Editorials & Other Articles
In reply to the discussion: The Bernie Bros and sisters are coming to Republicans' rescue [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Let's digress to Mello for a moment. You assert that he wanted to require transvaginal ultrasounds. The Common Dreams article that I linked said that the report to that effect (in that beacon of progressive truth, The Wall Street Journal) was false. I trust Common Dreams more than The Wall Street Journal, but I'm not inclined to research the matter further. I guess I could try to establish exactly what position he took, as well as his opponent's position, as well as what influence the Mayor of Omaha could have on the issue, but I'm not going to. Refighting the Omaha mayoral race is pretty pointless.
As another digression, you state reasons for disliking Jane Kleeb. The issue is not her overall merits. The issue, in the context of this thread, is whether she's one of those "outsiders" and "non-Democrats" whom you castigated in #98. The fact is that she's the state party chair. Maybe you wouldn't have voted for her for that position, but your personal disapproval doesn't convert the state Democratic Party chair into a non-Democrat or an outsider.
The reason these are digressions is that the heart of my post wasn't to defend Heath Mello. It was to defend the right of Democrats to criticize him -- along with the right of Democrats to criticize opponents of single payer. By contrast, your basic point is still the same: Criticizing Democrats who disagree with you is fine, but criticizing Democrats who agree with you is sowing division and helping Republicans. That's an unjustifiable attempt to suppress intraparty debate.
You ask, "Are you for or against human rights for all people in the U.S. or not? That is a legitimate litmus test." My answer is that I'm for it but I don't treat it as a litmus test. That's why, when I lived in New York, I voted for Hillary Clinton for Senate even though she was opposing marriage equality and insisting that marriage was a sacred bond between a man and a woman. I believed then and believe now in human rights for all people, including LGBT people. Although Clinton failed that test, she was still better than her Republican opponent. In that Senate race and in the 2016 race for President, I voted for a more progressive Democrat in the primary but voted for Clinton in the general election. I understand the views of those who made human rights or the Iraq War or something else a litmus test, but I don't agree with them.