That does it!! I'm leaving the Democratic Party

[spartan61]

and registering Independent next week. I don't even care if I vote in the primaries or not. I just don't care anymore. I had such high hopes last November when we won the House and the Senate and prior to that election, I worked my buns off for the party. Well, no more. There will be no more contributions when called, either. The "Democrat" Party is a big disappointment. I was patiently waiting for them to grow a spine and stand up to georgie and dick and to finally realize that impeachment had to be ON the table, not off the table. I was hoping they would end this terrible war by defunding it. Guess I am delusional. Well, today was the final straw that did it for me. When the Democrats, who, BTW had the votes to stop the confimation of Mukasey, blew it (thank you Shumer and Feinstein) that was my wake up call to register Independent. I won't be voting in the primary and I have no idea who I will vote for in the general. I guess it really doesn't matter because there isn't much difference anyway.

[derby378]

1. Please don't...

Stay and help us force Feinstein and Schumer out of the party like we did with Lieberman in 2006.

[movonne]

32. Yes but lieberman is really not out of our party...many of our so

called dems let him stay and some vote with him...

[Richardo]

2. Bye!

Have fun applying dogmatic litmus tests to other political parties!

[Toucano]

5. No litmus test since OP is going Independent

Basing support on the candidate, not the party.

[Richardo]

7. Oh he'll have litmus tests...

You bet.

[TahitiNut]

11. Maybe if we slice the Constitution into thin strips it'd pass for litmus paper?

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. So tell me what exactly have they done to stop bush?

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

[tom_paine]

55. You've got a loooooooong wait, nadin

n/t

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Richardo]

63. Bye!

I don't expect to see you here anymore!

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Oh dear, pleasssssseeee don't go!!! nnnnnoooooooo!!!

Ok, I'm not being honest. I really don't care.

[Annces]

8. I hope you did not offend the poster

in their moment of despair, but that was funny.

[Cronus Protagonist]

15. I like to think they laughed

[rucky]

51. When you see a post like this every other day

you should start to care.

[Swamp Rat]

4. I think you should at least stay and vote in the primary.

IMHO

[John Q. Citizen]

6. Kucinich is bringing impeachment to the floor of the house on Tuesday

Hang around long enough to vote for Kucinich in the primaries.

I live in an open primary state. Here you just ask for which ballot you want to vote.

Some states require you be registered as a Dem to vote in the Dem primary. if that's the case, stay around long enough to support Kucinich.

[Swamp Rat]

12. My sentiment exactly.

[MisterHowdy]

39. Kucinich Rocks.

I very much agree with you.

[bullimiami]

9. im pissed but i want to take the party back from the feinsteins and shumers

that dont have the morality god gave a clam.

[shireen]

64. i think clams have more integrity and morality that those two sorry excuses for Dems.

edited to add:

I should know. I used to have pet clams.

[NanceGreggs]

10. Before you go ...

... I would ask you to please send the entirety of your post to:

http://schumer.senate.gov

I would ask you to reconsider, and to stay and fight.

In any event, at least let Chuckie KNOW what's he's done to our party.

[Swamp Rat]

13. Great idea!

[spartan61]

21. Nance, I always respect everything you post

and I will send this post to Schumer. He has to know (if he doesn't already), how we feel about this.

[NanceGreggs]

27. Thank you, spartan61 ....

I am a New York voter, and my letter to MY (oh, woe is me) senator can be found here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

I honestly hope you will reconsider, only because we need every soul who is willing to fight. But I understand your position completely - would that it were not so.

[spartan61]

34. I just read your incredible and articulate letter to Schumer.

That has to make him sit up and take notice. All the while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think back to the protest I attended in August in Kennebunkport, Maine. Dennis Kucinich was one of the speakers and he made so much sense. Nance, I will reconsider and stay until after the primary so I can vote for him. Thank you for helping me to realize that we all do need to work together to bring change and work together to take our country back. Having said that, I am still disappointed as hell with the Dem Party.

