What qualities become a Democrat?

[The Backlash Cometh]

I've wondered about this for sometime. How is it that the DLC has so many qualities in common with Republicans, and yet still consider themselves Democrats? What exactly identifies a person as a Democrat?

This is going to be a long process to hash out, so I'm going to start by identifying categories which are associated, or should be associated, or maybe that I just wish were associated with the Democratic platform:

1) Civil Rights: for minorities (including gays) and women.
2) Supports a strong government, in particular to promote a level playing field for business and education opportunities. (i.e. cut down on the negative effects of a crony capitalist system.)
3) Supports labor unions to balance out strong corporatist control.

Those are the classic categories.

Now I'd like to ask a loaded question: Where is the Democratic platform in relation to property rights?

[MADem]

1. You can see the whole platform online from the last convention.

They'll do another one for the upcoming one, too.

It's a PDF document: http://a9.g.akamai.net/7/9/8082/v002/www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf

These are the things that the Big Tent agrees on--I don't recall property rights being a plank in the platform last time around, though.

That doesn't mean they don't have a view, it just wasn't Top Ten or universally agreed-upon, is all.

Democrats aren't lockstep robots--they have a wide variety of views, from conservative to well to the left. The Republicans shove all their moderates up into New England, it seems! The rest of them are to the right of Attila the Hun...

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. I think true environmentalists would agree with my position on property rights.

I'm just surprised that Democrats don't have as many community activists that have experienced the same things I have in regard to corrupt local zoning changes, both on a city and individual basis. It is so interconnected in bad community growth management, that I don't understand why it isn't high on the platform, since a lot of corruption that you see on a local level is caused because property changes and disappearing easements, are the result of local corrupt practices.

What forum on DU are these things even discussed?

[MADem]

3. You'd have to start a thread in GD politics, or the environmental forum.

Depending on the particular issue.

It could be, given the business where they stole the homes from people to make a 'business district' and the Supremes let it happen, that they'll have a plank on it this year.

You should send a note to Howard Dean and bring it up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Unfortunately, isn't eminent domain an extreme liberal belief?

Weren't the liberal judges the main part of the decision to allow governments the right to take land for business purposes?

It makes one's head spin. You have the GOP and chamber of commerce so deep into the government to destroy social programs and public infra-structure like parks, rec lands and wetlands, and then the liberal judges hand them a gift with eminent domain.

Makes you wonder who you can trust these days.