General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm not sure the country is going over the cliff, but DU sure as hell has. [View all]kstewart33
(6,551 posts)I do disagree with the far left's refusal to compromise when compromise is essential to moving forward on any of these issues.
It's easy to say that principles should not be compromised, but in a 2-party system, the refusal to compromise simply does not work. We must compromise to make progress on any of these issues.
If Obama had not compromised, we'd have nothing. A worse stalemate in Congress, and many millions of people stuck with higher taxes that they cannot afford in this still-struggling economy.
Obama might well have been in a stronger political position if he'd held his ground, but that advantage would have come with a considerable and unacceptable price. Just ask the millions who would have lost their unemployment benefits.
The tension between the far left and more mainstream liberals in the DU community has existed for years (I've been a member since 2000). It will always exist here. The tension's core is not a disagreement on the issues, it's about compromise - how much is each member willing to compromise in the interest of these issues? The mainstream liberals become exasperated with the far left because most believe that the far left sacrifices progress because of their refusal to compromise; the far left becomes exasperated because they believe that the mainstream liberals are compromising principles which, as principles, should never be compromised.
I'm a pragmatist - I'll gladly take 5 steps forward, not 10 or 20, when 5 steps are very achievable and 10-20 are not.