[NanceGreggs]

35. So am I, my friend ...

What I have to keep reminding myself of is the fact that WE are the Democratic party, and those politicians who currently 'represent' it are but temporary idiots in the great scheme of things, able to be ousted at the first opportunity.

Feinstein and Schumer have only (supposedly) talked their way out of an 'uncomfortable' political situation in the here and now. But there is always tomorrow, and future elections - in which instance WE WILL NOT FORGET.

Glad you've decided to stay - the battle wouldn't be the same without you!

[tom_paine]

54. They know, alright. They just don't care because we Imperial Subjects of Amerika are irrelevant

to the electoral process or any other thing the Empire needs to run. It simply doesn't need human beings and warm bodies, just money and advertising.

I am exaggerating, but only the tiniest bit. Yes, if 99% of the people went Independant, maybe THEN it would matter, but somehow I think the Democratic Leadership would just do what the Bushies do: Ignore that anything happened and proceed as if nothing has changed.

Our Democratic Leaders, whether the fear be anthrax, blackmail, or just going up against the likes of the Mighty Wurlitzer, are only concerned now with their own asses, and with holding the whole crooked ball of wax together long enough to enjoy the rest of their cushy lives.

And I no longer care if they are afraid of being anthraxed or blackmail, because they should know that the only way it ever stops is if the victim takes it on the chin and comes forward, then asks for law enforcement help.

I know that, in the case of the Bushies, as in the Bushie South in the 1880s-1970s, the Law WERE and ARE the biggest criminals (at least, those who were Bushie/KKK).

It doesn't matter. It is better than living as the vassal to a totalitarian tyrant and doing his bidding.

[antigop]

50. with all due respect, do you really think Chuckie will care? n/t

[lame54]

16. WAIT!!! - to see if this happens...

HELP US AL GORE!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Nnph3zkHNw

[journalist3072]

17. I left the Democratic Party in 2005, after the Congressional certification of the electors

I was so disappointed that only ONE Senator (Barbara Boxer) would agree to sign on to the House's objection of the certification of the Ohio electors. With all of the issues that Ohio had in the 2004 election, there was no way I felt their electors should have been certified by Congress.

And I felt like Democrats in Congress should have been falling all over themselves to do the right thing.

I came to one sad conclusion: My values had not changed. But rather, my party had changed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. I left as well

BUT I live in an Open Primary State.

That makes a difference.

Not that I believe elections can be trusted any longer, but that is a whole different story

[proud patriot]

18. As someone who just came back to the Dems from being Ind

I hope you re think .. change is easier from within the party.

[Joe Fields]

24. Change what? One pair of dirty underwear for another pair of dirty underwear?

Frankly, I don't blame him.

[bambo53]

20. It's over people...

Unbelievable. I am no longer willing to support any part of the DLC. Maybe even the DNC.

We are truly fucked people.

Ralph Nader was right in 2000, There is no difference between the two parties. It's all about money. And "WE the people , just don't have enough money to make a difference in this Country anymore.

Somehow,,, I am "happy" that I'm so old... I can't bear the pain of watching the dream of Democracy die right before my eyes.

[tridim]

26. Ralph Nader is a DICK.

Nader also said there's no difference between Gore and Bush. Do you really believe that?

[creeksneakers2]

47. Ralph Nader is suing the SEIU

SEIU is on of the best supporters the left has. Nader is suing them. That shows me Nader is about Nader and nothing else. Nobody is good enough for him.

[B Calm]

33. FUCK Ralph Nader!! If not for the bastard, Al Gore would be on his 2nd term!

[John Q. Citizen]

44. Yep, bush and Kathryn Harris sure didn't steat the election. Democracy stole it.

You can't just grow up and run for president, people. What the hell, you think you live in the USA or something?

That kind of thinking is wrecking this country!

Not only that, scapegoating is the answer. Without a boogyman, we'd be lost.

[mudesi]

22. I hope all the naysayers are paying attention

This is why the Democrats are not able to win elections without major help from the GOP. They continually neglect and take advantage of the base.

