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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy are you a democrat?
I had republican coworkers ask me that question many times during my working life.
I tell them the story of my immigrant grandfather who was a coal miner in the early part of the last century. FDR was running for president, my grandfather just received his citizenship and the right to vote. The coal mine was ran by an anti union, slave wage paying, no good republican. The coal miners were trying to bring in the labor union. Black Lung, cave ins, low wages, long hours and mine safety were all ignored by the owner. All that mattered to the owner was profits. He threaten the miners if they voted for FDR he would close down the coal mine. My common sense grandfather not knowing much about American politics or which political party was on the side of the working man, knew from then on that he was a democrat.
Even today there really is a huge difference between the two political parties. Like my grandfather, people need to ask themselves which side are you on!
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TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)Where else is there to go?
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)I know cuz I can read the things they say.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)not a trust fund baby. Even if I had acquired wealth during my lifetime, I would still be a Democrat because I believe we are all in this together and must elect leaders who work for all citizens not just special interests.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)
kentuck
(115,407 posts)...and I believe in the formation of government by people to make everyone's lives better, not just a defense establishment to protect our country.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)
Depaysement
(1,835 posts)
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Last edited Tue Nov 4, 2014, 12:10 PM - Edit history (1)
Because, someday, th progressive camel isn't going be stuck out in the desert night. It's going to get it's nose back in the tent, and then it's neck, and then it's chest and them...you know...the rest will follow.
True Blue Door
(2,969 posts)Republicans know they're wrong. Everything they say and do screams that they know they're wrong, and when you prove them wrong, they don't act embarrassed like someone who made a mistake - they act exposed, like criminals caught in the act.
They know right from wrong, but they just don't care. They're selfish lowlifes gnawing and grabbing at everything around them, fearful and hateful of everyone and everything but their own greed.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
John Kenneth Galbraith
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnkennet107301.html#7bWHd0q7omBKIzoi.99
True Blue Door
(2,969 posts)They do whatever they want without considering its effect on other people, and manufacture excuses later. Perfect nihilists.
AtomicKitten
(46,585 posts)and their dedication to public service
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)B Calm
(28,762 posts)
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)but also by other great Democrats who were in government when I was a kid, like J. William Fulbright, Mike Mansfield, Morris Udall, Frank Church, et al, as well as by die-hard "Big D" Democratic teachers and the realization (especially after 1980) that the Republican Party was the party of the "money trumps everything else" crowd.
Skittles
(171,717 posts)hobbit709
(41,694 posts)
BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)Pretty much the only reason.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Easier to glam on to the Democrats while doing nothing but grousing about them perhaps?
BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)Ok you sophisticated yet highly bellicose bot.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)To prove I am not.
ncjustice80
(948 posts)Though maybe one day we can crush the rethugs and when our party is the only one left, our left of center allies can vote their conscience witjout fear of giving thebelection to a rightwinger.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)You just have to have enough members to make it viable. If there was so much support for your positions thats an easy job...
ncjustice80
(948 posts)Dont worry, Ill be voting D until the day the Rethugs fold. 
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)You are a minority and not viable....if yu had enough members you would be aforce to be reckoned with....but you cant beat Republicans....and THAT is yur problem.
ncjustice80
(948 posts)Oh wait, they fucking dont. Get off your high horse, dont shoot the messenger. There are many people who vote D because of the two choices, it is FAR preferable than the alternative. This isnt a knock against the party, they are just more centrist than many would like. A Dem in office is always preferable to a Rethug though, and it is currently our only choice.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)And Americans are not Europeans ...if that is what you want....then go there. THIS is America...
So what else is your excuse?
ncjustice80
(948 posts)Do you also oppose socialized medicine? Education? Workers rights? Becuase Europe does them beter we should all just get out of your country?
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)If tonite doesnt prove my point to you nothing will..
derby378
(30,262 posts)Nowadays some people are trying to turn our party into The Party of Everyone Who Isn't a Republican, and that's just not good enough. Our common vision is to improve the lot of the little guy, the American worker. We do this not only by respecting the Constitution, but realizing that its flexibility can allow government to grow and change to serve the needs of the little guy.
