Anyone hear Vilsak (new DLC Head) use the term "Progressive Centrists?"

[KoKo]

So now the DLC is taking over the word "Progressive" and using it to support there do nothing but "lie down with the Repugs and share the fleas" philosophy.

I listened to his whole spiel on CNN with John King and frankly he sounded like a "soft version" of Mehlman and Bush. He kept reapeating "Doing the Peoples's Business" which is Bush, McClellan and Mehlman's mantra they repeat over and over. So, Vilsak used it probably 6 or 7 times. John King brought up Howard Dean and used quotes and phrases describing Howard Dean as a liberal and too outspoken on issues and wasn't this a problem for the party.

Vilsak stuck to the DLC issues that the party would not be "divided" and could not just be "angry." So Dean was "Framed" as an "Angry Liberal."

[Cassandra]

1. Mush from the wimp.

[Chipper Chat]

2. Vilsak was annoying. I was ticked.

I have been posting outrage at Mehlman for being so non-earthly and RNC-playbookish the last week - not saying anything substantial, and here comes Gov Tom with his non-responses to Jon King (who I thought was very fair and asking legitimate probing questions like a veiled "when is the Democratic Party coming out with a decent platform?" Howard - Get another spokesman for the DLC.

[NYCGirl]

11. Hellllooooo....you're confusing the letters...

You're confusing the DNC with the DLC. Two completely different entities. Howard Dean has nothing to do with the DLC.

[Chipper Chat]

14. I know the DLC is a Dem Gov group.

I was merely pointing out that Howard has a lot of influence and maybe he can lend some advice here. Cheers!

[NYCGirl]

24. The DLC are not exactly big fans of Howard Dean.

Believe me, they won't listen to him.

[merwin]

3. How can you have a progressive centrist?

That's kind of an oxymoron, isn't it?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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

[Lydia Leftcoast]

29. It's like their bogus "Progressive Policy Institute," which is

extremely unprogressive.

That's what makes me suspect that the top people in the DLC, at least, are Republican moles. They follow the time-honored Republicanite practice of making up grandiose sounding names for institutes and organizations that are exactly the opposite of their real purposes:

"The Coalition for Healthy Forests" is all about chopping down more trees
There's an organization that has "Right to Work" in its title, but it's all about union busting.
"Peace through Strength" promotes militarism in all its forms
"The Institute for Religion and Democracy" is all about pushing liberal churches toward conservatism and nationalism

Similarly, the Progressive Policy Institute is all about promoting regressive ideas.

[Zhade]

40. Well, yeah - Will Marshall has endorsed PNAC statements.

He founded the PPI.

Sorry, Marshall, ain't NOTHIN' progressive about SUPPORTING PNAC.

[DanCa]

4. what is a centrist anyway?

I was wondering what is meant by a centrist anyway. All these labels are started to annoy me. I am not fat dang it am circumfricaly challenged. :D

[cyberpj]

8. centrist:

cen·trist (sen?trist) noun
One who takes a position in the political center; a moderate.

adjective
Marked by or adhering to a moderate political view: “The deep pool of centrist opinion in the country, that essential guarantee against violent political upheavals, is being dangerously shaken” (New York Times).

[DanCa]

9. Gotcha

I have been listening to the spin machines to long myself. Something tells me I should have known that. Sorry.

[cyberpj]

10. xoxoxox

Too many WORDS being thrown around anyway.

What we need are more ACTIONS that represent actual Democrats.

What worries me most is so many factions of Democrats that we end up tearing apart our own party instead of coming together against this fascism. That's just what they want us to do so we better start learning to work together!

[DanCa]

16. Agreed :D

But see were the party of free thinkers, there the party of zombies. That's why the came after my beloved President Bill Clinton with torches and pitch forks.

[WatchWhatISay]

6. Yes, but that is the second time I have heard that phrase

I also heard it yesterday.

[KoKo]

17. Do you remember who used it yesterday?

Another DLC'er or was it Vilsak?

[flpoljunkie]

23. It was Vilsack himself Friday on "Inside Politics." Excerpt, link below.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/15/ip.01.html

VILSACK: Let me just say the Democratic governors have a whole host of new ideas. We're working with health care reform in our state. Janet Napolitano in Arizona is focused on early childhood. Mark Warner has been a reformer in the structure and the operations of government.

