01-17-2020, 12:34 PM
(01-17-2020, 08:13 AM)David Horn Wrote:(01-15-2020, 07:34 AM)sbarrera Wrote: If the party's big story is rifts among septuagenarians, mostly from the Silent generation, we are not looking at a dynamic new party that has a future on the forefront of change.
Exactly! This, among other reasons, is why I'm not a Democrat. They forget who their adversaries are and fight among themselves -- at least to the extent that Democrats actually fight. And that's my second point of disagreement. The Republicans came to the fight armed with every weapon they can muster, but the Democrats bring Robert's Rules of Order. Really?
So far. I've seen no evidence that the Democrats want to win at more than an intellectual level. Bernie may be the sole exception. If it's not Bernie, then whoever gets the nod had better take lessons fast.
I re-registered Democrat this year to vote in the primary for a local candidate, Rishi Kumar, who would be the next Ro Khanna from our county in congress, and to vote for Bernie. As a registered Green for many years I could not do that in my state, and I prefer to support a party rather than remain "independent," which to me means I am not making any statement with my registration.
I agree. They'd better take lessons from him, and listen to the voters, which need to provide the groundswell for progress and against obstruction that we need. Ultimately, the quality of our politicians depends on the quality of the people, and the people have let us down even more than the politicians have done. I think Democrats cave in to Republicans because Democrats can't count on their backers in sufficient quantity and enthusiasm to defy the enormous power that the system and its people and its money have provided to the Republicans and to the centrist "new" Democrats these last 40 years or more.
I think the Democratic Party is moving toward progress and toward taking action for the people, but it needs to be more resolute. But of course the quality of the candidates also depends on who chooses to step up and run for president. So far, almost all candidates who did take their swing were inadequate to say the least, and most of them have already dropped out. Even those who are left, which are the better ones, are not that impressive and may not have the chops or the passion and charismatic appeal to beat the Drump.