There are a few here trying to define it as 'there is nothing we can do' (Reply #51)

In the discussion thread: Why Hasn't The American Left Convinced More Americans To Vote For More Progressive Candidates? [View all]

Response to treestar (Reply #46)

Sun May 5, 2013, 05:01 PM

Rex (65,616 posts)

51. There are a few here trying to define it as 'there is nothing we can do'

and you are right there is a lot we can do. Some things we cannot do are what is crippling us I think right now. Something we cannot do is get our foot in the door with the M$M. That we cannot do. We cannot get progressives elected to the national stage in huge numbers, so far. That is something we are working on.

Right now the Left is behind the 8-ball. Thanks to so many people out there that love to bash it on a daily basis and so many from our own party too. It hurts our chances when our own party hates us.

The 1% are not progressives nor do their numbers rank as liberals either. It is hard to get liberals to become shallow minded assholes like their billionaire counterparts in the RWing. And it is not just a few rich donors...that is simply not true.

We need our own national spotlight and some down to earth progressives manning that spotlight and NOT the crazy side of the Left either. Last thing we need is a libertarian pretending to be a liberal on national TV speaking for that side of the party.

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268 replies	Author	Time	Post
Why Hasn't The American Left Convinced More Americans To Vote For More Progressive Candidates? [View all]	Yavin4	May 2013	OP
Well, between the "lone nuts" and the private plane "accidents," it seems progressives aren't	villager	May 2013	#1
dingdingdingdingding! n/t	mattclearing	May 2013	#69
THIS.	HughBeaumont	May 2013	#100
This message was self-deleted by its author	devilgrrl	May 2013	#236
I think the assassinations of the '60s broke the left's back	deutsey	May 2013	#104
So, um, this "COINTELPRO" thing...	Kurovski	Mar 2014	#268
Because progressives have been too busy attacking insufficiently-progressive fellow-travelers	Recursion	May 2013	#2
Pretty much.	joshcryer	May 2013	#25
Nailed it in post #2	Number23	May 2013	#55
Sure seems that way.	DCBob	May 2013	#64
Absolutely!!!!!!!!!	LeftInTX	May 2013	#79
Bingo!	BlueCaliDem	May 2013	#66
This (nt)	LostOne4Ever	May 2013	#67
There it is.	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#71
Actually it's because so many "Dems" have embraced	Doctor_J	May 2013	#75
It is the very type of disingenuous bullshit that you just posted that pushes so called progressives	bluestate10	May 2013	#164
If we abuse traditional Democrats, liberals and progressives enough...	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#233
Bingo.	MotherPetrie	May 2013	#251
Exactly....	Historic NY	May 2013	#78
That doesnt even make any sense. What have the centrists done but compromise with Republicans? nm	rhett o rick	May 2013	#84
No, it doesn't make sense.	Marr	May 2013	#85
What doesn't make sense about what he said?	Number23	May 2013	#89
Hurt my feelings? Your giving yourselves way too much credit. Disparaging the left is a game to you.	rhett o rick	May 2013	#94
I wasn't even talking you. My response was to Mar	Number23	May 2013	#98
" your lofty and mostly laughable ideals". Explain which ideals you think are "lofty and laughable."	rhett o rick	May 2013	#99
Um, looks like you need	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#120
Your post is very clearly stated.	rhett o rick	May 2013	#134
You seem confused	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#143
LoL. Whatever.	rhett o rick	May 2013	#147
Seriously?	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#148
When you run out of decent discussion, just start ridiculing. nm	rhett o rick	May 2013	#149
When you can't admit	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#150
Not just wrong. Clueless and wrong. And he knows it.	Number23	May 2013	#154
He asked you to elaborate.	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#203
That poster is doing bad enough without having you as his spokesman	Number23	May 2013	#207
No elaboration forthcoming	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#222
Post removed	Post removed	May 2013	#225
I don't think it's possible for you to have misread/misunderstood more than you have	Number23	May 2013	#156
You will get no answer to this.	woo me with science	May 2013	#123
I have done this dance dozens of times* and yet to get one response to the question,	rhett o rick	May 2013	#135
