DU is representative of the Democratic Party as a whole?

[Cuban_Liberal]

Poll question: DU is representative of the Democratic Party as a whole?

What do you think?

[dave123williams]

1. Acerbic, divided, argumentative; yes, it is.

[greenohio]

2. Wherever DU is

we don't want to admit it.

[bunkerbuster1]

3. Well, of course we're more to the "left" than most American Dems

got a problem with that? I don't.

[Cuban_Liberal]

5. I have a problem with it, when it becomes navel gazing.

When it becomes an echo chamber where other, equally legitimate thought is treated as anti-liberal heresy, then yes, I do have a problem with it.

[JohnKleeb]

7. there is always more than two ways to things

The problem with some of us is and I don't mean to be rude but some see things, theres either our way or their way, now I am a shades of gray thinker, I look for multiple solutions to stuff, I dont feel theres one way or the other, rather many ways. Thats my philosophy but it comes hand and hand with my political philosophy which while liberal isnt blatantly so.

[Cuban_Liberal]

9. I agree.

I tend to be solution-oriented--- if it doesn't work, try something else. Rigidly adhering to ideology just for the sake of remaining 'pure' (but out of power) seems pretty stupid.

:shrug:

[JohnKleeb]

12. right

I am a partisan democrat to the max but solutions not idealogy to me is the way to go, shades of gray thinker.

[bunkerbuster1]

20. I don't expect much will be accomplished here.

Little snippets of info, much venting. Perhaps your expectations are a tad higher.

I've been slammed myself for not being piously liberal enough (I made some nasty comments about Fidel Castro) but it didn't really bother me.

[Cuban_Liberal]

21. I've taken some pretty nasty shots over Castro myself.

My only reason for asking the question was to simply find out where DUers think DU stands, vis a vis the Democratic Party as a whole.

:hi:

[bunkerbuster1]

44. heh. I only now noticed your screen name

I wasn't trying to get on your good side or nothin'.

[American Tragedy]

48. I got blasted for that as well

God forbid that I should speak ill of a tyrant.

[Pirate Smile]

27. I agree completely. Frankly, we need to stick up for each other more

because a lot of times it seems like anyone who isn't sufficiently to the "left" gets bashed.

Have some of the more moderate or pragmatic posters disappeared since the election?

[Cuban_Liberal]

28. Unfortunately, yes.

If you throw enough stones at a dog, it'll eventually go on down the road, no matter how friendly it is.

*sigh*

[Pirate Smile]

33. I think we need to be more vocal in our thoughts and positions.

[ogradda]

4. i don't think there's an easy way to answer that.

we're left here, but some of us are more left than others. the same can be said of democrats as a whole. I think people here care more passionately about politics than democrats in general do but i don't think that makes us more "left" than them.

[JohnKleeb]

6. Definely to the left

of most dems, hell I am quite far to the left and believe me I can show it but my yellow dogism and my way of thinking make me more moderate on DU however in school, I am a left wing extremist.

[RUDUing2]

22. same here...on a personal level if I could have my dream world

I am a radical flaming left of the left liberal..

but I am also a realist and know that my personal vision is not ever going to be a reality in the US and that to be honest it shouldn't be..cause we are a country made up of lots of shades of gray..

So my goal is to get candidates, etc out there that have a chance at defeating the extemist conservatives, that hold power right now. And to try and convert mods back to the democrat party who are viewing the repubs as the lesser of two evils..convince them that while the dems may not be their *perfect* candidates, they (not the repubs) are the lesser of two evils...

[JohnKleeb]

23. theres lots of complexties and shades of gray in america

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Q]

10. How about asking if...

...DU is representative of the human race or being American?

Or you could ask if the DLC is representative of the Democratic party as a whole. Or if polling one thousand Americans represents America as a whole.

But any answer you get here is going to be based on ideology and perspective. Or it just could be sour grapes on your part because your ideology isn't necessarily represented in the majority.

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. It's not sour grapes, I assure you.

Nice slam, though. Make you feel better?

