It's time to put aside our differences and unite against Bush

[pnwmom]

Don't miss Ernest Partidge's great essay:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/CrisisPapers/19

"Finally, as noted above, many progressives demand total agenda agreement and ideological purity among their allies before facing outward and taking on "the enemy." And because many of these internal disputes are interminable, the GOP and the regressive right often get a free pass."

SNIP

"The Democrats should now be making alliances with the disaffected Right: libertarians, Christians (emphasizing the forgotten moral teachings of the Sermon on the Mount), and the "lost Democrats" of labor and the middle class who had defected earlier to Ronald Reagan."

SNIP
"Expose the election racket, demand fair and verifiable elections. And do it now. Time is of the essence."

"Above all, we must unite! Put aside intramural differences, form alliances with former adversaries, focus on common concerns and aims. Let's take back our government, then we can duke out our differences, as fellow citizens in a restored republic under the rule of law.

Keep your eyes on the prize!"

The prize is the preservation of American democracy. Our future as a free country is at stake.

[redqueen]

1. hasn't the party been trying to make alliances with the right for years?

isn't that what that triangulation stuff was all about?

he should be careful with his words... i'm not ready to cede ONE MORE INCH to these criminal bastards.

they confirmed hayden today... $#&( any more "alliances"... $&#*@ that idea right to hell.

[pnwmom]

3. He's talking, I believe, about reaching out to disaffected voters

-- not to right-wing politicians . He's talking about reaching out to "Reagan Democrats" who may be ready to become just plain Democrats, to Christians who believe in progressive social ideals, to libertarians who now are realizing that our fundamental liberties are being threatened.

But, yes, I agree with your take on the Hayden vote. A disgrace.

[redqueen]

7. I see... I like these excerpts a lot!

"The DC Democrats, who should now be vigorously facilitating this break up, appear to be content to be spectators. Meanwhile, as they anticipate their fully anticipated Congressional takeover, the Democrats make hypothetical committee assignments and plan their legislative agenda, paying scant attention to the prerequisite task of winning the election or addressing that little problem of election fraud that deprived them of their victories in the past three elections.

(snip)

This opposition must no longer oppose knives with bare knuckles. We all know now that the GOP fights dirty. No need to descend to their level, but it is imperative that the Democrats fight hard and fight smart. Expose the dirty tactics and turn them against the GOP. "Frame" the issues and mobilize the language into an effective weapon. Coordinate the attacks. Take the offensive and never yield it.

And of course, fire the defeated generals - Bob Shrum, James Carville, Paul Begala, Donna Brazile, John Kerry - and install some new faces with fresh ideas."

Yeah, I got the wrong idea when I first read your post... I completely agree with this guy. 100% :7

[pnwmom]

14. Thanks for reading the whole thing-- and for your excerpts!

I never know which 4 paragraphs to pick, and your choices are ones that I hated to have to "snip."

[fooj]

2. I fully agree.

The prize is the preservation of American democracy. Our future as a free country is at stake.

I can't tell you how many times I've said this myself. I'm beginning to believe that no one really gives a shit anymore. I have begged people around these parts to UNIFY...to no avail. I'm frustrated as hell about it. Grrrrrrrrr...

[pnwmom]

5. Sometimes I wonder if the younger DU'ers think the last

several years have just been "politics as usual" -- hence, no crisis.

Meanwhile, people my age can remember when Watergate suddenly came crashing down and we've been spent the last few years expecting at any moment that the Bush administration would implode. How could it not? But the longer he survives, the greater the fear becomes that he can withstand anything. That the "game" of politics is over, and has already been replaced by permanent one-party government. And yet we can't give up, can we? So the sense of urgency, the sense of crisis. There has never been an election in my lifetime with so much at stake.

[fooj]

9. I hear you.

People either DON'T get it or they simply DON'T WANT TO!:cry:

[LoZoccolo]

4. I'm with you, but still I think this is gonna be like...

:popcorn:

[Catchawave]

6. "Together we can make a difference"

I just posted information on joining the One Corps in the Activist HQ, John Edwards Supporters and in GD-P.

