I don't like the choice between far right and center right

[mdmc]

personally, I think we need a wider spectrum of political discourse.

Our democratic party had a super majority, and the best it could do is pass Bob Doles 1996 health care plan. We need more ideas.

In 2012 Obama and the GOP candidate will both support the drug war / oppose medical marijuana (both the GOP candidate and Obama both admit smoking pot, but would never agree to do jail time for the crime that they committed).

In 2012 Obama and the GOP candidate will both support the military industrial complex and will want to continue occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan..

Personally, I welcome another opinion. The idea that someone can run for president and oppose the drug war appeals to me. I don't owe Obama my vote; if I want to vote against the drug war I should be able to do so in a democracy. President Palin is the outcome of the electoral college, not Ralph Nader.

[TheKentuckian]

1. Agreed, 1000% agreed.

[HereSince1628]

2. And between now and 2012,

We've got to live up to our own ideals and lift up local and regional party leaders who do the same.

The DEMOCRATIC MACHINE...that low-mileage, pulls to the right, late 1980's POS, needs some serious maintenance and rennovation. We are just the pefect folks to scream for it.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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

[kenfrequed]

4. half agree... but

Step 1.

Show up and vote tommorrow. Against the republicans. Do what is needed to keep them out of office.

Step 2.

Get IRV passed or some kind of instant run off system put into place. This will allow you to more safely run as another party

Step 3.

Hook up or start a chapter of the working families organization that will help put pressure on your democrats to vote more progressively and do a bit of arm-twisting (warning: do not allow the organization to be packed with one candidates supporters or another-stay clean and stick to the issues. Do NOT become reNEW Minnesota- which just became infested with campaign staff of three of the gubanatorial campaign staff)

Step 4.

If all else fails run for office, preferably as a Democrat but failing that you could run under another party ONLY if you already have IRV and it won't play spoiler to some damned republican scum.




Again, see step one. Please vote Democrat. If you have some damned blue dog scumbag on the ticket try really hard to think about whether or not you can't find some reason to vote for that person. Even if you cannot vote for them please vote Democrat for the rest of the ticket. It is important. Imagine Boehner in charge of the house if all else fails, it might make the difference.

[mdmc]

8. thanks for the reply

I almost always vote and will do so tomorrow..

step one is a done deal..

[sandnsea]

5. Organize for another party

Or in the words of some other famous person, If you want the Democrat to lose, GO AWAY.

[HughMoran]

6. +1

[kenfrequed]

11. uhm...

How about a bit of friggin encouragement instead. Would it hurt anyone if we were a bit more positive about this. "Love it or leave it" sounds really good I guess if you want at least some people to leave, but if you want people to vote... it might not work as well.

[Naturyl]

7. Then support actual progressives in primaries

Instead of known centrist triangulators like Hillary, Obama, and others.

Those who didn't support Kucinich can't be angry that we have no viable American Left.

[kenfrequed]

10. agree

I agree completely. We need to support progressive candidates, particularly on the state and local level.

[Taverner]

9. I don't either but we can blame the Code Pinks and Medea Benjamins for this

Because of their shrill bullying tactics, they made the Democratic party move further right

[ipaint]

12. Funny I don't remember code pink forcing democrats to sell out to lobbyists and corporate insiders

for the last 30 odd years.

But then being a corporate apologist is now the new liberal so the history re-write fits.

[Taverner]

14. Hey I have an idea, why don't we protest at BURGER KING!!!!

I mean the war in Iraq has everything to do with how some of BK's exec staff voted Republican....


Go find a Nader board to pontificate at

[kenfrequed]

16. Let me get this straight...

Code pink and company was right about the Iraq war and just about everything else they protested.

They got ignored by the Mainstream media so they had to get louder and more subversive and more activist.

They got noticed but no one bothered to notice that fact or act on what their points were.

They became all the more vociferous, continually point out and drawing attention to Bush and company, who, thanks to wiki-leaks, even the people that were in the media and failed to point out Bush's illegalities and lies suddenly said "well everyone already knows that" without reporting it or really making it front page.

But stepping back Bush never got impeached nor were any charges formerly brought against him.

Despite riding a wave of discontent against Bush, that would have been largely impossible without people raising the issues against the administration, nothing much is done to him.

But somehow the democrats shift to the right is the fault of activists on the left?

I’m really confused? Are you saying the blue dogs would have jumped behind universal single payer healthcare if only those sweet old code pink ladies had shut up? Or the troops would have been brought home from Iraq years ago if only no protests had taken place in the first place?

Nothing of what you suggested makes any sense at all.

[Taverner]

19. They may have been right on the issue, but they were wrong on their response

I mean, they could have woken up anyone at 2am. Why not Bush? He was president then.

Why not Gen Patraeus?

Why not Burger King?

[kenfrequed]

20. Whereas you were?

I protested the hell out of that war from before it started and even now I write letters and agitate over it. Where were you?

[Hannah Bell]

13. funny stuff.

[mdmc]

18. odd

I thought the DLC was the problem..

[kenfrequed]

21. (shh)

It is the problem.

[Hekate]

15. Nice to see you've got another party lined up to join day after tomorrow.

Is this really the day to post this?

Just asking.

Hekate

[snot]

17. K&R'd

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

22. Sorry, but I think the U.S. is much more conservative than we

more progressive people think. I'm an outsider - in that, I am not a US citizen, but I live in the US - and I must say as a whole Americans are much more conservative than progressive. They may like some progressive policies, but in general they are not well informed to consider a whole range of progressive issues.

I don't think that a true progressive will be able to get elected anywhere but in a few places. I know it's sad and depressing, but, if you live anywhere beyond NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, LA and the other major cities it should be fairly obvious that this is true.

As for the drug issues, I really don't think they are at the top of anyone's priority list right now - the economy is.