The only reason the Democrats will win in 2008 is because the GOP have been such a disaster. But they will once again lose subsequent elections if they don't cut the conservatives and the DLC out of the party and start representing the liberals of America.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. I will not count on them doing well in 2008

this pattern started a while ago

They are also acting the way they are acting becuase they are SURE they will win.

I don't count on it

[mudesi]

30. I'll give them one win

Though you may be right, I don't think the Bush legacy will be forgotten all that quickly.

But they'll lose in 2010, they'll lose in 2012, and they'll lose in 2014, and it will continue until they stop this enabling nonsense and start acting like an actual opposition party.

What's frustrating is the number of people who still believe that pandering to the conservatives is the way for Democrats to win. That has been tried for the last 20 years. It doesn't work.

[dmallind]

40. Someone who leaves the party

over a 14 month AG who is far less objectionable than the realistic alternatives is NOT "the base".

[tom_paine]

59. Oh bullshit: Ever heard of the straw that broke the camel's back?

I have been a member of the Democratic Party all of my life, and while I never gave a dollar nor helped it in any other way before 2000, SINCE 2000 it has been another story.

Every even-year "election" since then, I have worked and donated, worked and donated. In 2004 my shoe leather, phone-dialing-finger, and my bank account were depleted by those efforts.

During each of those three elections, I took the day off, to help out the Democratic Party on "Election Day".

I am so damned close to where the OP is, it isn't funny. Still think losing 100,000 or more of people like me and possibly the OP are nothing? Because it certainly appears from where I am sitting, the Democratic Leadership would think it was nothing and would probably say "good riddance to those Loony Liberals". (even though I am not by definition a liberal...don'tcha' know ANYONE who opposes Bushler is a Far Left Hardcore Communist...I know realize the Democratic Leadership dislike Liberals nearly as much as the Bushies do)

But lose us they have and lose us they will continue to do. And after all, what is the loss of 100,000 Filthy Little Nobodies at $100 a piece when it can so easily be made up with one Aristocrat at $10,000,000.

So you see, it's a wash, at least according to our fearless Democratic Leadership?

Am I mad? You betcha. It's not often I spend that much money, getting only scorn in return for my investment, and a wish that I could be arrested for vagrancy (thanks Nancy Pelosi, for at least one moment of candor and honesty).

[PFunk]

41. To be honest I don't think the dems are going to win much in '08

Mostly due to a lot of now disaffected dems and indies probally just sitting out '08. Which may allow the repugs to either limit their losses or mayber gain control of the senate again (everyone knows the presidency is lost to them).

[backscatter712]

23. Can't say I blame you.

I'm only staying just long enough to vote for Kucinich in the primary. Then I'm out.

[Mojorabbit]

29. I joined

progressive democrats of america. We are trying to form progressive caucuses in each state and take back the party from within. See my sig line for the website. It is the only way to change anything.

[PFunk]

42. Unfortunatly that's the same for me.

I really hope either a vivable third party or a real purge of the democratic party comes out of this.

[John Q. Citizen]

46. Unfortuanatly, there is no such possibility as a viable thrid party in this country. The

Dems and the Repos have stacked the deck to insure that third parties can only act as spoilers.

Then they whine, whine, whine, when third parties act as spoilers.

There is nothing in the constitution that prohibits instant run off or fusion voting. It's just the two parties who have decided they can be the only games in town.

Go figure.

[stimbox]

28. After the primary I will do the same. I'm sick of the Vichy Dems.

Turning Left: Why I left the Democrats

By Debra Reiger

Just a few years ago I was still registered to vote as a Democrat. What was I thinking?! I finally woke up to the realization that the Democrats would never represent me, and that progressive change is all but impossible within that party.

Sure, I realized that my views were more progressive than those of my fellow Democrats. And of course the Democratic Party's candidates continued to be pretty disappointing. But I had been registered with the party for a long time, and I still hoped that the party would make some good choices for change. I thought that maybe the Democrats would promote improved democracy by supporting proportional representation (wrong!), or by standing up against the needless killing in Iraq (wrong!), or by supporting immigrant rights (still wrong). I was always disappointed, but figured that there must be some benefit to sticking with one of the two "major" parties.