I choose to be inspired :hi:

Oh yeah, and nominated your lovely positive post :loveya:

[pnwmom]

11. Thank you, Catchawave!

[jody]

8. Start by supporting the new party platform when it comes out. n/t

[leftstreet]

10. That's right! The DLC needs to STFU

so we can bring back "the "lost Democrats" of labor."

Once that's done, once the party is back in the hands of labor, they can start whining about school prayer and flag-burning amendments again. If anyone's still listening to them.

:eyes:

[pnwmom]

12. I agree that we need to do a much better job representing labor

[Catchawave]

13. While I understand your frustration....

I really don't understand the DLC smackdowns on DU :shrug:

The RNC eats these kinda posts for breakfast !

[redqueen]

15. Who cares what they do with them?

DLC is a failed organization. Their strategy of triangulation has failed. Their strategies for winning elections have failed (or rather won by the THINNEST of margins, enabling the GOPranos to steal them without much outcry).

We need to stand for what the Democratic party has historically been about, and the DLC does not seem to share those ideals.

We will NOT win by trying to run yet another "us too, but not as much" campaign.

[Catchawave]

19. So start a new party !

Leave mine alone :hi:

[redqueen]

31. See, that's what I say to the DLC ...

since they've only been around for a while, yet in that short span of time have managed to nearly destroy my party.

:hi:

[leftstreet]

16. I don't care what the RNC is doing

I'm interested in what the DNC is doing.

The time is now.
The party must bring back its labor base.

And it won't happen with the DLC in the way.

[Catchawave]

21. Suggestions for uniting ?

Are you following John Edwards? Just wondering, he has his boots on the ground with the unions right now, the DLC doesn't seem to be bothering him :hi:

[welshTerrier2]

17. sorry ... this is total crap ...

any essay that starts off with "many progressives demand total agenda agreement and ideological purity" does nothing to help build unity ... a great big no f**king way to that!!!

then it goes on to talk about how Democrats should make alliances with libertarians, Christians and Reagan Democrats ... well how about making some alliances with the left end of the spectrum ... this whole essay is bullshit ...

the one thing it got right is the importance of unity ... too bad the author doesn't have a clue what it will take to achieve unity ...

can you say "party reform"?? ... can you say a more open process??

there's a great saying: "if you want peace, work for justice." ... perhaps we could alter it here to fit our needs ... if you want unity, work for a more democratic process ...

i'm sick and tired of having progressives blamed for the disharmony ... when you want to sit down and do the real work to find common ground, please stop by ... all i see is a party pushing the status quo and insisting we all get on board to sustain it ... i'm more than open to real dialog; i am not at all open to being criticized as a purist ...

[Catchawave]

18. We've had 6 years to build harmony !

It's SOS since 2000. Me personally, am sick and tired of all the (generic) whining about the DNC/DLC/DSCC/DCCC are poopyheads.


We are the change...so I guess I'm happy with our Dem Leaders. :shrug:

[welshTerrier2]

20. calling for reform ...

and better representation and the sharing of power and enhanced democracy should not be perceived as whining ...

it must be nice to be happy with the Dem leaders; sorry, i'm not ... i'd like to be an ally and an enthusiastic supporter - things will need to change for me to get there ...

i hope they do ... calling for unity without calling for intra-party reform is little more than empty words to me ...

[Catchawave]

22. 'splain intra-party reform and

what's being done about it ? I'll support that! No wait, I'll support candidates and the messages I agree with.

I just see alot of DLCKKK rhetoric on DU, and not enough direction. In the past 6 years (maybe longer since the Clintons basically formed the DLC), I like this Dem party, I would love it more with spine and cajones!

[pnwmom]

29. So you honestly think it doesn't matter whether the Republicans maintain

their stranglehold on the Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court ?

And unless the Democrats "reform" themselves, you don't care whether they or the Republicans are in office?

