Perhaps this civil war is a good thing.

[Kentonio]

Seeing how divided and at war the left and right wings of the party are at the moment, it's tempting to wish for peace, and that we'd all re-unify ready for the general. I've started wondering though whether that's actually true. The divide between the progressive and corporate Dems isn't a new thing. On the progressive side we've been kicked into a corner for as long as I can remember, and told to basically shut our mouths and vote. All our hopes and dreams for the future are mocked as 'ponies and unicorns' and even the supposedly progressive President Obama's chief of staff was happy to call us 'f*cking retarded'.

In the meantime the party membership has plummeted, we've lost countless seats across the country and the Republicans can run a moron like Trump and that actually be considered a realistic race for the Presidency.

Really? This is the coalition we want to unify?

With huge numbers of former Democrats and Independents finally paying attention to the party again, and a genuinely clear and stark divide between the candidates and their ideologies, perhaps this is EXACTLY the right time for us to shake out all the pent up frustrations and clear away the old wounds and once again build a party that actually stands for something.

[PatrickforO]

1. It is time.

Well written post.

[monmouth4]

2. I second that. Beautifully written, and yes, it's time...n/t

[swilton]

4. Thank you

Same old, same old doesn't work for today's problems.

[daleanime]

5. Hell yes....

[DaveT]

6. Before I was old enough to vote in the 1960s

in Texas, there was no Republican Party to speak of.

The real contest for power was in the Democratic Primary and the contests between the Alan Shivers Conservative faction and the Ralph Yarborough liberal faction were brutal and much more personal than what you see today.

People really cared about the party structure and the precinct conventions were major events with real consequences for the party. Old style parliamentary bullshit was common, like secretly telling your supporters to get to the site early and then locking the doors before the official start time. I remember my best friend's mother (who was Ann Richards' duet singing partner in the North Dallas Democratic Club variety shows) pounding on the door of our elementary school auditorium, vainly trying to get into the precinct caucus.

Going back two more generations, there is the wisdom of Mr. Dooley (written by Finley Peter Dunne):

“No, sir, th' dimmycratic party ain't on speakin' terms with itsilf. Whin ye see two men with white neckties go into a sthreet car an' set in opposite corners while wan mutthers 'Thraiter,' an' th' other hisses, 'Miscreent,' ye can bet they're two dimmycratic leaders thryin' to reunite th' gran' ol' party.”

This the nature of democracy. We can win this thing if we stay the course. We are winning now, but it is a long way to November.

[Betty Karlson]

7. If you want votes, don't offer the lesser of two evils.

Instead, offer voters someone GOOD.

[LibDemAlways]

8. Power in this country is currently shared by

two major parties, Repukes and Repukes Lite aka Democrats, who both do the bidding of the corporate 1%. Under this power structure the 99% have been subjected to lowered wages, job insecurity, a service economy, and loss of pensions, while at the same time being hit with outrageous bills for medical "insurance" and services, housing, food, transportation, education, and everything else.

The other night I tuned into a San Jose Sharks vs LA Kings hockey game and wondered aloud where the money came from for fans to buy overpriced tickets in the SF Bay area where a modest fixer upper costs a million dollars. Then it dawned on me that the only hockey games I've attended recently were courtesy of tickets provided to my brother as a favor by a wealthy friend. Even entertainment has become a stretch for the masses. Good thing my daughter was young at a time when Disneyland was still relatively affordable. Today you practically have to take out a second mortgage to be able to take children to the "Happiest Place on Earth" -- thanks to the greed of the corporate suits.

Bernie's message is simple. Things have gotten out of hand and it's up to us to take back our country from the Repukes and Repukes Lite who live like kings while treating us like shit. Decades after "Network," people are finally going to the window and shouting "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore." And doing something about it by supporting the catalyst of change, Bernie Sanders. He's right. This isn't about him. It isn't about party politics. It's about us and who we want to be as a nation.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. "once again build a party that actually stands for the Clintons."

Fixed it for you.