I Propose A Truce

[DemocratSinceBirth]

If the Democratic party is broad enough to accommodate Gene Taylor and Russ Feingold it should be broad enough to accommodate moderates, liberals, and conservatives...As Lyndon Johnson said " I would rather have our opponents in our tent pissing out than outside our tent pissing in."



If we want to be a majority party we can not be like the GOPU. They abandoned their moderate and liberal members and now you can fit those that remain in a power in a phone booth.


I'm a Democrat because I have empathy for the "little guy". Anything that advances his station in life will have my support.

[HereSince1628]

1. Why'd you leave out Progressives?

I hope you see it big enough for us, too. Just wondering because we've got the agenda that transcends left and right.

[xultar]

38. OMFG - Why split hairs. Liberals/Progressives. Geez come on now.

[HereSince1628]

39. 'Cuz there is a difference between a liberal and a progressive, geez

:eyes:

Really they are not the same. Progressive isn't a euphemism for liberal.

[xultar]

41. Can't we just all get along?

[acmavm]

2. Do you have any recollection of what happens everytime we

try to make nice with the repubs?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. I Don't Think I Suggested An Intra Party Truce Just An Interparty One

eom

[petronius]

19. You mean that the other way around, right?

Intra- = within
Inter- = between

And I agree with you - there's far too much internecine combat going on around here today - lot's of narrow definitions of who is/is'nt a 'real' Democrat/liberal/progressive... :(

[seabeyond]

3. i am truly a nothing and everything......

why i vote dem

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. It would be nice if I actually said that.

It would be nice if I actually said that.

I'll take Joe Kennedy's definition of what it means to be a Democrat. He taught his children that the rich can take care of themselves. It's up to the government to help those that can't or need help.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. I Have A Serious Question.

Why does the Democratic party have representatives as conservative as Gene Taylor and as liberal as Maxine Waters?


What is the common thread that binds them together?

[seabeyond]

16. so many uniquely different people. i believe in the choice of abortion

believe it strongly. that alone could put me in dem park, having nothing to do with allll of waters positions. maybe seeing democrats are of the people, not of the self, yet each see an individual way of achieving the of the people that differ totally with one another. though the bases is the same, the arrival to solution so totally different. and of course that all has to do with experience in life that shape us. i will give to a black that their experience in this nation gives them their unique vision, as does being gay and i can never project that i know better, when it comes to issues they experience and i do not. i can listen and understand and have opinion, but... i am void of experince. so hopefully we draw on their knowledge to lead in these areas. same with woman, man... jew, christian, atheist....

maybe that is what binds all of us as democrats (though i am not one, lol, and i am the liberal from hell too) is the knowledge.... that we all have a part in this world

the bottom line, i dont know.

[porphyrian]

5. They are welcome in our tent if they play nice, but not on DU.

DU has rules for who posts here.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I Thought The Main Rule Is You Must Support Democrats.

eom

[porphyrian]

37. The rules are in the Help section.

Here's the link for the locationally-challenged:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html

[xultar]

40. True. But some of the rudest things about Dems have been said by US @ DU.

[seabeyond]

9. ahhh so i have to go away. ohhhh i am so sad. over 22k posts

and never a reprimand from adm.... and some even like me, not to mention all i donate.

[porphyrian]

36. As usual I don't understand what the fuck you're talking about.

Thanks for checking in, though. :)

[RedEarth]

14. What rules are you referring to?.......

Why don't you post them....I'd like to see them.

[porphyrian]

35. You don't read manuals either, do you?

Here are the rules. They are available in the Help section, but here's the link for lazy people:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html

[longship]

8. I am unabashedly liberal.

But I unequivocally support all Democrats.

For instance, I like Evan Bayh a lot and could easily support him for President (in the absense of a Gore candidacy).

I understand that certain Democrats will vote as their constituency desires. Nelson of Nebraska comes to mind. I accept this as a necessary part of the democratic (small 'd') process.

Although my politics are ideologically liberal, I do not demonize other Democrats for their ideas. I reserve the right to challenge their positions, but with respect.

