Second Life, a virtual world, hosted a talk from Cliff Schecter, a known political commentator. Mr. Schecter is most known for his book “Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't.” The book analyzes the political transformation of Senator John McCain over time; taking a crisp criticism of McCain’s political strategies and positions. Cliff also has served as a campaign strategist and political blogger.

Before Cliff spoke with Jay Ackroyd (known as Jimbo Hoyer in Second Life), live music was provided from folk guitar player Zathras Afarensis and blues singer Idella Quandry.

“You see the strands of history, after times of prosperity, you have times of economic hardship. There are some parallels there” said Schecter regarding the current state of American political and economic affairs. “The problem is people need to realize these opportunities to change things for the better good.”

“None of this is new. If you go back to the 30’s, the 60’s, they all say the same thing, that we’re all going to be destroyed by some communists” remarked Ackroyd in regards to the political right. He asserted that a state of fear is a political tool used throughout history.

Second Life resident Sloan Skjellerup, who attended the discussion said “I too want to see the political match end and our elected officials get to working doing the jobs we pay them to do. That's what it really boils down to.”

“It feels as though now that we are awake again; we need to groom our elected officials into play. It's our damn fault for not having been paying attention. I see change, I hope it sticks.”

Cliff asserted the position that President Obama could be performing with large success in office if more tactical decisions were made early in his term.  “Obama came in and he had a 75% approval rating. The urgency should have been then” said Cliff.

The stimulus bill was a specific example cited as an opportunity that could have leveraged greater political capital in the future, such as for the ongoing health care reform discussions. “You don’t negotiate with political terrorists” remarked Cliff to some of Obama’s approaches with Congress, specifically Republicans.
Cliff also spent time sharing his assessment on general Republican Party politics and environment. “You had a party that had so many moderates that used to represent the party. That is where the gravity was; but it has gravitated away from that“ he said. “That shift was a gradual one and was a slow process. Once the south became the base of the party; eventually it was controlled by the far right. The issue becomes that is where the culture of the party is and where everyone gravitates towards.”

As for the future of the Democrats, Cliff believes a political split at some point in the future is not out of the question. He specifically cited “Blue Dog Democrats,” as being central to internal party conflict. “They’re not representing their districts by being more economically conservative; they’re representing corporate interests” he commented.

Beyond simply current politics, Cliff viewed American politics from a historical perspective when examining foreign relations and military actions. “As a history guide, if you read any of the founding fathers, they would be horrified by this. The original articles of the confederation did not have an executive. People are culturally used to now an Imperial Presidency. We were supposed to prevent the executive from being in places like Iraq.”

Overall, Cliff wanted to stress to the audience that “If you take away liberty, what’s the point of being a democracy? There’s always risk. That’s life.”

“As always, Virtual Speaking was stimulating and informative. Tonight specifically, Cliff was very on topic and a pleasure to have here in SL as I do read him and know him from other non Second Life venues” said  Nefferkitti Quintessa, a Second Life resident who attended the event. “Cliff speaks and calls things as he seems them based on the facts - not so much based on a position held. I find him always refreshing.”

Cliff closed specifically addressing his thoughts on the future of media and the impact individuals can have on the political process by using it in new ways.  “The internet can online can generate news and create an impact. You can get people to realize that you can do both” he said. “The number of people you can reach goes far beyond what you can reach in traditional media. People get so used to what works instead of using what may work better or twice as well.”