Reply #151: I *am* a progressive. In fact, I am a socialist. But when the rubber hits the road, I cannot bear

[tblue37]

to think of the Republicans back in unchecked power.

I am disappointed in what the Dems did with their control of all three branches of government--though do I realize the Blue DOg Dems are really just Republicans lite, so majority control was more appearance than reality, in the Senate especially.

I am also disappointed in Obama and his wussy bipartisanship, especially in HCR and finance reform and in watering down the first stimulus package and proposing such a skimpy little second stimulaus (though he isn't calling it that). But the idea of Repubs back in control gives me nightmares, and I really, really do want a Dem president to name the next several Supreme Court justices.

There are many other things that I dislike about how this administration and the Dems in Congress are running the show--but I know for a fact I would hate it even more if the Republcians were in charge.

I honestly believe that Al Gore would have been a much more liberal pesident than either Clinton or Obama, and I also think that splitting the vote in key places made it easier for the Republicans to steal the election in both 2000 and 2004. I actually beleive we won both those races--and a higher majority in the 2008 race, as well as many seats in both the Hosue and the Senate that went to Republcians in 2006 and 2008. I just think the votes were so overwhelmingly against the Repubsin 2006 and 2008 that they were not able to steal a lot of the races they would otherwise have stolen.

I am probably at least as disappointed as you are--maybe even more so. But I still am going to vote Democratic in the next elections because we do not have a viable third party, and our system makes it very hard for one to form.

I do think we should be in the streets making a lot of noise, and that we should be running and heavily funding truly progressive challengers to corporatist Democrats and doing our damnedest to take our party back from the DINOs. But when the general election comes around, I sure as hell am going to vote Dem.

I would love to see our party filled with people like Grayson and Franken.