Reply #28: I don't think he wants to "dictate" anything [View All]

[no name no slogan]

All he's saying is that the party should not abandon the things that it has traditionally stood for in order to get a few votes from the corporatists.

We used to have a plank in our platform for single-payer, universal healthcare. That one disappeared in the 1990s. We used to have a plank supporting livable wages for EVERYONE. That, too, has gone the way of the dodo.

Most of us know that there's a snowballs chance in hell of these planks getting in the platform, but the mere fact that we're bringing them up and still talking about them keeps them on the table for debate.

Also, although DK has 1% of the delegates, most Democrats align more with his platform than Kerry's, I'd bet. There's a lot of Dean, Edwards, Clark and probably even Kerry delegates who don't agree with Kerry's position on NAFTA, and want trade agreements with more protection for workers.

Kerry may be the default nominee, but he was only the first choice of ±35% of the voters in the first half of the primaries. If Kerry wants Democrats to support him with more than our votes, he needs to be aware of this.

Otherwise he's got a long battle ahead of him.