Are we Democrats or Contitutionalists?

[azureblue]

A point to ponder: Are we Democrats or are we Constitutionalists? Is our primary purpose to support them Democratic Party or the support the Constitution & Bill of Rights? My opinion is that I am not happy with the Dems and flat angry at the Repugs. And my political purpose is to return this country to the principles that this country was founded on, laid out in the Constitution & Bill of Rights. To all reading this post: should we identify ourselves as Constitutionalists, independent of either party but willing to throw in with the party (OK- the Dems) who recognize how the Repugs have trashed these to basic documents?

[dusmcj]

1. we are our principles, any party that furthers them gets our support

I don't give a flying f*ck what forehead label I bear, or what group affiliation I claim. What matters is what principles I conclude are worth supporting, and how those principles are implemented by my government. The Democratic party used to be the clear-cut choice - not a moment's thought was needed, the GOP were the Greedy Old Pigs, and the Democrats represented the interests of actual people, as opposed to the rich.

Today, with our Democratic "leadership" spending a lot of time wondering why people use "liberal" as a pejorative, and spending proportionately too much time hobnobbing with people who arrogate to themselves the title "cultural elite" but produce previous little elite culture to back the claim (money doesn't constitute culture of any kind), and meanwhile evincing a general squeamishness about unequivocal and unapologetic championing of an egalitarian state which pursues respect for inherent rights and socioeconomic justice here at home and abroad, because we wouldn't want to offend people who are thinking about voting republican, I am less convinced. Clearly, in any choice between the GOP and the Democratic party, there is a miniscule chance that it will require conscious thought, since a mere review of the platform of the contenders almost always quickly reveals what is still wrong with the GOP (same as it ever was) and what is still right with the Democratic party.

However, much more movement away from a clear understanding that this is a nation founded on respect for inherent civil rights, both by its government and within its society, and on the notion that all creatures have an inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, in the case of humans unaffected by forces of social coercion, will make smaller parties which understand these principles automatically more viable. There are serious concerns that an institutionalized duality between two parties results in those two parties becoming more and more indistinguishable, as an intrinsic property of such a duality, and there are warning signs that such effects are at work here. We are in danger of succumbing to the Repubican thought mode that strength and weakness and fear and fear of weakness are the currency of existence, that that is the dictate of Natural Law. This way of life is the province of barbarians, primitives and subhumans, and fundamentally devalues human civilization, modern civil society, and the notion that we are responsible for and capable of progress. Only parties which understand these points merit my support. And I suspect I am not alone.

[kentuck]

2. We are both...

It shouldn't be "either/or"...

[blm]

3. Constitution party is antichoice, anti-affirmative action, anti-welfare,

and anti=Social Security.

You can be a Democrat and love the Constitution, but most in the Constitution party are not exactly socially responsible in the way a truly great nation should be.

[DrDebug]

4. Constitutionalists are welcome depending on their view

From the About page ( http://www.democraticunderground.com/about.html )

Goal of this site:
Protest the illegitimate presidency of George W. Bush and to provide a resource for the exchange and dissemination of liberal and progressive ideas.

People who are welcome:
We welcome Democrats of all stripes, along with other progressives who will work with us to achieve our shared goals. While the vast majority of our visitors are Democrats, this web site is not affiliated with the Democratic Party, nor do we claim to speak for the party as a whole.

Democrats are the target audience, however _everybody_ who wants to protest the illegitimate presidency of George W. Bush and help in exchanging and dissemination of liberal/progressive ideas is welcome.

If you are a member of the Constitutional Party and you want to support the fight against the presidency of George W. Bush and help a group which is predominately Democratic then you are welcome at this messageboard.