For Democrats to recover, ALL left-of-center people should be made welcome in the party.

[Ken Burch]

If we are to have at chance of making a comeback, we need everyone we can bring in.

And the vast majority of such people are in some part of the left or other.

Those who are to our right now are not going to support us later, no matter how much further right we go to appease them.

We can gain the additional votes we need by making it clear that this is a structure within which you can work for real change.

We can't increase our vote share by treating people we could work with as untrustworthy and driving them away.

People who back social justice, people who back economic justice, people who want BOTH(as almost all on the Left us do), people who want peace, people who want green values, people who want a country in which all who live here are welcome and all should be treated with dignity and respect-all such people should be encouraged to join us and fight for the country we deserve and the world we need.

Victory requires inclusion. Nothing but defeat comes of exclusion.

[hrmjustin]

1. We need to appeal to the left and center.

[Ken Burch]

72. We can do that without treating the left as untrustworthy.

In the last election, we ran a fall campaign designed almost entirely to appeal to the center.

It turned out that the "center", as the campaign envisioned it, didn't exist.

There WERE no "moderate Republican women in the suburbs".

They way you win moderate voters is to present whatever solutions you have as pragmatic and workable. Not by trying to find some imaginary midpoint between right and left.

[hrmjustin]

82. Ideological voters claim the center does not exist but in the real world it does.

And the left was not treated as untrustworthy.

[DanTex]

84. That's absurd. In the last election we ran the most progressive campaign in decades, maybe ever.

[Ken Burch]

85. As a candidate yes, and in the fall I supported her, as you know.

But the campaign run on her behalf was based on distancing her in the eyes of voters from progressive politics.

Which is exactly the same campaign that was run by the Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry campaigns.

What we SHOULD have done is run a campaign that actually made an unapologetic case for progressive politics as the most pragmatic choice possible. Instead of that-and most of the people in the campaign have admitted this-the focus was almost entirely on going negative against the other nominee, which is a tactic that never works for us.

[DanTex]

88. The campaign was not based on distancing herself from progressive values in any way.

I see no evidence of that whatsoever. The campaign was clearly staking progressive ground on both social and economic issues. More so than the successful 2008 and 2012 campaigns.

You may be right that the campaign was too negative. If so, that's a tactical error, but it has nothing to do with not being progressive enough or not having a progressive enough message. There was a progressive message.

[mcar]

99. That is completely false

HRC ran on very liberal policies and ideas. Your premise is just not true.

[guillaumeb]

106. In a nutshell. This response was worth the price of admission.

[radius777]

98. Exactly, and Hillary never moved away from her positions

that she took in the primary or early general election.

She was very clear, with detailed policy proposals that could actually work, because she's a policy wonk, and actually, you know, cared about being able to deliver on her promises.

Unlike other candidates in the race, demagogues with little understanding of how the real world works.

[Cha]

8. That's just Divisive.. We have Brilliant Dems running and winning and one is..

Joe Ossoff..

Who Is Jon Ossoff? 10 Things You Need to Know About the Georgia Congressional Candidate.

He’s a 30-year-old Democrat with strong chances in a GOP-centric district.

1. He grew up in the district he wants to represent.

2. But he doesn’t live in the district now.

Ossoff and his longtime girlfriend live just 10 minutes outside the 6th District so she can “walk to class at Emory University’s medical school,” the New Yorker reports. The two have been together for 12 years.

3. He has some political experience under his belt.

He was a staffer for John Lewis!

4. His film company is responsible for uncovering international corruption.

5. Now he’s looking to turn a red district blue.

6. He’s running a campaign focused against Trump but it’s not all about the president.

7. He is leading a crowded field but may face a runoff.

8. He has raised more than $8 million so far.

9. His win would be a major victory for Democrats.

10. Because of that, the attack ads against him are intense

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9267174/jon-ossoff-facts-georgia-special-election/

Democrats In Illinois Just Unseated A Whole Bunch Of Republicans

snip//

WASHINGTON ― In a spate of local elections last week in Illinois, Democrats picked up seats in places they’ve never won before.

