Am I a Democrat?

[mick063]

16. The current Democratic party

has veered so far from the OP's vision, a former Democratic Party vision, that I have come to conclusion that a "knock down, drag out fight" is required to claim the party back.

Certainly, the folks that consider politics as a "team sport" where lockstep cheerleading is preferable to reclaiming party identity will spread disenchantment here. Winning at all costs is their mantra.

Folks that claim they can "no longer stomach visiting DU anymore" are witnessing the start of the fight. The GOTV chorus is starting to get drowned out with the "we want our party back" chorus.

The folks with time and effort invested in the party are disgruntled because many outside the party infrastructure do not appear "appreciative" of their efforts. Perhaps lost in all that hard work was what they should have been working for as many people are not satisfied with just "winning". Perhaps some of those that have worked so hard have coopted the party toward a different direction because they are not ideologically aligned with Progressive ideals.

Perhaps those that complain we are attempting to change the political landscape from a message board have not seen the images of people assembling in state houses and public parks only to be pepper sprayed and arrested.

Perhaps people that are due for influence on the party structure are not familiar with the inner workings of the structure and choose unorthodox methods because they are not included in the party structure.

Perhaps many people have recently awakened and are still under the learning curve of how to politically resolve this and perhaps those that retain power within the party feel threatened by such renewed interest. The comfort zone within the party machine isn't quite as comfortable as it once was.

Perhaps some people regard "taking the party back" as a higher priority than defeating Republicans.

The strongest message the current Democratic Party has is "We can't let those crazy Republicans win." This is not a message of vision. This is a message of ultimate failure. Further, when the progressive vision is properly spelled out in campaign rhetoric and then not implemented when in power, it goes well beyond vision. It has become a matter of trust. When the Democratic party loses trust, the calls for GOTV ring hollow. People will not show up. 2010 will repeat in 2014.