Where do you think DU fits in the spectrum of the Democratic Party?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

I've been posting at DU since 2003, and we have really grown. But as I look at different groups and read the discussions, I realize that we often don't represent the mainstream of America. One look at the R/T forum tells you that! And the popularity of my candidate, Dennis Kucinich, is out of proportion to his popularity in general polls. I'd like to think that a majority of us are a little more knowledgeable and tolerant than the average Joe, which is to the good, but, sadly, also underlines the fact that we as a group tend to be out of the mainstream of America as a whole.


So, where do you think DU fits in the spectrum of the Democratic Party?

And what role do you see DU playing in helping get a Democrat elected to the White House in 2008?

[Skidmore]

1. Except for the Freeper trolls and the DLCers,

we're the liberal base.

[Xenotime]

21. We are a progressive base... Get it straight.

[Skidmore]

23. I'm liberally progressive and progressively liberal.

[silverlib]

2. Leaders

After reading for many years, I think DU, as well as other liberal blogs, lead the way. We are ahead of much of mainstream America, but I have noticed that mainstream eventually catches up. (One obvious subject is 9-11.) We question, we have discourse, we have diverse information thanks to a very informed membership and we have, for the most part, open minded readers. There will always be discourse, but that is the part of DU that makes us somewhat mainstream.

[whistle]

3. How do you tell a Freeper Troll and a DCLer?

...You can't tell either one anything :hide: :yoiks:

[High Plains]

4. DU is weird.

It has a bunch of liberal/progressive Democrats.

It had some labor Democrats.

It has some identity politics (gay, feminist, ethnic) Democrats.

It has a handful of conservative Democrats.

And it has a whole bunch of people, yours truly included, who are what I would call disaffected lefties of various stripes. These folks tend to see the national Democratic Party as corporate-controlled, little better than the GOP, but sort of a last refuge in the US political system.

So, no, I don't think DU is very representative of the party, but tilts to the left.

[The Straight Story]

7. I'll agree with you on this, partially cause I am too lazy to type it all out

and you said it so well :)

[scarletwoman]

16. Thank you from a fellow "disaffected lefty" -- well said.

However, over the past few years I have become less and less inclined to see the Democratic Party as "a last refuge in the US political system."

It seems to offer very little in the way of "refuge" at all, imho.

sw

[mondo joe]

5. DU demographics don't look a lot like Dem Primary Voter demographics.

I suspect the politics are rather different as well, tending more to the left.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. It seems we've been ahead the curve. What was discussed on DU two or three years ago is now pretty

much conventional wisdom.

We knew, apparently long before other Americans, that:

Diebold is corrupt.

Katherine Harris was a tool for the Bushies.

"Mission Accomplished" was a farce.

The Bush administration doesn't care about the Constitution.

Our invasion and occupation of Iraq was/is/will always be a horrific debacle.

And that our troops are in the middle of a civil war.

The "official story" of 9/11 is, at the very least, questionable.

Rudy Giuliani is corrupt.

John McCain is a panderer.

Bill Frist, Dennis Hastert, Rick Santorum, George Allen, Bob Beauprez,Tom Delay, Duke Cunningham, Conrad Burns, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Ted Haggard and too many others to name, are money/power grubbers and/or sexual hypocrites and should be gone from their positions of authority.

There were not WMD's in post Gulf War Iraq.

On edit, the polar icecaps really are melting.



So, we here at DU were talking about all this years ago, long before the rest of country. And, we were subjected to derision or outright hostile threats, because we weren't blinded by xenphobic attachment to the criminal enterprise in the WH.

I'd look at what we are talking about right now and anticipate most of it will be accepted in (how long?) as CW, if I were campaigning to participate in representational government.

We're still waiting for the DSM and David Kelly's suspicious death to truly come to light.

The Rolling Stone article should help to begin dialog about the obscene actions of war profiteering companies.

The circumstances of Pat Tillman's death have been discussed in depth here, perhaps the true story will reveal itself.

And, we are all educating ourselves on the Constitution and, sadly, it seems most of our Reps, except for a few standouts, are less educated on its intent and basis for this "nation of laws" than many of us here.

How does it fit into our role in getting a Democrat elected?

I think the campaigns have recognized, at least somewhat, our track record of stating the obvious, when others are too uninformed or hesitant to do so.

Perhaps we can bring protecting the Constitution to the table.

I'm looking forward to seeing how others respond.

I hope we can be a positive influence.

MKJ

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. Thank you for this thoughtful response

about what we can do to help the Democratic Party. I hope that the different candidates have someone at least "check in" here to find out what's what as far as breaking news.

I'd like to brainstorm as to how to bring forward protecting the Constitution as a main political plank in our platform.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

15. Thank YOU for such a great OP. I am perusing the document now, looking for that which will resonate

with all American citizens.

