Let's put aside this center vs. left shit and look to the future

[ArtVandaley]

There are quite a few posts that deal with purging moderates from the party or moving more towards the "center" in order to appeal to swing voters in red states. There's a lot of back and forth, and all it really serves to do is divide the party and make us fight eachother more than we fight the GOP.
The flaw in the centrist strategy is that whenever we move to the center, the republicans move farther right and in comparision, we look liberal anyway. The claim that hurt Kerry the most was that he was a "flip-flopper," not that he was a liberal. The public respects consistancy.
Now, on the far left, people are screaming about purging all moderates from the party and holding Democratic politicians who do not vote the way they want everytime under the fire. Bad ideas. First, the Democratic Party is the big tent party, or it should be. We need to be inclusive or we'll never win a single election. Moderates need to feel welcome, that while the liberal base of the party and moderates don't see eye to eye always, we are both out for the same principles and will work together to achieve those.
Being principled and being an ideologue are two different things. Right now, the republicans have strong majorities in the house and senate, therefore our politicians must find ways to work across the ailse in order to get anything done. This will not happen by picking unwinable fights merely to please liberal activist. Two examples:
1. Contesting the election: There is no substantial evidence that enough fraud took place to swing the election to Kerry. Clearly some did happened, but not nearly enough that any court in the history of the United States would be convinced that it had any effect on the final outcome of the election. We need to face to the fact that Bush did win the election. Be happy about it? No. But shouting into the wind that Bush cheated would only make us look weak in the eyes of the average voter, and would alienate every republican in the senate. 2. Voting for Condi: I admire Kerry and Boxer for voting against her, but what's the point? Condi is going to do whatever Bush tells her, and if she isn't the Secretary of State, then whoever is will do the same. If we got rid of her we'd get a clone of her instead, so why pick a fight there?
We also need to be A LOT more forgiving to politicans. They mistakes, their human. Let's look at what they want to do in the future instead of how they screwed up in the past.
Do we roll over for their rightwing agenda? Hell no. Fight them tooth and nail on Social Security, do not let Bush bring us into another war without good reason, don't let Scalia become Chief Justice, fight the good fights, the fights that really need to be won. But we need to also find some common ground with more moderate GOPer, or we'll get nothing accomplished. Getting bipartisan legislation through the senate is the only chance we have of doing any good for the next few years, which should be more important than winning, if the concerns of the American people truly are what is important to us.
Progressive pragmatism is the key to our future. Strong liberal beliefs: fighting corporate fraud, avoiding unneccisary wars, protecting the environment, ect. But also a willingness to find common ground with moderates and even some conservatives, for that is the only way we can succeed. Not by catering to the right or to the left, but by fighting from the left and working with the center.

[TheFarseer]

1. I think we need to do two things:

1. Many of you won't want to hear this, but we need to drop our loser issues. Gay rights has been voted down by wide margins in every state it has come up in, including some purple states like Oregon, and Ohio(possibly costing us the election) Fighting for the rights of Gitmo prisoners in a loser. Not many people care if terrorists rights are abused. Maybe it is wrong, but it looks really bad.

2. Push our big ideas, and yes we have some. Alternative energy could be huge. The republicans should be ashamed of themselves arguing to open up Alaska but refusing to develop an entire new industry and possibly create millions of jobs in alternative energy. Curtailing illegal immigration is not typically a democratic issue, but I don't think this is a partisan issue anymore. I think we could gain alot of voters rattling this saber, and besides I personally think curtailing immigration is right and would improve our job market, our education system, problems with over-crowded prisons and on and on. Healthcare reform is a big issue, that we have alot of ideas about. Let's form a coherent message and push that. We never had any significant ideas to stop outsourcing, but figure out a way and that could be a big issue also. Repubs say we don't have any new ideas, but that's dead wrong. We need to do a better job demonstrating that.

[ZombieNixon]

2. I don't think we need to drop our "loser" issues.

The difference is that we don't stop trying to advance gay rights and such, just don't campaign on those issues. You're right, gay marriage and the rights of Gitmo prisoners do not win votes, but that doesn't mean we should give them up. Run on the winner issues, social security, alternative energy, health care, but once elected, fight for everything worth fighting for.