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The
Unfair Litmus Test
May 10, 2002
By J. Carlos Jiacinto
Senator Zell Miller of Georgia should leave the Democratic
Party! Dianne Feinstein of California all but votes Republican!
The DLC has too much control of the party! The party is not
sticking up for its values enough! The Democrats are wimps!
As a member of Democratic Underground, I often post on the
boards here and find such messages. They often decry how some
Democrats on the Hill "capitulate" into the Republicans. Like
their conservative counterparts they expect all Democrats
to follow the liberal line, lock, step, and barrel. This attitude
is extremely bad for the party because Democrats need every
vote possible against Bush and the Republicans, especially
during the 2002 campaign.
The first problem with imposing a litmus test on candidates
or asking conservative Democrats like Senator Zell Miller
to leave the party centers around the fact that it is closing
"the big tent." The Democratic party prides itself on being
a "big tent" that appeals to everyone interested in progressive
causes. Within that rubric and that framework it is obvious
that individuals within the party need to be unified in our
ultimate goal: increasing representation in Congress, state
governments, and ultimately regaining control of the White
House. Differences over specific policy should not determine
who is welcome in the party and who is not.
As a national party the Democrats must represent the interests
of the whole country. Senators must represent their states,
as Congressmen must represent their districts. For example
a senator like Zell Miller is going to vote differently than
someone like Paul Wellstone. A senator like John Breaux will
vote differently than Ted Kennedy. Each senator represents
radically different electorates, with different political
values. A Paul Wellstone or a Ted Kennedy would not win in
a state like Louisiana and Georgia, and the same applies to
Zell Miller and John Breaux vice versa. Some of the members
of DU may not like these senators' specific politics, but
they should be treated as Democrats in good standing because
they oppose Bush and support most progressive ideas.
Another issue that makes ideological litmus tests unfair
is the fact that many DU members fail to realize that many
Americans share different values than the average poster here.
Living in cities like San Francisco, Berkeley, Boston, New
York, and Washington, DC often creates a disconnect from other
parts of the country. Rightly or wrongly some members cannot
even conceptualize how outside of these cities people have
different political values. People believe in different issues
in different cities. Therefore the rank and file need to realize
that some prominent Democrats may be more centrist than they
would like in order to remain responsive to the electorates
they represent.
As Democrats we need to realize that we represent a national
party. As such, our members come from all fifty states, and
we should not ostracize candidates or individuals who need
to adopt platforms to gain supporters of the people living
in their jurisdictions. Being a national party requires tolerance
and respect of all factions within the party. To defeat George
W. Bush and to increase Democratic representation in both
Houses of Congress, not only we do need to make every vote
count, we need to welcome every voter who wants to work with
the party with open arms.
J. Carlos Jiacinto,(jiacinto@hotmail.com)
graduated from Dickinson College in 2000 with a degree in
political science. He is currently working on a Master's Degree
in International Politics and International Economic Policy
at American University in Washington, DC
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