2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I am a democrat today only because of the Bernie Sanders campaign [View all]hellofromreddit
(1,182 posts)I chose to not answer because it's my position that my past should not be a factor in party membership. But a lot of people around here don't feel that way, so any answer I offered up could only be a distraction as people attempt to fight over it.
I don't think that my choice is necessarily more principled, though my principles have fueled my choices. I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong.
It seems to me that these standards of "true party membership" that people have been inventing as of late can only accomplish the exact opposite of the party's stated goal of growth. Exclusive clubs by their nature are small, and small political parties are generally ineffective.
I don't exactly have a chip on my shoulder over it--I just wanted to talk about it and incendiary posts seem to be the only ones that get traction here.