Reply #25: a party that will not just reach out to conservatives, but will refuse to adopt their policies! [View All]

[MisterP]

we need firm liberalism and leftism, and educating uninformed/swing and teabag voters (instead of folding whenever the NRA or Western Goals Foundation screams their pants-pissing worldview): quailing whenever a libertarian screams "socialist nomenklatura ruling class of bureaucrats!" will only make the country's problems worse, since we need some national authority above the Patakis and James G. Watts and Dick Kempthornes and Palins

if the Dems won't do it, we'll need another party, with local or state Dem units seceding (and firmly, without the relentless cavils of "we'll come back if you throw us a bone") and taking their votes, phone banks, mailing lists, and grassroots fundraising (of course, humans are no longer part of any of these sectors). the separatist party can start with college and university students (often radicalized and not so emotionally invested in any party), and governors and mayors who are strong enough to resist any onslaught by both the Dem and Repub parties (not Villaraigosa), county officials (who often vary wildly in politics, and aren't really elected according to party--people vote for them according to what they do for constituents or the county as a whole). the New Party will have to deal with the Democrats as well as Republicans, since the old-style Dems will probably keep the union or minority voters that are attached to the party from 30s and 60s mobilization: the New Party will emphasize good policies over party loyalty. the New Party will have to give Americans something to vote for, and that thing must be liberal

a choice between a little bad and a lot bad is an ALL-bad choice, even if the little-bads promise to make things up with a little good: working within the party hasn't worked for 22 years, and the continued rightward canter of the Dems only shows that "work within the party" is a sick joke. if we want to stop America's (and the Earth's species') indubitable death spiral, it must and will be done with liberalism and leftism, not Clinton-Obama half measures or the DLC's "95% ADA approval so you can't talk against us" conservatism (or the GOP's conservatism). the New Party will explain why liberalism and leftism are the best policies for America--and the world, since the left worldview is different from the right's (consideration of non-Americans and non-humans, belief in society's existence beyond contractual agreements among individuals), so they'll have to be imbued with that worldview instead of promising that "we'll protect Black employment by encouraging xenophobia." for this, we'll need people who'll knock on neighbors' doors, visit local merchants, and sit in friends' living rooms and explain the programs and why the party isn't making concessions to r.w. ideas (though it'll welcome members if they're willing to discouss their conservatism): these folks will have to basically know everything, since it'll blow the deal if they can't gracefully-but-not-glibly come up with a response to a curveball, cherished chain-mail rumor, or professional question (global warming's a fake! Ollie North warned us about Osama! you're a socialist! guns will keep us safe, so you can't reduce America's profusion of death machines! the world's a dangerous place, with Venezuelan and Grenadan and Vietnamese forces on our borders! technology will save us from environmental troubles! animals can't feel pain! the Big Bang and human rights are too Christian and thus vile!)