This country needs Obama... and toned down rhetoric. :)

[water]

Hello!

This is my first post here at DU, and it might be my last, depending on your tolerance for differing opinions.

I intend to vote Democratic this election regardless of the nominee, though I would strongly prefer Obama. The Republicans must not be allowed to keep control of the White House, especially with their current slate of candidates.

I am a libertarian, and several of my libertarian friends (none of us have land-lines, so we aren't counted in polls) are voting along with me. The Democratic Party is relying on libertarian-minded people like us (in addition to more centrist voters) in order to pull off a victory, and it's looking like it's all going to fall into place. Neither party can win with just its "base" alone, which is why come the general election, Obama is most likely the candidate to attract the most libertarian/centrist voters; as such, he is the most likely candidate to defeat the Republican nominee. Please nominate Obama!

I have lurked both here at DU and at FR for quite a while now. In general, DU posters are much more articulate and reasonable than their FR counterparts. In fact, reading FR makes me wonder whether or not they expect anyone else to vote for their candidates! If FR posters are the "base" that their candidates will have to appease, why on earth would anyone want those candidates in power? I certainly don't.

The Democratic "base" is why I'm writing this. Lately, I've seen nothing but venomous insults, incredibly unfair attacks/allegations, childish "I'm-covering-my-ears-I-can't-hear-you" behavior, and "Kool-Aid" allegations (whomever disagrees must be brainwashed) coming from a group of people who pride themselves in being tolerant and intellectually ahead of the curve.

I'm no fan of Reagan. He gets a lot of credit for things that actually despite his policies, not because of them (much like FDR, though I'm sure you won't agree with me here).

After Obama mentioned Reagan in the context of being a good politician (not a good policy-maker), the ridiculous outpouring of insults was shocking. Most posters viciously celebrated his death, throwing (incredibly vile) childish-insult after childish-insult. Many of those posters claimed to have been alive and politically aware during his terms... is this how 30-40 year old Democrats act?

However, even worse were some of the allegations against him. He murdered gays by not funding and speaking out about anti-HIV efforts? What? Are you stealing from me by not giving me money? Did you break into my house by not paying for my security system?

In addition, many posters have called Ron Paul a fascist. A fascist? Excuse me? Call him a capitalist, call him a greedy capitalist pig, but don't call an anti-government capitalist a fascist. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are more fascist than Ron Paul (both support regulations that are much easier for large businesses to deal with, choking out smaller competitors. Large businesses often love and lobby for these kind of regulations).

These kind of insults do nothing but turn off likely non-left-wing voters, the very voters you are relying on to vote for your candidate! When someone curious about supporting Democratic candidates comes to DU and sees all of this, do you think they are more or less likely to vote along side you?

Obama appeals to me (and other libertarians) because he is the least likely candidate to try to appease the "base" when in the national spotlight. He's much more concerned with appearing electable and statesman-like. Couple that with the fact that modern Democratic candidates move towards the center for the general election and either further towards the center while in office, and you have the perfect candidate with whom to kick Republicans out of power.

Please take all of this as constructive criticism. :)


In order for us to defeat the Republicans, you have to accept that a large number of your voters will either be center-liberal, centrist, or libertarian. Don't turn them away! If a Democrat does win the White House, you must accept that he/she cannot govern from the far-left without alienating the very people that brought him/her into power.

Let's not throw away our chances to kick the Republicans out of the White House (and more importantly, keep them out)! They have been a disaster, and it's worth toning down the rhetoric a bit in order to achieve it.