I think the 2016 talk is fine but can we all agree on 2 things.

[hrmjustin]

First we need to focus on 2014 more. And second that no matter who our favorites are right now, we will support the Democratic Nominee for President.

[liberal_at_heart]

1. sorry, can't promise that, especially the second part.

[hrmjustin]

2. You mean you won't vote for the Nominee?

[KoKo]

8. Even Skinner says he only cuts off discussion once Nominee has

been Designated by the Dem Convention.

Until then we are "free to speak" about any Candidate who upholds Democratic Values.

Now...Skinner/Admins might have changed their viewpoint...but, until I see that we shut down discussion over Candidates that some of us here feel uphold Democratic Values...then we should be free to discuss any Candidate along with those running for 2014.

Perhaps you should post on the Ask Administrators Forum to find out if Admins of this site share the view of silencing talk about viable Democratic Leaning Candidates.

[hrmjustin]

9. I am not silencing anything. I asked a question.

[KoKo]

10. Your Second Question had an Aura of Authoritarian Rhetoric...

[hrmjustin]

12. That was not my intention.

I was just taken aback.

[LostOne4Ever]

77. I will vote for

The person most likely to actually make progress in getting liberal and progressive legislation passed, upheld, and put into effect.

So that means I am only voting democrat

[hrmjustin]

56. Did not mean to come off as hostile.

[mike_c]

3. sorry, but I'll be supporting the most LIBERAL and PROGESSIVE candidate in 2016....

I hope that's a democrat.

[hrmjustin]

4. Do you live in a swing state?

[mike_c]

5. norcal....

Humboldt County. Probably one of the most liberal communities in the nation.

[hrmjustin]

6. Well I hope that you can vote for the Dem Nominee.

[mike_c]

7. me too.

[denbot]

37. Lived in Arcata, and Trinadad during my reckless youth..

Good times. I am back in So Cal and will vote for ANYTHING with a D after a ballot name. 2000, still seems like yesterday.

[Gravitycollapse]

11. I agree with the former and absolutely disagree with the latter.

[hrmjustin]

13. If we don't support the nominee it could mean a republican wins.

[Gravitycollapse]

14. No. If I don't support a nominee, it means I don't support a nominee.

If a Republican wins, it will have been because he or, unlikely, she had greater support from the electorate than any other candidate. Don't blame me for someone else's shitty outcomes.

[hrmjustin]

17. Point taken but I still can not imagine not voting for the nominee.

[winter is coming]

21. I used to be that way.

I intend to vote for a democrat in 2016. With luck, that candidate will also be a Democrat. Some people see things in the opposite order, which will make DU pretty lively for the next few years.

[hrmjustin]

23. Yes it will be an interesting topic for the next few years.

[840high]

49. Good for u. I feel the

same way this time around.

[winter is coming]

19. If a Republican wins, it means the Democrat failed to attract enough voters.

You're asking this question at DemocraticUnderground. If a Democratic candidate can't get votes here, maybe it's time for the party to do some hard thinking about what they're putting on the ballot.

[hrmjustin]

20. That is a good point.

I think Hillary and Warren can get that support nationwide.

[winter is coming]

22. Unlikely. n/t

[DonCoquixote]

55. save for one thing

The masses cannot and will not elect a dennis or Bernie. If you cannot get 51 percent of the peiople, you lose, over and done. Would it have been better to keep on putting forth Dennis K so he would lose every four years?

[winter is coming]

57. So which positions do you think politicians like Bernie hold that make them unelectable?

A desire to protect the social safety net? The belief that Wall Street should be held accountable for their excesses?

Corporate Dems are unlikely to pay those issues more than weasel-worded lip service, while the GOP is actively trying to undermine them. Polling shows that ordinary people want those things. Any candidate that espouses those issues will be a magnet for voters and a target for those who benefit from maintaining the status quo.

[woo me with science]

79. [phone]

Thank you.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. No.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. people won't like to promise from now that they'll vote for the 2016 nominee

because we dont like to think of ourselves as sellouts but the first time there is a debate between the dem and the republican, 99.99% of this genuine liberals of this website will fall behind the dem candidate.

how do i know? because i was here in 2004, 2008, and 2012 and the past is the best predictor of the future.

