What does the phrase 'Atari Democracy' mean?

[soup]

Don't believe I've ever heard that one.

The title 'John Kerry for Dummies' caught my attention, so I went there. (admittedly not the smartest thing I've done all day)

A summary of the opinion piece reads something like this: 'blah blah Atari Democracy blah blah I love to hear myself talk blah blah I'm so clever blah blah and I don't like *bush either blah blah blah. So there.'

Here's a link if you have absolutely nothing else to do with your time: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/bw/20040802/bs_bw/nf20040822611db045&e=3

Not a masochist with time on your hands? Here's the phrase in context:
>But it did nothing to dispel the notion that in 20 years in Congress, he has been a trend-surfer, not a leader, bobbing from Atari Democracy to neo-liberalism to outright liberalism to New Democracy and finally back to incoherent and insincere liberalism.

Atari Democracy? :shrug:

[Junkdrawer]

1. Possibly like "Techno-democracy"

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Techno-democracy

[soup]

5. Thanks for the link.

There's so many newspeak words and phrases, it's hard to keep up.
Techno-democracy is a new one to me, too.

[bryant69]

2. It's like we all little squiggles and blobs of color

Moving around a bright minimalist world, eating power pellets until our fears catch up with us or something.

OK I don't know, but it is an evocative phrase.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[sui generis]

3. perhaps referring to the game of Pong?

That was an Atari original with a ball going back and forth and back and forth until one side or the other fell asleep and it got past the paddle with the spinny thing.

Actually, my theory about Pong is that the computer occasionally got bored too and would just randomly crash if you played it too long.

[Happy Eddie]

4. Haven't heard that one in years

Gary Hart was one. They were one of the "New Democrats" varietals, enthusiastic about technology, tended to be socially liberal (e.g. gay rights) but fiscally more centrist and not attached to cities, unions. The snarky way to put it is "Democrats for yuppies".

I heard "Atari Democrats" for a few years, but never heard the form "Atari Democracy". The phrase never made it into the OED.

[soup]

6. "The phrase never made it into the OED."

funny. :D

Welcome to DU, Happy Eddie. :hi:

[Junkdrawer]

7. Check this link...

http://www.ataritimes.com/features/letters/democrat.html