We are Democrats - All of Us

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26. mostly agree

...but it's hard to avoid defining what type of Democrats we are when even 'centrist' political figures openly celebrate that label - as much as 'liberals' and 'progressives' define their own political philosophy - and, openly disparage those outside of their political positions, just as much as the folks they seek to marginalize do.

I think most of us would agree that we need each other at voting time, but our primaries fully expect that we follow our own principles and seek to advance those who we feel will carry our particular viewpoints forward. General elections and the legislature are where we seek to reconcile those views under our Democratic banner to provide enough political elevation to numerically move our collective ideals forward into action or law.

No one in our party should expect that we agree on every issue and no one should expect people with strong views on any part of the 'big tent' spectrum would be readily willing to fold those views into one political box before we've even held our primary elections; before candidates have even made solid decisions to run and have developed their political platforms. Moreover, we're not likely to ignore clear records of political performance and actions from politicians which indicate future performance and actions.

Where I agree, Nance, is your emphasis on defending the notion of comity between 'supporters.' I also believe we should take more care in how we communicate our interests and concerns among ourselves - especially in this forum - to ensure a free-flowing and productive discussion where all views, within reason, are allowed to be included with respect and appreciation for our differences in an open and vigorous debate.

That said, however, as I said above, 'common purpose' is a political construct which is only necessary when we've exhausted our opportunities to choose candidates to represent us against republican rivals - that is, in general elections and in our legislature. Until that point, it's not only unrealistic to expect people to put aside their different points of view; their particular interests and concerns; and their political definitions; it's antithetical to a productive political debate.