I refuse to apologize for being a Democrat.

[OmahaBlueDog]

45. Jeepers!

Hi, everybody upthread

I'm going to see if I can address some of the comments here, rather than posting a whole slew of answers.

To those who expressed support or rec'd the thread: Wow! Thanks!

To those who said "Nobody asked you to" or words to that effect: Last night there were a whole series of "I refuse to apologize" threads in GD. Being a Democrat seemed like something to refuse to apologize for.

To those who attack my screen name or Blue Dogs generally: I vote for Democrats; have given money to Democrats; and have even phone banked on an occasion or two. Do I support a fair minimum wage -- closer to $12-15 an hour? Absolutely. Do I support the ACA? Absolutely. If it serves as a stepping stone to single payer, OK; if it becomes the way the US does healthcare, OK. Either way, it beat the alternative, which was if you couldn't afford healthcare, don't get sick.

OTOH, would I like to see Joe Manchin continue in the Senate despite his flaws -- yes I would. Do I wish Ben Nelson had stayed in the Senate and run against Deb Fischer? yes, I do. Do I think it is axiomatic that every single idea from every single Republican is bad, or unworthy of discussion. No , I don't. Do I think Elizabeth Warren is always rignt? No I don't, but she's right most of the time.

Over my time at DU, I've been accused of everything from wanting to dismantle the social safety net to wanting to sew seeds of division on the site, which is amusing given that I'm a relatively non-controversial, low key poster. The majority of what I post are articles of interest or outrage that are found elsewhere.

Nevertheless, I don't apologize for my views. I don't expect anyone to apologize for their views. I do wish we would spend far less time attacking one another (outside the context of primaries), and instead focus on attacking Republicans.

Also, I support Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States. I won't apologize for that either.

To those who accused me of being a hit and run poster: OK, I posted this late last night. Then I had to sleep. Then I had to actually do some work. This is the first time I've gotten to review the thread.

To Mad Floridian I'm very happy that you made it over to DU3. Your voice was missed during your hiatus.