Idle Ramblings

Here's why liberal, left wing Democrats piss me off!

And yes, I consider my self a liberal, left wing Democrat. I'm pro-choice, I have my ACLU card tucked away in my wallet. My wife and I support NARAL, PFLAG, People for the American Way, gay marriage. I'm against the death penalty, etc, etc. I could go on, but that's not my point.

Earlier this week Sen. Hillary Clinton gave a speech to the Democratic Leadership Council urging Democrats of all stripes, liberal, moderate, conservative, to come together, find some common ground and unify in order to strengthen the party. Now, she is being ripped to shreds by left-wing bloggers and others because the DLC is considered by many to have too many close ties with big business. They consider the DLC to be ineffective in pushing an aggressive, progressive agenda that this country desperately needs. It's too "inside the Washington beltway" and doesn't heed the needs of the average, everyday American. And you know what, they are absolutely right as far as I can tell.

But here's the thing. I think a lot of us on the left forget just how badly we Democrats have had our asses handed to us over the last decade. Sure, we had Bill Clinton in the White House until Dubya took over, but that's the last time we had any significant say in the way things are run in this country. Right now we don't have the authority to change a light bulb in this country much less prevent a take-over of the Supreme Court by right-wing radicals.

The DLC has its flaws, and I don't pretend to know a whole lot about the organization or its history, but I do know one thing, it has the potential to help bring balance back to our government. To stand a snowball's chance in hell of being elected president in the next election, the Democratic candidate is going to have to have some serious corporate support. Grassroots efforts are great and they have the potential to bring about great change in this country (just look at how well the right has used them over the past 30 years), but while they might get you over the top of the mountain, they won't get you there in the first place by themselves.

There are a lot of people crying that it's too early to begin the 2008 presidential campaign. They are dead wrong. The right-wing had more than 30 years planning behind their takeover. You'd better believe they are already planning hot and heavy on who the successor to George II will be and they will have a formidable plan in place long before they even decide who their candidate will be.

We on the left side of the fence also need to realize something: We don't have the power or the resources our counterparts on the right have. We have the reputation of being flakes at best and threats to the very fabric of this nation at worst. Even the most outlandish things that have been said on the left are no more outlandish than those said on the right, the only difference is on the right, they are whispered behind closed doors by men in business suits while on the left we shout them from a mountain top using a bullhorn and wearing a funny hat.

Monday, Sen. Clinton didn't call for Democrats to give up on what they believe in. She didn't ask people to compromise their beliefs or their positions on issues. She asked us all to find common ground and work together. If we really want change, we need to listen to her, she's smart, she's politically savvy and she stands a damn good chance of being our next president. Working together, we can be strong and we can begin to get the things accomplished that need to be done.

posted by Joseph @ 7/27/2005 07:42:00 PM