The city of Kankakee elected its first African-American, Democratic mayor. West Deerfield Township will be led entirely by Democrats for the first time. Elgin Township voted for “a complete changeover,” flipping to an all-Democratic board. Normal Township elected Democratic supervisors and trustees to run its board ― the first time in more than 100 years that a single Democrat has held a seat.

“We had a pretty good day,” said Dan Kovats, executive director of the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen’s Association. “We won in areas we normally would win, but we also won in areas Republicans never expected us to be competitive in. They were caught flat-footed.”

More..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-grassroots-trump-elections_us_58efd21de4b0bb9638e270c1?sec3kkytkfz4lhaor&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[Pablorama]

11. Talk to these guys...

“It’s less important what our national message is right now, given that Donald Trump is sucking all of the oxygen out of the room,” Rep. Ron Kind told Politico.

“We have no message right now,” added one House Democrat who asked to remain anonymous. “But we don’t need one either.”

These sentiments echo those vocalized by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in February when she said that Democrats just need to wait on Trump’s voters to turn on him. “We’re not interested in losing any friends. Let them find out,” she said, adding that the women who voted for Trump were just following their husbands’ lead.

[Cha]

15. We have Excellent Dems running.. I'm sick of the divisive crap.

[Equinox Moon]

51. It's important for the party to be inclusive of both

moderates and progressives.

[Cha]

110. You linked to a rw source.. what do you expect?

You better start paying more attention to where you get your information from.. course rw assholes are going to cause trouble with our Democratic Party.. just like the asshole cenk.

[lapucelle]

107. We can all help Ossoff to win

by phone banking from our homes.
Mahalo Cha!

http://go.electjon.com/page/s/web-volunteer-ntl?source=MS_HP_FIELD_2017.04.03_X_volunteer-web_X__X__ntl

[Cha]

111. Mahalo, lapucelle!

[Demsrule86]

43. You link a post to New York Observer which is pro-Trump and

endorsed Donald Trump. Kushner was the publisher. This post says that the Democrats have no message which is a lie.

"If the New York Observer was still an influential newspaper (or website for that matter), their endorsement of Donald Trump yesterday would be a huge story. After all, when basically the only media entity in America to endorse Trump is owned by Trump’s son-in-law, that’s sad. When the editorial attempts to convince readers that the choice is not a result of its corporate owner, that is an even sadder day for the journalists who work there, and even journalism as a whole.

Displaying a level of disingenuousness for the ages, the paper’s “editors” wrote yesterday:

“Donald Trump is the father-in-law of the Observer’s publisher. That is not a reason to endorse him. Giving millions of disillusioned Americans a renewed sense of purpose and opportunity is.”

http://www.mediaite.com/online/%E2%80%8Bny-observer-endorsement-of-trump-far-worse-than-just-absurd-conflict-of-interest/

[George II]

69. It's owned by trump's son in law, Jared Kushner.

[Demsrule86]

90. Indeed....now there is a right wing source!

[leftynyc]

53. LOL - perhaps a source

that wasn't most recently published by degenerate donnie's son in law would be a better than this piece of crap. Just a suggestion if you wish people to take you seriously.

[George II]

68. That's Jared's site, did you know that?

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

3. Not gonna happen

Too many candy asses on our side who absolutely are convinced that we have to appease and compromise with the Reich wingers in order for this country to work.

[nolabear]

4. Preemptive strikes are now a good idea?

Candyasses? How does that help with anything?

[Hamlette]

12. and some of us life time party members simply don't agree with the Jill Stein/Nader members

candy ass or not

troll much?

[delisen]

27. Some of Left and Right are Putin promoters-won't be a Democratic fit.

[Cha]

19. Yeah, I'm not for appeasing the idiot trumpvoters.. I say

work to get those Dems to the Polls who didn't vote.

And, don't be excluding POC from our Platform.



This is where Tom Perez Stands..

