Reply #37: labels and political spectrum thinking are just plain wrong ... [View All]

[welshTerrier2]

we have allowed republicans to divide natural democratic constituencies with these labels ...

if a democrat favors tax policies that would create more jobs, are they left or right of Kerry ... if they favor getting big money out of the electoral process, are they left or right? if they favor putting the interests of workers ahead of stockholders, are they left or right of Kerry ...

questions like this need to start raising red flags among the DU community ... we argue and argue and argue ... "these stupid lefties are killing the party" ... "those damned moderates are republican-lite" ... we need to talk about real positions on real issues and stop all this labelling ... it's divisive ... that's all it is ...

Who is to the left of Kerry who can win? Can Kerry win? Who is to the right of Kerry who can win? Seems like we're discussing winning before we define who we are ... what's wrong with the party is that we have not been adequately effective in communicating a strong, clear vision on a wide array of issues across the political spectrum ... we need to list the issues; debate the issues; and then find the strongest candidates who can clearly articulate our positions on the issues ... running a little "political spectrum meter" to pick the next candidate is a recipe for failure ...