Do any veteran Democrats recall a time when liberals were this focused?

[burythehatchet]

I moved to this country in 1970 at the age of 10. So I missed the 60's. When have liberals been this impassioned?

[molly]

1. The Viet Nam war

[Media_Lies_Daily]

3. Definitely.

[burythehatchet]

4. but how did you get your info, how did you organize, how long did it take

for people like yourself to get "hip" to the effort?

[molly]

11. It took exposing the reality of the situation

the lies - the deaths. It was a combination of many factors - kind of like now. We've got to keep fighting.

[LoZoccolo]

2. I don't think "focused" is the word.

If you gave everyone a chance to list five issues that should drive this election, I really doubt there would be a lot of consensus.

[Leprechan29]

5. List 'em

Maybe we should list those five issues, just for a bit of experimental evidence.

In order of importance (least to greatest):

5. Deficit expansion
4. Thinning/Shattering of separation between church and state
3. Women's rights, especially abortion choice now with the recent legislations against some procedures (though I am not one, they are important aspects of freedom)
2. War in Iraq and associated controversies
1. Patriot act and other anti-privacy measures

[shraby]

7. The proposed Constitutional

amendment to discriminate against a group of people.

[Leprechan29]

8. That would be

part of my "separation of church and state" and violation of civil liberties, though as a separate issue, it came in roughly 6th place

[Mel]

13. USSC justices retiring

and who will be nominating who's put on the bench. It's been said as many as 3 or 4 justices could be replaced so your numbers 4,3,& 1 are all about who sits on the bench we are one vote away from #3 being wiped out.

[Leprechan29]

22. Good

Point. The huge possibility that new justices would follow an agenda rather than ruling on the Constitution (esp. abortion rights/choice) is frightening

[burythehatchet]

15. I almost agree

5 yes
4 yes
3 Judicial engineering in general as far as I believe
2 yes
1 yes

not necessarily in that order

[vetwife]

6. Aware and upset...The 60's...For Sure !

When Bobby Kennedy was killed and then MLK...OMG !

[shraby]

9. Those were some bad years

starting with the assassination of Jack Kennedy. It all went downhill from there. I haven't trusted government since.

[depakid]

20. Unfortunately, we lost in '68

if we hadn't, I'm certain that we wouldn't be anywhere near the position we're in today. The far right would still be on the fringe-
We'd likely have national health insurance, education would be adequately funded and grants would be liberally available for most college students. Imagining America as Bobby Kennedy did and placing it side by side with what we see today and NO ONE would have believed it. People would have called you insane.

[Radical Activist]

10. Liberals are only united but what they're against

It seems like liberals can't unite around a positive goal or cause. We're too fractured. We can only be united by a common enemy like Bush. In that point, Ralph Nader was exactly right. He was right when he said a Republican President would mobilize the left and make liberal groups and activist more effective in a united front.

[UTUSN]

12. Win Win Win

Am I focused yet?

[Frances]

14. I think the country was divided in the 60s between those

who thought the war was a good thing and those who didn't

After the draft ended in the 70s, people went their separate ways and in 1980, I think Ronald Reagan, who was pretty far right, won the votes of many of those who had opposed the war. (He didn't get my vote!)

[burythehatchet]

16. From a previous thread I gleaned that

the sentiment started to turn when the draft started

[union_maid]

17. Depends on what you mean by liberal.

If by liberal you just really mean left of center Democrat, then no, I'd say they've never been more focused. If you mean what might be called social democrat, progressive, or what was probably called radical in the 60's then I'd say it's still better now. 60's progressives were fairly united in their disdain for The Establishment, exemplified by the military/industrial complex, but united didn't exactly mean...united.

There were two main issues and they were civil rights and the war. There were a thousand issues that sprouted all around those two. The civil rights movement started out great and degenerated into factions and fighting and accusations of racism within the left. As the area of civil rights began to expand beyond racial issues and into sexual politics, more divisions appeared.

There were some fighting for economic justice, too, but times were good. The vast majority of the country was too comfortable to be terribly worried about economic justice and the Marxist-Leninists and the Maoists were reduced to fighting among themselves even as the labor movement was starting to die of neglect and complacency. We all know what happened to some very prominent Trotskyites, of course.

That doesn't mean that there wasn't a huge, wonderful movement demanding a better world. But it does mean that we shouldn't romanticize it to the extent that we let history repeat itself. Progress has to be sustainable to work for people just like the environment and the economy. We have to do better this time.

[Liberal Gramma]

18. Interesting question

I agree in part that the Vietnam War united liberals, but it was also generational, with the young against the war and the old for it. I think many liberals are tolerant of other viewpoints (regardless of what I read on this site sometimes) and it takes a lot before we're fed up, but thanks to Bushco we are fightin' mad now. Another interesting question is how long have we been so polarized? I think it started with Nixon.

[seabeyond]

19. vietnam war???????? nixon was hired

wasnt he a republican. i am thinking, lol lol was young but.

[John_H]

21. Democrats were this united during the coup ("impeachment") and

we turned proto-rovian slimeballism into a six seat gain in the House, plus one in the Senate, and a 73 percent approval rating for TBD.

There was total unity--in fact, the left wing of the party was the most zealous in defending ex-DLC Chairman Clinton. There was no whining about how the Party's standard bearer didn't kow-tow to my hobbyhorse issues, there was no attempted blackmail by self-absorbed Naderites. We all fought together because we knew the fight was agianst a raw cynicism, an anti-american power grab in its purest and ugliest form.

And look what happened.

The evil we face now is even more dangerous. So, how are we going to play it?