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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Democratic Party is searching for its soul...
The immigration crisis on the border has brought out the worst in a lot of Americans, including a lot of Democrats.
What happened to the Party of charity and compassion? Certainly it is not the one demanding that these children from Central America be sent back to their dangerous homeland? That is not the Democratic Party. Those Democratic leaders that are calling for these children to be sent back are not Democrats. They are parrots of the right-wing of the Republican Party. They do not speak for the best of America.
The Democratic Party will not permit such a travesty to happen. The better angels of our nature will guide us. We will not join the dark forces of the heartless Republicans.
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leftstreet
(36,108 posts)Both parties, by the way
Rockyj
(538 posts)Though still registered as a Democrat.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)Seriously, please ID them for us. 
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)changing the law that allows Central American refugees to stay pending due process, a hearing, etc, unlike people from Mexico (and Canada) that can be turned around virtually immediately.
The first "shipment" left today for Honduras.
ChiciB1
(15,435 posts)Obama for not visiting the border. Think his name is Cuello or something close to that. A (D) but looked like a "W" supporter, didn't vote for Obama either! Chris Hayes show tonight I think. One of them talked about this guy on their show. The conversation was kind of convoluted to me. Seems lots of Dems aren't happy with him, hooking up with Cornyn to get an Immigration Bill passed, but wanted some changes.
Anyway, he was pretty shady to me, but not sure what Hayes was supporting exactly. Showed a pic of W cupping his face after a state of Union speech back then. Anyway, you would have to see the thing, don't think I'm explaining it well.
TexasTowelie
(112,217 posts)ChiciB1
(15,435 posts)Sounded like some sort of turncoat in a really "safe" district! Didn't know any D had a safe district in TX! I kind of grew up in TX, went to high school at KILLEEN HIGH SCHOOL! Go back for class reunions, have RW sister who lives in Cedar Park, and HA, HA the only place I think I can stand visiting is Austin!
She lives really close to there and hates it because it's more "leftie" than most of TX. And Killeen has turned into a worse dump every time I come back. Went to school with with Stanley Schleuter who was once a Congressman from the Killeen district. Oh stop me for I explode!
And now I live in Florida! What's wrong with my LIFE????
ChiciB1
(15,435 posts)I also lived in Georgetown myself and very familiar with the other cities! Just trying to connect a little, have a motor mouth this AM!
Back to Stephanie Miller, need a few laughs or I may walk up the street straight into the Gulf of Mexico and never stop! Corexit will kill me before I drown I fear! Okay, I'm done... just sayin'
Paladin
(28,262 posts)He sold out his Democratic credentials years ago. He sure as hell doesn't count in any "soul-searching" which the party may be engaged.....
Rstrstx
(1,399 posts)In the primaries against Ciro Rodriguez I believe. Ciro was in the lead by a hundred or two votes when a mysterious, previously undisclosed ballot box came in from some area around Laredo, Cuellar's home town. And just like that the magic box had enough votes to give Cuellar the primary and the house seat. Never have trusted him.
EvolveOrConvolve
(6,452 posts)Ah, there it is - it was on Wall Street all along!
Response to EvolveOrConvolve (Reply #3)
1000words This message was self-deleted by its author.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Should we give them priority? Or perhaps we should take in children from Syria and Iraq, who are caught in a war zone. Oops, probably should add Ukraine and Gaza to that as well. How about girls in Afghanistan, who are tortured and killed merely for seeking an education? How about Indian girls, who are victims of rape and honor killings? OK, how do we prioritize who is admitted? Or shall we let them all in? Is it realistic to find foster homes for all of them, since there aren't enough for the kids already here? Who's going to pay for housing, food, medical care, and education for the next decade, until the kids are old enough to work? Do you think a benefit bill for displaced kids is going to get through Congress? In this case, I think Obama is getting it right.
kentuck
(111,098 posts)They are knocking on our door. We can't save the world but we can answer the door...
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)reddread
(6,896 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)How many have you signed up to foster? Its simply a pipe dream to allow them all to stay, with no plan for their care. Some of their families won't be able to be located, they have to live somewhere. You're taking in several?
GeorgeGist
(25,321 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)reddread
(6,896 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)So I gather your solution is to allow every kid in, but with no plan to care for them. Talking charity while passing off the heavy lifting to others is very narcissistic. Makes you feel good about "caring", without the bother of doing anything. Very much akin to Republicans loving babies in the womb, but couldn't care less once born.
reddread
(6,896 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)You claim to "care", but leave the care to others. Whatever soothes your little mind I guess. I see right through your kind.
reddread
(6,896 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Right wing talking point <squawk>
Right wing talking point <squawk>
You're sure adding mature and thoughtful dialog to the conversation. I'll get back when you reach adulthood.
reddread
(6,896 posts)RIGHT WING TALKING POINT.
the bitch of it for right wingers when they pull the same simple minded line about homeless people
is I have a number in hand.
and NEVER would I suggest or allow anyone to bring in homeless people off the street.