Link to tweet

[dansolo]

25. You mean like Bernie Sanders?

Bernie is the one who keeps saying we should be reaching out to the "deplorables".

[pnwmom]

5. How do you define "our right"? That could include moderate Democrats in key states.

We shouldn't be making them feel unwelcome.

[Warpy]

6. I updated my voter registration tonight to correct an error

and I very nearly left the party affiliation box blank. Because of all the sniping at Sanders and "Bernie bros" and the other pejoratives for those of us who didn't fall neatly into line during the primaries, I'm not feeling particularly welcome in the party these days, nor on DU.

I never had a real problem with Clinton and I didn't have a problem voting for her in the general. Most of the lefties I know here felt about the same, especially once she'd budged to the left. It's why she got that popular vote win, all the supporters of other primary candidates voted for her, whether they supported O'Malley, Sanders, or were holding out for Biden.

I did finally write "D" in the box because I hold out hope that all the whinging about the lack of lock step unity during the primary dies down at some point. Conservatives can't win without the left. The left can't win without the conservatives. It's time everybody recognized that.

That and that politics is the art of taking what you can get.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

14. You're one of my favorite posters, so I welcome you being here!

I missed the arguments on DU during the primaries since I didn't join until later. Maybe I'd be a little vengeful if I went through it? I doubt it, though.

I also don't care that some of the Bernie Sanders supporters apparently joined that Jackpine site later. There's going to be some kooks among any group of people.

I've agreed with people on issues, only to be later surprised by the "reasoning" of the other people to reach that agreement. For example, if someone is concerned about CO2 and climate change, I'm not going to argue against them too much if their faulty reasoning is that CO2 emissions from humans is some kind of mind control conspiracy. I'll argue against that kind of nutty thinking, and I won't respect the person as much, but I'm not going to argue to the point of driving them away either. (I wouldn't support a candidate who spouted such nonsense, but I wouldn't turn against a voter with those odd ideas too strongly.)

Edit: I created that example from my imagination, but here's a better one that's more realistic. I've known some African Americans who vote for Democrats because they're hoping for reparations. I don't agree with the idea of cash-payment reparations for slavery, at least not now. It would've made more sense in the past with slave owners paying for it. Do I resent them voting for Democrats? Of course not! Maybe I wouldn't trust them to remain loyal to Democrats if, somehow, Republicans started arguing for reparations (which is extremely hypothetical if not impossible), but I'm not going to drive them away from the party in the meantime.

[Warpy]

97. Jackpine Radical was a chum and a fantastic poster, so it is annoying that

a site named for him after his death became overrun with trolls. Now that the election is long over, I'd have expected most of them to go back to Russia, but "split the Democrats" is likely still on the table. enforced.

[Docreed2003]

103. Nice post Warpy, well said. Hope you'll continue to grace us with your voice here!

[bekkilyn]

104. I know the feeling

I'm tempted to going back to being Unaffliated every day, but still hanging in there for now in hopes that the Democratic party will better represent me in upcoming elections. I'm still interested in seeing which direction they'll go.

[Warpy]

108. Seeing Perez and Eliison working together got me more optimistic

than I have been in a long time, but no 50 state strategy as yet. I know it takes time to overcome decades of doing the wrong thing, even Dean didn't manage it his first month in office, but I'm old and I don't have much time left and I'm sick of cooling my heels and waiting for leadership to do what they should have done years ago.

/rant

[bekkilyn]

109. I really liked that speech Perez made the other day

The one that was described as "fiery" by the press and that the Republicans were whining about because he used a "bad" word.

I really liked that the speech wasn't just about opposing 45, but he also mentioned specific economic policies that he planned to support. Hearing that speech made me more optimistic about the possible direction of DNC leadership. Time will tell, of course, but I hope to see even more fire from Perez and others in Democratic leadership.

[OnDoutside]

7. Trotskyists are left of centre, are they welcome too ?

Actually, there are some left of centre politicians who have been implored to join the Democratic Party, but have refused to do so. Sometimes, it isn't always the fault of those already in the Democratic Party.

