Does it matter what the Democratic Party stands for so long as it beats..

[kentuck]

the Republican Party in November? Not to drag Ralph Nader back into the argument, but isn't the first priority getting a Democrat elected? Then after they are elected, does it matter if they have an agenda? Or is it sufficient for you, as a Democrat, that he simply be able to stave off the Republican agenda? Just what do you expct from your Party? Anything? Nothing? How many years or decades are you willing to wait for healthcare, tax reform, childcare reform, Social Security reform, labor reforms, etc? What type of Democrat would you describe yourself?

[Beloved Citizen]

1. Beating Bush is enough for me.

The "ideals are more important than beating Bush" argument is starting to make me sick to my stomach.

Can't we just knock it off with the guilt tripping?

[TNMOM]

2. Beat Bush, then build consensus.

[The Magistrate]

3. The First Need, My Blue-Grass Friend

Is to defeat the enemy, and rout him from office. So long as the government is in the hands of the worst elements of reaction in our polity, nothing good can be accomplished, and much wrong will continue to be done, to the great detriment of the people, the country, and the world.

"There will be a hoiday in our street soon!"

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[JayS]

4. I expect a lot from the Democratic Party. Since I am in the...

...minority, I get little.

[Dr Fate]

11. Do you bring up your gripes w/ the party at their regular meetings?

Or are active Democrats like me supposed to read your mind and represent your values for you???

Perhaps you are an active Democrat who does this every week, like me- but I find that many people who complain that DEM values do not reflect their own, are doing little or nothing to inject THEIR values into the system...

[JayS]

20. I'm a big letter writer, both snail mail and email. I dig into...

...candidate's voting records and also look at what groups support/don't support the candidate. I ask the candidate very specific questions and expect very specific answers. Instead, I get the "see my pretty speech" responses. I've pretty much given up.

[Dr Fate]

23. I did not ask you if you write letters...

I thought we all did that.

I asked you what you are doing to personally insert your values into the organization that you are complaining does not represent your values.

[JayS]

24. I'm not sure what you mean. There is not much that I can do from...

...here to influence the DLC or DNC except write.

[Dr Fate]

26. How 'bout go to a MEETING for starters.

Then volunteer to do some WORK. Like issue outreach, fund raising, or voter registration, for example.

When the party does somthing you LIKE- you can volunteer for helping with whatever it is...When the party does somthing you DISLIKE- you and everyone who agrees with you can make it known that your hard work will be missing from that iniciative.

Then perhaps you can join a comittee that looks for potential Democrats to run for local offices. YOU can help pick potential candidates for Supervisors, councilmen, dog catchers, coroners, judges, mayors, state assemblymen, congressmen, etc.

When Dem politicans visit these meetings (they often do)- YOU can raise your hand and say: "I'm the vice chairman of such & such comittee and I would like to say...(insert speech reflecting your values here)..."

THEN you will be inserting YOUR values into the system.

And if you dont think local activism does not eventually make it's way to the national Convention, then you are wrong. The Christian Coalition type rightwingers did exactly what I outlined above- across the nation, town by town.

I'm fed up with DUers crying that DEMS do not reflect their values- when they do absolutely nothing to insert these values into the party.

What? You want ME to do YOUR work for you? I have no idea what YOUR values are- I cant read minds.

[JayS]

27. I am already doing a lot locally as I am near the Capitol but...

...I mostly deal with whatever politician I can get interested in what I have to say. As to what effect we can have on Washington...well, if they have not heard us by now they aren't going to.

[Dr Fate]

28. They listen to the people that do the work...

...people who they know can be counted on to do the tough work & get results.

People who care enough to insert their values into the party and personally work to make the changes- rather than just complaining.

The state parties look to successful local parties to see what is working- and the national paty looks at States & counties that are doing well...

You are arguing with history- rightwingers took over a party once dominated by moderates like Ford & Rockefella- by using the grass roots tactics that Howard Dean is now advocating. It CAN be done.

But now you know why the DEMS dont reflect YOUR values as well as they could.

[JayS]

29. Like I said, I already do what you are talking about. On some...

...issues I have been quite successful. I am in a state that has been pretty much written off as Bush Territory and is not exactly full of fans of either Bush or Kerry so we don't exactly matter. I fully expect the National Democratic Party to repeat the same inaccurate mantra that we only vote God and Guns...whatever that means.

[Dr Fate]

31. Thanks for your work.

Lets keep it up!!!

Okay, so you have the right to complain!!!

But my comments still stand concerning anyone not doing the good work...

[JayS]

32. Thank you for your work also! Now to find a way to get our...

...party here to be a little more daring...

[Don_G]

5. I Would Prefer

To have a Parlimentary system set up after the UK/Canadian model.

Everything is fairy open in their society, at least to the point that a Nixon or Bush can't "seal or deal" their records in the CIA's vaults.

We deserve better....

[sandnsea]

6. There is an agenda

And it includes health care, tax reform, child care, labor rights and more. It just isn't a socialist agenda and never will be, which will always make some people unhappy.

[AP]

7. It will only beat Bush if it stands for something.

And I think it does.

[Dr Fate]

8. I want to have a moderate & Liberal voices in Washington.

Electing Kerry is a damn good "step one" towards this.

I'm Liberal on many issues, moderate on a handful (for instance, I'm a gun owner)

As it stands, we have a guy in the Whitehouse who we agree with almost NOTHING...