There is much there. It's translating this document, which is the foundation upon which this country was founded, to the majority of Americans that is challenging.

And, the true intent still hasn't been fully realized, centuries later.

I wonder which candidates, of ours, will decry its recent dismantling. Kucinich and Edwards come immediately to mind, followed by Gravel.

The others, I'm not so sure.

How do we remind people of the responsibilities, as well as the benefits, of being a citizen of America, which is supposed to be by the people, for the people, of the people?

I'm so appreciative of this discussion, thanks for this! MKJ

[TheDoorbellRang]

8. Even tho I'm a newbie, I've been reading DU since 2005

(and finally came up with a user name I like). I'd say DUers are vastly more aware of the various issues and what's going on than Americans in general. Caring enough to become informed makes us more passionate about the issues, but I still consider myself an old fashioned moderate, which probably translates into a modern progressive.

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. Congratulations on finding a user name that suits you!

And even though you aren't necessarily new, Welcome to DU!:hi:

[TheDoorbellRang]

20. Thanks!

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

9. As an independent liberal, I'd have to say it's fairly representative of the AWARE folks.

I've had a multitude of conversations with folks in several communities in which I've lived and, for those who are actually AWARE of and pay attention to political issues, I'd have to say the partisan folks here cover the spectrum of people who call themselves "Democrats."

The problem, of course, is that only about 15-20% of the electorate actually pay attention - at least from my experience. Far more, of course, express some superficial stance ... but it doesn't take more than five minutes to find out if they're really keeping themselves informed. Can they name the SecDef? Can they name both Senators from their own state? Their own Representative? Identify even ONE significant vote on recent (last 4 years) legislation?

I'd estimate that only about one in ten "Democrats" (at MOST) could even identify someone in the DLC - even if they know what the DLC is.

[lazer47]

11. IMHO,, DU set the stage for the left, and gives the right a point to start from

[davsand]

12. DU is left of mainstream Dems.

But you have to figure that DU is a self selecting population made up of people who enjoy politics. We are NOT average Dems here because "Average Dems" are people who turn up at the polls on election day and not much more than that. The GOP is in a similar condition.

Frankly, I think DU's popularity and growth has, in part, also been driven a great deal by the polarization of the political process in this country. The GOP has been split out by the Neo-cons and the "average" Republican (who is WAY more fiscally conservative than the neo-cons) while the Dems have been driven to extreme positions by that same group of neo-cons.

I have noticed a lot of folks on here and on other boards in the last few years that are pretty new to the political process. The idealism and energy are really nice to see, but there is also sometimes an attitude of enmity that is counter-productive to the process.



Laura

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. I think it is important to remember that members are by definition, a select group because...

they are engaged on the internet. There are many, many millions of Democratic and progressive folks out there who do not read blogs or engage in discussion forums and/or, like the person above, merely read and do not or have not written a post.

The demographic is, i think, therefore skewed to the internet savvy crowd, so to speak.

I think we have a pretty good cross section but regular members - those that post often - don't represent a true cross section of the American Left. Obviously not everyone of a liberal leaning posts or reads here and more than likely, many millions have never even heard of DU.

A good example would be the "Well-to-do" or wealthy Americans. I read recently where the majority of Americans with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 lean left but you would never know it the way the "rich" are vilified so regularly on this site. People with money are not necessarily the enemy. People with money that have no core ethical concerns for their fellow man better fit that description. There is a group mindset among many members that if someone is wealthy, they have to be a Republican. Nothing could be further from the truth. The top 3 richest men in America are definitely progressive in their politics and actions. (Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Paul Allen)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

22. Good point about wealthy individuals

I know when I found out that David McCall, a wealthy ad executive from New York, died trying to help refugees in Kosovo, my opinion of the wealthy changed. There are quite a few of them who are trying to make a difference in other people's lives, trying to help others in their own way, and who don't mind putting their lives on the line.

You can read more about David and his wife here: http://www.geocities.com/ayeshahaqqiqa/heroes.html

[BeFree]

17. Fit? Where does DU fit?

Heh. DU don't fit. We're way ahead of the rest of the yahooos and as they tend to catch up we'll be out running them still.

Thank the stars we ain't like them, is what I say.

Long Live DU!

[Greyhound]

18. Interesting question, it is fairly representative of Democrats that are interested in,

and want to stay up on, politics, and therefore is unrepresentative of average American Democrats. Even less representative of average Americans.

I guess you say that DU is in the vanguard of Democratic politics.

[BlooInBloo]

19. The center of ideological mass seems to be between Kucinich and the next-most-lefty candidate.

EDIT: And thus highly NON-representative of Democrats tout court. Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily.