Every time the party's left raises their little pointy heads and makes noises....this stuff happens. [View all]

[madfloridian]

First off, the meme that we supporters of Bernie Sanders and Bernie Sanders himself are not Democratic enough really needs to stop. It's ridiculous and it's harmful to the party's future success.

Secondly instead of loudly proclaiming victory when the totals for the candidates were only .2% apart, it would be more gracious to acknowledge a worthy opponent for a little while as well as mentioning his supporters enthusiasm. It would not hurt the winner, and it would ease the way for hard feelings to soften.

It's like the party leaders have their standards and rules and talking points, and they don't need the rest of us.

You can't put people down and question their intelligence for a year, and then expect them to be there and fall in line when needed.

I was called "fringe" and worse when my late hubby and I supported Dean. We were accused of being cultlike and True Believers. It wasn't as bad when we supported Obama in 2008.

There has been name-calling by the right wing of the party even as far back as 2000. Gore tried being populist but was dragged back to the right. And they left him hanging along with Florida's hanging chads.

It still goes on. Look at what happened in early December 2013 with the Third Way attack on Elizabeth Warren.

Hunter at Daily Kos wrote about why this happened. He posted a chart showing the Board of Trustees of the Third Way. He labeled it.

Why the Third Way hates Senator Elizabeth Warren

The obsessive centrists of the punditverse were abuzz today with praise for supposed centrist Democratic organization Third Way and their grumbling op-ed condemnation of Democratic liberal populism in abstract and "economic populists" like Sen. Elizabeth Warren in particular.

But why would the Third Way, a very reasonable and centrist organization that just wants both parties to get along and agree to cut Social Security, Medicare, and other social programs be so very worked up about Elizabeth Warren, Wall Street reform, and the mere thought of breaking up large banks? Worked up enough to launch an apparently coordinated effort against those things?

The chart is self-explanatory.

There's a reason that those in the Democratic Party who call themselves "centrists" or "moderates" have had much to say about those of us on the left for years now.

We throw a wrench into their corporate pursuits for the party, and it annoys them.

Howard Dean recognized this in 2010. His words still remain in my mind. He was 100% right.

From the Washington Post 2010:

Dean at progressive conference. Time for Democrats to 'behave like Democrats'

Dean, in a fiery speech Tuesday at the America's Future Now conference, gave voice to frustrations on the left that President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have not used their big majorities to pursue a more progressive agenda. "We are done with putting people in office who then forget who got them there," said Dean, a former Democratic National Committee chairman.

"You did your job," Dean added. "You elected Barack Obama. You elected a Democratic Congress. You elected a Democratic Senate. And now it's time for them to behave like Democrats if they want to get reelected. They have forgotten where they came from -- and they haven't been here that long."

Dean echoed other progressive leaders who opened the conference Monday, expressing dismay, even anger, at the White House and Congress, saying they have been too timid and compromising on issues such as health care, the economy, climate change and banking reform.

He went back to being a centrist spokesperson.

I think we have made a difference by not letting these think tanks get away with words against liberals. It seems there is now less of it. I think it is because through the years we called them out on it. With the TPP looming with Democrats' support..we need to speak out and not let them silence us with insults.

Richard Eskow spared no words either right after the 2010 losses.

Resist Wall Street's Shock Doctrine or Keep Listening to the Usual Suspects

After last night's rout, what are these experts advising? You guessed it: more of the same so-called "Centrism." That's an odd word to use for policies that most Americans oppose, like cutting Social Security or allowing bankers to enrich themselves by endangering the economy, but theirs is an Alice-in-Wonderland world.

Real centrists would defend Social Security and do more to rein in Wall Street, since those positions are popular across the political spectrum. It's a good thing the president said today that he wants to spend more time with the American people. Bankers and the Deficit Commission aren't "centrists" where most Americans live.

David Brooks had some strong words for the liberals in the party in 2007. The DLC posted the article prominently at their website. Here is the quote from Brooks at the NYT.

The Center Holds

The fact is, many Democratic politicians privately detest the netroots’ self-righteousness and bullying. They also know their party has a historic opportunity to pick up disaffected Republicans and moderates, so long as they don’t blow it by drifting into cuckoo land. They also know that a Democratic president is going to face challenges from Iran and elsewhere that are going to require hard-line, hawkish responses.

I would have ignored David Brooks and considered the source, but the then alive DLC posted it at their site.

When Tim Kaine was party chairman in 2006 he had some words about blogs and his intention to pay them no attention. Guess he did not realize he was missing out on a lot of good information.

From the Washington Post:

Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center

"Blogs can take up a lot of time if you're on them," Kaine said to reporters Thursday. "You can get a lot done if you're not bitterly partisan."

The Virginia Democrat said he will not adjust his speech to placate the party's base. "I'm not anybody's mouthpiece or shill or poster boy for that matter. I'm going to say what I think needs to be said and they seem very comfortable with that."

From the same article a Democratic lobbyist made it clear that liberals were needed for their money and activism, but the party should not cave to their demands.

"The bloggers and online donors represent an important resource for the party, but they are not representative of the majority you need to win elections," said Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic lobbyist who advised Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. "The trick will be to harness their energy and their money without looking like you are a captive of the activist left."

And of course Fox News Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers had a lot to say in 2006 about how the liberals were becoming so shrill.

From USA Today:
Election signals decline of old school liberalism

It's more glacial shift than radical revolution, but change is afoot in the Democratic Party.

In a low point in Democratic Party history, Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey was banned from speaking at the 1992 Democratic Convention for being opposed to abortion rights. This year, his son, Bob Casey Jr., who holds the same views, was actively recruited by that same Democratic Party and unseated Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.

This was a welcome move in a party that is home to vocal and organized far-left activists and bloggers who have grown increasingly shrill and threatening toward moderate and conservative Democrats. They also have excoriated former president Bill Clinton's brand of centrist politics. They argue for "party discipline," best exemplified by their jihad against Connecticut's Sen. Joe Lieberman for deviating from the party line on the Iraq war. During the past election for Democratic National Committee chair, delegates booed former congressman Tim Roemer of Indiana because he, too, opposes abortion rights.

When they attacked Elizabeth Warren for wanting to expand Social Security, the blogs and posters online hit back hard. That is how it should be. The think tanks who are not really Democrats at all but are led by investment bankers and CEOs will continue to undermine the left, the liberals. But if we speak out they won't be so noisy about it.

There are signs we might be getting across our point that what we really want is for the party to stand up and speak out for the people....not the corporate world.

I guess I'm like a broken record, but it's pretty serious when a party shuts out its left.

I have been a Democrat since the day I could vote for the first time. Bernie may have an I after his name, but he's one of the best and strongest Democrats I've ever seen.

Iowa was an amazing feat for a 73 year old senator from a tiny state. The fact that he raised another million dollars soon after the caucus ended should indicate that he has the funds to be in this for the long run. I know I am.

I would like to once again be considered a Democrat, but then if that's not going to happen I can deal with it.

(Part of this is reposted from a couple of years ago, part is new)