Do you believe that the Democratic Party can be transformed into an actual liberal/progressive party?

[Douglas Carpenter]

Less anyone misunderstand, I am not advocating in any way, shape or form for a third party alternative. - Been there - done that - it doesn't work and it is not a viable alternative. Last time a successful and permanent national third party appeared on the scene were the Republicans on the verge of the American Civil War. Even a third party led by Theodore Roosevelt, a former President was unable to take root. Even a party led by a former Vice President, Henry Wallace quickly faded into obscurity. So we are stuck with the two party system in America. My only question is - is it possible to transform the oldest political party in America, the Democratic Party into a genuinely progressive/liberal party?

11 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	What are you talking about? The Democratic Party is already a progressive/liberal party.
	1 (9%)
	No, the Democratic Party can only be viable if in remains - a moderate/centrist party. If it becomes a liberal/progressive party it will no longer be able to remain as a viable national party.
	0 (0%)
	It is be possible - but given the political realities that we face with - it would be highly unlikely
	1 (9%)
	Yes, if liberals and progressives really worked hard for that goal - there is no reason why it cannot be done.
	1 (9%)
	No, the dominance of corporate and other special interest makes it impossible to transform the Democratic Party in to a genuinely liberal/progressive party
	8 (73%)
	Single malt Scotch Whiskeys are just so much better than blended malts.
	0 (0%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[RBInMaine]

1. Purity purity purity... does the real world ever enter into it?

[cali]

2. Sadly, I voted for the 5th option.

[think]

3. Progs & Libs will always lend a lot of flavor to the dish but the meat and potatoes

will always be a mix of Americana.....

Only my opinion...

[graham4anything]

4. Hillary is the next President. The Dems will win the house and senate and SCOTUS will change

who cares about labels?

As Billy Joel sang "It's all rock and roll to me".

80-20 is coming, and not a day too soon.

and Hillary shall be the all time groovy.
Rush Limbaugh can't stand Hillary even more than he can't stand Obama. So it will be doubly delicious to hear him whine another 8 years. That alone would make me vote for Hillary. Anything Rush doesn't want, I want.

[Deep13]

5. No. nt

[eilen]

6. Clinton, Bush, Obama, Clinton

Permawar, Drones, Guantanomo, Surveillance State, Trade deals favoring corporate and banking interests such as Monsanto, Goldman Sachs,
outsourcing, offshoring, and downsizing human capital in all American industries.

As if anything will change.

So long as the 3rd Way Wankers are in charge they will not. Can any political entity become uncorrupted?

[idwiyo]

9. G4A will be here shortly with an extra helping of freshly prepared word salad. :)

[Scuba]

7. I'd be happy if it transformed into a moderately conservative party, left of where it is now.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. Love the single malts, hate the blended scotch

[Douglas Carpenter]

10. I've only come to that state of enlightenment recently! But they do get pricey !- Of course

so do some of the blended malts. But personally I would take 15 year single malt over a 25 year blended malt any day - and they would only cost half the price - So in the big picture they are worth it.

[LuvNewcastle]

14. A good single malt scotch lasts me a long time.

It's something I can sip on and savor. If I offer anyone a drink of that stuff, they know I respect them.

[alc]

11. progressive on issues but not across-the-board

The country is pretty evenly split. Ds can't go hard left any more than Rs can go tea-party-crazy on all issues. Congressmen do represent everyone in their state, not just the 50-55% who voted for them and they can easily turn 53% into 47% in the next election.

At the national party level, they should prioritize issues and pick a few progressive issues that they champion while being more compromising on others and giving a few to the republicans. At some point we need to get leadership in DC who can get both parties to work together so that they each win on a few issues and give on a few and we can all move forward. Just think how much different Obamacare would be if the republicans supported it and in return got something big they wanted. Instead, neither party will give in on small issues, much less big ones. It'll take a great leader to make that happen and good party leadership on both sides to explain to "us" why compromise is good rather than why "every single thing the other party advocates for is evil", but we need it.

[morningfog]

12. Not any time soon. It would take decades.

[sibelian]

13. Well there's a way you could find out how easy it would be.

You could attempt it.

[DainBramaged]

15. Where's the kitteh?

[Douglas Carpenter]

16. another kick for more results

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. for more results

[Douglas Carpenter]

18. some more

[limpyhobbler]

19. It's happened once before in the 1930's so maybe if things get bad enough it could happen.

keep hope alive. I seriously doubt it though. In the old days labor was a lot stronger and there was pressure from powerful radical third parties to force the Democrats to respond. All that stuff has been wiped out now so we seem pretty screwed.

[mick063]

20. It is inevitable

Pure capitalistic greed occasionally destroys the economy.

It takes socialistic measures to restore it.

We aren't far away from the economy tanking again. Then we will collectively look at the government to fix it and the government will fix it like they have always fixed it. With stimulus, job creation, and spending. The government has to get bigger just to deal with it.

Like a killer asteroid rounding close to earth every hundred years or so, it is all part of the natural American economic cycle. Too bad our economy is so large that we have to drag the rest of the world into it.