The left gets ignored by the Democratic Party because ......

[matmar]

the Democratic Party represents all of society and its infrastructure, the left being one small segment of that greater society.

Whereas the Republican Party represents a small faction of rich elites who get a small but loud group of morons to act as if they are the majority.

[CelticThunder]

1. because they don't need us any more They have Wall Street now. Much more profitable.

[Scuba]

2. I would argue that "the left" is a large part of society that has been marginalized by the wealthy.

[get the red out]

3. The "elites" have all the money

Unfortunately we are in a nearly hopeless situation anyway fighting big corporations and big religion to maintain some semblance of a free society. The media marginalizes anything considered truly "left" because the corporations behind the media see it as a threat. People are controlled through the media, or at least a huge number of them. It's a lost battle. The country is way too far gone to be able to make drastic improvements, good ideas (left) will always be destroyed on the vine.

[emulatorloo]

4. I disagree that the left is ignored by the Democratic Party

[eShirl]

5. In other words, the rich elites are represented twice?

Spiffy.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. Yup, now the fight seems to be between rich elites who are Puritanical busybodies

and rich elites who aren't.

[leveymg]

7. Don't know if you're aware of this, but there is a long-time member named marmar.

Before you start wracking up posts under your new screen name, to avoid unwanted confusion and potential hassles, you might want to consider changing your screen name to something more individualized. You can look up existing screen names before deciding your identity.

Just a friendly suggestion. Welcome to DU.

[kwolf68]

8. Sorta but

As horrible as it for us Liberals at times, please do think about what we don't have:

-Abortion is still legal
-We -for the most part- do a good job protecting the environment
-We have - for the most part - a decent social safety net structure in place
-We do have a -slightly- progressive tax system
-We are not -for the time being- forcing religious dogma onto school children
-Gay people are gaining -albeit ever so slightly- more and more rights by the day

And there is much more.

I mean, these things are and will be under attack, but since being implemented they have thus far survived, albeit in a watered-down version.

A country completely void of Liberal ideas would look FAR different than what we have now, even though we do complain about the state of our nation. So while we want to see improvements, it sure as hell could be a lot worse.

[fascisthunter]

9. lol.... if he represents all, why does he ignore us?

seriously... You can't represent all if you are ignoring your base. He's a fraud owned by Wall Street.

[DearAbby]

10. Why stay where I am not wanted?

not respected? If I cant depend on a party to at least address my needs and views in a respectful way, its time for me to look elsewhere.

[matmar]

11. There used to be a large Socialist Party in America

...you know Eugene Debs and all that...

There once was a place for you/us to go. Democratic Party of the FDR era swallowed up alot of old lefties but the party has morphed into a right/center-right organization.

It will probably take another Great Depression for it to act as it should.

[daleanime]

13. And the 'morphing' happened....

all on it's own?

[alc]

12. "the Democratic Party represents all of society and its infrastructure"

Not quite.

the Democratic Party represents the Democratic Party. Pretty much nothing is done without looking forward to the next election. Even the first bills brought up in a new congress arranged to set the stage. Either get some messy stuff out of the way as early as possible, or do something to make donors happy, or do something representatives can run on (photo ops for the next ads).

Individuals have their set of goals to represent "society and infrastructure". But they can't get those past party leadership without consideration of the next election. The party wants more members. The party wants the next president. They will give up on an idea if it means an extra seat next time (saving or picking up). They justify it by claiming "it's a better good for US to be in power after next election, than to pass this legislation that looks great". They put pressure on their members to vote against their constituents. They give positions (committee, authorship/sponsorship) to help with reelection.

They know blue states are safe for the president. They know which districts are safe for house/senate. They know which parts of society they need to please to maintain or get more power. They can ignore the rest to the extent the "safe" seats remain safe.

[matmar]

14. Thanks...

I'm open to all points of view. You make a good point for how party politics can be a hindrance to progress.

Didn't James Madison object to the forming of political parties? Not sure.

I'm not claiming my opinion is the be all and end all of what things are. Others joining in with their comments helps to sharpen things..

[Davis_X_Machina]

15. It's not big enough.

Self-identified liberals haven't exceeded 21% of the electorate in two generations.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Yet, that small, irrelevant, powerless, segment gets blamed when the "moderate" Dems lose.

Funny that.

[Davis_X_Machina]

17. Gotta blame someone...

...and the alternative -- the possibility that broad chunks of the country just find progressive politics, politicians and polices intolerable -- is too awful to contemplate.

[zalinda]

18. If you take labels off the table, and just talk

you will find that most people are to the left. The problem is with low information voters. It's not that they are not concerned, the problem is that the media fails to tell the entire story. It is legal to lie in a campaign commercial, and so they do. Older folks remember the repub party as the party of Eisenhower and Nixon, and yes ever Reagan, and if you read the paper or look at TV, the repubs try to wrap themselves in that same cloak. And then, of course, you have Obama who has picked up their talking points and so everything looks legitimate.

But, if you talk to Americans, one to one, they all want the same things. They want to be safe, a roof over their head, food in their belly, medical care, jobs, and no war. The repubs frame these items in that if we give it to all people, then you will lose yours. It's just like the nonsensical meme that gay marriage will harm straight marriage. Say it over and over again, and pretty soon it's believed to be true. The dems seem not to want to change the conversation, and so we have a country that is split over the stupidest things. No matter what you think of John Edwards, what he said on the campaign trail resonated with people all over the country, once they heard what he had to say. One of his best lines "if you give them a seat at the table, they will eat all the food". He had dems and repubs responding to his message. That says to me that kitchen table politics are alive and well in the US, but very few politicians dares to go down that road.

zalinda

[Davis_X_Machina]

20. People *vote* labels, though...

....they don't send positions to Congress.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. Or, the possibility that appearing to be "moderate" doesn't work as well as advertised.

Or, that Republican "moderates" and Democratic "moderates" are distinction without much of (about a dimes worth) a difference.

[mmonk]

19. We don't have any tendencies of kissing rw butt?

[Mr Deltoid]

21. "the Democratic Party represents all of society"

The Democratic party does not represent the GOP, sorry.

[Douglas Carpenter]

23. the Democratic Party represents the more liberal and progressive wing of Wall Street,

the financial interest that own the country including the military industrial complex. That is what they are there for. That is their job. That is who pays them. That is who has the real seats at the real tables. That is who gets the returned phone calls and personal notes on birthdays and holidays. That is who they send their kids to school with. That is who they socialize with and become close friends with. That is who they attend each others wedding and funerals with. That's their people, the people they actually know - and not just for photo ops.

They are certainly infinitely more enlightened, more progressive and less reactionary than those who dominate today's Republican Party. That goes without saying. And if the choice is between the dangerous apocalyptic lunatics who dominate today's Republican Party and the significantly more enlightened Democratic Party - however contemptuous they are of progressive activist. However removed they are from the lives of ordinary people - I will certainly support the more enlightened Party. That is a no brainer. But it pure pure childlike naivete to imagine the Democratic Party is somehow or other "the people's party". I frankly find it shocking to find that there are grown adults that gullible.