Progressives storm Democratic primaries

[Sophia4]

24. The reason that new candidates, new Democrats are challenging incumbent Democrats

is that Democrats have been losing too many seats, the presidency, state houses and governorships, right down to the local contests.

Losing an election is a message from the electorate that the voters prefer the opposing candidate. It's a tough message to deal with if you are the loser. And all too often in recent years, Democrats have been the losers.

So we will either change, which means opening ourselves to new ideas and new candidates, or we will continue to lose.

As I said, any Democrat in Congress who was fool enough to fall for the propaganda that sold the Iraq War, whether to fund it or to begin it, probably does not have the judgment or courage to represent the American people well. So they should be challenged and defeated in the next election. And as someone mentioned that goes for members of our Party who don't have the courage to stand tall on other moral issues, issues of justice for all, issues like public education, like healthcare for all, like a fair tax system that insures that our government is adequately funded and that the fruits of prosperity are shared by all while we prepare for the inevitable economic slow-downs, the recessions that are a part of our system.

Standing up for what is right is not "purity." It isn't something to be ridiculed. It is the duty, the responsibility of politicians to stand up for right.

If a politician is confused about what he or she thinks is right, or if the politician cannot communicate to voters the vision of right, of justice, equality, respect for our fellow human beings, reverence and love for the environment, etc. then that politician should be voted out of office. It would be great if all sitting Democrats had the ability to know, to stand up for and to communicate the great Democratic vision of equality, justice and prosperity that is shared, but whether they do or not should be decided by the voters. And that is the purpose of the challenge, of the primary. A politician who is not up to the competition of a primary should quit and give the job to someone who is up to it.

That applies within the Democratic Party as well as outside of it.

It's the politicians now occupying seats, now representing the Party, who are responsible for making sure Democrats are in the majority and that what they do appeals to voters. They have not succeeded in accomplishing that goal.

Let's get far more Democrats in office than we have now. If it takes challenges to the Democrats already in office, so be it. The point is to have a lively, meaningful discussion during primaries and during the campaigns preceding elections. Let's have this discussion about values and issues. Let's drop the word "purity." Jefferson, Madison and Adams might have argued about it, but they argued more about the issues. We should be doing that now. Primaries are good. If the winner unites the Party after the primaries, then that is the answer. It is up to the winner to reach out to the losers to reunite the Party after a primary.