[Ken Burch]

86. There are maybe two hundred actual Trotskyists in the entire country.

So the question is a strawman.

[OnDoutside]

89. I suspect there are far more than that ! However, as with many here in Europe, they call themselves

by different names, rather than scare off potential recruits.

[Eko]

9. Nope.

We are Democrats. We believe there are all kind of Democrats and others who support us or the policies we advocate for and that we can in turn support them. We welcome all who can work towards getting these things done. We can compromise, we realize that we do not have all the answers. We do not have to accept people who bash us, misrepresent our stances, demonize us, say that we are the problem and abandon us for slight differences in pivotal moments in history. We do not need people in our "tent" who are trying to tear it down. Not at all.

[seaglass]

23. Good answer. Though I think if those on the left who voted third party, wrote in Bernie

or sat the election out recognized their error in judgment there may be hope for them. Trump voters, no.

[Squinch]

31. .

[brer cat]

38. +1

Very well said, Eko.

[leftynyc]

54. Amen, Eko (n/t)

[sheshe2]

58. +1000

[jackssonjack]

61. Parfait!

Last edited Fri Apr 14, 2017, 12:04 PM - Edit history (1)

[fun n serious]

10. I am a Portland OR left of center DEM

and I feel totally welcome. The Tulsi dems are not lefties... they're something else.

[Foamfollower]

13. OFFS!

[JI7]

16. they are . most of them vote for democrats and have no problem doing so. if you are talking about

someone like susan sarandon she isn't really concerned with liberal policies. she is more like an internet troll.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

17. Supposedly, a higher percentage of Bernie supporters voted for Hillary in the GE than...

... Hillary supporters voted for Obama in the 2008 GE.

I'll try to locate the source of that information again, if requested. I didn't bookmark it.

I generally trust polls rather than get too upset by anecdotal evidence -- e.g., some Bernie supporters who joined another website.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. Here's one source, although it's not post-election polling.

[JudyM]

91. That is quite revealing. Thanks for posting it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

95. You're welcome!

[seaglass]

21. That wasn't really the right comparison in this instance. It should have been what

percentage of Bernie supporters would vote for someone other than Hillary, including third party and Bernie write-ins.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

24. The percentage of all third party votes, even if we assume...

... falsely that they all came from Bernie supporters, still doesn't make up the gap -- that is, adding them to the percentage who said they would vote for Trump still wouldn't match the percentage of Hillary supporters who said they would vote for McCain in the 2008 GE (as late as October).

Non-voters? That might do it.

[seaglass]

33. You're probably right however if I am going to take something as fact I would want to see

numbers of actual votes since that is what matters. Not how one might answer a pollster out of emotion.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

34. I agree, but I consider those polls more valuable than anecdotes.

I still suspect that animosity against Bernie supporters is blown out of proportion, possibly based on what happened at DU in particular. I'm also not convinced that it's helpful, assuming that some people are doing it because they think it's a useful psychological tactic.

The group that I despise the most are the "born-again" white Christians who overwhelmingly voted for Trump. If they hadn't voted, Clinton would've handily won the "white vote" as well!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

35. This is a better poll (days before the general election).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/03/clinton-inches-ahead-with-enthusiasm-back-on-par-with-trump-post-abc-tracking-poll-finds/

Post-ABC polls Oct. 31-Nov. 1
82% of Sanders supporters, among likely voters, planned to vote for Clinton.

That was a higher percentage than Trump received (75%) among supporters of other Republicans in the GOP primaries.

[Ken Burch]

73. That would not surprise me.

It would be interesting to find out what percentage of Bill's supporters voted for Hillary.

[duncang]

18. One thing I notice

Is there are so many shades and "flavors" of democrats. And that is to be expected. Everyone will have varying views on priorities. I consider my self left-center-left on almost all democratic ideals. But I am left center on a couple. I really appreciate those on the left that get out their ideals and sometimes you do have to poke someone with a stick to get them motivated. They just need to remember not to stone someone. Same goes for the centers going agianst the far left. There are commonalities and that is concern for now and the future.

