The democratic party is dead......

[rainy]

it is no longer the people's party, Kerry couldn't even say no to illegal war, and it will never be favored by business and corporate America. Just look at all the contributions the republicans get from corporate America. Dems want to be both supportive of corporatism and the people and this is a conflict that cannot be resolved without taking away much from the corporations which the dems will never do because of the MONEY. So the dems move left or the people should choose a new party. Greens are looking very good right now. There are two corporate parties and no people's party. Of course the dems throw a few bones to the people just to keep them holding on like the repubs do with the religious right. We have no party. Kerry was a true dem at heart I believe, because of his early past fighting the war in Vietnam and I was looking forward to Teresa being first lady. I think things would have been much better with them, but, we cannot run a campaign on being a second choice for Corporate America. We must run a campaign of being the First choice for the people.
A move to the left is our only hope.

[shesemsmom]

1. The party is not dead

yet, but it needs a serious revamping. I've been telling them that for years locally, and now that we've got it figured out here maybe it will become a movement

[Warpy]

7. I'm afraid I hold out little hope for that

They seem determined to field another conservative DLC hack to head the party.

You'd think the success of the DFA movement would give them a clue. You'd think losing congressional races they should have won in a landslide would have given them a clue. Hell, you'd think having the last two presidential races close enough for the Bush family to steal would have given them a clue. It hasn't. They're just as pig ignorant as their counterparts in the GOP.

The future isn't dragging the party to the right in the vain hope of capturing a few fundies, gun nuts or greedy yuppies. The future is on the LEFT. If the party ignores that fact, they deserve to die. Let's just hope it's painful.

[Swede]

2. You do know the Democratic party got 55 million votes.

Even playing against a stacked deck,they got 55 MILLION votes.

[rainy]

3. very true and I do believe they won the election ....

but I think they could have won by a larger margin if they had spoken the truth like Barak Obama. I am just saying that even under Clinton the left, the people, were not really being heard and will never be heard as long as corporations run the country and the world. The world deserves better than our Democratic party can or is willing to give.

[Old and In the Way]

4. Are you saying Kerry-Edwards lied?

I hope not. If you say they didn't run a scortched earth campaign, I'd agree. I think they really thought that they could win big on a positive message and overcome some expected Republican voter fraud. I don't think they were prepared for the breadth and magnitude of the corruption, though.

[rainy]

6. I don't think they spoke their hearts and theywithheld true thoughts

in order to not offend the corporations. It is a hard place for Dems. because of the profit driven Corporate media. We are really in a hard place because if we speak the truth we will not be heard. Our voices will be hushed by the corporations. This is why I think it will be hard for Dems. We have to get the corporate out of the party or change parties. We truly have to bring down the Corporations. Not destroy them just take away their power to rule the country and the world. The planet can not survive at this rate of growth and destruction. Things have to change and the sooner we get on board the better. We have to let go of a losing party. The Dems will continue to straddle the middle, win a few lose a few but we the people will always be the losers.

[Old and In the Way]

9. I don't have to let go nothing.

Work for change in the leadership? Sure. But I won't follow any advice that suggests we can somehow do better by splitting the only viable Party that can stand up to the Republicans. It's not our ideas or vision that is faulty, it's the election process that's broken. Creating a new Party in your image is a waste of time because, when all is said and done, you'll have neither the votes nor the process to get yourself elected.

[deutsey]

10. If they weren't expecting the breadth and mangnitude of corruption

that just shows how out of touch they are.

Anybody who understands what happened in Florida 2000 and has followed the tactics of the Bush regime is aware of the underhanded, shady, frequently outright illegal tactics they use.

[Flammable Materials]

5. And did our candidate stand firm until every vote was counted?

No, he did not.

He didn't even wait for the military vote to be counted.

He went back to his old job.

All the lawyers, all the promises, all the bluster ... all smoke and mirrors.

I was ready to fight, to do whatever I had to, invest time, talents, whatever. I was angry. And then my own candidate turned his back on me. Indignation slammed into betrayal.