Throughout the country, regardless of where you want to look, you're going to see Democratic governors with progressive ideas solving problems. Brad Henry in Oklahoma with anti-meth legislation. Jim Doyle with economic development in Wisconsin. Jennifer Granholm with a new economic opportunity for Michigan to transform its economy. There are a million new ideas out there.

Ed Rendell with his early childhood initiative. Mike Easley with his work in improving education.

The bottom line is that Democratic governors are innovators. We are, in fact, coming up with bold new ideas, and we're making things happen. And I think that's got to be part of our party's message to the people all across this country. And I think the DLC, with its progressive centrist views, can certainly be a voice and a unifying voice in that effort.

JOHNS: All right. Thank you so much, Governor Vilsack. Really appreciate you spending a little time with us.

VILSACK: Thank you.

[KoKo]

59. Thanks for the link...so the DLC definitely "co-opted" the name that we

on the Left of the DLC were using as our own. UGH. :-(

[Zhade]

68. No, the name the left actually CREATED decades ago.

Just sayin'.

[iconoclastNYC]

76. So lets take back liberal!

[Pithy Cherub]

7. That's worth a big snort and a loud giggle!

:wtf:Please, now the word progressive is needed to convey some level of legitamcy on the DLC.:puke:

[cyberpj]

12. Too many WORDS being tossed around and not enough ACTION

What worries me most is so many factions of Democrats sniping at each other that we end up tearing apart our own party instead of coming together against this fascism. That's just what they want us to do so we better start learning to work together!

[pgh_dem]

19. DLC's gonna have to actually oppose fascism for 'us' to come

together against it, doncha think?

Tom Vilsack's appearance on CNN was disgusting. These guys keep pretending like they are debating honest colleagues in the GOP.

We don't 'move on to the people's business' until we stop this quisling collaboration with the people who unaccountably commit crimes against the people.

[cyberpj]

20. Unfortunately, yes, I do.

So I guess what we need is an undercover progressive to win the hearts, minds, and MONEY of the DLC. - For now.

Sorry. Just really depressed about the state of the Democratic Party these days....

[Cha]

13. vilsack just "DIVIDED"!

We should all write him a freakin' letter and let him know he is DIVIDING THE PARTY.

I'm sticking with Dean..vilsack is a DIVIDER NOT A UNITER.

[Mojambo]

15. Dean has been trying to unite the party

It's the DLC toads who are trying to tear the party apart once again so that they can float to the top.

[pgh_dem]

21. RIght on, Dean is keeping the topic about culture of corruption

in the GOP, and he seems to be not even sweating the internal conflicts.

It's the right approach, no matter how mad some of us get when we see a Dem get on national TV to tell us that we need to move on as a nation past this terrrrible partisan atmosphere in DC...when the topic is the deliberate compromise of national security explicitly for partisan gain by the GOP.

Keep at it Howard!

[FightinNewDem]

27. Guess who else is talking about corruption

Swamp Thing
There's something rotten in Tom DeLay's Washington. Here's how to clean the place up.
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253366&kaid=127&subid=177

Pay to Play
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253361&kaid=127&subid=171

Ten Reforms To Clean Up Washington
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253374&kaid=131&subid=192


The Fix Is In
Partisan gerrymandering to protect incumbents is out of control. Politicians are choosing voters, rather than voters choosing politicians. It's time for reform.
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253362&kaid=127&subid=171

Idea of the Week: Ethics
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253255&kaid=131&subid=207

Texas Two-Step On Ethics
http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253098&kaid=131&subid=192

[Al-CIAda]

66. He IS deviding -and that is his goal. The 'third way'.

Worthless POS.

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. "Progressive centrist"? That's differnent. I have heard it get tied to

conservatives too. Progressive conservatives. I wonder though, what they are progressive on and in which areas they are conservative?

At this point, if they are talking fiscal responsibility that's a progressive value anyway.

[wyldwolf]

22. the DLC has used the word "progressive" since it's inception in the 80s

Hey, if the far left fringe can hijack the word then anyone can use it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. Yes, the Republican Lites have been using it since the 1980s, but

the leftists and populists had it first, like in the early twentieth century.

The real progressives are not fooled. Nice try.

[Zhade]

33. That's correct. The left didn't "hijack" the term, they came up with it.

NT!

[wyldwolf]

55. yes, and the anarchist socialist lites have been using it since 1948...

...when their candidate formed the "Progessive Party" and got about 2% of the vote in the presidential race.

