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... some of his followers need a lesson in reality. I am optimistic about Dean since he will bring a fresh perspective, but ecstatic would be an overstatement for me. Anytime there is a cult following around a particular personality it is a receipe for danger.
It is amazing to me the people still insist that DLC members and other D. moderates are somehow R-lite or not true Democrats. What is more, these voices are not coming from inexperience as one might expect. Rather, they seem to be old folks who still see things the way we did in the beginning of the 1970s. I went to a D. planning meeting last Saturday where a 75 year old woman attempted to monopolize the conversation. Her view was that if people do not agree with us, they need to be educated. In other words, we need to teach the people why they are wrong and we are right. It is no wonder people think we are arrogant. People like that are part of the problem. Rather than educating the people, we need to let them educate us. This is especially true on devisive social issues like gay rights, abortion and gun control. Sure, I agree with gay marriage, reproductive freedom and reasonable gun regulation. We can all sit around and demonstrate through logic and evidence why they are the correct views. Nevertheless, people are not logical when it comes to cultural issues and condescending to them will not make them so.
A lot of these ivy league consultants have no idea what the average American is like outside of the urban North East. After talking to rational, well educated people on the computer, I leave my house and step into rural/suburban Ohio. It is like walking onto the set of Deliverance. Seriously, the average person around here has more in common with the charaters on South Park than they do with the D establishment at the Capitol. Most of the Ds around here go to church, oppose late abortions, oppose gay marriage, own a gun, believe the local newsmedia and support capital punishment. THESE people decide who will be president and who will control Congress. THESE are the folks that we cannot afford to alienate.
We need to stop demonizing ordinary people who want a reason to join our side. The strategy of preaching from the left has been steadily costing us influence since 1968. Now we are just plain shut out. I basically support the feminist and gay adgenda, but I am sick of sacrificing opportunity on those altars. Compromising on a few social issues will allow us to remove barriers to support in Middle America and put us back in the driver's seat. How long must we wait for national health care, a sane foreign policy, adequate education and a government that respects the Earth? How much more can this world take before we wake up?
Ultimately, this is not about ideology, but numbers and we don't have them. If the so-called true liberals want to take their ball and go home, the simple fact is that we can afford that loss far better than the loss of the average voter.
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