[JNelson6563]

22. hopefully they show up!

"The party" is whatever the people who make it up say it is. The more of these fresh, ready to go activists show up, the more success we will have. And believe me, some of us are really glad to FINALLY see the rest of us waking up!!

[caroldansen]

26. If theyre a democrat and will vote democrat then they are welcome.

We have to stay united against the republicans.

[brooklynite]

28. Name of left-of-center person who's unwelcome...

[lies]

29. Not likely

The "far left" as defined by Democrats are not welcome. You can see that play out here daily.

Im not judging that, just pointing out what's clear to see.

[Squinch]

30. If, after the current debacle, any left of center person does not get off his or her ass and

vote for the Democrat, or if any left of center person does not quit whining about their perfect purity and does not quit voting for third party ego purity candidates, then those left of center people deserve to be drawn and quartered.

This is a war.

Our Democratic government, our voting system, has been kneecapped.

In the face of that, anyone who calls themselves left of center but continues to sit on the sidelines and complain about how the Democrats do it all wrong, thereby strengthening the Republicans' effort to destroy our country, gets no sympathy from me.

We don't have time for their bullshit. The grownups have work to do.

[brer cat]

40. Oh yes!!

Excellent post, Squinch.

[ananda]

32. If Dems want to win big ..

.. they will go left, speak to populist policies that will
help people and the society, just like Bernie Sanders
always does!

[beachbum bob]

36. left of center have never been excluded....unfortunately these people think they have

some type of superiority over average everyday democrats as we saw in 2016 election the inability of many "left of center" voters to either vote or they voted 3rd party because they didn't care if real evil got elected..they were NOT going to support the "lesser of 2 evils"....and we have what we have now...



democratic party IS the big tent party....and people who have the "my way or the highway " attitude are no better than the hardcore conservatives

[JudyM]

93. Please check your post for divisiveness... left of center Dems think they're superior?

[radius777]

100. agree, Dems are a centrist party and always have been.

Clintonism/3rd-way/center-left style politics are well in line with the history of the party, which has always been about adapting to the times and putting forth policies that help the middle class.

FDR only shifted farther left on economics due to the depression, and was needed in those times due to lack of any social safety net. Both Truman and FDR were center-right on foreign policy. JFK was a centrist liberal on most issues (who often challenged the left, i.e. "ask not what your country can do for you&quot , and Bill Clinton modeled himself around his hero JFK.

Clintonism saved the party (and led to the election of the first PoC in Obama) by appealing more to the vast center of America politics, where voters are concerned with everyday/pragmatic concerns, and far less with ideological purity.

[Nonhlanhla]

37. They've always been welcome

It's not left-of-center people who are not welcome in the Democratic Party. I should know: I'm left of center, and I'm a Dem. But many left-of-center people do not welcome the Democratic Party, and would often describe it as no better than the GOP. They're welcome to drop that holier-than-thou attitude and join the only workable progressive coalition, or they can continue to sit outside and whine about purity.

[WinkyDink]

46. Ditto, ditto, ditto!

[Demsrule86]

39. I wish you would stop these posts. They are divisive.

We are a big tent ...everyone is welcome here...But everyone has input about what the party should or should not do...thus come back...can't imagine with Trump running anyone ever left...but whatever...just drop the conditions to do so. You are part of an organization, and you won't like every single decision. There is a choice, vote Democratic or the Republicans win.

[R B Garr]

66. And this one is a hit and run. An almost identical

thread was abandoned after the proper agitation was achieved. It's basically spam.

[LaydeeBug]

41. Nope. For Dems to recover, the GOPee has to stop breaking the law, plain and simple. nt

[randome]

42. So anyone who SAYS they're a Democrat should be left alone? Disagree.

Sanders can't even be bothered to join up. Gabbard is a mole, imo. We don't need them. I can understand being welcoming of Sanders when he's in a positive mood but you never know when he'll be in one of his 'off' days, so he's not worth it. Again, imo.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[Equinox Moon]

50. Sen. Schumer appointed Sen. Sanders to lead the Dem Party

outreach for the nation.