"Step One" is getting a guy who represents us on many issues, and who will at least listen to & entertain ideas that are more Liberal.

Kerry's overall record of Liberalism may not be perect- but it indicates a pretty good start in the proper direction...And we do not even know who his cabinet is yet...

[WilliamPitt]

9. Before the Democratic Party has the ability to stand for something

it must first stand for victory. It's all pleasant talk until you can turn it into policy, and you can't turn it into policy without victory, and victory has all throughout history required compromises, retreats and sacrifices. Anyone who cannot see the 'Win First' requirement as being paramount...well.

That's it.

"How many years or decades are you willing to wait for healthcare, tax reform, childcare reform, Social Security reform, labor reforms, etc?"

How many years did Americans have to wait for these things to become a reality? What is 1932-1776? I get 156. 156 years for the things you list to come to be even considered as a national priority.

To say all this requires patience is an understatement.

[Malva Zebrina]

10. It is not for me that he does not have an agenda

we, if we want to get rid of the
Bush are obliged to vote for whoever is the opposition, even though we do not have that much trust in him and know little of his agenda or his policies.

At least at this point. It is not really too soon to be able to know that, but I still do not.

But, I will vote for him , even if I am not sure of where he stands.


The conventional wisdom demands we vote against Bush.

So we will.

None of us will vote for Bush that is for certain.


And by doing so, with a vote we are not quite sure of, except that it will defeat Bush, the murderous tyrant, we are left in a limbo of sorts.


But, we will go to the polls and cast a vote for a man that we conclude is not as bad a second term of a Bush.

Wow!


We are obliged to vote for the opposition, even though we are not sure the vote is for anything we believe in.

That hurts this voter.

What can I say except that the little guy here always seems to be driven to do things they are not exactly in total support of.

Someday this system, will backfire.

[misanthrope]

12. "What type of Democrat" you say?...

...Does "Barely a..." count as a category?

I will readily admit that I vote Democrat more as default than much else. Democrats espouse ideas closer to my line of thinking than Republicans, but its much in the same way that Pluto is closer to my neighborhood than Alpha Centauri.

[kentuck]

13. But will you expect anything after the first term of Kerry ?

We all know we have no choice but to vote against Bush...But after we have control, what then?

[The Magistrate]

14. President Kerry, Sir

Will need to bend his political acumen to braking Republican powerin the Congress. We would have to be extremely fortunate to gain both the Executive and the Legislature in a single election.

If we do, there would have to be speedy action towards a genuine progressive agenda.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[Dr Fate]

18. I dont know- what will YOU do?

I plan on activley inserting my values into the Democratic party, through my local DEM organization.

I plan on opposing Kerry on issues that i disagree with, and SUPPORTING Kerry when he does the right thing.

I plan on trying to influence the nomination process concerning DEMS who reflect MY values- as much as I can.
I plan on following the sound advice of a Mr. Howard Dean- who tells us we should insert our values into the party, from the grass-roots up- just like the right-wingers did in the late 70s & early 80s...


And what of YOUR values? Cant read your mind- you will have to do these things too...

I dont know- what will YOU do?

[kentuck]

21. I've been enduring since 1968....

I guess I can wait for four more years...Someday we will elect a Democrat. Right now, I will be content to get rid of the fascists which I will not go into the root causes of....

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. The Dems not standing for anything is what Cheneyed us in 2002.

And it will happen again, if they follow the same path.

Clinton said it as plain as day
"People will vote for strong and wrong before weak and right."

The PNAC'ers stand for something. Granted, it's the most vile sickening agenda since 1945, but at least they stand for it.

Who or what does the Democratic Party stand for?

If John Kerry can't answer that question, and answer it convincingly, then Joe Sixpack will go with global fascism.

[kentuck]

17. That is a scary response...

I hope it's not true... :scared:

[The Magistrate]

19. It Is Not, Sir

It is simply the purist splinter's mantra, em,anating mostly from quarters that do not really much identify with the Democratic Party.

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[Warpy]

16. Bush represents a bunch of lunatics who read a series

of fiction books very loosely based on the one book of the babble that the early church had the most qualms over including (but did, since it was all about the downfall of Rome)and think they have a mission to destroy the world and all of us just so they can "git raptured" and avoid responsibility for the slaughter.

Make no mistake, these people are the enemy of everyone on the planet. That is what is at stake here, folks, our survival.

What the only opposition capable of taking Bush down stands for in minute detail is unimportant. What is important is that they're interested in surviving.

Bush and his gang of religious lunatics are not.

[MisterP]

22. Victory over Virtue is Coulter's motto

it doesn't have to be ours; we can win and have principles at the same time

[Kanary]

25. Naw, matters not........ what the heck.......

Just go as far right as possible, out Republicaning the Republicans, and cheney us all, over and over.

Nope, matters not.

Kanary

[Pastiche423]

30. B-b-b-but, he has a

D in front of his name! It doesn't matter if he's the same as...

It's the D that matters!

It doesn't matter that we don't know what the cheney he stands for.

It's the D that matters!

It doesn't matter that voting for the D in 2002 cheneyed us.

It's the D that matters!

It doesn't matter that he'll put the country to sleep.

It's the D that matters!

It doesn't matter that he has given us absolutely no reason to have faith in him or that he will work for us.

It's the D that matters!

It doesn't matter that he'll pull our party ever more rightward.

It's the Dthat matters!


Well shit, I guess I am no longer a we/us. Because it does matter to me.