Does this make me an idealist?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)For years labor unions worked hard for work place safety, benefits and wages not only of union members but for working people in general. The DNC has backed women's choices, wage increases and civil rights, no one man is better than the next guy. They have stood behind Social security, Medicare, and health insurance. They know how to extend a hand for those in need.
11 Bravo
(24,310 posts)I'm old, white, and fairly well off. The deck is stacked in my favor. Yet it still matters to me that others at least have a shot to enjoy what I have.
Rex
(65,616 posts)IMO.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts) 
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)mstinamotorcity2
(1,451 posts)America needs to re-address its policies on almost everything. Its outdated premises of people are the whims of oligarchs. Their views don't fit the Country they have gotten rich from. Most Republicans know exactly what they are doing and why they do it. They have degrees and can read and write. They also can count. They will sell their mama for the type of Money the Koch brothers can pay. Hell they have sold their mothers and other family members too. especially when they come out and talk that ridiculous rhetoric about job creators and trickle down economics. I chose the Party that spoke to a lot of my core Values.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Because despite what the media says, there actually are more than two political parties. The poison in our politics is the notion that all politics has to bow down to one of only two choices.
That being said, when I have only two choices in a given race, I'll choose the 'more left'.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)but don't be surprised.....Democrats like thinking for themselves....they have Primary elections and everything to decide who THEY want to vote for!
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Doesn't mean most of the people I vote for aren't Dems, it just means I don't automatically choose a Dem if there's a socialist in the race. At that point I have to evaluate policy stances.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)Yeah....and I see HOW OFTEN you have faced your "existential moral crisis"!
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)'Democratic Socialists' are a separate political party from 'Democrats'. Bernie Sanders, for instance, is a 'Democratic Socialist', not a 'Democrat'.
(Edit: and, btw, I have no idea what you're talking about with the 'existential moral crisis' line.)
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)then you just stepped OUT of the Party again. So you just get to vote for, who WE....the ACTUAL Democrats, decide we want to support with the Primary election..see...this is the point I keep trying to make with Independents...
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)I get to select from every candidate offered in the general, of any party. And vote in the primaries on candidates my party decides to run. And I'm not an 'Independent'. Independent is either the correct term for someone who doesn't belong to a political party, or a slur on those who belong to parties other than the Democratic or Republican. Greens are not 'independents', they're 'Greens', Democratic Socialists are Democratic Socialists, not 'independents'. Independents are people who don't belong to a party. Calling people who belong to other parties 'independents' is simply a way to insult them or show ignorance, although most of the time it's not worth it to take offense, which is why Bernie doesn't constantly point out his actual affiliation.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)You can do whatever you want....but don't expect those that know this to be so accepting of your constant criticism of the party....kind of easy to throw stones while standing on a pile of hypocrisy.....
oh and from Bernie Sanders Wikipedia page...second paragraph:
Sanders runs for office as an independent but caucuses with the Democratic Party and is counted as a Democrat for purposes of committee assignments. He was the only independent member of the House during most of his service and is the longest-serving independent in U.S. Congressional history.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)I 'throw stones' at Democrats who are being hypocritical and untrue to the Dem Party Platforms, not my party's. I actually quite like most of the Dem Party Platforms that have come out over the years. If the candidates actually stuck to those, and hadn't drifted out from under me on their journey to the right, I wouldn't have a problem being a member again. I'll welcome the party back, if they ever decide to head left again.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)You do much more than Bernie Sanders does....I listen to him every week on live radio...
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)You don't care what the party (or individual candidates) does, you'll always vote for them. And you're not unique. There are plenty of folks like you.
Some of us actually think what actually comes out the end of the 'sausage making' process matters, though.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)I trust my fellow party members to make the best selection at the time. Obama wasn't MY first choice....but I defend the decision my fellow Democrats made.....that is how it all works. You don't go in expecting the Sun and the Moon.....you will NEVER get all that.....
"Someone" once said...
"You can't always get what you want....you can't always get what you want.....but if you try some time...you just might find.....you get what you need..."
sage advice...
United we stand...Divided we fall....its as simple as that!
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)I don't trust your fellow party members to make the best selection at the time.
Especially when locally they foist off failed Republicans from previous cycles on me as 'Democrats' who then drop out just in time to prevent anyone else from running as a Dem, and allow the successful Repub to run unopposed.
