How many DUers are old enough to have experienced our bad losses?

[Douglas Carpenter]

270. yes, and I'm old enough to remember when there were liberal Republicans

I'm old enough to remember when many Democrats were rejoicing at the nomination of Ronald Reagan because they knew that no way would an extremist like Reagan win a general election.

I'm old enough to remember when ALL POLLS showed Carter and then Mondale absolutely trouncing Ronald Reagan in a general election.

I'm old enough to remember when being liberal was completely mainstream and what would now be considered centrist Democrat - according to President Obama - would have been to the right of most moderate Republicans of the time. And what is now mainstream Republican would have been considered by mainstream Republicans of the time as extremist right-wing kook.

I'm old enough to remember when "centrist Democrats" would run away and hide at the mere mention of marriage equality.

I'm old enough to remember that if timing and certain situations were only slightly different George McGovern could have been elected President. However I certainly don't remember "being afraid to ever admit I was a Democrat in my local school." I voted for McGovern on my 18th birthday - November 7, 1972 and it was my proudest vote and the last time I voted my conscience.

I'm old enough to know that without real fundamental changes to the economic order, the environmental policies and a curtailing of the current unsustainable global military empire - in other words staying on the centrist course is a path to self-delusion and self-destruction. We cannot save our country and the world is we stay on this path. That is beyond un-pragmatic. It is impossible.