No, no I don't want to get rid of all the DLCers and DINOs in Congress, thank you very much.

[cali]

I was thrilled when dems won two seats in deep red districts in special elections in LA and MS, over the past few weeks. Even though both those new dem reps are conservative, they're still an improvement over having repukes elected in those districts. So yeah, I'll take a conservative dem over a repuke, anyday.

And all the crap about purging DLC members from Congress. Really? Who would rather have Heather Wilson or Steve Pearce over DLCer Tom Udall in the Senate representing NM? That DLCer has a pretty liberal voting record, including voting against the IWR and a good environmental record. He's not the only DLCer with a record like that. It's about looking at individuals rather than tarring people as a group.

The larger the dem majority, the greater chance they'll show some backbone, and the greater chance we'll actually see some progressive and liberal legislation pass the Congress.

Indiscriminately purge all the DLC members and all the conservative dems, from the party and you'd end up with repukes in many places. So though I have no use for the DLC as a group or Conservative Dems as a group, I prefer to a)look at it on a case by case basis and b) build a bigger majority.

Flame away.

[potone]

1. Stop making sense.

[cali]

2. um. no.

I just can't help myself.

:)

[BlooInBloo]

3. In the short-term, you definitely have to start somewhere....

In the long term, "more and better Democrats" should be the goal.

[cali]

4. exactly. It's about being judicious in which dems it makes sense

to primary challenge.

[aquart]

5. Ah, the totalitarian purge. Like Nixon did. Like Bush. Like Obama?

Would I be terribly surprised? Not after months with this bunch of chanting idolaters.

[cali]

6. Obama? You've completely lost it.

being obsessively bitter makes people dull. This has zip to do with Obama. You just can't help yourself. Sad.

[Luminous Animal]

7. Try as I might

I can't seem to find any effort to purge Udall from the Senate. Even at DailyKos.

[cali]

8. There have been many posts right here about how we need to

kick all the DLCers out of Congress.

[Dr.Phool]

9. Could we just spay and neuter our Blue Dogs?

[cali]

12. all blue dogs are not equal, but it would be nice to work to replace

them on a case to case basis where it's possible to do so.

[Luminous Animal]

13. DLC is shorthand for corporate Democrats.

And, as an organization, it promotes elite corporate interests over the rank and file. But, as in any organization, there may be a few good apples. Similarly, not all boy scouts are homophobes but the Boy Scouts of America is a homophobic organization.

I'm all for kicking the DLCers out of Congress by electing better Democrats. If a few "good" Democrats get smeared with that sentiment? Well, as the saying goes, "Lie down with dogs..."

[cali]

18. Sorry. I'm going to stick by people like Tom Udall and Jay Inslee

They voted against the war. They have liberal records. And personally, I make independent judgments, not group judgments and I never go by cliches. It's simply group think of another order. I'm not into it.

[Luminous Animal]

24. It isn't a cliche.

The DLC has a puplic platform which is decidedly pro-corporate. To claim, "I am a Blue Dog Democrat," or "I am a DLCer," has a specific meaning. Just like saying, "I am a Democrat," or "I am a Republican," has a specific meaning. Will you also advise Democrats to cease advocating replacing Republicans in congress because it paints Republicans with a broad brush? Surely, there must be "good" Republicans. If we were to use your standards, we'd no longer be able to refer to Republicans collectively but rather make an independent judgment about each and every one.

[Vincardog]

10. cali is reacting to a post I made about new races in play. I said throw out all Gopers and DINOs too

My point is that we have to make a radical shift in government focus away from enabling fascist corporate parasites and toward progressive populist policies. But some people want to pitch a BIG tend and help the Establishment pols who prefer to view us radical liberals as fringe elements.

[cali]

11. In part, sure, but you're hardly singular. Many share your opinion

I think it's totally ridiculous to lump all DLC members together and plain stupid to think you can elect progressives in certain districts. I believe in "start where you are". And we're no where near a place where your strategy would help us to get where I believe we'd both like to be.

