The STOU ops on DU today has me a little shocked..

[bigtree]

63. no, our party is a coalition of individuals

...dissent on issues after we've already voted should be expected from such a broad coalition of disparate concerns and interests from myriads of individuals from different regions and locales around the nation.

We all bring our individual concerns and ideals to the political process and those of us who identify as Democrats rally under our Democratic banner to elevate our issues, initiatives, and concerns to a level where they can be debated and reconciled in our legislature - often resulting in compromise legislation.

If we fail to recognize the individuality of our Democratic voters we will lose the genius of our coalition. It's an impossibility that we will agree on every issue. It's just unrealistic; and, in many ways, unnecessary. What I believe is vital is that we recognize and respect our different views (within reasonable boundaries of our party's philosophy and platform) and work to resolve any differences we may have without unnecessarily alienating Democratic-minded voters from our coalition. That's what keeps us together at election time and attracts more voters to our coalition; not some arbitrary demand for fealty to our party or pols.

It's as if you completely disregarded what I said. I have NEVER voted for or advocated for an 'independent' candidate in my entire 36 years of voting. I ALWAYS vote Democratic.