[randome]

56. Sanders is a good man.

I hope he can stay true to his appointment and stop telling us we're "feeble" and no better than the GOP. I would think he's smart enough to not do that with a job that has specific goals.

Maybe he gets into his "off" periods because he doesn't have much in the way of direction. But being in charge of outreach may be enough to keep him focused.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[Equinox Moon]

57. Bernie founded, "Our Revolution"

I'm not intending to be antagonistic, yet I wanted to say that I disagree with your comment:

"...he doesn't have much in the way of direction."

Sen. Sanders has been solid with his "direction" for his entire political career. You might have meant something else by your comment and that is fine. I just wanted to point out his consistency, and that consistency of messaging continues with the outreach work he is doing. I have not heard all of his outreach work however, so you might have heard some things I did not. Just saying.

[randome]

59. There isn't much direction when he supports us one day and badmouths us the next.

Hopefully that will change now.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[JudyM]

96. Other Dems are saying the same thing, as observed earlier in this thread. It's a false and

divisive meme to villainize sanders about it.

[jackssonjack]

70. No, that isn't true.

There are several examples and all get waved off by his supporters as if he either doesn't ever make mistakes or there is some superior moral reason he did what he did, whether it be voting for the '94 crime bill or deregulation or using military intervention to topple Hussein in Iraq.

The constant adoration and idea that he has always fought for progressive values while implying the rest of the Democrats he caucused with were not fighting for them, the accusations that Democrats need to be pushed to the left by Sanders-it's all condescending and frankly, a total lie. Fact is Sen. Sanders had to be pushed toward Clinton's pragmatic and realistic plans. I'll use The Excelsior education bill in NY as an example.

[jackssonjack]

67. What does that have to do with the fact that he

refuses to join the party his supporter want him to lead?
If he won't join then, no he's not a leader of Democrats. He's a weak person basking in self-righteous glory. This in and of itself is divisive and one a good reason not to trust Sanders.

[Equinox Moon]

71. Have a good weekend.

[Ken Burch]

77. What difference would it make if he "joined" or not.

It sounds like you want our party's leadership to be able to make him shut up...and there are no situations in which that would help.

[jackssonjack]

83. Because then he has put something on the line.

If he wants to be a Democrat he can actually become a member. As of now, he stands under a different title berating Democrats with his self righteous blather while basking in their successes and evading the failures hiding behind the "Independent" veil. He caucuses with Democrats over 90% of the time therefore Democratic Party failures are Sen. Sanders failures.

Where has Bernie been all of these years while in office? Standing behind the very Democrats he calls establishment and "feeble".
What kind of leader can't accept that they are a part of the previous failures to get progressive legislation through? He wasn't throwing rallies or passing medicare for all, or stopping WS from creating huge credit bubbles, or getting money out of politics. He's been denigrating Democrats and he's done that for decades, even while they helped him start his political career and made it possible for him to run his last campaign. How does this help the party? How does this help anyone?

Sen Sanders can talk all he wishes, it's his right. But I and many others will also talk about how he is dividing the party. I will not stand by Sanders in any election. If his supporters wish to follow him, so be it, form your own party.

[Ken Burch]

75. We need his supporters and what they stand for, though.

Whatever your feelings about Bernie, we need to get buy-in from those who still stand with the guy. Make THEM unwelcome(or force them to disband as a group, which is effectively the same thing)and we will never find the votes we need for 2018 and 2020.

[randome]

79. But we lose anyways if they continue to think we're no better than the GOP.

The message that truly needs to get out is that we are not feeble and we are not the same as the GOP. Like I said, I hope Sanders in his new role can show more consistency in his messaging skills.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[Adrahil]

44. That works both ways....

I welcome allies from across the center-of-left spectrum. But if they barrel in calling erspected leaders in the party DINOs, DLC, Corporatists, then they can fuck right off. Respect and welcoming needs to apply across the board and let's talk about policies we think will bring the country and its people forward.