[Vincardog]

21. I am in TEXAS I have to deal with so called Democratic pols who are singing the GOP Party song

every day. I believe we are a tipping point. Millions of people are so abused and abandoned by the corrupt parasitic capitalists. WE have to be willing and able to offer a radical change in the system. When things are this far wrong you can not politic around the edges and compromise. You may have a vision of gradual improvement by measured steps but I see our society dangling off a precipice. At the bottom of which is the New Dark Ages making the great depression look like a trial run.

For example on Health care; We have to have Universal Single Payer system.
The Government will not run it they will simply pay for it. No industry should be built on denying health care to our citizens.

On Energy and transportation: WE have to have a massive investment in affordable effective public transportation powered by Wind Solar Tidal and Geothermal. This will reduce the CO2 from autos and provide jobs for those hard working Americans HRC is so proud of.

On trade: WE have to renegotiate all our trade deals to account for Workers rights as well as environmental and energy considerations.

On elections: we have to kick the machines and their corrupt corporate owners out of OUR elections.

On elections financing: we have to go to a public financing of Congressional elections and kick the parasitic corporate leeches out of our governmental halls of power.

If you think these goals are not worth while keep on supporting the DLC and corporate enablers.

[cbayer]

14. Well said.

This mentality of kicking the Democratic establishment to the curb is ridiculous. Change is coming, but it will be incremental. You are absolutely right on this. There are parts of the country that would never vote for a progressive liberal, but they will vote for a moderate or conservative Democrat.

[Warpy]

15. The Blue Dogs who vote GOP much of the time

need to be picked off, one by one, in upcoming primaries.

That's all most people are suggesting.

Nobody with a brain suggests they be ousted in a general election, throwing the seat to a GOP.

[Luminous Animal]

16. Exactly. (n/t)

[cali]

17. There aren't that many.

I guess it depends on what you mean by much of the time. I prefer to look at an individual's voting record and assess it. And people here suggest purging the party of all DLCers and Blue Dogs on a regular basis.

[Luminous Animal]

20. Enough to swing votes

on such issues as FISA, telecom immunity, NAFTA schemes, draconian bankruptcy regulations, etc.

[IronLionZion]

19. I see nothing wrong with electing conservative Dems from conservative districts

because what is conservative for us on DU is usually liberal for the red state or rural area they are in.

A liberal like Dennis Kucinich is not going to get elected in Mississippi, he's just not. But electing someone with a D next to his name, who votes with us maybe 75% of the time or whatever is still useful for getting our experienced liberals into leadership positions and for supporting the important things that all Democrats agree on.

I strongly support Howard Dean's 50-state strategy because it's important to be a national party again.

Besides, once you have some sort of Democrat in a traditionally red district, we can leverage that support to elect a more liberal Dem in that district in the future.

[LynneSin]

22. If we want to purge them we need to go after them in the primaries

after that we need to hold on to them IF they get the nomination and in the general election

[MonkeyFunk]

23. The people who push that idea

think that somehow, if those dems weren't there, their districts would elect "real" liberals.

No, they'd elect Republicans. A lot of people here have very little understanding of politics.

[Luminous Animal]

26. There is a wide difference

between rhetoric on a political discussion board and building a better party. I think that the people who push that idea understand politics very well by having witnessed how far to the right the radicals (PNAC, et. al.) have pushed this entire country.

[Hippo_Tron]

25. I just tell them that they need to come down to Louisiana during an election cycle

Mary Landrieu may not be perfect by any means. But compared to the Republicans that she runs against like Woody "carries a plastic fetus to rallies" or Suzy "Mary Landrieu has lost her Catholicism and personally hands out condoms in public schools" Terrell she's a saint. Not only that, but she does a wonderful job representing her constituents and people sometimes forget that members of congress are accountable to their constituents first.