There is no "Democratic" party to speak of

[LiberalEconomist]

There is the Republican Party, which is cynically represented by organizations such as the DNC and the DLC; and then there is the American Fascist Party, which is represented by the GOP. The party of liberal Democrats has mysteriously vanished.

[SHRED]

1. Corporatism/Fascism..

is nearly complete.

[Al-CIAda]

2. Agreed.

Clinton issued the fatal blow. (no pun intended)

NAFTA, GAT, the WTO, World Bank...etc...

FTAA is next -coming right at us!

[SHRED]

3. Yep

Even Kerry gave shrub the green light for "shock and awe".
And as you said: "NAFTA, GAT, the WTO, World Bank...etc..."
It is so messed up now.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. All too true. But, it keeps the illusion of American "democracy" intact.

We now have the Master(R)Party, and the dutiful Servant(D) Party that whimpers on command.

Both are happily fed and controlled by the capitalists.

[LiberalEconomist]

5. Our "democracy" is democratic in structure but really

dictatorial in substance. I am amused when the rightwingers say "this is not a democracy, it is a republic." "No," I tell them, "it is a sham-ocracy."

[PROGRESSIVE1]

6. I agree with this 100%.

I said this in another post sometime back.

[selmo7]

7. A friend told me

that Will Rogers said, "I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!" B-)

on edit: forgot quotes

[Elise]

8. I agree.

I'm thinkin' we need a Labor Party...or a Progressive Party...or a viable Socialist Party...or wrap them all together and bring back the Wobblies.

:bounce:

[jswordy]

9. OK we've all bitched about that, but...

...the real question is, what the hell do we do about it? Fact is, it takes big money to even start to reach out to the population of this vast country with a message that can get one elected, and to push a party agenda. So the parties have to get that big cash somehow. (I like how Dean did it, myself.)

Then you have the belittled lobbyists, who are in fact stand-ins for the public in many of the government-public interactions first envisioned by the founding fathers. Who today has time otherwise to go to DC and harangue for their cause? So we get the Sierra Club or the Chamber of Commerce, or whomever, to do it for us. Then we decry the "lobbyist influence."

Now, if you are talking about the redefinition of the Democratic Party, I am all for that. We need to go back to our roots. But if you are decrying the entire system as it exists and advocating massive change of it, I ask you:

How, given a country the size and complexity of ours and laws of the complexity we now pass, can we do that? Uh, absent overthrow. ;-)

[jswordy]

10. I'm for the return of populism to the Democrats

What we miss now is the link between party and people. That is what always served us well, hisotically.

But a fat-cat party has little connection with the people.

The straits the U.S. is in will give us an opportunity in a year or two. I hope we are ready when it arrives, and that we have not moved too far to the right of it to capture it. The electorate will come to us, if we have the right populist message and candidates to offer.

[LiberalEconomist]

11. Not me. I am for bitching and moaning and criticizing everything

Actually getting out there and doing something about it...well, to quote el presidente..."is hard work." I am lazy. <scarcasm off>

[robbedvoter]

12. Extend these guys - transition easy, they supported dems

http://workingfamiliesparty.org/