[hrmjustin]

18. Good point.

[liberal_at_heart]

28. we shall see. I've talked about not voting democrat in the past but always did vote for the

democrat. The difference this time. I have two specific issues that personally affect my husband and my children that the democratic party have betrayed me on. Before it was just on general differences. Now it's personal.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

47. my point is that between crazy talk and apologetic capitalism

rational people vote for the apologetic capitalist

on non-economic, social values, genuinely all democrats are much better on issues of abortion, birth control and gay marriage.

[liberal_at_heart]

62. voting against the crazy talk was why I voted democrat last time, but that cannot be the

only issue for me. I have other just as important issues to vote for as well such as education, college debt, wages, SS and SSDI, and medical marijuana. These issues are just as important to me as protecting a woman's right to chose or gay rights. The democrats are not meeting their obligation to protect the middle class or help the poor get out of poverty. So, social issues will not be enough to force my hand this time.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

63. you choices and everyone else's is limited. that is not my compelling you to vote one way

or the other. that's just stating a reality of our two party system.

[liberal_at_heart]

64. there are other people to vote for, there are other parties to vote for, and there is the not

voting at all. Who will I vote for? I don't know. That will depend on who runs. I will only vote for populist liberals who actually fight for the people. I will not vote for corporate democrats.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

65. sure however none of that determines who will be in power. nt

[liberal_at_heart]

66. it does if enough people vote for the alternative. DeBlasio won. Sanders and Warren are very

popular. Here in Seattle, a socialist just won a seat on the city council. It can and does happen.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

71. Deblasio won because he won the democratic primary in a very liberal city

Sanders and Warren are very popular on the coasts, I am not sure how popular they are elsewhere. i know they would never win if they ran as independents

[liberal_at_heart]

72. Believe what you want. I'm so tired of the "they'll never win" meme.

They can and do win when enough people get behind them and vote for them.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

73. where do these third party people ever win? the only 2 i can think about are bloomberg

and bernie sanders. none of them win national elections.

[liberal_at_heart]

74. look I'm not going to sit here and argue with you all night. I'm tired of the two parties

controlling everything especially considering that both parties cater to corporations. Whether they win or not, I am voting for populist liberals whatever their party affiliation. Congress has like a 9% approval rating right now. They two party system will not dominate the country forever. And I'm not opposed to voting for a democrat as long as they vote for policies that help the people like funding education, voting for a living wage, supporting unions, increase funding for SS instead of cutting it. But I will never vote for a corporate democrat again in my life. They have gone along with policies that have stolen too much from the American people, and I will not support it anymore. Never again.

[Scuba]

75. Right here in midwest Wisconsin, Bernie and Elizabeth are considered heroes ....

... by the 30,000 folks who collected 'recall Walker' signatures. Either one would inspire those same folk to work hard on their Presidential campaign.

Also very important, either one would inspired millions of the potential voters who don't bother because neither Party offers them squat.

[Vashta Nerada]

24. I don't have to support anybody.

If HRC is the Democratic nominee in 2016, I won't support her or her campaign. I will not go out and work for her. I won't volunteer for her. I won't work call centers for her. I will not donate any of my money to her.

I prefer to support liberal and progressive candidates, not third way Dems.

[arely staircase]

25. All my efforts in the real world are directed toward electing Wendy Davis Texas Governor

I am working strictly within my GOP heavy precinct. My personal goal here is to get her over 40 percent of the vote (as opposed to the high 20s dems usually get in my precinct.). If every Dem precinct chair achieved comparable increases she would win the state. The state party has given us data bases and training and help like never before.

[hrmjustin]

26. I am focusing my efforts to getting rid of my congressman.

Michael Grimm only won with 51% of the vote last time so we are going to give him a hard time this time.

[arely staircase]

27. good

but mine is gohmert and he usually doesn't even draw a dem opponent.

[hrmjustin]

29. I am so sorry that he is your congressman.

[arely staircase]

31. This district was once represented by Charlie Wilson

who, yes, had a penchant for whiskey, wild women and was a hard core cold warrior - but also a big supporter of the social safety net, and the governments' responsibility to the poor. plus he was a very smart man.

my how we have devolved.

[hrmjustin]

35. And the Dems can't find someone to go against him?

[arely staircase]

38. not yet

when he says crazy stuff, the 2/3 of the district that are hard core teabaggers love it (terror babies, etc) the 1/3 that are Dems are horrified and the statistically insignificant country club republicans are privately embarrassed but say nothing.

[tavalon]

36. I'm sending money to her campaign

From Washington state. I hope she gets money from every state and I hope she is your new Governor next year.