Before then, from roughly 1880 to 1920, the term described those such as Theodore Roosevelt who bore little resemblance to Henry Wallace's "progressives" of 1948 and even less resemblance to the so-called "progressives" today.

[hopein08]

25. That's kind of freaky...

I was having almost the same type of conversation with my mom. She's decided that being a "liberal" is too easy to target for the Repubs, i.e. that they've co-opted the word and redefined it. So she's now decided to call herself a "progressive." That's also what I like to think of myself as since I identify most with Feingold (IMHO, possibly the most progressive current elected official), Kennedy, Boxer, and Edwards. My mom, on the other hand, thinks Hillary & Bill are God's gifts to politics though she does think Biden might be going too far. Now, this may sound like a "Dear Abby" but who's right? I can take it if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

[Zhade]

26. Wow, what a blatantly dishonest self-description.

There is nothing the least bit "progressive" about corporatism and supporting the illegal war in Iraq.

[tibbir]

28. Oh please.

[madfloridian]

31. Vilsack says we can not be angry: from the transcript. I am angry.

KING "The best thing a party chairman can do is to keep his head down and his nose to the grindstone and give potential candidates a clear field to have that debate. Dean will be fine as long as he remembers the Hippocratic oath, 'First, do no harm.' If Democrats want to make a lasting difference in American life, we have to define ourselves by what we are for, not simply what we're against." As you know, Governor Vilsack, many of those in the DLC are not fans of Howard Dean. They think he's too liberal. They think he's too combative. What do you think?

VILSACK: Well, I tell you, John, I think that the Democratic Party generally has a very important responsibility that we have to live up to. And that important responsibility is to provide an alternative; a progressive, centrist alternative; a positive alternative on issues involving education, health care, homeland security, national security and the like.

And I think it is very incumbent, and I think one of the jobs and responsibilities of the DLC will be to create that positive agenda, that progressive agenda.

It should be an agenda that unites us as a party. It should be centered on values, responsibility, opportunity and security. It should reward and emphasize the importance of community.

We cannot, as a party, afford to be anti. We cannot be always against things. We must be for things. And the American public should be clear about what we are for.

We can't be an angry party. Americans don't want that. They want a hopeful, optimistic party. They want to know what the future's going to look like, and they want to know that the future's going to be brighter."

I am angry, Governor Vilsack. We retired in comfort. We are finding it harder by the day to just live with the rising costs of everything.

When do you think we should get angry, sir? When our country is totally bankrupt and the middle class is destroyed?

[blm]

34. King went after Dean. Vilsack DID NOT. Vilsack gave an overview and is on

the same page as Dean, imo.

[madfloridian]

35. I was talking about being angry. I am angry at what they've done to us.

I am very angry that hundreds of thousands are being kicked off Medicaid. I am very angry that even in our bracket we are in for a world of hurt financially as our house taxes and medical bills rise so the damned corporations don't have to pay taxes.

Why are you not angry, blm?

[FightinNewDem]

44. I suspect BLM is angry

I am. You are. We should be.

But anger is not enough. There's a longing for leadership that moves beyond the cynicism of the Republicans and the furor of the Democrats. People want a reason to believe in the future again. If we frame the Democratic message solely in terms of what we are against, then we look like part of the problem, not part of the solution.

For example, we should slam the GOP for Bush's Social Security scheme. But that's not enough. We also need to talk about ways to bring our retirment and pension system into the 21st century, by making pensions portable, by creating incentives for low-income families to accumulate some tangible assets. That moves the debate along in a positive way, and in a manner that casts the Democrats as the party of positive and progressive change, and leaves the GOP standing alone as the party of complaceny and corruption.

[madfloridian]

46. Have you read anything I have written at all.

Nevermind.

What do you think Dean is saying out on the road now?

Why do you say those things when you know my husband and I work hard for the party locally? I don't understand.

Dean presents those things whenever he speaks. He has done it over and over, and then someone like Vilsack goes on TV and acts like he does not have a clue.

[blm]

49. Did Dean act angry when he was on TV? I thought he looked composed and

made points without seeming angry at all, even when the media whores tried to bait him.

He didn't say everything i wanted to hear, especially about DSM, at the time...but, he still gave an even, composed performance.

When did you see anger in Dean's performance during his recent interviews?

[madfloridian]

52. blm, I made my points well.

You know I did. No more games on this.

[blm]

53. Your points have NOTHING to do with Vilsack's own words.

This is not a game to me, and I am not going to come into it with an emotional chip on my shoulder, either.

