In your opinion, should the Democratic Party be a liberal or left-wing party?

[stranger81]

A centrist party?

Some combination of both?

What place should right-wing values have in the Democratic Party, if any?

The Democratic Party platform today is what it is -- but do you think it SHOULD reflect primarily left-wing, liberal or progressive values?


** edited to include "liberal" in subject line and text **

[originalpckelly]

1. Personally, I prefer left breast.

Yum, white meat! :P

[Deja Q]

21. I'm in the middle. Give me both honkers.

:D

[originalpckelly]

33. Isn't that a third breast candidate?

Hmmmmm....

[orpupilofnature57]

2. Left is a figment of a journalist convenience , should they be Liberal ,Yes

People before Corporations ,Simple.

[stranger81]

6. good point -- editing the original post accordingly.

[bahrbearian]

3. There is a "Left Wing Party "?

[madeline_con]

16. Yes, and it's perpetrating a huge conspiracy....

controlling the media, and undermining the government, dontcha know? :hi:

[More Than A Feeling]

4. Yes, it should be.

I think that progressive ideas and governance are in the best interests of my country, so naturally I want a party that that will champion them. It definitely won't be the Republicans.

[renie408]

5. What are right wing values? What are left wing values?

We need to get that nailed down first.

[stranger81]

10. Absolutely. What's your definition?

I'm starting with the premise that we can all agree that there's a difference. Otherwise, why care about the Supreme Court at all?

[renie408]

17. Well, I am not sure it would work, but my standard way of telling the difference

between a Republican and a Democrat is this:

A Democrat looks at the world and thinks it would be better if we all took care of each other.

A Republican looks at the world and thinks it would be better if we would all take care of ourselves.

The thing is, that doesn't cover the death penalty, guns, abortion, etc. If you say a liberal person supports life and is therefore against the death penalty, you get into trouble on the pro-choice thing. If you are pro gun control, you are just fucked in an election.

You know, I have always been annoyed because the Dems don't have a clear platform, but now that I think about it, it might not be a bad strategy.

[stranger81]

24. I agree absolutely with your basic dividing line -- would you associate

one position with liberal values and another with conservative values?

[renie408]

27. Well, since I consider myself liberal and I identify myself as a Democrat

and I think we should all look out for each other...yeah, I do.

If you get down to a purely economic division, then I would say that liberals support the New Deal and conservatives don't. Conservatives (in my head) tend to be market extremists who value the free market above social needs. They have used knee jerk issues like abortion, terrorism and religion to draw fringe voters to their cause and use them for their base. Every election cycle they yank those threads and, like Pavlov's dogs, those single issue voters come a-salivating.

I think of Democrats and liberals as being broader minded voters and people. They are not single issue. But then again, look at the IWR voters. They are willing to flush the SCOTUS down the toilet to take their stand against people who voted for the IWR.

Ultimately, I think it is far more complex than 'left' and 'right'. Maybe its like art. You know it when you see it.

[More Than A Feeling]

11. authoritarianism v. democracy.

That's oversimplified, but still conveys the correct ideas about the difference between the two worldviews.

[renie408]

22. No, that is not accurate.

There are anti-authoritarian sects of both parties. You can be rabidly pro-life, anti-gun control, anti-New Deal...and anti-authoritarian. In fact, I would have said that anti-Authoritarians would be anti-New Deal and the New Deal is a cornerstone of modern Democratic thinking.

It isn't about authority. It is about social conscience.

[shireen]

7. please provide some definitions for those terms

one person's left winger is another person's communist ....

Also, the term "socialist" has different meanings.

[stranger81]

18. Definitely. I bet we'd all disagree on what those things mean,

and I'd love to hear the whole range of opinions on this board.

Personally, if I had to give a general definition of what it means to espouse "liberal" or "left-wing" values, it would have to include at least the following positions (by no means exhaustive):

Belief in the basic equality of all persons (regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, etc.)
Respect for individual rights over corporate rights.
Recognition of the need to take steps to protect our natural environment.
Recognition of the rights of other sovereign nations as equal entities and not as means to our own ends, random cannon fodder, etc.
Belief in the social contract.
Recognition of the importance of taking care of the basic human needs of all persons in our country -- citizens or not -- e.g., health care, education, liveable wage, etc.

I could go on and on and on, but am curious to see what others have to say.

