When am I going to learn to stay out of GD/GDP during these times?

[BlueIris]

WHEN? Have you all SEEN the crazy shite being posted in there at the moment? I didn't think it was possible for DU to get any more alarmist, extremist, hostile, judgmental and just plain all around batshit. I'm not going to mention topics or specific threads of course, but--!! Even I started getting sucked into it after the nutty...posters of a certain political stripe (read: trolls) started throwing out their misogynist flamebait again. No, I didn't respond to any flames. But the idea that in this climate I was even tempted to...it's yucky in there, is all I'm saying. I decided to bail when I saw my beloved JK/TK's names mentioned in context with some...disgusting shit they had nothing to do with. For those curious about how bad it's becoming in those forums? STAY AWAY. Wait until the dust settles a little. Not saying avoid issues/support/activism...just maybe don't try to get any feedback from the crazyfolk on this board for a while. It will save your blood pressure.

That sound you hear? Is my grinding my teeth while remembering TayTay's posts from the "we need to talk" sessions. DU is not a part of the liberal mainstream...not a part of the liberal mainstream...

[Mass]

1. Clearly, a lot of trolls, but also a lot of people worried by the

direction we are taking as a party. I know I am after the numerous mistakes that were done these last few days, from putting a just out of the box Senator as front man for the ethics reform (and I like Obama, but he is not ready for primetime) to the fiasco the Alito story is.

Sure some people are very excessive in their judgement, but I am not sure all are really ill-intentionned. However, you may be talking of a specific thread, but in this case, I have no idea what it is.

[ginnyinWI]

2. people are feeling more and more insecure

with this administration and country looking worse and worse. It's darkest before the dawn, I say! But I agree, I wish people wouldn't be so knee-jerk in their opinions. That's not a liberal value, is it? Nope.

[Mass]

3. I think that people really want to win this election so that things change

and, while some people are thinking that the way taken is the ONLY way to win 06, others are worried about what is done and how it sometimes looks amateurish. I have to say that I was a little upset these last few days by what I was seeing and I happened to see the press conference on Ethics Reforms given by the Democrats (or should I say Democrat as Obama was the only one there on time. Lieberman arrived 10 mn late, Feingold about 20 mn late). If we think we are going to win with PR like that, I think they are dreaming. My first reaction was: where are the adults?

[TayTay]

4. DU does represent just DU, but

the fights that we have on DU are sort of emblematic of the 'civil war' going on in the Democratic Party. We have all seen that. (Boy oh boy, have we ever seen that in the last week.) Ahm, it will get worse you know. This is a great big, pie-throwing, in-your-face, no-holds barred event and we have a ringside seat. (And Dems are highly entertaining when they fight, I am somewhat chagrined to say.) What DU does is magnify those fights that are going on because there are hundreds and hundreds of people who write posts and because of the immediacy of what forums and blogs do. We get to see the fights very up close and at break neck speed.

We have a lot of Dems who believe that the image of the Party, in effect, is what matters and that above all else we have to repair the image and get back the 'great middle' of America. They believe that the way to do this is to emphasize the issues that have always been winners for Dems, economic and labor issues. People elect Dems when they are worried about bread and butter issues like jobs, housing, affordability of schools and so forth. This position fudges the differences between Dems and Repubs and counts on the voter to 'come home' to the Dem Party based on this appeal to a narrow list of issues.

There is another strain that believes that we are 'empty suits' and don't actually stand for anything but meek platitudes and that the voters see right through this. This is the argument that Dems are nothing more than 'Repub lites' and that we actually have to take strong stands that are in opposition to the Repubs. Mr. Kerry did indeed do this last week, in as strong a way as is currently possible in DC. There will be fallout. (So what. There is always fallout whenever anyone steps out of the pack. You become a target, and a hero, a boat-rocker and a 'panderer' all at the same time. Again, so what. Take the fallout and see what happens. Movement is always preferable to standing still anyways.)

So, do we dance with Cindy or throw her over board? Do we emphasize that Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier killed in Bush's unnecessary war was denied a seat at the SOTU because of something written on a T-Shirt or do we ignore her and hope she will go away because she represents the deep conflicts that America feels about this war and that conflict is not totally a winner for the Dems. (It's not. It's a deeply emotional and painful thing and Cindy forces people to confront things and truths that they might not want to. The war is not easy to deal with and there are complications for the Dems no matter what they do.)

[sandnsea]

6. Or both

Middle America doesn't particularly want an empty suit that does nothing but roll out the next batch of tax and spend bread and butter social programs either. Everybody's right, why can't they pull it together in one platform. Real Progresss for Real People.

[BlueIris]

5. Egh. (I went back in.)

And now, I'm going for a long drive. (No, not an aimless one, I do have errands to run; shut up, it gets good gas mileage.)

Mass, your comments are interesting. I like Obama, too, but his role in the filibuster effort was...um...let's just say disappointing.

I'm also happy to see some people concerned about what certain Dems call "reform" and the Party's direction, also something I'm glad to see I'm not alone in, even if outside of this forum, some Progressives seem to feel that the best way to "address" this is to scream mindlessly. If you're going to make extreme statements, um, at least have a point? (Yeah, I posted in a few of the not-so-productive threads; I had to!)

ACK. Right now I am just so unhappy that I need to take a break. I will worry about the squabbling, nonsensicality, and having to share my Party with dipshits tommorow.