Why don't Progressives have the same pull the xian right does?

[Selwynn]

I read an article today that included this quote:

"A Democratic club member at the meeting with Green said she found instructive the uncompromising words of a right-wing adversary, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coilition. Mahoney had warned Senate Majority Leader Bill First what would happen if he didn't stop moderate Republican Sen. Arlen Specter from becoming charimanof the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Don't turn to us in four years when you want to run for President." Mahoney said, "Don't expect our zeal."

Question: why doesn't the progressive base have the same kind of pull and influence over the Democratic Party that the xian right base has over the Republican party?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. bad marketing. and no promise to save your soul and bring eternal

happiness

[G_j]

2. probably similar to the reason

the Mafia has more 'pull' than a Mom & Pop business I suppose.

[tk2kewl]

3. good question

i even got slammed by someone on this board for chastising Harry Reid for stating that he would support Scala for Chief Justice.

we need to stop worrying about who gets offended and state our positions without shame or embarrassment.

[InvisibleBallots]

5. exactly, why should Democrats apologize for their positions?

If any "Democratic" leader acts like he is embarrased of the party and our stands, we should vote them out.

[mdhunter]

4. Because the conservative Christians have been fund raising for 1000 years

And we've been doing it for closer to a 1000 days.

Money talks - and people have only just realized that the progressive left has the money (and not just the paper, the organizing capital, the networking, the ideas... they're all worth things).

We'll catch up, but they got a hell of head start.

[Solly Mack]

6. Because the right wing amen pew is fairly unified in their

"you will do this for us or we will do this to you next election"

they make promises of retaliation they keep

[leftofthedial]

7. the Dem leadership has more in common with the repukes

than with the Dem constituency.

they don't represent labor; they represent capital (corporations)

they don't represent social justice; they represent the status quo (elite capitalists in power)

they don't represent the environment; they represent corporate polluters


Also, the progressive base is fragmented, disorganized and is averse to consolidating and exercising power. The RW wackos have been organizing tirelessly for a generation and have no compunction about using their power.

[Selwynn]

8. I guess that sounds about right :(

[leftofthedial]

9. so what are we gonna do, my friend?

?? :shrug:

[Selwynn]

10. I'm working on it!

Just becuase I don't have an answer doesn't mean I've stopped working on an answer. :toast:

[leftofthedial]

11. best of luck

I think a grassroots rebirth is the way to go.

[The Stranger]

12. Organization. Unity. Clarity of Message.

The Christian Wrong has it, progressives do not.

[Calvinist Basset]

13. It all has to do with simple answers

We live in a world where there is so much uncertainty--theorists describe it as a "post-modern" culture in which people have far too many choices and have been lied to repeatedly in the media, in commercials, etc. So, they tend to go one of two ways: looking for someone/something that offers clear, unwavering answers, or simply mistrusting everyone/everything that doesn't come together in a personal, subjectively experienced relationship.

For those people looking for solid answers, they gravitate toward right-wing ideologies--be they political, religious, social or anything else. In many cases, these ideologies overlap, hence the strong emphasis of conservative Republicans to court the right wing religious zealots, and the right wing religious zeal for conservative Republicans. The problem here is that solid, unwavering answers can be wrong and misguided, thus throwing the whole body into the wrong directions. But as long as the "answers" and "solutions" to life remain the same and keep their lives stable/predictable, they will adhere to those ideologies till death.

As a progressive Christian, I believe that there are certain principles and attributes about God that do not change. But the methods and the focii are malleable. Just as God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and charged him despite his speech impediment to speak to Pharaoh and demand the Israelites be taken out of bondage, just as Jonah the unwilling prophet was used to speak God's truths to a gentile nation, just as Jesus told Nicodemus that the Spirit moves like the wind--unpredictable in source or direction, just as the Pentecost experience threw the disciples into a world of broken boundaries, just as Saul the persecutor was knocked off his horse and eventually became Paul the apostle, just as any one of these and other examples in the Bible, God uses the most surprising people and things for the most extraordinary reasons. Thus, I tend to be a little less concerned about "right answers" and "smooth roads." And I am okay with being open-minded, okay with being willing to learn new lessons every day, and okay with being led in a different direction if necessary. But, unfortunately, not many right-wing ideologues are so open--and they have a President who embodies exactly what they believe and think.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Part of the problem is that the Left is full of REAL rugged individualists

who don't take kindly to being organized.