YOU are truly jumping down Vilsack's throat unfairly. He said nothing that could be construed as being from a different page than Dean and the way Dean performed on TV, himself.


Would you really expect me not to point that out?

Vilsack is speaking TODAY about his position as head of the DLC and you are attacking him with past remarks and positions of OTHER PEOPLE.

Dean is acting composed, extending the Dem tent to pro-lifers, speaking calmly in his position as head of the DNC and people want to attack him for every past perception and stereotype of him based on the remarks and positions of OTHER PEOPLE.

[blm]

45. Because really great leaders are not angry the way King describes. YOU are

reacting to King's diatribe instead of letting Vilsack have any benefit of doubt.

btw...I do not see Dean as just an angry agitator. That's media hype and it was King's goal to further that perception. Vilsack ignores King and speaks for himself and you want to blow a gasket over that?

Doesn't sound fair, imo.

[madfloridian]

48. Again, Vilsack's own words...".we can't be angry" Yes, we can.

"We cannot, as a party, afford to be anti. We cannot be always against things. We must be for things. And the American public should be clear about what we are for.

We can't be an angry party. Americans don't want that. They want a hopeful, optimistic party. They want to know what the future's going to look like, and they want to know that the future's going to be brighter."

The future as it is right now is not going to be brighter unless someone starts talking about things as they are and not as the DLC wants them to be.

We are in very deep trouble in this country, and we do need to be angry.

So you be happy, and I will be angry. We have two friends in their 60's. They have been very well-off. They have had to go back to work with no end in site. Such is George's America, and the future is not bright.

[blm]

50. LEADERS can't be angry. Dean wasn't angry when he was interviewed.

I am happy with Dean's performance and I am giving Vilsack that same opportunity.


The real difference here, mf, is that YOU are observing Vilsack with a chip on your shoulder, just as many did to Dean as DNC chair. They were unwilling to move from the media hype and their own perceptions borne of the media hype, and try to take every word he says to make their case, even if they have to stretch it to do so.

Vilsack said NOTHING that would make him sound as if he's NOT on the same page as Dean. I'm not going to pretend he did,

[Eloriel]

83. Uhhhh, no. If Vilsack is DLC, he and Dean are NOT on the same page

Not at all. In fact, I couldn't BE a Dean fan if he had anything to do with the DLC. You forget all that Dean-bashing that went on, not to mention the even more reprehensible Dean-supporter-bashing.

Vilsack's accession to head the DLC tells me that everything I'd suspected about him is true, true, true, to wit: he's worthless and doesn't really have much of a moral center to start with.

[thebigidea]

47. as if he'd dare tell Mehlman to "keep his head down"

[blm]

32. Isn't Dean a progressive centrist, himself? If there was no Iraq war how

would you have judged Dean's record as governor?

In fact, Dean was much more business friendly as governor than Vilsack, and the DLC is mainly a triangulating force on BUSINESS policy more than any other policy, isn't it?

Vilsack has a strong left of center record as governor. He may be DLC but he also was against CAFTA.

[madfloridian]

36. DLC is pushing CAFTA now. Just in time to help Bush push it through.

He is the head of the DLC now, so what say you to that?

The "Dean is a centrist" argument is well-known. He had the guts to call it like it is on the war while Kerry said he would vote for it all over again.

The DLC has harmed us a lot because they are not for the people, they are for the corporate interests. The New Dem Caucus is trying to oppose CAFTA and Dear Will Marshall blasts out in favor of it. Won't Vilsack have to go along to get along? Of course he will.

Most of don't forget Iowa easily. None dare say the words, blm.

[blm]

41. Vilsack is against CAFTA. He can think for himself can't he? Does Dean say

EVERYTHING exactly the way lefties want it said? No. He says some things great and others he falls flat. That happens. It's expected. I'm not gonna hold it against him and I think those who do are narrow-minded and only looking for Dean to fail.

Say the words. Go ahead. Dean won't agree with you and those words you are thinking are demonstrably false. If Dean was brought down nefariously in Iowa then why the hell hasn't he said 2 words about it?

Why do ALL of you insist on prejudging everything about Vilsack at DLC the same way Dean was protested for DNC chief?

Media hype is bullshit.

You believe King's words over Vilsack's own words. That's not fair judging, imo.

[Zhade]

37. Against CAFTA - why was he chosen as their leader?

Considering their corporatist track record, you would think their leader would need to embrace all the worker rights-destroying pro-outsourcing ideals that the DLC as an organization embraces.