You and the poster you're responding to are symptomatic of exactly the kind of crap	Number23	May 2013	#157
It's the same fifteen sycophants every time.	Marr	May 2013	#234
As you know	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#244
Yes, it's a big conspiracy against you and all your friends.	Marr	May 2013	#245
lol	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#246
Now this is what we call projection.	Marr	May 2013	#248
Sorry	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#249
Alright then-- I hope your alternate universe is having nice weather today.	Marr	May 2013	#250
How brave of you. You didn't address her until 10 minutes after she was locked out...	Tarheel_Dem	May 2013	#253
Oh, god-- you, too now?	Marr	May 2013	#254
The "trees" are full of you guys. Ask one of them.	Tarheel_Dem	May 2013	#255
LMAO	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#258
I've noticed you BOG-sorts behave like a highschool clique.	Marr	May 2013	#259
Not that accuracy seems to matter	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#260
...	Marr	May 2013	#261
...	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#262
HOW CAN LIBERALS REACH AMERICANS??	Number23	May 2013	#153
Sorry im new here	LostOne4Ever	May 2013	#175
Right?	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#177
Cept no citations	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#181
The truth will set you free. Or maybe not...	Number23	May 2013	#183
And to those who backed & pushed FDR I say thank you.	raouldukelives	May 2013	#178
"Backing" is the operative word here in your "backing and pushing" phrase	Number23	May 2013	#184
Absolute made up nonsense.	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#180
Why the hell would I make something up that is easily verified by a five second search	Number23	May 2013	#182
Revisionist puff pieces	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#185
Denial is a deep, DEEP thing to come out of...	Number23	May 2013	#186
You have offered nothing to back your claims	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#196
Father Coughin was a LIBERAL	Number23	May 2013	#206
Father Coughlin was pro Hitler	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#221
Oh God. You have lost it. You don't think that there liberals that are anti-Semitic?	Number23	May 2013	#223
Naziism/Fascism are the extremes of the right	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#240
You ask for links	LostOne4Ever	May 2013	#187
Inigo Montoya!	Number23	May 2013	#189
Honestly	LostOne4Ever	May 2013	#190
You pounce on a figure of speech, but offer no evidence	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#197
More Confirmation Bias	LostOne4Ever	May 2013	#219
Nice list of 'liberals' you have there lol	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#224
Hey, when someone says that a journalist can't be a liberal	Number23	May 2013	#226
Agreed	LostOne4Ever	May 2013	#227
I think that's what they call, in the real world, a hella smackdown!!!!	Tarheel_Dem	May 2013	#231
I'm really surprised at how many people don't know this part of FDR history. I thought it was	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#264
+1,000	freshwest	Mar 2014	#267
There are probably lots of reasons.	JDPriestly	May 2013	#235
Well, at least one "left-wing" candidate that I know of,	Art_from_Ark	May 2013	#166
That sucks. Do you think that the "left wing" candidate would have won?	Number23	May 2013	#168
The "left-wing" candidate, Bill Halter, forced a run-off in the primary	Art_from_Ark	May 2013	#170
Sorry I'm just seeing this!	Number23	May 2013	#208
Note I put "left-wing" in quotes	Art_from_Ark	May 2013	#239
Bill Clinton supported Blanche Lincoln, too, and campaigned vigorously for her.	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#265
Exhibit "B"	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#93
Exhibit "A"	Bobbie Jo	May 2013	#92
And since "centrism" is really just another name for a current version of Republincanism	villager	May 2013	#117
When the Repub Party started to go off the rails, many started to slither under our tent.	rhett o rick	May 2013	#136
Centrists and moderate-liberals have been responsible for 100% of the progress that has taken	bluestate10	May 2013	#165
Ok, so tell me what issues the left espouses that you dont agree with.	rhett o rick	May 2013	#172
You know, the "lofty and laughable ideals".	Marr	May 2013	#201
That's a non-sequitur:	cprise	May 2013	#91
