"I am not a member of an organized political party, I am Democrat" is no longer true

[LetMyPeopleVote]

For 40 years, one of my favorite sayings used to be

"I am not a member of an organized political party; I am a Democrat"

I first heard this saying when I was in High School from by debate coach/civics teacher. It seems that this saying is no longer true

[planetc]

1. I have always seen that attributed to the excellent Will Rogers.

No matter who said it, it is witty and has some truth to it. And I'm not sure it's no longer true, because I live in New York State, and cannot figure out what they're up to in Albany.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Yes, my high school debate coached cited Will Rogers when she first used this slogan

For Texas democrats back in the 1970s, this phrase was meaningful in that there were in effect two democratic parties. Later as part of the GOP Southern Strategy, these conservatives became hard core republicans

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. I can hear Will cackling right now.

[Caliman73]

4. It is a good quote that still has some relevance.

Liberalism and the Democratic party have always been a big tent with diverse constituents and diverse viewpoints. We are Really Good problem solvers, but our messaging and party unity have not always been the best. At times, we seem disorganized when it is really that governing is very complicated. It takes a lot of problem solving, communication, compromise, and trial and error.

Conservatives have never really been about governing. They believe in a top down model of government, kind of like aristocracy or monarchy (from which they derived their world view). Their ideology is simple, "There is a natural hierarchy to life and you must follow and obey your betters". Easier for lock step, but crap for actually making people's lives better.

Any structure of government and governance built on consensus and the consent of the governed will always seem somewhat disorganized. It is always harder to govern by coalition than to dictate, but if you are looking for the best chance of general welfare, consensus building is the only way. Dictatorships, whether through monarchs, oligarchs, or juntas always lead to bad outcomes for the majority of people.

[Hortensis]

5. So true. :) I always took it as a wry compliment to our highly diverse,

inclusive gathering of citizens of a vast range of interests, though -- in comparison to the generally obedient authoritarian white male conservative hierarchy across the aisle and nation.

Times change, all right! Our rabid southern conservatives finally fled to join fellow cons in the GOP. The inclusiveness and commitment to democracy of liberals who were once in the Republican Party is no longer a balancing factor there.

Definitely not all to the good, even if it allowed Democrats to get better and better over time.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Paul Ryan is co-opting this slogan

Link to tweet