Say, Have You Seen My Democratic Party?

A recent column by David Sirota Laying Bare The Myth of the Left sparked an interesting discussion on a list serve I subscribe to about the democratic party and progressives/liberals and the democratic agenda. Sirota concludes the so called powerful left does not exist in America;

I'm always amused by popular references to the allegedly all-powerful American "Left." The term suggests that progressives today possess the same kind of robust, ideologically driven political apparatus as the Right - a machine putting principles before party affiliation.
This notion is hilarious because it is so absurd.
Yes, there are certainly well-funded groups in Washington that call themselves "progressive," that get media billing as "The Left," and that purport to advocate liberal causes regardless of party. But unlike the Right's network, which has sometimes ideologically opposed Republicans on court nominations and legislation, many "progressive" institutions are not principled at all - sadly, lots of them are just propagandists for Democrats, regardless of what Democrats do.

Listservmember SW says;

progressives are going to have to come together & construct a backbone soon. I wish it would be to highly protest the Kagan nomination...but ...

I agree and disagree with SW. I believe there are progressives out there with backbone,, suppressed by the elitist. For example, why isn't David Sirota ever booked as a Talking TeeVee Pundit Head? Why was I banned from Left in Alabama? Why are only so called conservative/moderate Democrats voices being heard?

I believe the democratic party has been infiltrated by conservatives and so called moderates so they can divert attention away from social issues and maintain the status quo.

My definition of Blue Dog/ConservativeDemocrats are candidates and elected officials whom identify themselves as "Democrats" to garner the African American vote, and "Conservative" to garner the White votes. In reality they are social conservatives, also known as Republicans.

In my opinion moderates, undecideds,swing voters, blue collar voters, working class voters, Nascar dads, security moms, Walmart moms, in the middle voters, values voters,evangelical voters, christian right and libertarians are code words developed and used by the media to manipulate public opinion. In reality these groups are social conservatives, also known as Republicans.

The republican party is fond of saying they are the party of Lincoln and therefore are not racist(were the party of Lincoln being the operative word) when it suits them, but every since the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act democrats are more like the party of Lincoln and republicans are more like the party of Thomas Jefferson. Today's republicans are yesterdays Dixiecrat's.

on June 19, the substitute (compromise) bill passed the Senate by a vote of 73-27, and quickly passed through the House-Senate conference committee, which adopted the Senate version of the bill. The conference bill was passed by both houses of Congress, and was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964. Legend has it that as he put down his pen Johnson told an aide, referring to the Democratic Party, "We have lost the South for a generation."[8]

In addition to conservative infiltrators the democratic party has so called "moderates, centrist, center" who try and walk a thin line down the middle of the party. We don't know if they are pro choice or anti choice. We don't know if they are pro civil rights or anti civil rights. We don't know what the heck they stand for. They are in the middle whatever the heck that means. My daddy says the only thing down the middle of the road is a yellow line. Moderates are afraid to take a position one way or another because they don't know what side of the road they are on.

Here is what Booman says about the so called center or centrist, and I agree.

The center hasn't ceded power to the extremes. You have one party that is trying to govern in a recognizably American way, and another party that is debating whether it was a mistake to desegregate lunch counters. Given that choice, what does it even mean to be in the center? If you can't make a choice with these options, maybe the center is the place for imbeciles.

Seriously, where is my democratic party? The party of Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey and other proud, unashamed liberals?

The party that stood up for women's rights, civil rights and human rights?

The party that didn't throw the traditional base under the bus just to be elected?

The party that was the home of progressives and liberals?

The party my list serve friend and fellow progressive gd describes below:

Many of us believed we were electing a traditionally Liberal Democrat as our President. We apparently have been deceived. Many of the same Bush policies Progressive Democrats abhorred are still in place. Many of the so-called "changes" that were promised haven't happened and lack of action seems to have reinforced some of the Bush policies.... such as continuing to allow warrant less wiretapping of American Citizens under one the more noxious Executive powers within the "Patriot Act," doing nothing to end the wars and even escalating the number of American troops in the war in Afghanistan, doing nothing to change the DADT policy, etc. Now the current Administration wants to tamper with Americans' "Miranda Rights" which have worked for low these many years to protect us from having a "Police State." Perhaps it is time for a Progressive Party to emerge.
If the DLC and the current Administration continues down their "right-of-center" path, and "We the People" do nothing to change that direction, then DEMOCRACY as we have known it, will cease to exist. The Corporations, who have now been granted "person hood" by the Judicial Branch of our government, will become "The People" who will be buying and paying for election of their candidates. A Corporation already owns the machines which tallies our votes, and nothing has been done by the Current Administration to eliminate the easily manipulated electronic voting machines or about the other much needed election reforms either.

Financial Reform now looms largely on America's horizon. Will these "reforms" be weakened in favor of Wall Street & the Banks, the same way Health Care Reform was weakened in favor of the For-Profit Health Care Insurance Corporations? Is that rattling sound I hear the sound of Progressive Democrats striking their swords against their shields, or is it the sound of a "We the People" Democracy gasping its last rattling breath?

I hope and pray that rattling sound is the sound of progressive democrats taking their party back and not the sound of "We the People" Democracy gasping it's last rattling breath.

Enough.

I want my liberal democratic party back.