Brilliant!! The Left enjoyed a lot of victories in the 1960's, but when Johnson declared that	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#109
Government was 'taken away' from whites by the civil rights movement	cprise	May 2013	#241
Good post	Fumesucker	May 2013	#243
That's the answer. nt	sibelian	May 2013	#96
dingdingdingdingding! n/t	SidDithers	May 2013	#102
Exactly.	HappyMe	May 2013	#108
because the rightist apparatchiks control the apparatus; same reason that for the last 50 years	HiPointDem	May 2013	#125
It is always easier to blame "them", or use terms that every day people understand, but	bluestate10	May 2013	#167
who should i blame but the guilty? and ps: i'm an everyday person too.	HiPointDem	May 2013	#179
Heh!	Scurrilous	May 2013	#131
Hey! It's not their fault people don't appreciate being "corrected"	Warren DeMontague	May 2013	#133
Yep. Losing sight of the REAL problem.	CakeGrrl	May 2013	#242
Rhetoric.	jazzimov	May 2013	#3
I agree very much with this...	nenagh	May 2013	#106
I sometimes wonder if we're too late. The media is now controlled by corporations. Even the local	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#111
If they had the same access to money...	burnodo	May 2013	#4
And the media.	truebluegreen	May 2013	#14
There's a reason they don't. The people who shell out the most $$ for elections	winter is coming	May 2013	#77
In the long path of human beings, money over the longterm has never beaten conviction and	bluestate10	May 2013	#169
Who claimed that money surely wins?	burnodo	May 2013	#176
Like who?	geckosfeet	May 2013	#5
We have the DEM Party fighting against us, too. It's not just the GOP, y'know.	blkmusclmachine	May 2013	#6
So, The Dem party is stopping you from talking to your fellow Americans	Yavin4	May 2013	#10
Reason and logic have no place in this country anymore.	Brigid	May 2013	#21
Yes, our access to national platforms is exactly the same as any pro-corporate politicians is!	villager	May 2013	#30
No, the Democratic Party is stopping him from having progressive candidates for whom to vote.	Egalitarian Thug	May 2013	#247
We have in CA.	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#7
That's One State. There are Others	Yavin4	May 2013	#8
One of the largest-just saying, it's not some pipe dream.	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#11
Congrats on that, but it's still not enough	Yavin4	May 2013	#13
Why ask then?	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#17
The OP is from Canada	Rex	May 2013	#28
I thought he lived in New York for some reason.	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#40
He does, that was evidently another person with the same name on DU2.	Rex	May 2013	#44
I think that it is the suggestion that they are lazy	treestar	May 2013	#50
Well, we've asked the OP what he is doing. So far, crickets.	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#52
None of us can prove anything here other than that we post on DU	treestar	May 2013	#57
Well, then this seems more like a meta OP.	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#60
I "slammed" people? All I did was ask a question.	Yavin4	May 2013	#140
If you'd actually been interested in answers to that, we could have discussed it.	Starry Messenger	May 2013	#144
Those are all your own interpretations	Yavin4	May 2013	#145
And that seems enough for many: You aren't a prog if I don't see posts in "______."	Eleanors38	May 2013	#110
Did I use the term "lazy" in my OP? n/t	Yavin4	May 2013	#139
Oregon provides you with 2 Democratic Senators, 4 out of 5 House members	Bluenorthwest	May 2013	#29
I'm from NY	Yavin4	May 2013	#32
It's because the Democratic Party sold its soul to Wall Street decades ago.	alarimer	May 2013	#9
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner. nt	truebluegreen	May 2013	#15
This is what I would say also......	socialist_n_TN	May 2013	#65
Progressives generally don't get party backing and funding in America.	leveymg	May 2013	#12
Why do you need funding to convince your fellow Americans to vote for progressives?	Yavin4	May 2013	#16
That was then, this is now.	Rex	May 2013	#24
They weren't up for voting for they were busying working to get legislation passed	KoKo	May 2013	#80
Because the Party doesn't support True Progressives when they have a Blue Dog	KoKo	May 2013	#82
that depends on the district	tabbycat31	May 2013	#19
This is all the more reason to run as a Blue Dog...	joshcryer	May 2013	#26
that could be a possibility	tabbycat31	May 2013	#38
So did your candidates win or lose?	Bluenorthwest	May 2013	#45
I'm batting 500	tabbycat31	May 2013	#49