[WinkyDink]

45. Can we leave out Susan Sarandon?

[Ken Burch]

76. Pretty sure she would't WANT to work with us, so it's a moot point.

n/t.

[WinkyDink]

92. Heh. Touche'!

[Ken Burch]

94. For that matter, I don't think she wants to work with reality these days.

n/t.

[Equinox Moon]

47. "Victory requires inclusion" - Yes, it does.

Thank you for your op and I will go back and read the thread too. I too feel strongly about this and actively address it at the local party level and state level. We saw clearly how we have at least two aspects of the Dem party when nearly a 50/50 vote went for Tom or Keith for chair.

I want to see our Dem Party have equal respect for moderates and progressives. Equal voice & equal power within the party. One could say that about women and men as well, 50/50. Then, we win!

[MineralMan]

48. The Democratic Party already welcomes everyone who is

left of center. Anyone who is ready to support Democratic candidates for election is more than welcome to join the party to work toward that goal. However, anyone who works against candidates who have become nominees for office with the help of the Party is probably not going to feel at home with the party.

It's called the Democratic Party because all party positions and all candidates are selected using the democratic process. That sometimes means that not every candidate is going to completely satisfy every Democrat. In a democratic system, the majority chooses its leadership. That's at the core of how our party works.

[BannonsLiver]

49. ...

[RKP5637]

52. The democratic party needs to include everyone they can! n/t

[LanternWaste]

55. Of course they're invited, bless your heart.

Of course they're invited, bless your heart.

However, anyone I allow into my home who begins spitting tobacco juice onto the carpet and wiping their hands on window treatments will be asked to either stop or immediately leave.

Meaning, (yes, Virginia) exclusion. Because victory requires more than a simplistic bumper-sticker... it requires convictions as well.


It's not that difficult, no matter how much you want it to be.

[stevenleser]

62. Yep. nt

[FDRsGhost]

60. I'm left of center if not far left

I believe in FDR ideals and am progressive to the core. I'm anti-war and believe in universal basic income. I also believe health care and education are a basic human right regardless of how much money you make. I also think that we need to gut money in politics completely and that all campaigns should be grass roots funded by the people. I also believe in complete student loan debt forgiveness.

On and on.

I believe that what Bernie says is true and I feel he best represents me and what I stand for. Is that wrong? Am I not welcome here despite all the trash talking about him? As someone who is new, there's been many times I have often wondered why I'm here and how we can have a discourse among all of us without resorting to a flame fest.

It gets old hearing about how Bernie isn't that or this when the guy is out there fighting his living ass off for all of us. I also don't understand why these posts don't go against the TOS which specifically mentions Bernie Sanders in it.

Right now we need to have to have one of the most important conversations amongst ourselves where the party is headed, where it's direction should be going and how we best get there.Now I know some will say the party doesn't have to change but the fact remains that party leadership IS having this very conversation and recognizes it has to be had.

I almost left the party because of all the junk thrown at Bernie during the primaries. In the end I didn't and I voted for Hillary. Many on the left aren't happy with a lot of things and like it or not, millennial voters are now the largest voting block in America. A generation who is first to make less than their parents and who is swimming in enormous student loan debt. This is a huge issue which must be addressed because if we don't, we risk losing a whole generation of voters & that scares the living hell out of me.

We're a big tent that welcomes all. Inclusive not exclusive and that's what makes us great as a party but keep in mind, we need to make that tent a bit bigger too.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

63. I consider myself to be an FDR Democrat too, except...

... more socially liberal than those days, of course.

It would be a mistake to alienate the liberals of the party too much. It could fracture it, resulting in a new progressive party that would be formidable.

