What kind of Democrat are you?

[TN al]

As a Democrat I have ideals for which I strive but also I feel that one of the things that makes being a Democrat better than being a Republican is that we are just better people than they are. As my wife is fond to point out I often do not act in accordance with the ideals that I champion.

In the American Prospect, Robert Reich describes the kind of Democrat I would like to be:

"The real problem is that liberals refrain from demogoguery because we don't believe in it. Liberalism is the opposite of fanaticism. We cherish tolerance. We value deliberation. We respect rational arguement. We oppose all forms of tyranny. We have faith-and it is nothing but faith-that, in the end, they won't be able to drown us out, because common sense and common decency are on our side."

I come from a family that is conservative in nature and when I first became a voter I thought I was a conservative. I soon saw the light but perhaps me early flirtation with conservatism has caused me to be a Democrat that will not only not back down from political confrontation but at times even seek it like a demogogueing Republican. A fair picture would be the movie Witness, where Harrison Ford is hiding with the Amish and a group he is with is being teased. They start to tease Ford and he warns them through gritted teeth, "Don't do this, I'm not like them." before he proceeds to kick some serious butt. I would like, in every political confrontation to take the high road that is nearly always ceded to us by the Republicans. Instead I often feel like Ford, uttering to a Republican, "Don't do this, I'm not like them." I would like to be a better Democrat but maybe the Dems need a few people like me so that their message can be guarantted to be heard. So what kind of Democrat are you?