Why is that a bad thing?	Occulus	May 2013	#63
Last week, I told the story of Representative Donna Edwards. For years she ran against a Blue Dog	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#112
So of the 4 Blue Doggy Dogs you have worked for how many have won?	Bluenorthwest	May 2013	#41
2	tabbycat31	May 2013	#48
they do	Enrique	May 2013	#18
It boils down to race, and profit	matt819	May 2013	#20
AMEN!! RACE has always been the undergird of American politics. We see this today	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#113
this is so simplistic	cali	May 2013	#22
Because America votes for whoever the PTB decides will run for office.	Rex	May 2013	#23
So, Based on most of the posts on my thread, it's a lost cause	Yavin4	May 2013	#27
No you are skipping over the reason and cherry picking your result.	Rex	May 2013	#31
I dunno. I'm not from Canada. n/t	Yavin4	May 2013	#34
My apologies then, it must have been another Yavin on DU2	Rex	May 2013	#37
Then where are you from, because you speak of Americans as if we were separate from precious	Bluenorthwest	May 2013	#43
You do.	treestar	May 2013	#47
It costs money to buy air time.	Octafish	May 2013	#33
So, there's no hope then.	Yavin4	May 2013	#36
It is about money, do you understand that?	Rex	May 2013	#39
If enough Americans were persuaded they could donate the money	treestar	May 2013	#46
There are a few here trying to define it as 'there is nothing we can do'	Rex	May 2013	#51
They complain of being hated, but the reason is they are the ones	treestar	May 2013	#53
The GOP is lucky that the other party likes to hate on itself.	Rex	May 2013	#56
The reality is that things are getting worse consistently for the last 40 years for the 99%.	rhett o rick	May 2013	#161
Edit-- responded to the wrong post.	Marr	May 2013	#86
Honestly, we liberals need to stop bashing center-left or moderately liberal Democrats.	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#114
+1	Jamaal510	May 2013	#217
There's always hope. We can use the Internets and the public spaces of our communities.	Octafish	May 2013	#42
It's not that there's no hope...	Hippo_Tron	May 2013	#61
Because they are shut out of the American propaganda machine.	LWolf	May 2013	#35
There is truth in this ^^^	Eleanors38	May 2013	#116
True - how often do you see a true liberal on the Sunday morning talk shows?	NewJeffCT	May 2013	#132
on many social issues incredible advancements have been made. But on economic issues things have	Douglas Carpenter	May 2013	#54
the left havent whored themselves like the center or right	Rise Rebel Resist	May 2013	#58
Because we don't have a lot of money	Hippo_Tron	May 2013	#59
Corporations control the major media?	limpyhobbler	May 2013	#62
+100 did not watch the videos but corporate media plays ...	slipslidingaway	May 2013	#68
Six corporations control 98% of the media	nadinbrzezinski	May 2013	#70
Things aren't bad enough yet	steve2470	May 2013	#72
We need to be a Liberal Stalwart like your brother and NEVER give up! The wingnuts never give up!	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#115
Your brother is probably right. As long as the hologram of prosperity (cheap consumer goods)	Eleanors38	May 2013	#118
Co-opted by the "Not as Bad" party with the issues watered down to useless.	Tierra_y_Libertad	May 2013	#73
No media access	Doctor_J	May 2013	#74
because they are conditioned to like flash over substance	Skittles	May 2013	#76
'Cause the American Left	Dyedinthewoolliberal	May 2013	#81
"Well done is better than well said" - Ben Franklin	MannyGoldstein	May 2013	#83
The Progressive Caucus is the largest in Washington.	HooptieWagon	May 2013	#87
A great question but I think you need to take it one step at a time.	hughee99	May 2013	#88
Over 18,000 posts and you don't know? Really? nt	Zorra	May 2013	#90
Suiciding, accidenting, overdosing, Reserve Army of Lone Gunmen, & Media Fear n' Disruption machine	dogknob	May 2013	#95
It sounds like you accept the notion that we have a far right party and a center right party.	Marr	May 2013	#97
Well, for this post anyway. Third Way messaging demands the same sort of mental contortions	woo me with science	May 2013	#122
Exactly-- shifting excuses.	Marr	May 2013	#126
That's your interpretation of what I asked	Yavin4	May 2013	#142
It naturally follows from your point. /nt	Marr	May 2013	#202
Everyone with money and power scales centrist to batshit-insane right wing-ding.	HughBeaumont	May 2013	#101
It is the money, honey.	djean111	May 2013	#103
+10000	YoungDemCA	May 2013	#257
