It's NEVER been about "feel good stuff"!

[Ken Burch]

One of the most annoying Beltway/DLC responses to progressives has been "you don't care about winning, you just want us to talk about 'feel good" things."

This is, has been, and always will be BULLSHIT!

Progressives don't fight for our ideals because they make us FEEL good.

We fight for our ideals because

1)They are RIGHT.

2)They are WORKABLE(in some cases, MORE workable than the "responsible centrist mainstream" proposals that our opponents in the party make. Clearly, for example, single-payer would be far simpler and lower in cost than the HRC health care proposal. Clearly also, getting out of Iraq now is more workable than trying for some mythical halfway point between ending the war and NOT ending the war.

3)They are POPULAR. Comprehensive health care, ending the war, standing up for civil liberties, NOT passing right-wing trade deals all have widespread support. The supporters of all those things could be mobilized as Democratic voters if the party actually tried to engage them, rather than simply demanding they back us in exchange for nothing because "the other side is worse".

Stop treating us like spoiled children. Treat us, instead, as we deserve to be treated: Committed, effective activists and organizers who are part of the formula for victory and deserve as much respect as the big donors and the lobbyists.

We aren't the enemies of the party. We aren't "special interests". We are, as much as anyone can be, true voices of the people.

You need us, Beltway. You need us, DLC. You need us, Democratic presidential candidates. You have nothing to lose by treating us with respect. You have nothing to gain by dissing us.

[Fovea]

1. We have reached a point where we can do the right thing

or we can head down the road of pasting a human face on the greed and stupid corporatism of the current dictatorship.

The right thing lead to sustainable justice under law. Lipstick on the pig that is the status quo leads to dystopia and horror.

[Ken Burch]

2. Well put, realipolitik

n/t.