Now I just drink.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. I am with you on this

I emailed the party right after the election and told them I was resigning unless they contest the election. So I am no longer a Democrat.

[Nlighten1]

12. Yes but...

How many millions stayed home and didn't vote?

[w4rma]

8. I *don't* want any of what you are smoking. (nt)

[zippy890]

11. C'mon Warpy and Rainy

you guys soundin frustrated which is understandable, but we gotta stick together here and not go bashin' the wrong folks.

'noI'msayin?

WE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE CHANGE

We demonstrated that in our truly grassroots campaign mobilization effort.

WATCH OUT BUSHNATION WE GONNA BRING YOU DOWN

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Yeah right

Sorry, I agree with the sentiment but don't see anyone leading the parade.

[zippy890]

17. Leaders will emerge as we regroup

We are now the Opposition Party, on the political level and we'll be able tosee who is able to lead the charge after things shake down.

The dem leaders are assessing the short and long range impact of the election, administering to battle wounds, and doing some self criticism themselves.

This is to be expected.

This guy is not going to last 4 years. He is so paranoid you can see it in his beady eyes.

:puke:

[OneMoreDemocrat]

13. The party was dead in '80, '84 and '88.............

but it did alright in '92 and '96.

Everything is cyclical.

[emulatorloo]

16. Get some historical perspective - Dems lost the battle, not the war

Joe Conason - please go read it. . .

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/11/06/history/index_np.html

<snip>

Democrats lost the battle, not the war
Only people suffering from historical amnesia could believe this election proves that liberalism is dead.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By Joe Conason


Nov. 6, 2004 |

In the dark post-election mood that lingers, the defeated should find history both restorative and instructive. Restorative because the past reminds us that both victors and vanquished tend to mistake the dimensions of the immediate event, whose true significance cannot be known until years or even decades later. Instructive because the past tells us so much about how the conditions of our present distress came to exist -- and, most important, how we can change them.

So for the moment set aside the triumphal proclamations from the Republican leadership and their echoes in the media, along with the petty recriminations against John Kerry, who has devoted his life to public service and deserves admiration for the honorable campaign he waged against unscrupulous opponents. As a presidential candidate he had his virtues and flaws, which obviously differed from those of George W. Bush -- and will surely differ from those of the next Democratic nominee.

<snip>

[Nordic]

18. where I disagree: "a move to the left is our only hope". No.

A move to common sense and truth is our only hope.

The Democratic Party has turned into a wishy-washy, pandering--to-everybody joke.

We need a party that says the truth, that stands up for truth, and quits bullshitting.

We need a party that has some resolve and knows what it means to lead.

We need to get away from the connotation-loaded "right" and "left" and just get back to common sense and basics.

We need to get away from the terms "liberal" and "conservative".

To me, Howard Dean is the only person I've seen represent this approach. I want him to start a new party and start kicking some ass. I know he'll have millions of supporters. I will be one of them.

We need people who look at the big picture and communicate FACTS like "it's for the good of the country, and the good of every citizen in the country, that we immunize our children".

"it's for the good of the country, and the good of every citizen in the country, if we make absolutely sure that things like flu vaccine are available ahead of time for all our citizens"

"It's for the good of the country, and the good of every cittizen in the country, if we invest a Manhattan-project type of money into alternative energies (and compare it to the cost of the Iraq war)"

"It's for the good of the country and the good of every citizen in the country, if we invest in clean water, clean air, and topsoil protection, and actively stimulate the adoption of organic, self-sufficient farming techniques."

Stuff like this. Old notion of "partisanship" should have absolutely nothing to do with this kind of stuff.

And this new party needs to frame the debate as "the people" versus "the corporatists". No more Republican and Democrat. Simply the people versus the business interests.

These interests do merge. What's good for one CAN be good for the other. But we need to cut through the bullshit and quit listening to the business propaganda and quit letting the business propagandists run our media so we can get some common sense back into the national debate.

[Redleg]

19. Quit pissing on our parade.

I don't need your doom and gloom in here right now.