How can you be a Democrat if you.....

[skooooo]

(Edit: maybe this should be in General Discussion..sorry)


How can you be a Democrat if you _____________________________ (fill in the blank).

I've contemplated this topic for a long time. I suspect that most of us agree on 95% of issues, yet it's not uncommon for someone to say something that someone else find highly offensive - hopefully unwittingly, but maybe not always.

My answer to this question is that we are all full of contradictions. We aren't machines, and we aren't always logical. I think it's a fair question, to a point. It's fair if your objective is to get someone to think about what they say or what their beliefs are. But don't expect people to always make sense, or to fall in line 100% with what you think is right or wrong.

Yes, I'm a Democrat, but I have certain likes and dislikes that you may not understand or you may disagree with. I don't mind addressing and explaining those, if asked, but I don't think it's fair to write someone off if they can't or don't see eye-to-eye with you on on everything.

Maybe the "How can you be a Democrat?" question is 'fair,' but understand that we're all coming from a different place and are in the process of learning and evolving as humans and Democrats. Questioning someone's sincerity may be a jarring way of confronting a problem you perceive, but it also tends to make people defensive. And you owe it to everyone to at least consider that your perception may be as off as the person you are questioning...

That's all I have to say, I think.

:hi:

[olkaz]

1. Exactly. Thank you.

[groovedaddy]

2. In our fair city, there are a fair amount of registered Dems who aren't that at all

When I'm canvassing, I ask them why they stay registered Democratic. Many say it's so they can vote in the primaries for local elections. Others say they've just never bothered to change it. Pretty lame.

[Umbram]

3. K&R. (nt)

[msallied]

4. There is often a difference between how someone sees the world and how they vote.

They realize that no one candidate is going to encompass all of their beliefs but they vote for the one who tries to best represent them, and that's fine. No one human being likely ever will. We're not clones. I own a collection of guns. Does that disqualify me from being a Democrat? I'm not in favor of socialized medicine. Am I now excluded from being a Democrat? I really think that affirmative action is an outdated and rather insulting piece of legislation for both blacks and whites. Do I lose my membership?

Gosh I hope not, because I'm a pro-choice atheist who supports public schools, civil liberties, unions, and the right for two dudes or two chicks to get married. If I can't vote Democrat, I've really got no one else to vote for.

[Terran]

5. We're supposed to be the Big Tent party

I think we can have disagreements over policy, but I'd hope all Democrats have broad agreement about broad issues of human rights and economic justice.

That said, I've known an older man, a long-time member of a progressive advocacy organization here in MO, who opposed the organization's vote to oppose the statewide anti-same-sex marriage ballot issue. He actually quit the organization over it. That was disappointing and astonishing to me.

[skooooo]

6. My post was aimed...

...more at what I consider minutia that we can get bogged down with on DU, rather than broad policy issues.

I suppose there are flavors of Democrats, and that some Democrats would be opposed to same-sex marriage, but not opposed to "civil unions."

:shrug:

Then there are issues we feel more passionately about as individuals than others who also call themselves Democrats.

Not sure how to respond to your post, except to say that tolerance and reaching out should be the rule of the road. Of course, we all have our limits on that as well, I suppose.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

7. There Is Factually No Singular Answer To That Question That Would Be Accurate.

[Morning Dew]

8. I'd go with

How can you be a Democrat if you run for office as a Republican?

That might work.

:rofl:

[skooooo]

9. agreed...nt