[renie408]

32. The thing is, my sister is the biggest Republican you have ever seen

and she drives to work in downtown Atlanta in a big ole van with a bunch of other people to help the environment (she has a fat job making a shitload of money, so it isn't like she can't afford the gas). She helps to run the battered women's shelter at her church and leaves at the drop of a hat, anytime day or night, to pick up women and children in need. Two years ago she adopted two kids from foster care. She would probably read your list and agree with every point.
She believes strongly in gun control and less strongly in a woman's right to choose.

But...she will tell you that we are doing the right thing in Iraq. She wouldn't vote for a Democrat if her life depended on it. In '08 she has said she probably just won't vote. She can drive past a vacant lot full of homeless people and say with a straight face, "Oh, those people choose to be there." She gives little or no thought to WHY somebody would commit a crime. When that kid killed his grandparents when he was twelve, she APPLAUDED his being tried as an adult. She does not believe in social programs at all. Any. She does not believe in paying any more taxes than absolutely necessary. She does not believe in national health care. Get a job and get some benefits and if you are poor, get medicare. She would rather ignore the people who fall between those two thing.

So, I am not sure your list would work, either.

[stranger81]

36. my aunt and cousin, both staunch Christians, are the same way

It never ceases to puzzle me when I meet Christians who don't believe in the basic merits of helping others.

[renie408]

37. She says she helps through the church and that's enough. n/t

[More Than A Feeling]

39. Respect for science.

Support for reality-based education over indoctrination in religion and right-wing ideology (including revisionist history)

[sendero]

8. The problem ...

... is that what is really centrist has been redefined as hard left by the right wing and its media lapdogs.

[WinkyDink]

9. I'd like a secular version of a Sermon on the Mount Party.

[scarletwoman]

12. I think we should have a leftwing party. I don't care what they call themselves.

The Democratic Party is most definitely NOT a leftwing party. If a leftwing pary shows up, I will certainly support them. If the Democratic decides to be leftwing, I will support them. But I don't see that happening.

sw

[L. Coyote]

13. As long as the Rs are the corrupt party, the Dems will be the left and the center party.

The shrinking right will have to find its way without the support they once had, and the corruption certainly strains support from the self-identified right.

There may be a new over-riding identity crisis in American politics, with only two options: the honest party and the corrupt party.

[CT_Progressive]

14. Absolutely it should. It should work just like lawyers in a courtroom. Adversarial.

Two sides, diametrically opposed. With a "judge" (the people) in the middle.

[mudesi]

15. YES YES YES (nm)

[Pushed To The Left]

19. It should be the party where liberals and centrists band together to defeat the right wing

Republican party. The most progressive thing we can do is get the radical right completely out of power.

[TahitiNut]

38. "Centrism" is a myth ... like slightly pregnant.

:shrug:

[rucky]

20. People, not corporate.

this left/right thing is not the way we're split. we're not values voters. that's why people are so confused.

[stranger81]

25. isn't basic respect for natural persons over corporations a value preference?

Seems that way to me. And the correct one, for what it's worth.

[rucky]

31. respect for corporations as people...

is a marketing ploy. their advocates don't have any genuine feelings except for greed and lust for power - so I guess you're right. It just amazes me they have so much traction.

[stranger81]

34. amazes me too, since people keep voting over and over

to give more rights to corporations than they enjoy themselves as individuals.

[RandomKoolzip]

23. I dunno, but I'm a lefty and there's tens of millions more just like me in America.

That's why I say it sure would be nice to have some sort of representation in government, because it seems like we have none.

On the right, however, there are equal - possibly fewer - numbers of those whose conservative beliefs are just as strong. Their wants, needs, and whims get addressed almost automatically.

Millions on the right get political representation. Millions on the left do not. That's an enormous number of people out there who have NO ONE representing them in government. There is an imbalance that needs to be addressed; whether it comes from "our" representatives pandering to the center to get votes remains to be seen.

[mmonk]

26. Define liberal.

These days, labels aren't real if you ask me.

[stranger81]

29. See post #18 . . . . how would you define it? [n/t]

[mmonk]

35. I would say

what you describe in post 18 is pretty much my views. I will say, the DLC is affecting us negatively and crippling our ability to fight effectively this rightwing assault on our country.

[stranger81]

30. If the labels are distracting, let me put it another way . . . .

would you agree there should be a basic distinction in principles between the Democratic and Republican parties, and if so, what do you think it should be?

[Warren Stupidity]

28. Is single payer universal healthcare,

building a sustainable worker and family friendly economy that puts people ahead of profits, and getting us the heck out of Iraq and putting an end to the MIC and the corporate kleptocracy 'leftist' or 'liberal'?

[Flabbergasted]

40. Not sure what you want to call it but the left needs to balance the right by

protecting the working class and the environment. Absolutely Mandatory.