What's the difference? (A thread about who gets your donations)

[Stinky The Clown]

Here is a thread I posted earlier this month. It got exactly three people involved .... including me.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2550159

The point of the thread was to support DEMOCRATIC PARTY candidates. There was no litmus test to who it suggested you support. Hell, it could be said to call for support for Zell Miller, were he running for something.

The thread dropped like a stone.

But this thread - also mine - was made for the purpose of demonstrating what was, in my mind, a way to put some pressure on the heart of the party to make voting machines a real focus going into the midterms. It was not about a candidate or any lack of support for the party. But the main point was apparently missed by some and it soon devolved into sheer stupidity and a study in hero worship:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2586113

We are now seeing threads that proffer an opposite view. To be ridiculously over simplistic, they might be called 'Dem at any cost" threads. I won't link to them because the threads aren't mine. But I'm sure you can find them. Just look for the threads like the second link in this post and then look for a similar thread title, but where "do" is substituted for 'don't".

Does anyone think for a moment that the people starting either flavor of thread is any less DEMOCRATIC PARTY partisan than the other?

What is the difference?

And why did that first linked thread drop like a stone? I ask not because it is my thread - I have had more than my share get great hits and make it to the greatest page - but because it was a non-threatening, non-'withhold-your-money', non-candidate-specific, positive suggestion to actually DO something. Was it a lack of controversy?

And as to who might be the better recipient for your bux or mine, it may well be VERY helpful to have a place where we can all point someone to learn who all the 'initials' are ...... the DNC, the DLC, the DCCC, the DSCC, the DLCC, etc., etc., etc.

And by the way .... just for the record, groups like Moveon or the various 'lists' and similar non-party progressive organizations, while good and while worthy of support, are outside this discussion. They are, quite simply, not a part of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY infrastructure.

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[justice1]

1. Don't worry about it.

My posts always sink faster then the Titanic. It doesn't mean people aren't reading, and thinking about it.

I remember one, where I mentioned "Keith Olberman" should be repeated in the mornings. In less than 2 weeks MSNBC announced Keith would begin airing in the morning.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Hey...all I'm going to say is quite a few of my posts in GD drop like

stones. They always have. Ever since I signed on. Perhaps other people have a better way of framing the debate. Perhaps some think of me as a Lounge Lizard (even my best friend on earth is guilty of that) who can add nothing of substance to the GD's. Oh well I say. The two or three who read and respond...or perhaps view something differently, or not, are worth it. It's not the quantity but the quality.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. This wasn't about a post dropping .......

It was about how posts that seem to imply, in some people's minds, a call for a fracture in the party get lots of play, while calls to actually do somethig positive get no play at all.

Of the two posts above, the one with nothing but warm fuzzies dropped like a rock. The one that spawned a shitload of rancor stayed alive and made the greatest page.

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. I know for the most part it wasn't...but the "dropped like a stone" was

there ( which I also comment on when I post something at times) so I thought I would address it. It's the old "squeaky wheel" phenomenon. Which I guess is to be expected.

[Talismom]

5. I suspect there are a lot of angry people here just now and they

really get into telling someone off when the opportunity arises. I think your suggestions are very constructive and that we should put some thought into working on them (for example, I've been sending money to candidates in many states other than my own--and feel very good about it). On the other hand, I've never been afraid of arguments--they can also be instructive and yield new ideas. That's part of why I participate in this forum. I've learned a lot and also spouted off on occasion.

[justice1]

6. Excuse me, but it was simply an example.

That was probably the only "warm fuzzy" post I have ever made.

Most things I post are either sarcastic, simply for entertainment purposes, or political, not just whining but suggesting a new approach to a problem, or at least another perspective.

Yes, people have read and repeated some of my thoughts, and I take it as a compliment.

[OneBlueSky]

7. personally, I support your position . . .

my donations go to candidates I select, and not to the party . . .

neither party is currently representing "we the people" in Washington . . . their first allegiance is to their corporate sponsors, and until that changes, nothing else will either . . .

what we need to do is identify and elect Democrats who will fight the corporatocracy and weaken (if not eliminate) the grasp that corporations and their lobbyists have on Congress . . . my choice this year is John Hall in my district (19th NY) . . .

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Actually, that isn't **exactly** my position

Come crunch time, I'm as die-hard and partisan as anyone and suport all aspects of our party .... and that includes the party 'riff-raff' and scoundrels. At crunch time, pretty much literally, **any** dem is better than **any** repub.

My position is to put some pressure where I see it needed now, when we still have the freedom and luxury of some time and latitude.

Lest anyone miss my overall posture ...... I am a DEMOCRAT who supports the DEMOCRATIC PARTY unfailingly.

But I am **not** a go along to get along party loyalist blind to our faults.