DU friends, what makes us different from other "DEMS"?

[RiverStone]

Semi-newbie here at 6 months on DU, with a question pondered (or answered before)...

I can't quote which DUers said the following in regards to our local hang-out, but I've heard this:

DU is the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party and/or

DU is the Liberal Wing of the Democratic Party

I've heard DU characterized in both respects. What baffles me is why we keep hearing of all these MSM polls with Hillary leading here or there and yet on DU, she has consistently polled in positions 4-6? No offense to Hillary supporters, but I'm very comfortable with a handful of other DEMS I'd vote for ahead of Hillary; and feel in great company in that respect. Yet the point of this post is not to talk presidential candidates, but to ask WHO are we that we are apparently so out of the mainstream with other DEMS? Where do all these other DEMS live that vote Hillary number one??? Where do they hang out? I don't know any. I don't see many of them here.

Are we unique in the cosmos or is the MSM just bull shitting everyone else and WE at DU got the 'right' poll numbers? The TRUTH IS OUT THERE and it's here....right? :)


WHO are we? :shrug:

[lvx35]

1. Dems at DU tend to be more well informed sooner.

Other dems tend to catch up months or years later, which is what worries me about Hillary. It would suck to have to take a primary and then make the mainstream dems want to puke in the general election.

[mike_c]

2. I think to a certain extent the MSM is bullshitting us all....

I've given up believing in an unaligned press. The CORPORATE press is working very hard to marginalize liberal democrats like Kucinich and to advance the candidacy of mainstream dems like HRC who will polarize voters and give their bloviators lots to talk about. And generate lots of media hype, attention, and profits. That's not unlike the way the media conspired to help push America into an unnecessary war with Iraq. Or the way it deep sixed Howard Dean's candidacy in 2004.

I also think that there is a large group of people who are not particularly well informed about national or international issues who end up providing fodder for those poll numbers. I think accomplished pollsters know this. If the Washington Post says "get me numbers on the democratic party candidates, and wouldn't it be delicious if HRC is the eventual dem nominee," good pollsters know where to obtain those results without there being OBVIOUS bias-- but it's there nonetheless. Call the folks who are getting all their information from the MSM and who are not particularly politically aware and they will likely answer "yeah, well, I hear about Hillary all the time and that's who I think I'll vote for."

If you asked those same people to name the democratic candidates, I'd bet most could not name more than a couple, if that.

Finally, note that the MSM has crossed the line from objective journalism, to the extent that that ever really existed anyway, into real propaganda. It's propaganda in the sense that it's meant to create a specific outcome in the electorate. It's manipulation, whether for political reasons or for economic ones.

[RiverStone]

4. So it's the tail wagging the dog...

But even so, what brought YOU to DU and keeps you here mike?

Thanks :)




peace~

[mike_c]

5. when I joined DU there was an incredibly well informed community here....

There still is, but DU has changed some. A LOT of those folks have gone elsewhere for a variety of reasons, although many do still post here. OMG, Kephra alone made DU one of the best places to get news, and his LBN posts often stimulated great discussions. I learned a lot. I also enjoyed the process-- the discussion, reading other peoples' ideas, and so on.

I've stayed for the long haul because DU has always fostered a strong sense of community and I feel good here. It's hard to explain otherwise. I'm outside the mainstream of DU in many respects-- if DU is the liberal wing of the democratic party, I'm left of much of DU. I've only got one foot in the democratic party anymore. I'm ideologically better aligned with some other progressive forums-- but DU is the community that I like the best, despite it's ups and downs.

[LibDemAlways]

3. DUers are more politically aware and involved than

the average voter who identifies with the Democratic Party but pays little attention to candidates or issues except right before an election. Many people responding to a pollster's question at this point might say they support Hillary because of her name recognition or because the corporate media has annointed her the frontrunner.

A year before the 2004 primaries, Lieberman was in a similar position - and look where his campaign went - nowhere.

[tblue]

6. People who find themselves at home at DU are the ones who have reached the end of their rope

with mainstream media, especially the way it has lain down for this Admin, and the former Do Nothing congress. We've had to sort of create our own parallel universe here, and it makes a hell of a lot more sense to us. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't need a parallel universe is seriously uninformed. It may not be their fault, but they're uninformed nonetheless.

[Ken Burch]

7. I'm a bit uncomfortable with the premise of this thread.

There are many good things about DU and DUers, but I don't think we should look at ourselves as a breed apart from other Democrats.

Perhaps we may spend a larger amount of time dealing with the issues of the day than other Dems, but we need to see ourselves as part of the party, not starting from any point of inherent moral or intellectual superiority, but working, in humility and with a basic sense of the equality of all Dems and all people, to help the country and the world seek and hopeful and progressive future.

We're just ordinary people doing what we can to support the general struggle for justice. For me, that's enough.

[RiverStone]

8. In no way was I suggesting superiority....

And having only been chill-en here for 6 months, I am not very aware of DUers historical perspective.

But IMHO Ken, I have consistently sensed that there is something either in approach or values which does seem markedly different from mainstream DEMS - or at least the majority of the Democratic public as advertised in the MSM.

I see the Democratic party as a BIG BLUE work of art that houses many views, and we may be one of the more unique siblings - but in every respect, absolutely part of the party - no doubt there!!! In fact, lots of passionate party members post at DU.

So whereas I appreciate your feelings, I don't see us as abandoning the DEMS or intellectually better or worse, rather I just see us as unique in the mix of folks that call themselves DEMS.

Hope that made sense... :think:


Thanks for sharing Ken :)


peace~

[Ken Burch]

9. Fair enough.

And really, my comments are directed not so much at you but at the notion some have of DU's "otherness".

It's dangerous to our objectives to see ourselves in such terms. I think most of us don't, but it's something we all have to watch for.

Welcome to DU, btw. Always glad to get new voices here.

[saltpoint]

10. Most of us were raised by wolves.

That's why Evan Bayh is so timid.

He wasn't.