Now you think its appropriate for compassionate people to shoulder the risk and responsibility of caring for others.
Yesterday I drove across town in the heat and rush hour traffic with NO GAS or money to deliver a tent
to a homeless fellow who got out of jail a few weeks back and is making good headway.
I think you know what polly has to say to you, cracker.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Lets see... saturday morning I cut down 2 oak limbs threatening to fall on house and car of cuban immigrant neighbors. Saturday night I talked a concert promoter into booking a young Bulgarian woman as a replacement for the opening band that cancelled last minute. It didn't pay much, so I gave her all the money I made for providing and running sound. Since then, I've been arranging a radio interview with a local elderly street artist from Chile... he has an interesting story, as he was a student of Victor Jara, and was barely able to escape to Brazil during the coup. Also since saturday, I started a crowd-funding campaign for a new artificial leg for an extended family member (step-nephew), and started organizing a benefit concert for him. In the past 3 years, I've helped 3 homeless street musicians (buskers) get housing, taught them how to book and play gigs (they didn't know how to use a mic), helped them record demos, introduced them to local bar and coffeeshop owners, and got two of them live radio performances.
Then there is the half-Colombian teenaged wild-child I took under my wing 10 years ago. She was a mess. Immature, irresponsible, unable to manage her money, difficult to get along with, heavy drug user and drinker. I got her cleaned up, off drugs and alcohol, taught her to manage her career and money, get along with people, not to mention helping her deal with previous traumas (beginning with her Colombian immigrant father abandoning her at 5). There were other traumas too, I can't reveal. Along the way, she lived with me on and off, I've funded several CDs, bought her a Martin guitar, driven her to gigs, etc, etc, etc. Since then, she's played and/or recorded with Tim Reynolds and Jeff Coffin of Dave Matthews Band, several members of the Grateful Dead, Amy Ray of Indigo Girls, Stanley Jordan, Todd Snider, David Bromberg, and Jorma Kaukinen and Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane.... and many others. Though quite successful now, she still stays with me from time to time, but from preference not necessity. She calls me her "dad", her mother calls me a miracle worker.
Then there has also been several Russians, Poles, and Ukrainian immigrants I've helped get a foothold, a play to stay, odd jobs, donated furniture, and assistance with green cards. A couple proud moments when I witnessed their citizenship ceremonies.
I have some solid "bonafides", that I'll put alongside anyones. And though I disagree with Obama on many issues (mainly centered about his corporatism), I do think he's got it right on this issue. The system to process and take care of the refugee children is over-whelmed. Adding even more kids to it won't fix the problem, it will make it worse. The political solution to existing undocumented immigrants is still stalemated. Adding these kids only complicates that. The existing kids need to go through processing, and returned to families when possible. The remainder need to be taken care of humanely, until a solution for them can be found. The trains, buses, and coyotes bringing the kids to our border must be halted. And the free-trade agreements and drug war causing the conditions the children to flee need to be addressed.
reddread
(6,896 posts)sounds really good from here.
"a tent" yeah, one of quite a large number of tents, tarps and bags we distribute every year.
not often I get into a activist dick waving contest, but you need to drop the right wing talking points if you
are going to disrespect liberal posters on a liberal message board.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)reddread
(6,896 posts)Last edited Tue Jul 15, 2014, 02:18 PM - Edit history (1)
dude, you did.
that bullshit about "how many are you taking in?" required some elaboration to explain why it is a right wing talking point that falls short on occasion when thrown my way.
to call that bragging?
dopey, Id still be typing the first post if I were gonna brag.
the reason I wouldnt bother trying to contest anybody's good intentions and achievements with the
stupid amount of things I saddle myself with, is primarily because you dont want to discourage good actions.
you should think about that one.
the other is, it would be about as sporting as clubbing baby seals.
not sure why you call yourself hooptie wagon, but if it has anything to do with station wagons
gotcha beat there too. Now, THAT is bragging!
have a nice day!
BillZBubb
(10,650 posts)The Democratic party is very diverse. Unlike the republicans, we have a wide swath of opinions and positions. I'm with you in that we cannot just wholesale send all these kids back without some certainty that we aren't throwing them to the wolves. That is what current law requires anyway.
Even so, it doesn't surprise me that a lot of Democrats want this issue to go away. The fastest way to accomplish that is to send them home as expeditiously as possible. Hopefully, the humane view will prevail.
