The Democratic Party is a Big Tent

[jazzimov]

There is no “purity test” to be a Democrat. When people start talking about a “True Democrat”, they need to read up on The No True Scotsman Fallacy.

The fact is that we NEED the DLC, the Centrists, and all the other types of Democrats. Although you personally may not agree with some of their stances, remember that if you are a free-thinker then NO ONE will agree with everything you stand for.

If someone disagrees with you, then you must at least try to change their mind. If someone is diametrically opposed to a particular stance, it’s must more difficult than some who is closer to your stance. Which means that it is much easier to convince someone who is a Centrist than someone who is extremely Right Wing. BUT do not begin your debate by denigrating them and calling them names. ESPECIALLY do not call someone names or try to lump them into a particular group simply because they disagree with you on a single point. DO NOT simply dismiss them because they disagree with you on a single point. They may actually agree with you on every other point and potentially could be a powerful ally.

It is also important that you LISTEN to their points. This is important for several reasons - the most important one I can think of is that everyone wants to feel that they are being LISTENED to. The second, IMHO, is that it gives you leverage in the debate, so that you can understand what is the most important point to them personally, and try to refute that point. There are many more advantages to this tactic that I will leave to others to point out.

Finally, argue with LOGIC and FACTS. Be prepared that FACTS can change, as more about a certain issue is revealed. This is where it can really get tricky. Don’t be prepared to accept FACTS at face value, although you may be forced to argue against the facts that are presented. If the facts presented don’t fit the logical narrative, then there may be more facts presented in the future OR the facts are being misrepresented. The latter is the most commonly used tactic by idealists on both sides. This is commonly known as “spin”. It is our job to make sure that ALL the facts are available.

Also, remember that the majority of Independent voters are Centrist. We need those Independent Centrists to win elections. Many people consider this as “voting for the lesser of 2 evils”. Again, I refer the reader back to my earlier statement that NO-ONE will match all of your ideals. Which means that no matter who you vote for, it will ALWAYS be the lesser of 2 evils in your mind., since they will never match all of your ideals unless you are a “lock-step” or single-issue voter.

If we try to impose purity tests as the Right wing has done, we will end up breaking into different factions with no power. Although the majority of US citizens support Liberal policies, we will be broken up into smaller factions which are powerless against the minority. Just as a for instance, let’s say that the Socialist Party gets 20%. The Green Party gets 20%. The Democratic Party gets 20%. That means that 60% of the population supports some kind of Liberal Agenda, although it doesn’t agree on the what the Liberal Agenda should be. Meanwhile, the unified Right Wing gets 40%, which means they win.

Perhaps we should change the Electoral Process - I would support that. BUT, we have to WIN in order to impose that change.

BOTTOM LINE - if we want effective change, we must win elections. Period. If we want to change peoples minds, then we must do so individually, with logic, and recognize that no everyone will agree with us. TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS we must first LISTEN to them, and then challenge their belief system armed with LOGIC and facts.

But we HAVE to win elections. Sorry if that contradicts your preferences, but welcome to reality!