Was this choice motivated by a (soon-to-fail because we're not stupid) attempt to paint the DLC as favoring workers over CEOs?

[blm]

43. Why did liberals allow a centrist governor to be head of the DNC?

I was all for Dean being head of DNC even though I know his record of governance was clearly centrist.

It doesn't bother me that a left of center governor was chosen to head the centrist DLC.

[Zhade]

64. There's a huge difference between "centrist" and "corporatist".

For example, the Feinstein family benefits from the weapons built by the weapons contractor her husband holds stock in, stock which goes up every time another large order is placed thanks to earlier shipments being depleted in, say, Iraq. She has a huge conflict of interest toward the war/occupation in Iraq.

Dean has centrist, middle-of-the-road common-sense leanings.

Big difference, you know?

[blm]

75. The attack was on Vilsack. And I doubt anyone would believe I don't know

the differences in policy positions. If you can point to how Vilsack profits as a corporatist and not use Feinstein to attack Vilsack maybe your point could be made.

Your complaints against Vilsack don't make sense, since you are an acknowledged fan of Dean's type of pro-business governorship, and because Vilsack governed just left of Dean and had already weighed in against CAFTA.

[Zhade]

78. Note: I did not attack Vilsack. I questioned him as head of the DLC.

Frankly, his being against CAFTA is a GOOD thing in my eyes, so of course I did not attack him.

[Mass]

51. The vote on CAFTA was split among the DLCers in the Senate...

So it should come to no surprise that Vilsack could be elected head of the DLC AND against CAFTA (Actually, Dorgan was the one who LED the fight against CAFTA in the Senate).

There are a lot of reasons not to like the DLC spirit, and I do not know enough of Vilsack to know where he falls,but the fact that DLCers are all for CAFTA is far stretched.

[blm]

54. Some haven't gotten it through their head it's GOOD to have left of center

lawmakers pulling BACK from those centrists who would pull the party further right.

I have always been glad that lefties have chosen to be part of the group to keep the centrists in check to some extent.

[acmavm]

58. The DLC spirit? That there is whatcha call one of them oxymorans, ain't

it?

[Zhade]

63. I for one welcome all opposition to CAFTA, DLC or not!

So I will applaud those DLCers who did not vote for CAFTA. I reserve the right to not like them for other reasons, though. :P

[CTLawGuy]

80. Dean's record

Balanced budgets all 10 years - good!
Universal Chlid Health care - good!
Major groundbreaking civil rights legislation (civil unions) - good!
Success by 6 program to assist new parents - good!
responsible tax breaks - good!


Sounds pretty good to me!

[blm]

82. Dean had a good record and a solidly centrist approach he

took to achieve that record.

He was not as far left as I prefer, but, nether is everyone else.

I am glad that the centrist organization whose approach Dean followed as governor, now has a left of center governor as its head.

I see that as a good sign for us lefties.

[Stinky The Clown]

38. If Vilsack is the best the DLC has, then they're toast

He was downright awful as a spokesman.

[Neshanic]

39. A DLC Progressive Centrist... what the Hell is that?

So they want national healthcare, but would consider HMO's writing the rules.

They want more liberal voices in the MSM, but think that GE should run that network.

Loves Hillary enough to shove her down our throats, but likes the idea that the convention should be about giving the voiceless voices, as long as they stay far enough away.

Love the concept of gay rights, but may consult with Santorum's gay toady to "blue sky" ideas about how he pulls his job off, and what they could do to get that all important gay traitor vote.

Environmental? Hell yes. Unless, well GM is shipping off all factories to China.

CAFTA? Get Bill in there to really get going on why its' good for us.

China? Well no problem there. Communism loves us. Those past decades, what's a little tiff between us and them?

This organization is repulsive.

[Zhade]

42. A lie. A falsehood. An untruth.

A laughable attempt to change the reality of the word progressive.

[OzarkDem]

56. Here's a suggestion for Vilsak

How about spending as much time trying to find "common ground" with the other members of the Democratic Party as you do with the Republican Party?

Anyone have the feeling the DLC types these days know even less about Democratic values than they do Republican ones?