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)Our damage is often done when we assume that the people, who happen to vote Democrat are idealogical. They may be registered Democrat, some may not even know which party they registered for, they vote Democratic because they believe it is the party that will best protect their interests and provide more opportunity, for "them". I said that sometimes they do not know who they are registered with, that has been a common occurrence where I work. I am a SNAP caseworker as well as Medicaid and all things ACA. My clients are diverse, in color and as of late they have been voicing their concern and in some cases downright disappointment in the President. The disappointment expressed has come from all over the spectrum in regard to race and in some cases what I assume their party affiliation is. This also leads to that fact that as part of my job I am to ask if they are registered to vote. Many times I have had clients say that they think they are, or know that they are but not which party, they may say that they cannot recall or that when they registered they didn't know what the differences were and just picked anything. I have had more than one client ask me what party Barack Obama is in. These people, as well as those who know who they are registered with are our voters, and they are not happy.
spanone
(135,841 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)This is just the latest debacle in a long string. They can barely win elections (or lose them) in a contest with a party headed by Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, and Rush Limpballs. If the Repukes were just a little less despicable we wouldn't stand a chance. The DC Dems completely abandon anyone to the left of the Clintons, hoping to get enough non-teabagger Repuke money and votes to win the WH (they don't give a damn about the Congress - having a Repuke Congress gives the DC Dems cover for enacting a far-ti-the-right-of-Reagan agenda). I honestly can't believe that anyone who supported JFK, LBJ, McGovern, McCarthy, and RFK still votes for the current party (though I am guilty myself). Really discouraging and I'm glad I won't live long enough to see the end of it.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)and Hades.
You cannot serve the People AND the Corporations. You have to choose.
The Corporations, legal fictions created for legal purposes, do not come first in a democracy. Any party calling itself Democratic HAS to accept and understand that, and act accordingly.
Now, as to these refugees.....and yes, that is precisely what they are. These people are fleeing violence. Political refugees. We used to have a policy for that.
deutsey
(20,166 posts)it will say "all sales are final"
reddread
(6,896 posts)no matter what noises are made, no matter what volcanic clouds of outrage appear,
when all is said and done, the only thing that will change is things that favor the companies that
benefit from imported illicit labor.
I mean, how many times can they play that tune
and nobody knows how it goes?
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)A guy named Clinton had an IPO for it in 1992, where it was sold for shares in place of principles. And since then like the rest of the market, it has become over-valued and corrupted. A shell of what it once was and can never be again. Times moves on and you can't go back in time, only forward.
The Party's principle mission now is to hang-on to its market share.
- In order to continue to wield power so as to do the 1%'s bidding.....
K&R
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Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)1) Takeover the Democratic Party, or
2) Form a third party.
At a MINIMUM, my friends, at a MINIMUM.
Expect virulent opposition from both parties. Along the way, we might discover (since the sanctifying role of MSM is as dead as a blowfly- boiling pig carcass in a ditch) what a movement is and how to recognize it. I haven't found it while bending at prayer to the hopped-up All-Transistor Radio in my hands.
reddread
(6,896 posts)because the two parties have racketeered democracy, third parties are not an option right now.
it is as simple as this-
we only need ONE CONSERVATIVE party, and this aint it.
keep it liberal, make it compassionate, stick to honest decent policies and dont let the Republicans
buy it out.
a two party system where both parties favor war and PROTECT WAR CRIMINALS?
the taxpayers treasury looted in pursuit of death and suffering?
it can only happen because we allow it.
dont.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Triana
(22,666 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Maedhros
(10,007 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)Escape Castro and we welcome you with open arms. Escape the (usually US backed) fascists and it's get the fuck out.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Even the Republicans agreed, under Bush, to give hearings to minors. It makes no sense you are blaming Democrats. They must have voted for it if Republicans did.
polichick
(37,152 posts)There are so many issues around immigration. The fact that we already have too many people in the family for both natural and societal resources is critical, but there are also issues about big business (and its servants in both parties) using "illegals" for cheap labor rather than caring either for these people or about Americans who need decent wages. Our "leaders" have conned us about immigration for decades and people have had enough - the kids are once again caught in the crossfire.
kentuck
(111,098 posts)...that there is not enough work to create even more wealth for our country, to improve our infrastructure, and to pay taxes into our Treasury. Also, it assumes that "government" will never have any infrastructure projects where a lot of labor is needed. That would be "socialism".
polichick
(37,152 posts)about our numbers having maxed out in ref. to natural resources. We keep bringing in more people and keeping them "illegal" simply to serve big business profits.
But now, with cuts to every kind of infrastructure and public service possible, there's a tremendous amount of anxiety. The divide-and-conquer tactic that used to work for our corporate party (with two faces) isn't working so well these days.
People need to wake up to who the real enemies are.
yurbud
(39,405 posts)until the next election cycle.
Then the DLC/New Democrats will pulled it out of the trunk, put a gun to its head and say, "Vote for me or the OTHER GUY will kill him."
And after the election, back in the box he goes.
bigtree
(85,996 posts)I think most of our legislators are hoping the administration can ship most of the refugee children away before they have to face up to the reasons they're coming here. I think that's also the aim of the President wanting to 'speed up' the deportation process.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
Growing up in NYC back in the 50s and 60s, I heard this quote CONSTANTLY. What happened to this?
BainsBane
(53,034 posts)The US welcomed immigrants as laborers. At no point did they welcome in large numbers of orphaned children. Don't mistake mythology for fact.
TheKentuckian
(25,026 posts)Standing for ANYTHING is now deemed "purity" and standing for nothing "pragmatism".
It is all about "the stakeholders" and what can be pushed as popular.