challenge is to find something simple  
enough to easily convey, yet fertile enough to support a broad platform.

D) Articulation

As I said before, I think our Core Agenda has to have 10 or so  
points; otherwise nobody can remember enough of it to decide whether  
they like it or not.  In addition, we need to keep our high-level  
statements vague enough (but no vaguer :-) that people focus on the  
broad principles instead of quibbling about details.

Ideally, I'd like there to be three over-arching themes which  
encapsulate 9-12 major initiatives.  Not only does is that easier to  
memorize, it would also enable us to provide a useful graphical summary.

Remember, the key is to make people feel *empowered*. That is, we  
want them to feel comfortable that they grok the essence of our  
platform, so that they feel safe supporting and endorsing us.

Does that sound like a plan?

To be sure, we could take the easy way out and wait until Unity '08  
comes up with their list of questions, and merely respond to those.   
But what would be the fun in that? :-)

-- Ernie P.