The best argument is probably one that many people have cited. "We govern best when a wide variety of ideas are put forward and a concensus is formed." No, it's not always liberal, but it's also not always conservative. Understand that this is decidedly *not* "governing from the center".

We must recognize that we all have something to contribute. In and of itself, that is a most liberal principle.

We have now seen the results of governing by ideological purity and it isn't a pretty sight.
Above all, let that be the lesson we learn from the past six years.

[Homer Wells]

10. Kicked and Recommended

if only for this reply!

[longship]

15. Thank you.

I added it to my journal.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. Exactly.

Karl Rove's model of polarizing the electorate and winning by mobilizing your base by demonizing the opposition is in tatters.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. this is very good post.

[LeftHander]

24. hard to challenge someone when they are....

standing on your neck...

As the little acknowlegement of the plight of gays post election indicates.

The Democratic party will have no room for gay people by 2008.

Essentially the Democratic party has been taken in by the warm soft squeeze of the squishy middle.

And where they go so to goes the autocrats, hegymonists, pro-lifers, anti-gays, the right wing will recover under the quise of a moderate democratic party.

Watch the first votes in the house and senate and see where the real power lies. It will still be with the GOP and the 15% or so of Democrats that REPETEDLY voted with the Republicans.

WE're still here, with fewer rights, we're still queer....

I cannot lend MY support that ANYONE that is willing to vote away my rights as a human being. Most people simply don't get that...WHY?!

[longship]

32. Us liberals will make sure that that doesn't happen.

As I said in my post, governing by consensus is not the same thing as governing from the middle. What the Democrats have, and what they are talking about is the former, not the latter.

If that is really the case, and I feel strongly that it is, people no longer have to fear their government.

Liberals are not going to go away. As somebody posted here earlier today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is larger than it has ever been, and the election only added to those numbers. You might want to take a peek at the House committee chairmanships. They are, in whole, liberals.

Do not listen to the squawking heads on the media. They are just flapping their gums about what they know nothing.

We will prevail.

[LeftHander]

13. Not big enough for LGBT people who want equal rights....

So it seems. Those "centrist democrats", independants and ship jumping republicans just voted for discriminating against gays in several states...

What good does a tent do if you have half the people inside preventing you from coming in?

The only way we can all have a truce is when people realize discrimination is WRONG. No matter how many people vote for it.

[theboss]

25. You can't convert them if they don't come to church

I knew a Priest who said something like that once.

If folks who vote for anti-gay measures want to join our party, I say fine. But the understanding is that they have to come to our position; we don't have to come to them. I believe that once they are here, they will eventually change. Or they will leave again. If they change and stay, we won a convert. If they leave, we are no worse off than we are right now.

[BlooInBloo]

17. I offer you... the stickiest of the icky! lol!

Note: and HER station.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. I Don't Get It- Please Elaboarate

eom

[BlooInBloo]

21. Oh. My. God. I wouldn't've believed it if I hadn't seen it...

... Somebody not familiar with Chappelle's Rick James?

Holy Crap!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZelBaOlVNM

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. I Saw Block Party But I Don't Have Thirteen Minutes At Work To Watch A YouTube.

Thank You.

[BlooInBloo]

26. that's ok. It'll be there any time you have the time & inclination.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

28. It's Ok I Presume Your Remarks Weren't Laudatory

eom

[BlooInBloo]

33. (shrug) presume what you will.

[theboss]

22. I find your opinions intriguing and wish to subscribe to your newsletter

Well said.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. Nothing Profound In Them.

I just realize there are a lot of opinions in the world and in my party and it's to no one's benefits but the GOPU to exploit them.

[AtomicKitten]

29. A voice of reason in the wilderness.

eom

[DemocratSinceBirth]

31. I'm Left Of Center On Most Issues

I just don't see the efficacy of an internecine pissing match...


They are core principles that everybody here subscribes to but I see no need to tear each other apart on side issues.

[rinsd]

34. LOL...you're on a roll

[SwingVoter2006]

30. Excellent post!

The GOP did indeed abandon its moderate and liberal supporters.

Dems: don't be like the GOP! Don't take the middle for granted, or worse, treat it like an annoyance.