Open source wah a game both parties can play

When I write about open source and politics it's usually assumed that liberals are in favor of open source, conservatives opposed.

This is not true.

Open source is a cause anyone can embrace, regardless of their politics. I suspect American liberals seemed to go that way mainly because they were in opposition, as open source was deemed to be in opposition to existing business models.

Now that conservatives are in opposition it may be possible to recruit more to be open for the open source cause in government.  

I relearned this lesson today, reading about how the Conservative Party in England is looking to make open source part of its next campaign manifesto.

In this case, the Tories are claiming the current government gives lip service to open source and falls down on implementation.

They want to change that. They add a call for open standards, and tout the endorsement of entertainer Stephen Fry. Almost makes me wonder how Stephen Baldwin feels about open source.

The Tory plank also illustrates what can be done with open source, politically, after it's given the "apple pie" treatment, with all sides claiming they're for it. Hold folks' feet to the fire, demand action and, in the presence of action, demand more action.

Something open source advocates here need to think about when politicians pay lip service to them.