According to exit polls, Clinton received most of her votes from self-identified liberals! Pulling in votes from moderates is crucial too, but liberals might feel they're taken for granted after awhile.

http://edition.cnn.com/election/results/exit-polls

Ideology
Liberal (26%)
Clinton: 84%, Trump: 10%, Other: 6%
Moderate (39%)
Clinton: 52%, Trump: 40%, Other: 8%
Conservative (35%)
Clinton: 16%, Trump: 81%, Other: 3%

Estimated vote percentages for Clinton:
Liberal: 0.26 x 0.84 = 21.8%
Moderate: 0.39 x 0.52 = 20.3%
Conservative: 0.35 x 0.16 = 5.6%

[Ken Burch]

74. Thanks for that. And it isn't even about Bernie as such.

Neither Bernie NOR Hillary will be the nominee in 2020.

[treestar]

64. they are but some of them expect

to be obeyed and served and not to participate and won't compromise with the center Dems. Call people "corporatist" and the like rather than work with them.

[ananda]

65. That's easier said than done.

The Reep-lite progressives have taken over my area,
though they do work as Democrats to help defeat
Reeps here in Texas ....

[L. Coyote]

78. Since when haven't they been?

All my lifetime the Deems have been the Big Tent party.

[askyagerz]

80. The problem is more about reality vs ideology

Centrist dems understand that most of the stuff Bernie talks about just can't happen. Kind of like trump is realizing that this country is very center and you just can't do whatever extreme thing you want.
The thing the centrist don't realize is most left people actually understand this and aren't expecting a great social change overnight. They know pushing "extreme" ideas over time is the only way to move the marker left for our kids and grandkids. We have to make our issues more mainstream so they will be more of a norm for the generations coming up.

[Scruffy1]

87. It's already happening.

Where I live is one of the bluest places in America. What I've seen since the election is that a whole lot of younger people. POC, leftists, and former apathetic voters are really getting involved. In this area it's not about Democrats versus Republicans but about the party itself and it's direction for the future. I think Trump woke up a sleeping giant. The turnout in my precinct for city council and mayor was amazing and the majority went for an outsider to replace our current Democratic councilman, who has been on the wrong side of too many issues. This is healthy. It is no longer enough just to be a Democrat. People are paying attention. State wide we have other problems, but I think that many of the rural Republicans are in fear of the fall out from 45. The disaster of 2016 will not be forgotten and the people coming in want change in the party and are willing to work and hold representatives feet to the fire. Being involved for many years in local politics I have never seen such a change. I'm hoping Perez can bring change at the national level. but I'm a little skeptical of the powers that be. By now, even the most casual of observers should have realized that status quo isn't going to create any excitement or get people to the polls.

[bekkilyn]

105. +1 political parties just don't have so much importance anymore

It's the candidate and what he or she stands for that matters the most. People are tired of candidates who refuse to represent the "little guy" and are having less and less of qualms about voting them out no matter what letter is next to their names. It's important for us as citizens and voters to hold our political representatives accountable.

People on this site and other places can complain however much they want about how people have no party loyalty and how they "should" always vote Democratic etc. but the reality is that people are finally getting tired of the partisan crap, and the election of 45 has only motivated more people to want change from political business as usual.

Our choice is to ignore it at our peril or to work with the new reality. If the party refuses to do that, it will simply be left behind with more and more people dropping out and becoming Unaffliated/Independent.

[radius777]

112. but most who voted in Drumpf also voted GOP

all over the country, straight down the line, for standard conservative GOP type candidates who aren't populist or independent minded at all. Populist Dems like Feingold lost to such establishment GOP candidates. If there truly was a populist or anti-establishment wave, that wouldn't have happened, we would've seen much more split ticket voting.

Part of what you say is true, that the parties have far less power than they used to, and that is a good thing. We probably need a mutiple party system so more views get represented.

But, imo this election at its core was backlash against the first PoC president, and the idea that a (non subservient) woman could be president next.

[pnwmom]

101. They ARE. But you apparently think we should be bowing down to one group of party members.

Every Dem's vote counts the same as any others. And we need the moderate Dems, especially in the swing states, or soon-to-be swing states.

[walkingman]

102. The Center has moved so far to the right that

Nixon would look like a Democrat these days. Until the Democratic Party become a more progressive party our country is doomed to be ruled by the Greedy Bastards and Religious zealots.