Well, congratulations, DU...

[MineralMan]

243. What I think is that there is a center to left spectrum

within the Democratic party, depending on what issue you're talking about. I see that clearly in my election year precinct walking.

There is also a distinct spectrum that ranges from people who expect perfection on specific issues and people who expect progress toward goals. Generally, people's target goals are pretty much the same, but some people will vote for candidates who can get elected and help move toward those goals over candidates who are adamant about immediate implementation of goals, but who stand little chance of election. A lot of Democrats who are regular voters in every election do not expect immediate results that actually reach target goals. A few Democrats insist on voting only for candidates who do expect such results. They won't vote unless the candidate who is running is one of the latter ones.

Those Democrats are usually disappointed in their expectations. Occasionally, they manage to get such a candidate through the primary process, and then are surprised when he or she loses in the general election. It's not much of a problem in my own districts, where the winning DFL candidates for state and federal legislative office and for local offices are quite progressive. But it is an issue, nevertheless.

Often the people I talk to who are unwilling to compromise on goal orientation and insistence on immediate action or nothing are focused on just one or two issues. Those are the only issues that concern them. No candidate who is not 100% on their side in those issues can ever be good enough to get their vote. Frankly, I don't spend a lot of time talking to those people in my precinct. Nothing I say will influence them, and the DFL candidate will win with or without their vote. But, their votes are often lost for statewide races or Senate races if they don't show up on Election Day. I tell them that, but that doesn't seem to matter to them, if the local legislator isn't 100% behind their position on some issue.

Center to left. That's what I see among voters who generally vote Democratic. Center to right is what I see from Republicans. The issue is where you draw the center line. And that's always the issue. I draw it right down the middle of the bell curve of voting habits. That's the physical center. I don't draw it based on my district or precinct, which is heavier on the left than some. I draw it based on voting habits in my own state, which is where the elections I vote in take place. And that center appears to be very close to the national center of voting habits.

If others draw the center line away from the actual voting center, then their definition is not the same as mine.

Thanks for asking your question. I still wish, though, that I had an answer to the question I asked the OP of this thread. I guess he or she has me on Ignore.