F R O M  T H E  E D I T O R

Why the Democracy Chronicle was Launched

No thank you, Mr. Bush!
We will not "move on"

"The danger in not providing people with access to accurate and complete news and information is simple:  An ill-informed electorate paves the way for attacks by forces — external and internal  — that threaten our democracy."

The 2000 presidential election provided a traumatic lesson that — even in the United States — democracy is subject to manipulation.
 
The manipulations at work in the election and its aftermath — the subversion of the will of the people — fit the classic description of what constitutes a coup d'état.
 
Now, without our diligence, our country runs the risk of continued, more serious, threats.
 
An essential component of this diligence must be providing people with access to accurate and complete news and information
 
The danger in not doing so is simple: an ill-informed electorate paves the way for further mischief. If the Right Wing went as far as it did in the 2000 election to seize power, what will they do next to hold on to the power?

WHY THE DEMOCRACY CHRONICLE WAS LAUNCHED

The decision to develop The Democracy Chronicle arose from five serious threats to our society and democracy that were highlighted by the 2000 election and its aftermath:

Thwarting the Will of the Voters
The fundamental threat was that the will of the people - the cornerstone of democracy - was thwarted by voter disenfranchisement, machine error, procedural lapses by elections officials, propaganda tactics by right wing conservatives, and unprecedented intervention by the Supreme Court. As a result, a government was installed that did not reflect the choice of voters, and now does not reflect the values and concerns of the majority of Americans.

Mainstream Media Bias and Collusion
Although many questions remain about the coup-like tactics used to subvert the will of the people, most segments of the mainstream media have followed the Bush dictum to "move on."

This collusion to deny the public accurate and complete information is most evident in television news. ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC are owned by corporations that gave more support to the Republicans. The executives and owners of these corporations will benefit financially from Bush administration economic policies.

Gaps in Access to News and Information
A serious "information gap" has developed between people who have online access to information about the Pro-Democracy movement - and people who have little or no online access.

Liberal Bashing Strategies and Tactics of the Right
While liberal and progressive perspectives and pressures have resulted in all the great social and economic advances in our society over the last century -- this legacy has been poisoned by the Right's well-planned strategies and tactics to destroy civility in political discourse, push the media to the Right, intimidate people who disagree, and undermine great visions about how to solve our country's greatest challenges.

The Propaganda Machine
During the eight years of the Clinton administration, and culminating with the election of 2000, the propaganda machine of the Republican Right has consistently mangled truth, intimidated the media into submission, and fomented national frenzies based on ill-founded allegations.

THE MISSION OF THE DEMOCRACY CHRONICLE

The content of The Democracy Chronicle will reflect the values and concerns of the majority of Americans who, in the last election, demonstrated a preference for the viewpoints in contrast to those of the current administration.

The Democracy Chronicle will broaden exposure to accurate and complete information by providing digests of news and ideas from the Internet and Independent Media, as well as original content. It will bring to wider public attention the many people, groups, and projects striving to widen the circle of citizens participating in reclaiming and restoring our democracy.

The publication is, in a sense, a politically oriented cross between the Reader's Digest and Utne Reader -- identifying, organizing, packaging, and disseminating information that is important, engaging, and at times irreverent.

The focus of The Democracy Chronicle is public policy and the health of America's great democratic experiment.

The publication is partisan, not in the sense of connection to a political party, but in the sense of preferring a particular set of values and a vision of what America could be. Fundamentally, this 'partisanship' espouses and promotes the progressive values and legacies responsible for the 20th century's greatest achievements in civil and human rights, social justice, retirement security and health care, concerns for the welfare and safety of workers, environmental respect and preservation, education, and, most recently, economic policies that produced the strongest economy in the nation's history.

The Democracy Chronicle has accepted the challenge to build a dynamic publication of Liberal and Progressive perspectives that evolves and grows through responsiveness to readers' needs, suggestions, and participation.

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