Reply #7: I find the issue of intolerance on the left to be a red herring. [View All]

[BurtWorm]

This is not to say that the left is perfectly tolerant. Far from it. It does seem peculiar, though, that only now, after an election many of us wrongly believed (much to our excruciating surprise) was in the bag, it's become a bit of a vogue on DU to complain about intolerance on the left for positions on certain moral issues or intolerance of religions or demographic circumstances.

I'm certainly not arguing that it's okay to "hate" anyone. At the same time, I do think it's wise to write off the hopeless--by which I mean those who are hopelessly right-wing and anti-reason. We're not going to reach a certain demographic, and who but the right-wing wants them anyway? So I'm puzzled by arguments that Democrats should pay attention to the pet motivators of this demographic by suppressing the party's heretofore accepted positions, on a woman's right to choose abortion, for example, or its evolving positions, such as consenting adults' right to marry whomever they want to. Certainly there should be room to discuss how these issues continue to evolve, and how they should be presented so that they make sense to the majority of voters. But if we suppress the value of liberation that is essential to the left, if not to the Democratic party, in order to win votes, then what's the point of being a liberal or a leftist?