Reply #6: Left Leaning?

[ramapo]

The definition of "left" and "liberal" have been perverted over the past 25 years. It is worse today when arguably some of the domestic policies of Richard Nixon would be defined as "left leaning".

Clinton certainly took the party in a more centrist direction. So much so that many policies expoused by Gore in 2000 were not so different than Bush's. Of course we're not talking about the hot-bed issues of abortion and tax cuts for the top 1% but remember Gore/Lieberman almost agreeing outright with the Bush/Cheney position.

Clinton talked a great game but when you examine his record you find that he did a lot of the Republican's bidding. NAFTA, CAFE standards, Telecomm deregulation, and the list goes on.

I had a thought earlier today that the problem with the Democratic Party is that it has ceased to stand for anything. There is a lot of pandering to the base. But most of the rhetoric is maddening. How many times did I scream at both Gore and Kerry, begging for a straight and honest answer, not some canned nonsense.

I don't know that honesty would put the Democrats in any better place than they are today but in my view it has become a collection of gutless wonders, offering little in original policy ideas or leadership.