[Totally Committed]

57. There is no such thing as a Progressive Centrist...

All Democrats who moved to the Center (and some even further right than that...) moved in regression from the Progressive ideas and ideals of the true Democratic base. Because they are backed by corporate interests, they were able to do this without suffering any repercussions -- i.e. if they don't need our $$$ to get re-elected, our interests stop diving thier support of those interests. Conversely, because they do need the corporate $$$ for re-election, those intersts become paramount, and an entity like the DLC not only becomes possible, but seems a viable alternative to the interests of the base. We no longer matter.

Just my opinion, but that's how I see it.

TC

[brentspeak]

60. You didn't mention one single reason

why Vilsak is bad for the Democratic Party. His using the phrase "Doing the People's Business" is not a reason. His saying the party should not be divided is also not a reason.

Explain to this board, in detail, your reasons why you think the DLC is nothing but a "lie down with the Repugs and share the fleas" organization.

[Coexist]

61. there is no such thing as a progressive centrist democrat

no such thing at all. Dr. Seuss couldn't even imagine that.

[annabanana]

62. "progressive centrist" - HA!

no such thing.. what a stupid meme...

[greendog]

65. They've been doing this for a while...

...I remember, three or four years ago, looking at the DLC website and seeing the word "progressive".

[Gay Green]

67. Why not just call themselves "Progressive Conservatives?"

But then they'd out themselves as Repugnican Lites

[Sparkly]

69. That seems like a phrase designed to muddy the waters. n/t

[Raiden]

70. Otherwise known as Corporate Sell-Out Psuedo-Progressive

Right Wing Collaborators...

[1932]

71. I think Robert Reich is the cheerleader for this faux-progressive pro-corp

free-trade wing of the Democratic party.

On iTunes, there's a podcast from UC Berkeley (under Education-Higher Education). One of the podcasts available is a lecture by Reich in which he argues this position. He's seems to be a DLC'er, but he makes a populist argument, but it's really slippery (I'm going to have to listen to it a few more times to figure it out).

He loves Vilsack.

I read Vilsack's Georgetown speech and his solution for the inequities free trade is causing is tax breaks for corporations -- albeit, for corporations that don't send jobs overseas, but it's still just more tax breaks for corps. Do they even pay enough in taxes anymore for "less of nothing" to be an incentive?

So, I think this is what Reich, Vilsack and the DLC are going to be arguing. They now populism is going to win in 2008, so they're going to try to wrap their pro-corp agenda in a populist cloak.

[Hippo_Tron]

72. In other news, Tom Vilsack is boring, and therefore can't be President

I swear to god our next nominee has to have passion and charisma no matter where they are on the political spectrum. Vilsack running just means that all of the candidates get to skip Iowa.

[burrowowl]

73. Down with the DLC!

Damnit we need REAL Democrats!
Viva the Black Caucus! Viva Kucinich! Viva Barney!
VIVA WELLSTONE!

[snowbear]

74. This must be "Down on Vilsak" day..

I could care less if someone thought Smelly Mehlly did better than him on a CNN debate.. Which wasn't even a debate.. :eyes:

I'd rather have a DEMOCRAT (DLC or DNC) than any Republican any day!!

He's a hell of a lot more popular in his own state than the Shrub or the Gropenator.

Can we please stop bad-mouthing Democrats? :cry: How many people in our party would we give 100% perfect approval rating to??

I would rather have a Democrat --ANY DEMOCRAT-- than a Republican!!

And from the looks of it, so would 54% of Iowans..

[Mary 123]

77. Why is it Dems vs Repubs

Rather than issues? The whole partisan thing gets in the way. In the democratic primaries, party faithful dems jumped on the Kerry express and where did it get you? The more moderate Edwards stood a much better chance to win against Bush because he was not only able to get the liberal votes(dems would have voted for ANYONE but Bush); but also the moderate republican and independant votes. I mean, unfortunately, most states are red......why is it so wrong to try to appeal to those moderate republicans and independants? Clinton was a great president in my opinion...one of the best and he was a centrist. If both parties can work together putting their country before their partisanship, we'd be in a much better place.
I'm a democrat-leaning independant by the way and I think it's disgusting the way the republicans are standing by the treasonous Rove at a time when we need more intelligance gathering. He's comprosing our national security to smear Wilson for partisan reasons. When I say I want Bush and the rest of his thugs impeached, indicted, whatever I'm not saying that for partisan reasons. The blatant abuse of power that has been occuring within this administration disgusts me....not because those I speak of are Republicans...because they are a cancer on this country.

[Robeson]

79. Is that like "Compassionate Conservative"?

[leesa]

81. Nope, Not buying it. Go away DLC.