[arely staircase]

39. thanks

that is awesome. she will need it

[tavalon]

41. I will admit I did live in Texas for a long time

I lived there when the Shrub was the Guv, as Molly Ivins would have said. That's why I knew that he would be the most ineffectual President ever. I never even considered that he would make such a fine puppet for Cheney et al.

Of course, that was before I was very political. That changed pretty damn fast. Now, I watch races all over the country.

[arely staircase]

42. Molly was a good friend of mine and my family. I miss her. nt

[tavalon]

44. Wow, you were lucky and not

I only met her once. While I was sad at her passing, you and your family must have felt it much worse. She was a treasure. I like to imagine her and Ann Richards up on a cloud, laughing at Guvna Goodhair, and at the Shrub, painting puppies poorly.

[arely staircase]

46. yep used to hang out her house regularly in the 90s

great great woman. she was as clever in person as she was on paper.

[tavalon]

48. That I knew

So was Ann Richards. That's why I like to imagine them together in an afterlife, laughing at Texas politics, because, it used to just be absurd, now it's dangerous and absurd.

[arely staircase]

50. Ann was also a great friend of the family

I avoid name dropping but these were people who were in my life in a big way in the 80s and 90s. And yeah they are probably laughing at it now, as they did then.

[tavalon]

52. Good on ya, for not name dropping

That said, I envy you. Except that, around that time, I was a political idiot (low info voter) until a few months after a certain incident in 2001 when my house (not too far from Molly's) got egged when I put up a world flag to remind my fellow Americans that too much nationalism often goes awry. As it did. I became obsessed with finding out what the hell was happening to us and down the rabbit hole I went.

Now, I'm a wonk who knows too much political minutia but doesn't regret the pill she chose.

[arely staircase]

54. :-) nt

[libdem4life]

30. No on number one for me. I can multitask and like debating and listening and thinking and

working out my own political development. I've shifted and tweaked my own opinions here and with others in my life by listening and sharing. I have also come to believe I am unable to write pithy 2-3 sentence opinions, so probably a lot have me on Ignore, which is OK. I came into adolescence when we had just B&W TV. Telephones and getting rides and going to school was the only way we had to talk to friends. Oh well.

And I'm not interested in talking about my state's political stuff, because it's boring as heck. Nor am I interested in anyone else's state and local political situation, unless maybe it's a Christie or Wendy Davis or a Cruz (pure entertainment)... and that's because they'll likely be players in the nationals at some time and I like to be in the know. What else should we be talking about on a political email board?

And for the life of me, I can't understand what harm it does if someone is inclined to do so. And I love politics. So it seems to me that rather than trying to advise or gently change other people's behavior, that it's kind of the click/don't click if you don't want to waste time reading, discussing, entertaining yourself and others if you post...I'm serious. I don't get it at all. And I'm all for you going right ahead. And I apologize for disagreeing at length, but this is like the 47th post.

Finally, I am an unrepentant political junkie.

Now, on the second one, the voting part is a pledge! But can't we just a teeny little bit enjoy Bernie Sanders...Mr. Liberal who we need to learn A Whole Lot from? How do we know he won't change to Democrat? Hell, he's a better Democrat than many I know. Hard and fast rules are tricky.

[hrmjustin]

32. I love Sanders and if he won I would support him 100%.

And I do not mean we need not talk about it but I would also like to see more threads on 2014 myself.

[libdem4life]

40. So what's to discuss in 2014? I'm coming up blank, politically speaking, other than the juicy ones.

I don't start threads...my ego probably couldn't take it falling off the page unnoticed. LOL

[hrmjustin]

45. LOl I was just thinking people will talk about senate races and house races.

It will start coming next year.

[libdem4life]

53. Face it, if it wasn't for all the Hillary/Elizabeth scutlebutt on here, it would be kind of boring.

Christie is off the radar while VP courting Susana Martinez, Cruz fizzled out fast...he weasled out 21 hours of time thanks to a hapless Reid...way beyond the 15-minute limit for his type. California is so Blue it's Dull and Boring. If these candidates don't smoke pot or cheat on their spouses or (fill in the outrageous behavior blank), we're kind of stuck with the likes of the Mayor of Toronto for entertainment.