The effort to oust George W. Bush was one of the few times that I've seen the left half of the spectrum unified for a common goal. Unfortunately, we didn't get the support we needed from the Democratic establishment in two areas: 1) running an assertive instead of a reactive campaign, and 2) fighting for fair elections.

In addition, the Democrats do not maintain the kind of party discpline that the Republicans do. Look at what happened to Arlen Spector, who is not all that moderate, for being insufficiently zealous about the anti-choice movement. Now look at what happened to Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller for kissing up to the Republicans...uh, nothing.

If I were DNC chair, I would impose some party discipline in the form of stating that certain economic issues were lines in the sand, and that anyone who crossed them would lose party funding for his or her re-election campaign. These issues would include preserving Social Security, labor rights, access to health care, district-to-district equity in public education, food stamps, unemployment benefits, progressive taxation, penalties for overseas outsourcing, and similar issues.

On these, Democrats would be required to maintain a united front, so that ordinary people could see who had their economic interests in mind. Furthermore, anyone who praised George W. Bush in the media would be "fined" by losing a certain percentage of his/her usual funding. The principle would be, "If you can't say something critical, don't say anything at all."

I would not set down such ultimata with respect to personal behavior issues, because I know of at least two fine economic progressives, Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, who keep getting re-elected by matching their constituents' sentiments about gun control and abortion.

Frankly, saying that gun control and abortion are non-negotiable but labor rights and the tax system should be "business friendly" is the yuppie approach to the Democratic party, both screwing the working class of their economic base and offending their gut feelings. My hope (and prediction) is that working class and rural people would not be so hysterical about gun control, abortion, and gay rights if they did not feel that their economic world was falling apart.

I have a lot of working class and low-level white collar relatives (still clinging to the DFL, but just barely), and no matter what the DLC says, they are not the least bit impressed by support for NAFTA or low corporate taxes.

They're neutral on guns (they're city and suburban folks who like to hunt and fish, but their guns come out only during hunting season), very uneasy on abortion but willing to concede that it's going to happen anyway, and still trying to wrap their minds around the fact that gay people aren't some shadowy deviants who creep about in the night. They absolutely hate the current health care non-system, and because of their close ties to the Old Country (a couple of them are married to European immigrants and have visited the in-laws), they wonder why we can't have what they have in Europe.

So my recommendation is to stick together on economic issues, allow a little leeway for individual candidates on social issues while maintaining a progressive stance overall, and penalize the bozos who suck up to the Republicans or act apologetic toward them.

[tk2kewl]

15. I like it.

And when the pukes scream "Class warfare!" we should say "Damn right!, but without the killing."

[michaelwb]

16. Good question

Look at the difference between the two parties.

The Republican's cater the right wing of their party believing that the center will continue to vote Republican. And they continue to win elections and gain seats in the Congress, Senate, etc.

The Democrat's cater to the moderates of their party believing that the left wing will continue to vote Democratic. And they continue to lose elections and lose seats in the Congress, Senate, etc.

So by all means DLC ignore the left wing of the Party and cater to the center it's been working great for the Republicans...

[Arianrhod]

17. The Republicans appeal to the basest parts of human nature.

It's very easy to be isolated, self-absorbed, and frightened of death. Those are (IMO) kind of default positions in the human psyche. Subject people to propaganda campaigns in which they are encouraged to stoke those lower impulses, and you can't lose.

OTOH, the best among the Democrats still hold to the genuine values that characterize true humanity: Concern for others, sense of community, willingness to help, faith in each other. Those values are values for the same reason gold is a monetary standard: They don't tarnish, and they're hard to come by. One has to work to develop them. Most of us don't want to do that.

Be the root cause laziness, self-centeredness, or actual evil, the Republican agenda is popular because it is the path of least resistance.

[MadHound]

18. Because the 'Pugs actually embrace the religious right as their base

While the Democrats are trying to run as far away as they can, as quickly as they can while still demanding loyalty from the far left.