Snip

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3666/i23/i23...

[Demobrat]

31. I left the Democratic party

and registered independent the day I voted for Dean in the CA primary in 2000. Have voted mostly Green, some Dem since then. I vote for the best person for the job, IMO, party be damned.

[UTUSN]

36. Again?!1 Just "register" Rethug and get it over with & don't BUG me!1 n/t

[The Traveler]

37. I respect your choice

But I cannot agree with it.

God knows I have been tempted to go the same direction. Frequently, in recent days. The problem is that the pool of Independents are even more fractured in their objectives than Democrats. The fight against creeping tyranny has a broad front, and cannot be won with a thousand single combat warriors going forth to overcome a well oiled war machine, if you will pardon an analogy.

Only through the concerted action of a large number of individuals focused on achieving core objectives can we hope to turn back the evil tide. Chuck and Dianne have been on the right side of many issues ... hey ... does anyone know just what the HELL they are thinking? Are we dealing with pod people here or something? Are they being extorted or blackmailed? Inquiring minds need to know ...

Leave the Party. No, dude. You are right where you belong. However, some of our so-called leadership ... eh ... not so sure.

Still, I sympathize with and understand your choice. And I respect it. But I gotta disagree.

[mmonk]

38. The primaries are the only hope for change.

[SlowDownFast]

43. I guess that means you'll be leaving DU, too.

Oh, well.



PS:

You don't have to be like congress. You could grow a fucking backbone.

[Snarkturian Clone]

45. .

[terrya]

48. I went over to the Green Party in 2000

And that worked out SO well.

[mondo joe]

52. So go already.

People join political parties, people leave political parties.

[Froward69]

53. I was an "I" ever since college

Life and what the repubes have done for this country Drove me solidly into the "Democratic" party. although centrist, I do not reject the idea of impeachment. however Impeachment vapor locks our government. and as the repubes demonstrated with Bill Clinton. it is an Irrational overreaction. Do We Democrats really want to be as irrational as repubes? Bush is just cheneys puppet anyway. removing bush would still leave us with cheney. patience is the rational course. Arresting bush and cheney as traitors on the inaugural podium. Hold them indefinitely. Is my hope and Goal. After all, if that were to occur the republicans would clamber to help restore the constitution.

If you feel so strongly go. I see Pelosi's plan. it may seem like they are not doing their jobs, However in the larger scope of things, the plan will come together at the correct moment in time and the rethugs will be left wondering what was the number of the bus that hit them.

so if you feel that frustrated, and it will make you feel better then go. you should know as well as I that a second "left" party would divide the Dem vote and keep the criminals in power. Do you really want That?

[Rockholm]

56. Bye Bye!!!!!

[IronLionZion]

57. The door's that way. Good Bye! nt

[onenote]

58. Two Democrats defect, so you bail.

Its not as if there was some official Democratic party position in favor of Mukasey. A significant contingent of Democratic leaders all came out against the nomination. But Shumer and Feinstein folded. And you attribute that to the "Democratic Party."

Not seeing your logic.

[bushisdirt]

60. I turned in my Demo card and registered Indy about a year ago. I

waited as long as I could. The reasons for the departure: Pelosi, Reid, Feinstein, Schumer. It's all a game.

[rodeodance]

61. send this the the people that are involved---Schumer, pelosi, reid etc etc

[EstimatedProphet]

62. Don't let the door hit you etc. etc.

Stay and have a chance at influencing the party, or leave and give the chance up.

[TheFarseer]

65. what's the difference?

the policy will continue no matter if Mukasey is confirmed or the next stooge is confiremed or if no one is confirmed. He's not going to nominate Dennis Kucinich, if that's what you're waiting for.

[ruggerson]

66. Vote for Fred Thompson

he doesn't think either.

[deutsey]

67. Most of the time I can't help but feel there are really only two wings

of the American Corporatist Party.

[The Magistrate]

68. Locking

This has become a flame-war past hope of moderation.