With Twitter and email and instagrams, politics is changing. One's past, unintended for public consumption speeches and comments, can bite one in the political butt real quick. I think they are having to really, really be careful, which doesn't bode well for political entertainment. Even Alan Baldwin is having to learn how to clean up his smarmy act.

The Virginia's AG race was great...but have to wait for the recount.

Well, onward and upward.

[NRaleighLiberal]

33. 2014 is critical - the mess in NC shows what staying home can bring (gerrymandering as well)...as

for 2016 - I hope so, but for me, it is about principles more than a person. As I've moved more left, my party seems to be moving further right, which is really concerning. There is a lot of info to be gathered to see how things shape up for 2016....

I've never voted anything other than Dem my whole voting life....and I've never stayed home.

[tavalon]

34. Yeah, you're absolutely right

One other thing. I'm only contributing to groups that support the ground game, like DFA did in Virginia. That was awesome with awesome sauce.

[libdem4life]

43. I'll do email work for anyone who is in a close race. Hadn't thought about it, but I'd

sure be open to talking about it.

[Thinkingabout]

51. K & R

[IrishAyes]

58. Absolutely. That's the only way that works, and I'm a real fan of success.

I'll happily vote for Hillary if she's our nominee. If for some reason it winds up someone else, that's who I'll work for and vote for. In case anyone's forgotten or didn't know, a yellow dog is someone who'll vote for a Dem over anybody else even if we're running a mangy old yellow dog. There may be other definitions but that's my favorite.

Seriously, everyone - you do know that at some point we'll elect Van Jones, don't you? If you didn't know, remember you heard it here first.

[Beacool]

59. I'll be childish like some others and say no.

If my candidate of choice doesn't get the nomination, I'll kick sand in the other kids' faces and take my ball home. Let the Republican playground bully win the WH. Who cares?

[libdem4life]

60. Thank god for the smilies...you had me going there for a minute.

[Beacool]

61. This place is regressing.

Some are acting like toddlers throwing a tantrum.

[quinnox]

67. To me, 2014 is boring

I will be interested to see what happens, but as far as the cheerleading type threads - “rah rah" "We all need to focus on 2014, and get out the vote!" thing goes, yea, but no, I'm not into that. It makes me sleepy.

I will probably take a long break from Du if those kinds of threads end up dominating the board next year.

[hrmjustin]

68. What kind of threads would you like to see? Issue threads or 2016 threads?

[quinnox]

69. I find both of those type threads more interesting than

the 2014 stuff. But whatever is posted, is fine with me. Because I guess I don't take Du that seriously, so its not really that important to me. I don't insist or have any expectations, instead I just go with the flow.

[hrmjustin]

70. Sounds good.

[Scuba]

76. I'll not only vote for, but will also work for, the Democratic nominee, assuming we have one.

I won't work hard for a corporate Dem who supports cuts to the safety net, increased militarism and other right wing policies. Such candidates are not Democrats, they're Republicans pretending to be Democrats.

Americans are more liberal than either Republican or Democratic pols realize

http://www.democracyjournal.org/arguments/2013/09/politicians-think-american-voters-are-more-conservative-than-they-really-are.php

When we compare what legislators believe their constituents want to their constituents’ actual views, we discover that politicians hold remarkably inaccurate perceptions. Pick an American state legislator at random, and chances are that he or she will have massive misperceptions about district views on big-ticket issues, typically missing the mark by 15 percentage points.

What is more, the mistakes legislators make tend to fall in one direction, giving U.S. politics a rightward tilt compared to what most voters say they want. As the following figures show, legislators usually believe their constituents are more conservative than they actually are. Our attitude measurements are most accurate on the questions about same sex marriage and universal health insurance – and in both instances the legislators’ guesses about their constituents’ views were 15-20 percent more conservative, on average, than the true public support for same-sex marriage or universal health care present in their districts.

[woo me with science]

78. HELL NO on both. Not supporting another corporatist and warmonger,

no matter which party said corporatist and warmonger tries to wrap itself in.

And we can focus on both 2014 AND 2016. We need to be getting the country excited right NOW to draft NON-corporatists and NON-warmongers, like Warren, Grayson, or Sanders, for 2016.

It will be the goal of the Third Way to get people to shut up until 2016 so we don't have time to do that.

[Corruption Inc]

80. Thanks for telling people what to think = FAIL

Ever think that 2016 will see another criminal (R) in the White House because people are too small minded to make the connection between what (D)s are now and what we'll be in two years?

Nah, OK.