That kind of crap shows me they're not competent.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)what independents think of our candidates is not that important to us...its what WE think of the candidates that is...
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Onto ignore with you. I tell you you're being insulting to call people of other parties 'independents', and you just go on deliberately doing it.
I don't have time to listen to insults from people who are happy to vote for any old Republican loser who slaps a (D) after their name.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)and see....there you go....Even Bernie Sanders himself doesn't say things THAT ugly about the Democrats....he DOES caucus with them after all!
by the way...."the largest Caucus in the house for $1000?" says Alex Trebek.
sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)In our state a lot of Dems had to learn the hard lesson that in a senatorial race in a primary the apparatus as
well as the POTUS interfered greatly, which - to my way of thinking they had no right to do.
Money and speeches etc got Obama the candidate he wanted. Now tell me again, we in the state had really
a choice????!!!!!
I am sure this is not the only primary when DC as well as the WH interfered.
But, but, but , they know better than we the voters, of course!
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)I got Barack Obama instead. My fellow Democrats were wise indeed...
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)The more liberal candidate who was involved in the Democratic senatorial primary race in 2010 (and who ultimately lost to the candidate who was supported by the "apparatus" and by the POTUS) threw his hat into the ring for this year's gubernatorial primary, and even though he had served as lieutenant governor, he was pushed out before the primary in favor of a more conservative Dem who has unfavorable poll numbers right now.
Union Scribe
(7,099 posts)I guess it could be worse. You could be phone-banking for Dems and pissing off tons of voters with your sparkling personality instead of just a few here on DU.
tabbycat31
(6,336 posts)And I support policies where we take care of our own, as opposed to not taking care of our own (women, children, the elderly).
wyldwolf
(43,891 posts)From 2003:
"...I am a Democrat because since Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence - and since Jackson spoke for the common man - our party has never been the party of the status quo.
Instead, we have been the ones to see a challenge - and do something about it. Let's be honest - it hasn't always worked perfectly. Sometimes it has gotten us in trouble. Sometimes it has split us apart. But sometimes, those are the wages of progress.
And yet, I am a Democrat because the greatest and most noble political experiments of our time had their birth in our party.
I am a Democrat because the New Deal literally saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
I am a Democrat because a generation after a Democratic president started the Peace Corps, you can still find faded photographs of John F. Kennedy on the walls of homes from South Africa to South America.
I am a Democrat because fighting for working men and women is always the right fight.
I am a Democrat because our party led the struggle for civil rights and because we recognize that discrimination and bigotry are not dead - and that we must continue to seek equal opportunity for all.
I am a Democrat because despite our failures, our missteps, and our excesses - we know that waging a war on poverty does not mean fighting the individuals who are poor.
I am a Democrat because we know that today's battle is about the future versus the past - and it's time to put aside yesterday's battles of us versus them.
I am a Democrat because we know that criticizing success won't create a single job.
And most of all, I am a Democrat because when my three daughters go out into the world to make their lives, I want them to find a world where there's less hopelessness - less selfishness - and less violence.
I want them to find a world where there is more opportunity - more understanding - and more hope.
That is the mission of this party.
That is what we work for.
That is why we get up every morning.
That is why we're here tonight.
And our work is not done."
FSogol
(47,623 posts)
roamer65
(37,957 posts)My vote is more anti-Rethug than it is pro-Democratic.
I will vote anti-Rethug until their party's demise or my death, whichever comes first.
PeteSelman
(1,508 posts)My main issue is labor, specifically union labor and the Democratic Party has completely abandoned us in favor of Wall Street Reaganism.
Sure, on social issues there's no comparison, the Democrats are better. But on economic issues we're in Reagan's ninth term.
I'm still voting for Democratic candidates because voting for the Birchers is out of the question. But I don't feel that I'm voting for people that have my interests at heart.
It's a die fast or die slow choice. I'm choosing to die slow.
99Forever
(14,524 posts)... any chance of getting into most offices.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)Also, it's how I was raised.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)and I'm a human being.
AC_Mem
(1,980 posts)Good question.