:eyes:

[Q]

13. Well...it's obvious the motivation behind this thread...

...is your other thread about 'animosity'. And the thread about animosity is motivated by your belief that the 'left' (progressives) are unwilling to 'cooperate' with the more moderate Democrats. The implication being that the 'left' has some sort of unfair and unwarranted grudge against the right of center Dems.

That's why it sounds like sour grapes. I could be wrong. It might be that you're just holding some sort of grudge against the left.

[Cuban_Liberal]

15. Psychic, eh?

May I borrow your crystal ball that peers into my head, when you're done with it?

:eyes:

[Q]

24. I dabble a bit...

...for instance: I predicted that a DLC-vetted candidate would be the Dem nominee in the last election.

[Cuban_Liberal]

25. Ummm...

Sort of had a 50-50 shot on that, just like flipping a coin...

[Q]

29. Not really...

...it was a fairly easy prediction. I was not alone. Many DUers saw THAT coming.

[JohnKleeb]

14. dude Ive seen your political compass results

youre a little to my right
I am a negative 8 on both, its not about idealogy, its about approach, and yes I admit I have a moderate approach.

[silver10]

16. What does the Democratic Party represent?

How can we vote whether or not DU is representative of the Democratic Party, as a whole, if we don't even know what the Democratic Party is representative of, as a whole?

[Cuban_Liberal]

17. It's simply an opinion survey.n/t

[JohnKleeb]

18. thats a whole other thread

[noamnety]

19. We're mainstream

We may use more inflammatory language, but on the issues, we are mainstream.

Most people support our position on abortion, on the environment, on social security, etc. Most PEOPLE, let alone most democrats.

[HamdenRice]

26. Also DU is much more white than the Democratic Party

See here my estimate of the racial composition of DU:

African Americans
Percent: 1.4%

Hispanics
Percent: 1.8%

Asian/PI/Other
Percent: 1.4%

based on a random sample -- methodology here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=258x129

flame away!

<edited>

[robbedvoter]

30. I know you think you are the party and we 'the lefties".

My answer: I don't care. if the party is gone to Vicy and burried another stolen election before looking at the info, I don't want to be like them.
DU is diverse enough for me.

[Cuban_Liberal]

32. You don't know that I think that, actually.

I'd be willing to wager that I'm at least as 'left' as are you on most issues, and more 'left' on several.

[robbedvoter]

49. You keep posting of "losing" and "values" - so I know what I write.

[Cuban_Liberal]

51. Oh, do I?

Please cite those posts, will you?

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

31. I'm a, sorry to say, Republican...I don't think DU is FAR LEFT

I find DU to have a great mix of thoughtful people. I'm a moderate Republican without a party since mine has been taken over by religious radicals. Maybe the political spectrum has become so skewed to the right that former moderate republicans are now flaming liberals. If so, I won't run from the new label.

[hippiechick]

38. Belated Welcome to DU, Mod !

:hi:


:hippie:

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

42. Thanks! DU is great!

[Pirate Smile]

40. I've been wondering what in the world you guys were going to do.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

43. We're looking to the Democrats for hope...my party's too radical...

right-wing now. Not the Republican party I joined. Almost my entire family feels the same way and voted Kerry. We're all leaning Democratic these days. Keep up the good work and don't lose hope, regardless of the nonsense predictions in the MSM about the Dems future. I believe a lot more moderate Republicans will come to their senses in 2006/2008 if the current administration/congress continue to pander to the evangelical zealots.

[Ladyhawk]

47. I'm glad you have a mind of your own.

I noticed the radicalization, too. And I left in a hurry.

I believe I've been a liberal for years, but didn't realize it until the monkey in the White House went nuts.

Also, the Dems have turned into a bunch of complicit wimps. I predict a new party will arise from the grassroots on the Internet...either that or a total revitalization of the Democratic Party.

[Ladyhawk]

45. I think you're right.

I'm a former Republican. I changed parties a couple of years ago because I realized that the Republican Party did not represent my interests or the interests of most people. The political pendulum in America is pretty far to the right.

Also, I've had a bad reaction to the shrubbies, taking me even further to the left. I rank over -8 on both scales.

