Are the words "Democrat" and "liberal" synonymous?

[Stinky The Clown]

I don't think they are.

I think they're very different things. One can be one and not the other. In either direction. Or one can be both. I suppose it also follows that one can be neither, and also not be a Republican.

I happen to be both. A Democrat and a liberal .... or progressive .... or whatever the nom du jour is for a lefty.

I mention this to draw a distinction that applies to some recent discourse here on DU.

The 'DLC crap'. The "DINO crap.' All the slams against those in our party who are to the right margin of our Democratic Party mainstream.

Do I wish Harold Ford were further left? Do I wish he stood in support of gay marriage and against the reelection of Connecticut's self-selected third party candidate?

In a word, yes.

Do I wish The Nelsons Ben and Bill were more to the center, if not the left?

In a word, yes.

Do I wish Jim Webb were not only one hell of a fighter, but also a hard left lefty?

In a word, yes.

But that's just me and my personal values. But I choose to put them aside for the larger good. These people all **chose** to be Democrats. And there are legions of Democrats past - and now pushing up daisies - who had pretty much the same values and positions as these people. Each one of them is as much a Democrat as you or me.

You see, here's what they do. They represent the views of their constituents. I used to live in Tennessee and in North Carolina, and in South Carolina. The general views of the general populace in those places is quite different than, say, here in Maryland. Even in Connecticut, where I'm from, the views of many are quite conservative, resulting in the strength of the man seeking reelection as their Senator, and the incumbency of a Republican governor and many Republican representatives. And here in Maryland, reputed to be a very blue state, the views of many are pretty conservative - hence the strength of Michael Steele's campaign and the incumbency of a Republican governor.

The point is, nothing is purely as we want it. And so it is with politics. In a national election, the net result is we get a person who appeals to the broad average of the views of 300 million people. When we speak about state-wide offices, or district-wide offices, we get filtered subsets of the broader national averages. And in, say, conservative Nebraska, a Ben Nelson is the result, even as a a Barbara Boxer is the result of a California constituency and a Ted Kennedy is the result of a Massachusetts constituency.

We can decry the conservative views of some Democrats **on the merits** but we are just plain dead-on WRONG to condemn people who do nothing more or less than reflect the views of the people who will or have chosen them to represent them in Washington.

Ben Nelson is no less a Democrat than was Paul Wellstone (MAN! do I miss him!). While Wellstone is surely more in line with the liberal bias of me and of, say, DU subscribers, he is no more a Democrat than anyone who chooses to wear that title.

And they are all, in their own way, worthy of our support if they can make it through the primaries of their own state.

After all, who are any one of us, not residents of the state in which the person lives, to say what is right or wrong? We can SURELY say what's liberal - or not. But that measure alone doesn't make something right or wrong. It only says it is different from your views.

[gully]

1. Democrats have to be "big tent" and tolerant of more moderate Democrats

if we want to win elections and have a shot at sanity.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Republican and conservative aren't synonyms either.

There are many moderates who call themselves Republicans. They aren't screaming for the 700 mile fence nor are they chickenhawks. They aren't 'repukes' or 'neocons' either.

I think that failing recognize the diversity of opinion on both sides is not in our best interest. My congress critter is a blue dog Democrat. She's also chair of the New Democrat coalition. She's a flat out centrist. Would I prefer a liberal? You bet, because I know that to represent this district with its even number of registered Dems and Repubs our choices are a centrist Democrat or a centrist Republican. I'll take Tauscher over a centrist republican because where she is conservative is on economic policy, not social policy.

[emanymton]

3. Absolutely Not! I Speak For Myself And Proud Of It.

I am a liberal to the core. The Democratic Party does not reflect my values or goals in life. I am used by the Democratic Party and I use them. But do not believe I am a Democratic Party member.

Bush Lied. People Died. Media Cheered.

[Crunchy Frog]

4. No. n/t

[pnwmom]

5. And many of those conservative "DINO's" have been Democrats

for decades longer than the DU'ers who are accusing them of not being true Democrats.

I say that anyone who identifies himself as a Democrat, or who runs as a Democrat, is a real Democrat.

That excludes only Lieberman, who is now running outside the party. Everyone else, conservative, moderate, or liberal, is a REAL Democrat.