I believe that we need to save our environment. I believe that health care is a right for every American. I believe that there should be safety nets where necessary so that everyone has the opportunity to live without suffering. I believe that every child and young adult deserves a good education and that teachers should be paid well to provide it and that people should not have to spend their lifetime in debt to receive it. I believe that we should invest in preserving the beauty of America by saving trees, keeping our national treasures untouched and not drilling. I believe we should look to the sun and the wind for our energy and the government should invest in innovative ways to use these resources for our future. I believe that no political party should be bought and that the rich should not be able to buy an election. I believe that a woman's body is her own and that NO ONE should have the right to tell her what she can and can't do with it. I want war to stop. I want guns to be controlled. I want Veterans to be cared for and the VA hospitals to have the funding to do so. I believe that love is love and that you should be able to marry whomever you love and have all legal rights that go with that choice. I believe that unless you are a Native American Indian, you are probably descended from immigrants and therefore we should support those who want a better life in America. I want natural medicine to be investigated for its potential benefits. I think the rich should be taxed accordingly and that they should be investigated if they put their money offshore. I want us to explore space, and fund it. I want the ACA to expand and further, and would fully support single payer. I want the minimum wage increased so that people can have a decent shot at living a good life. I want pot legalized and investigated for its health possibilities. And tax it. I want student loans to be affordable. I want net neutrality.
I believe all of this with all my heart and have taught my children and grandchildren that this is what they should consider in their lives if they so choose. They agree, and so I have a family of democrats including my 10 and 14 year old grandchildren who always go with us to vote.
How could I be anything but a Democrat?
Shine on and VOTE,
Annette/Orlando (go Charlie and Alan)
B Calm
(28,762 posts)
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)I was born in 1949 into a blue collar family. My earliest political memory is of my dad telling me when I was a kid that "Republicans are the party of the rich, Democrats are the party of the working man."
Can't say that the Democratic politicians in DC have been holding up their end of the equation all that well these days, but I know damn well that the Republicans will always hold up their end of it.
So I'll stick with the Democrats, and carp at them as needed when they forget who they're supposed to be working for.
Martin Eden
(15,629 posts)... the Democrat is the only rational choice.
vi5
(13,305 posts)I barely recognize the party I've been a part of for 30 years.
Any difference between the parties any more is because the Republicans have shifted so far batshit crazy right wing that the current Democratic parties pre-2000's moderate Republican positions seem reasonable by comparison. But the sure as shit don't represent the policies that attracted me to the party in the first place.
3catwoman3
(29,406 posts)...down to my corpuscles and think everyone should just mind their own damn business.
AndyTiedye
(23,538 posts)and they are wrong about everything else too.
Spirochete
(5,264 posts)when they found out I had a multiple-digit IQ. Also, they didn't like my shoes...
Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)to force reality into their binary world view. That, for the most part, precludes voting for Republicans.
Kath1
(4,309 posts)I believe in women's rights to contraception and abortion services, marriage equality, economic fairness, etc.
Years ago (2003) I would have said because I'm anti-war, but I don't think either party is on that page with me any more although I think the Democrats are a better bet.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)Simple enough ....
AnnieBW
(12,717 posts)Not just white males. Because my grandfather was a union organizer. Because my first memories were of Watergate and Nixon resigning in disgrace. Because I never heard the word "Republican" without the word "Goddamn" in front of it when I was growing up. 
Because I am a woman who believes that my body and my medical choices should be my own, not the government's. Because I am a religious minority who is afraid of what would happen if America became a Christian theocracy.
Sweet Freedom
(4,065 posts)
Fla_Democrat
(2,622 posts)Florida has them.
steve2470
(37,481 posts)Despite its imperfections, I still think the Democratic Party is the best vehicle for liberal ideals in our state and local governments.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Long ago, I was a Republican - more like Libertarian. I did some research and found out that Liberal countries do better in every way, the more Liberal the better the outcomes. And that during those times when America's been more Liberal, we've done better,
The facts is the facts, so I had to become a Liberal (or ratfucker as it's spelled on DU these days).
bowens43
(16,064 posts)
RobinA
(10,478 posts)I changed my registration from Independent when the Repubs went after Bill Clinton in the most disgusting and counterproductive show of partisanship (to that date) in my lifetime. I wanted to stake my little registration flag someplace where I couldn't ever be misconstrued as being even remotely likely to vote Repub.