The only area where I remain "conservative" is abortion. I don't think abortion should be allowed in the second or third trimester unless the mother's life is in danger. I believe that sex education and morning-after pills / early abortions should take care of unwanted pregnancies.

The problem is that people can't agree upon when life starts. I think it starts when the fetus can feel pain and fear. Fundies think it starts at conception. Catholics believe every sperm is sacred. From what I've read, most DUers believe life begins at birth. These huge disagreements are a sign that legislating abortion will be tricky indeed.

Do you think shrub will try it? It would be a political blunder, but he doesn't seem to care about what anyone thinks. If abortion is ever limited, I don't want the Republicans in charge!!!! They only care about people while they're still in the womb. Their callousness makes me ill. If abortion were limited under the shrubbies, we would end up with a lot of poor single mothers and a lot of dead women who tried to get a back alley abortion. The shrubbies want to get rid of sex ed and abortion. How fucking crazy is that?

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

52. Just a quick question...

On your comments on abortion: "I don't think abortion should be allowed in the second or third trimester unless the mother's life is in danger."

Do you realize that amniocentesis isn't done until the early 2nd trimester with the results not completed for 2 more weeks after that? I believe that a woman (and spouse/partner if appropriate) should always have the option to discontinue a pregnancy, particularly when testing reveals genetic abnormalities.

[Kahuna]

46. Alrighty then!!! Please spread the word to your moderate brethren..

:yourock:

[GreenPartyVoter]

53. Welcome :^D

------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[ibegurpard]

34. Depends on your criteria

On policy? I think so.
On tactics? Not so much.
On awareness and enthusiasm? Not at all.

[Catchawave]

35. I think....

...there's alot of good stuff here (on DU) that can certainly direct the party, and why I'm so anal about bringing up topics about the new DNC chairman (elected in Feb)....which will ultimately direct the party? Maybe we should try and be a part of that selection first?

[Zorra]

36. DUers are in general light years more informed than "mainstream" Dems.

And far less brainwashed, in general, by the bullshit of RW media.

That is why we may appear to be more "left" (according to the recently reinvented definition of "left" assigned by the RW). We are generally hard core believers in genuine democratic processes, and are informed enough to know the extent to which these processes have been subverted by RW interests. This leaves little room for being "moderate" or "centrist", for moderates and centrists are apt to advocate little change or progress in the democratic and social process and are both more likely to accept the status quo as dictated by the regressive RW, and less likely to be active in effecting genuine progress.

The folks that really got things done in this country were not "moderate". They were activists and/or "revolutionaries" that fought for all the good things this nation has ever been or done. Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, FDR, Martin Luther King, etc. - these were not "moderates". They were people who were willing to stand up in the face of great opposition and do the right thing, and they won.

Real change and progress does not occur through the the actions of people that sit on their couches in their "pojamas", tamping their pipes over their newspapers as they pass the grey poupon.

Howard Dean:

Here in Washington, it seems that after every losing election, there's a consensus reached among decision-makers in the Democratic Party is that the way to win is to be more like Republicans.

I suppose you could call that philosophy: if you didn't beat 'em, join them.

I'm not one for making predictions -- but if we accept that philosophy this time around, another Democrat will be standing here in four years giving this same speech. We cannot win by being "Republican-lite." We've tried it; it doesn't work.
snip----
Over fifty years ago, Harry Truman said, "We are not going to get anywhere by trimming or appeasing. And we don't need to try it."

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1208-38.htm

"Leftist" is now just a word that regressives have assigned to Democrats that genuinely believe in democracy.

[Cuban_Liberal]

37. An excellent reply!

You write well, and you put the case effectively.

:hi:

[Zorra]

41. Thanks.

That's just what it seems like from my POV.

[The Wielding Truth]

39. Yes every Dem I know feels this way they just don't go on line and say it.

[eridani]

50. Yes, it's more left. Whothehell else would do the gruntwork?

Unless someone has any bright ideas about motivating other people to phone, canvass and donate to promote wars of choice, outsourcing and the PATRIOT Act.

[ecstatic]

54. We're mainstream on everything except gay rights, religion, environ. nt