[sandnsea]

30. And then goes

on to list people we shouldn't unite with, who arguably are better Democrats than the libertarians, Christians and Reagan Democrats the writer wants to appeal to. :crazy:

All one needs to do is to take a look at the immigration issue to see why we're having such a difficult time creating a unified party.

[radio4progressives]

23. The Writer Makes a Bogus and Divisive Assertion while demanding

unity. Drop the canard that Progressives are seeking "total agenda agreement" or "ideological purity".

Progressives are anti-RIGHT WING BULLSHIT. The current meme that Right Wingers in the Dem party promote is that being anti Iraq war is somehow extreme "leftist" . While it is true that we on the Left were out front against the war from the beginning and have continued to be - we should be credited (and praised) for speaking out and protesting the Iraq War, not ridiculed and marginalized for it by hacks like this writer. It wasn't about purist ideology - it is about MORAL PRINCIPLES! Goddammitt! We were right because we knew the reasons for going was a LIE - we were not duped by the WMD canard because we knew who the fucking players were and we read their policy documents.

We knew what the hell the Iraq War agenda was about long before we went in. The Media knew it and so did Congress.

Bush isn't the only problem with what is wrong - our fight isn't really about Bush specifically, and the ABB campaign is over.

That ended in November of 2004.

This is now 2006. And this is a different campaign.

We want all the bastards that went along with the most inhumane policies of our recent history to be ousted, regardless of party. That includes the likes of the Zell Millers and the Liebermans. This is not about purity, this is about basic fundamental principles of our democracy and our Constitution.

Congress was derelict in their duty by give Bush the blank check to go to war without just cause. It's time for accountability.

And further more, it is to OUR CREDIT that we called that war for what it is despite the demonetization of progressives and leftists for doing so.

And isn't about fvcking time that the so called "moderates" (not)in the party stop being allowed to get away with the canard that the progressives are about "ideological Purity"?

[welshTerrier2]

24. demonetization?

does this mean they're going to take away my money? :scared: :scared: :hi:

[radio4progressives]

27. oops. loopy spell checker !

:rofl::rofl::rofl: :hi: thanks!

[pnwmom]

25. I'm not sure where you're getting your ideas. I don't know any Democrats

who say that being against the war in Iraq makes you an "extreme leftist." Certainly the writer of the article didn't say that. How could a position that the majority of Americans now hold make you an extreme anything?

I was out there protesting the war months before it started, so I certainly wouldn't "demonize" others who have always been against the war. Having two teenage sons, I am terribly worried about the possibility of the draft. And I am as sick about Iraq and what we are doing to the people there as you are.

I think you are completely misreading the writer. He isn't "ridiculing" you. He isn't "marginalizing" you. He is just saying that we need to put aside our differences and work for new leadership in Congress so that we can begin to change things. Did you even read the whole article?

[radio4progressives]

26. The So Called "Differences" that we're supposed to put aside, is the Iraq

War! That's been the mantra for Three years now.

up until now, it was specifically spelled out over and over again. All those who demanded an End to the War, or protested the War from the beginning (until recently, now that the majority of Americans AGREE with us!) the entire issue was framed as "those fringe leftist who oppose the war" -

There are no other "DIFFERENCES" in the context of the current political debate we have. Those of us who have been deeply frustrated by those Dems who voted in supported of the War and continued to voice support of the war, or not speak out against the war - have been demonized by the Democratic Party leadership as "too far left" or the "Fringe Left".

I can't believe i have to remind readers on THIS forum - but maybe this is just an example of the "short attention span" Americans are notorious for suffering from - no wonder we have allowed a fascist state to rise in this country - too many seem to forget what happened yesterday - much less a generation before.

[pnwmom]

28. What? There are plenty of other differences.

Just a few of the controversies that divide us -- immigration, the economy, glbt issues, abortion, NAFTA, CAFTA, . . .

If there is anything we are almost all agreed on now it is that the war in Iraq was a huge mistake and we need to get out as quickly as possible. Jack Murtha's is the mainstream Democratic position and has been for some time.

No one is asking you to support the Iraq war. But let's get together to put new leadership in place because the Repubs in office have World War IV and permanent one-party government in mind.