I agree! We have failed miserably in terms of messaging. And when we lose battles we tend to	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#105
THREAD. WINNER. Thank you for your HONESTY.	Number23	May 2013	#162
But you think the goals of liberals are "lofty and laughable".	Marr	May 2013	#204
Oh, so you DID see my post to you!	Number23	May 2013	#209
You act like you think you posted some kind of clever argument.	Marr	May 2013	#212
And you act as though you've posted something honest or even remotely relevant	Number23	May 2013	#215
^^^^ This!!! ^^^^	Tarheel_Dem	May 2013	#263
nanny-statism	Puzzledtraveller	May 2013	#107
AKA corporate welfare	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#200
Let Me Guess.....CUZ OBAMA!!!!!!!	Skraxx	May 2013	#119
The whiny center-right	AgingAmerican	May 2013	#199
What snide, disingenuous Third Way propaganda this is.	woo me with science	May 2013	#121
Well and truly said. Thank you. (n/t)	djean111	May 2013	#124
I have a question for you.	Yavin4	May 2013	#127
Could it be a little of this, a little of that?	limpyhobbler	May 2013	#129
Unfortunately, skilled, smooth talking, charismatic corporate sponsored politicians	Zorra	May 2013	#130
So, the people are "too gullible" to see through the mass media	Yavin4	May 2013	#138
Yes, you have that correct. The system is controlled by wealthy private interests.	Zorra	May 2013	#174
AWESOME questions. AWESOME	Number23	May 2013	#160
snap ~ Thread win. You are awesome real, woo.	Zorra	May 2013	#128
Bravo! Bravo! You have totally and awesomely hit the nail on the head!	scarletwoman	May 2013	#159
The mainstream party sabotages them, and the corporate press and media deny them publicity	Lydia Leftcoast	May 2013	#137
Okay. How does the Left counter that then?	Yavin4	May 2013	#141
Guerrilla marketing	Lydia Leftcoast	May 2013	#173
Weak candidates.	morningfog	May 2013	#146
Gerrymandering	dem in texas	May 2013	#151
The silly protesters taking down LBJ gave us everything bad and in fact,made the war go on longer	graham4anything	May 2013	#152
The "American left" is not blameless...	kentuck	May 2013	#155
Too much emphasis on gun control	derby378	May 2013	#158
Because......	Hotler	May 2013	#163
Because it takes some intelligence to vote for progressive candidates.	Zoeisright	May 2013	#171
Yeah! Stupid Voters! That's a good way to appeal to 45% of the electorate!	brooklynite	May 2013	#192
It's time for truth. Conservatives and conservatism are bad for children.	Zorra	May 2013	#198
Those people who represent today's political Right are not true conservatives.	Jamaal510	May 2013	#218
But who is/was a true conservative? Strom Thurmond? Ronald Reagan? Jesse Helms?	Zorra	May 2013	#220
It's the old Adlai Stevenson joke	Nevernose	May 2013	#228
there is no organized american left. there's a bunch of front groups associated with the demo-	HiPointDem	May 2013	#188
...because Americans aren't, by and large, progressive.	brooklynite	May 2013	#191
That requires a sustained effort that offers people positive choices using positive language.	stevenleser	May 2013	#193
IOW, We Have To Be More Likeable. If people don't like you, then they turn off to you.	Yavin4	May 2013	#194
Not exactly. The message has to be a positive one, not necessarily the folks saying it.	stevenleser	May 2013	#195
Very nicely said, Steven. And as has been pointed out, Exhibits A-Z of exactly what	Number23	May 2013	#211
Because the AMERICAN RIGHT owns the media.	Atman	May 2013	#205
We're too busy talking down to red states	Prism	May 2013	#210
all politicians want to win. All politicians are convinced their constituents are far more	librechik	May 2013	#213
Two reasons, I think	Spike89	May 2013	#214
The responses to this thread have been illuminating. Thanks for posting it	Number23	May 2013	#216
Thank you, my love. You ain't too shabby yourself!!	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2013	#266
Most people don't believe anything unless	Warpy	May 2013	#229
I also agree this was a great thread.	LeftInTX	May 2013	#230
Because racism trumps everything. nt	aaaaaa5a	May 2013	#232
The average opinion of those on the right	fujiyama	May 2013	#237
THE PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS IS THE LARGEST DEM CAUCUS IN CONGRESS!	grahamhgreen	May 2013	#238
It is the Democratic party that has the most say on who runs.	Agnosticsherbet	May 2013	#252
A better question would be: Why has the Democratic Party attacked, bullied, mocked, and ridiculed...	YoungDemCA	May 2013	#256

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