Since then I keep it at Democrat because I have no place else to go. If there were a party that valued civil liberties, a strong safety net, and a country run by the people and for the people, I'd be in that party. But alas...
Youdontwantthetruth
(135 posts)Party just a little less evil but not by much.
However depending on who the Party Picks to run for POTUS in 16 will decide if I remain in the party or not after 36 years.
The party I joined is nothing like the party today and not in a good way either.
bhikkhu
(10,789 posts)Does the party not support equaiity, social justice, good environmental practices, a higher minimum wage, and so forth? I don't see a failure in policies myself, but a failure in implementation - largely due to having to wrangle with the republican majority in the house and issues with a somewhat imbalanced court. Perhaps you see something different.
Youdontwantthetruth
(135 posts)and has not for a very long time now.
Many in the party are also willing to accept crumbs and call it a feast too which is something I am not willing to do any more.
GOP Policies have also become the new Normal for the Democratic Party, which have and have even been expanded under the last 2 "Democratic" Presidents.
If the majority in the party thinks that GOP polices are A-OK in the Democratic Party, then I will just have to look at going someplace else.
Puglover
(16,380 posts)Not the least of which, is that my IQ hopefully, is slightly above room temperature and I also don't believe I am a paranoid sociopath.
bhikkhu
(10,789 posts)and all of my politics follow from that. The republicans are wrong on social issues, on the environment, and on the economy. I would say they've demonstrated a thorough incompetence at government, but really they're just following their own backward politics from a basic idea that people are basically not good.
hamsterjill
(17,577 posts)That is my main motivator. But the rest is just common sense. I want clean air. I want clean water. I want a level playing field at work. I want people to be able to spend their lives with whomever they choose. I want scientific research. I want innovation. I want the elderly cared for. I want children to learn. I want veterans cared for. I don't want war.
And I don't want a few billionaires screwing the rest of us over all the time.
I can't help it if I can see this. It's as plain to me as the nose on my face. Many of my friends are at the polls this morning voting for the fucking Republicans and simply cannot see it. Either they don't want to see it or they are simply ignorant. I'm not sure which.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Oh and not a perv either.
CrispyQ
(40,970 posts)I believe those who are able should contribute to a community pot that helps those that are not so fortunate. And yes, to those who much has been given, much will be asked. Why is that unfair? And yes, there are some who will try to game the system & get assistance they don't really need, but I do not believe the solution is to cut off help to everyone because of a few.
I'm a WITT = We're all In This Together, not a YOYO = You're On Your Own.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)
ProfessorGAC
(76,706 posts)They've been wrong about nearly everything but detante with the USSR and the EPA since i started paying attention in the 60's.
They continue to be wrong and they actually now make stuff up to avoid admitting they were wrong.
What better reason could i have? The party who is wrong about everything or the other side. Seems fairly binary.
Liberalynn
(7,549 posts)1. I was shown the "light" by some very capital L Liberal professors
2. I believe in Social Justice
3. I think it's stupid to be prejudiced about things like the color of someone's skin or their gender. Civil Rights are important
4. I hate being called a sinner by someone who has probably sinned in more ways than I can even begin to comprehend.
5. I think the majority of Republicans are ignorant selfish bullies. On the other hand I think the majority of Democrats are more intelligent and kinder. They just need to stand up for their beliefs more.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)I really wish I had a choice that was not sucky and corrupt and buffoonish, but I don't.
Tommy_Carcetti
(44,499 posts)And the Reagan mantra of government somehow being the enemy of the people was so off-putting to me.
That's pretty much the long and short of it for me.
lobointexas
(126 posts)My immigrant grandfather and my father were both coal miners. My dad started working in the mines at a young age. He told me that the mine owners / managers cared more about the mules than the miners, because if a mule died, they had to buy another one. If a miner died, they could just replace him.
My dad, who always voted straight ticket democrat, taught me to always be on the side of the working man.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)Depaysement
(1,835 posts)For me, it boils down to fairness. When someone gets too little pay for her daily toils, I see injustice. When the gay kid gets cornered and beaten in the locker room, I want to protect him. When I see people forced to live in hell so a tiny bunch of fat cats can lick the cream, I want Robin Hood.