Reply #58: Perhaps the bad-mouthing of the left ...

[NanceGreggs]

... is prompted by those who have self-appointed themselves as the Left - and then go about trashing the opinions of anyone and everyone who don't agree with their every opinion as being "centrists", "moderates", or "New Democrats" - terms meant to be derisive as well as divisive.

Confining the discussion to DUers, if I may, there are too many who have wrapped themselves in the banner of THE Left, who ARE nothing more than whiners and complainers - rendering that particular label as something many here don't want to identify with, and leaving those who truly ARE left in their political leanings to be mis-identified as otherwise because they refuse to contribute to the whining and complaining.

"The Left is trying to save you." Who are "the Left"?

I have been labeled here as a centrist, a moderate, etc. (bad words all, to hear some tell the tale). And yet, despite my being a prolific writer here, no one knows my position on the things I have NOT written about. This holds true for many DUers, who tend to speak out on some subjects, but not others.

Do you know my position on the death penalty? Public schools versus private education? The appropriate place for sex education in school curriculum? Gun control - where, when, how? Electoral reform - what is needed and what isn't to achieve fair elections? Environmental concerns - what is feasibly implemented and what isn't? Where do I stand on DADT/DOMA? How about abortions for teen aged girls - with or without parental consent? The legalization of controlled prescriptions for addicting drugs such as heroin? The reinstitution of the draft? What about the importance, or non-importance of prosecuting the previous administration for war crimes - torture - treason?

I use myself as an example (because I am not in a position to speak for others here). But I think you get my drift - there are too many DUers being labeled as left, right, centrist - whatever - based not on their positions on important topics (many of which are unknown), but based on the opinions of those who have declared themselves as THE LEFT and dismiss anyone who doesn't fall into lockstep (yeah, I said LOCKSTEP) with those who don't swallow THEIR opinions and regurgitate them as accepted doctrine.

I've seen one too many (and haven't we all) DU posts of late about "the base" - everyone claiming to be the be-all and end-all thereof.

In truth, the "base" is a fluid thing - it changes from day to day, from one election cycle to the other. The current "base" of this president/administration is the people who support it NOW, and not yesterday. There are those who supported it six months ago, who no longer do - just as there are those who didn't support it yesterday, but do today. To claim you are "the base" of fans who support a sports team you abandoned years ago in order to root for an opposing team, and root against the team you once supported, means you are no longer part of the base of said team. It's as simple as that.

Criticism of any president, its administration and its policies, is part and parcel of democracy in action. That holds true when it's their guy in office, or one of our own.

But OPs that are consistently posted, day after day, week after week, about how everything said by this president is a "hit" on "the LEFT", how every policy is a nefarious means of undermining Democratic ideals, how every piece of good news about anything is twisted (with extraordinary effort) into being something negative or just-you-wait-and-see, down-the-line disaster - one has to wonder as to the motivation of said posters. And when they identify themselves as THE LEFT - well, it tends to give the alleged "left" a bad name.

I realize that by the lengthiness of this reply, I can be accused (and rightfully so) of having hijacked your thread. That was not my intent - but given the points raised in your OP, it seemed appropriate to speak out in this particular forum, and within the parameters of the discussion you have invited.

I mean no disrespect in doing so - as I have long respected your contribution to this site. But I must respectfully disagree with your assertion that the LEFT is here to save us - because too many who identify themselves as "the Left" these days have mistakenly (and/or deliberately) used that self-affixed label to advance opinions that have nothing to do with being a "leftist" Democrat - and leaves those who truly are on The Left to wonder at their motivation in doing so, and to question their true agenda.