Okay it looks like Kerry. But Dems should not take anything for granted.

[Armstead]

ABB, ABB, ABB.....Wooo, wooo I'm on that train. If Kerry is the engineer, I'll be on board.

BUT

...if the Democratic "centrists" think they can take for granted the grassroots, populist, liberal,progressive energies unleashed by Dean, Kucinich, Clark et. al. they'll be making a HUGE MISTAKE.

Saw Rep. Ford on TV and he was listing all the "great" candidates Kerry had to choose from. It was like the DLC Hall of Fame. Richardson, Bayah...etc.

Kerry's likely victorey is not a victory for the DLC. This is not a victory for tame Vanilla Corporate Centrism.

It is NOT a repudiation of all that Dean, Kucinich, Clark, et. al. said and have done or what they represent.

This is media manipulation, political brainwashing and desperation over the burning urge to boot Bush.

Kerry's not a bad guy. He might make a really good president. But he and his supporters and the DLC types had better not mistake this for a mandate for business-as-usual, stale, corporate Democratic centrism.

We need change.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Kerry belongs to the DLC for reasons I will never know.

He is much too liberal on the whole to be one of them.

I will proudly support him if that time comes.

[Virgil]

2. Yep, we need change

One thing we need to get to is a direct vote for president like most countries in the world. We need runoffs until a majority is reached. The whole system is gamed and change is badly needed.

[paulk]

3. I will be disappointed if Kerry chooses someone like Bayh

Richardson I could see for a western /Hispanic strategy (outside of his DLC credentials).

I'm worried that if the Republicans decide to paint Kerry as a Ted Kennedy liberal, he might move toward the center with his VP to offset that.

[Armstead]

4. It should be a pro-active choice for VP

Maybe he oughta have Ted himself as his VP.

Okay not really. But a DLC vanilla type (including Richardson) would be a slap in the face to so many people, IMO.

If after all this turmoil things just cycle back to Pink Tutu Business as usual, it'll be really disappointing.

[King of New Orleans]

5. Of course the V-P

can't be from the same state as the President (hence Dick Cheney having to sneak back to Wyoming).

[KoKo]

6. Geeze Armstead.........where are you coming from on this post?

:-( I just logged in here after being out of touch with what's going on for hours and I see devastation because Clark dropped out....which surprised me, and I'm sad for all his supporters.

But what's this with you jumping on Kerry's bandwagon. It's bad enough out here with Dems dropping like flys but you are pumping Kerry?

I didn't need this...... What gives? A special thread about this?

[Armstead]

7. I'm not pumping anyone

(There's a pun in there I'd rather avoid. :) )

But i do see the handwritin on the wall. I'm not happy about it (to say the least). And seing Dean on TV tonight and hearing Kucinich on Malloy and hearing a bot of Clark's speech only makes me madder.

I'd love to be proven wrong. But I'm a realist. Anmd we all gotta play with whatever cards we're dealt.

But I don't think the "cause" is over. I think everyone who wants real change needs to serve fair warning to the Democratic Party establishment not to think they can marginalize what has happened over the past year, and just return to the same old same old.

It it is indeed Kerry, he'd better get some "new best friends" and not merely hang out with the insider crowd.

[KoKo]

8. The question is........how do we get Kerry to listen as he sprints to the

finish line unopposed?

I thought he would have more opposition (although, I like you, was pragmatic enough to figure he would get the Nomination. Still, I thought he'd get some good opposition.

Why now does he need to listen to us puny group of folks? Actually there are more folks mad as hell out there who aren't members of DU, but how will they organize themselves without someone to lead them?

Not good. Kerry shouldn't have gotten it this quick. And, it makes it look too easy. Some folks in the other parts of the country than those little states who were in the primaries so far, are going to feel slighted.

I'm not sure how this will all turn out. I just don't want to cave right now. :-( Thanks for your reply.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. In the primaries, you do NOT have to accept the frontrunner

I'm going to be caucusing for Kucinich, and you and everyone else should caucus or vote for whomever they want.

The more votes the non-Kerry candidates get, the more Kerry (if he, as it seems, gets the nomination) will have to pay attention to the dissenters.

Whatever happens in November, we have to keep nipping at the heels of the Dems and prevent them from putting on their pink tutus.

[Armstead]

10. I don;t disagree with either KoKo or Lydia

I'm actually saying the same thing, badly.

One correction Lydia -- we shouldn't nip at their heels. We nee to someshow chomp them hard enough so they have to pay attention.

Although Kucinich, Dean, Clark and Sharpton and their supporters are different groups, taken together they all represent a common push for change on a more basic level in the political culture.