| 9/3/2011 8:33:21 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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tercium
Hemet, CA
49, joined Nov. 2010
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The last liberal Democrat president was Lyndon Johnson That was almost as long as I have been alive, why is this?
What say thee?
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| 10/30/2011 7:02:22 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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lefty247
Swartz Creek, MI
70, joined Apr. 2009
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Well Lyndon received much of the credit for JFK's policies that would've normally been credited to JFK had he lived to serve 2 terms. It was to be sure, a different time. A time when hope was not hampered by recession, job losses, distrust,& a raging deficit.
And it could be reasonably argued the liberalism you write of then, is what caused the counter conservatism we have today. Which some have called the Pendulum Effect.
The Conservs are all over the Libs for being too Lib today as we've seen in the Massachusetts senatorial election for Ted Kennedy's seat. The winner being Scott Brown a conserv.
The only way you can be a Lib today & expect to stay in office in many districts is to tone down the tax & spend approach to government.
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| 11/2/2011 12:51:46 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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skyman43
Warren, PA
58, joined May. 2010
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The right wing machine has been more effective. Additionally the American public has gotten severely dumbed down. Every time I have a political discussion with a right wing nut I ask if the top tax rate is the highest, lowest, (it's ever been) or in between. The most common answer, almost exclusive, is "I don't know". Another concept that seems to have escaped everyone's knowledge base is fractional reserve banking. Most people that work at banks have no idea of what fractional reserve banking means. However, ignorance of the way that money works is not a deterrent to maintaining a strongly believed opinion about political matters. Too many people lack empathy and critical thinking skills. Too many people will never realize that there is a problem until it affects them personally. Right wing nuttery is much simpler than progressive ideas therefore appeals to simple minds. If working class people would imitate the dynastically wealthy in one area the world would be a much better place. Working class people should stick together and vote for what is in their own financial best interest.
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| 11/3/2011 7:45:03 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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ed1464
Saint Louis, MO
67, joined Oct. 2011
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I totally agree that Democrats have "lost their way" and have become more a "me too" party to the Republicans than ever. The problem is that they don't know how to reframe issues. They let the repubs set the agenda and then just keep responding to it rather than say "no that's not the way to look at such and such issue, here's how it needs to be viewed and solved."
The single most important issue of all is that we need to get the money out of politics by implementing public financing of all political campaigns - state levels through federal levels - in order to get any real significant progressive changes that are actually good for the main populace of this country and not just for the wealthy.
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| 11/26/2011 10:21:09 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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umnowellmaybe
Austin, TX
58, joined Nov. 2011
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People get conservative as they get older. The Boomers got older.
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| 12/9/2011 7:13:25 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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tercium
Hemet, CA
49, joined Nov. 2010
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I've gotten to be more of an economic liberal with age
We need another New Deal set of public work projects to rebuild our crumbling cities
I do not favor military "Keynesianism" though
John Maynard Keynes and Roosevelt would be horrified if they saw us on a permanent war footing.
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| 12/13/2011 3:40:18 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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struckbylightn
Oelwein, IA
61, joined Oct. 2009
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People get conservative as they get older. The Boomers got older.
No they don't. I find myself getting more liberal as time goes by. Liberal enough to see that there's little progress to be made with the likes of Goldman Sachs and the like controlling the political process in this country.
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| 12/30/2011 9:30:12 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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leeag
Milwaukee, WI
50, joined May. 2011
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OP - Why arent' Democrats liberal?
Because they need to fund their campaigns
Looking out for the less fortunate isn't very popular amongst the wealthy campaign donors
It's the one thing that got me excited about Obama's 2008 run - So many small donations
If millions of regular people give $20......KA-BLAM!
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| 12/30/2011 9:32:09 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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leeag
Milwaukee, WI
50, joined May. 2011
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People get conservative as they get older. The Boomers got older.
The Boomers' children swung overwhelmingly to Obama though
"You won't fool the children of the revolution" - Marc Bolan
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| 1/5/2012 12:03:07 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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sandwalker001
Muskegon, MI
68, joined Jan. 2012
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Well said - You got my vote - LOL
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| 1/14/2012 2:25:11 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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tercium
Hemet, CA
49, joined Nov. 2010
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FDR was a good liberal, he also had 3 terms long enough to stabilize the American polity
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| 1/16/2012 11:37:09 PM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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struckbylightn
Oelwein, IA
61, joined Oct. 2009
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FDR was a good liberal, he also had 3 terms long enough to stabilize the American polity
Which is why certain powers at the time plotted to kill him, thwarted by one Gen. Smedley Butler.
http://liberalslikechrist.org/about/FDRcoup.html
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| 4/8/2012 11:14:55 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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nanu45
Eugene, OR
54, joined Mar. 2008
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It's the money.
Elections are cripplingly expensive.
The media loves it. It's like a perverse sort of Christmas for them.
Taking the money out of the election process, to as great an extent as possible, will be the first step for the working class to have control of their country again.
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| 4/10/2012 4:52:21 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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chrisbrz
Wilmette, IL
43, joined May. 2011
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The confluence of a few factors have stunted American clear thinking in this area.
1. A dumbed down and unfriendly press to anything that doesn't bootlick to the ptb and
2. The military industrial machine has morphed out of control,
we've utterly failed to heed Eisenhowers warning and
3. The corporate lobby has the vast amount of the Senate and powerful congressman in their pocket so working class issues and policies a lot of Liberals may favor never make it out of commitees ,let alone get voted on.
I don't blame voters I blame the elected reps for not representing our constituency anymore.
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| 4/28/2012 8:45:47 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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zypper601
Binghamton, NY
37, joined Apr. 2012
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I think within the last few years it's become an issue. The Radical Right which wants safety Deregulations, disregard of the Geneva Convention, disregard of workers rights, it's as if most Liberals shifted to the center to try and be more moderate, more reasonable to the Radicalized Right.
Cow towing to Fascist and Racist Ideology won't work. We gotta push harder, speak louder, and show them their world of destruction and misery is something we oppose. Change is never easy
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| 5/5/2012 5:40:34 AM |
Why are Democrats so unliberal and unprogressive? |
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vexillarius
Chandler, AZ
26, joined Apr. 2012
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FDR had to pack the courts and force through numerous policies backed by a liberal majority congress in order to be the progressive mastermind he is known as today. Johnson tried to piggyback off the New Deal with his Great Society programs that tried to follow up on things FDR was not able to complete during his presidency; I wouldn't say he was taking credit for Kennedy who really didn't have a chance to do things other than the failed Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, and Space Race. But FDR and Johnson only had the ability to accomplish so much because they had the power to do so. Because of how unpopular Johnson became in spite of the Vietnam War, Democrats (with the exception of Carter who was a moderate) never again got elected til Clinton, who was a centrist if anything. This in turn sparked a shift in the party to become the party of balance because it appeared as though moving to the center was the only way the party could ever hold power, let alone win an election. In other words, it seems as though Democrats from post-Johnson were only electable the further away they were from left. This in fact is probably why Obama was labeled by Republicans as a "radical leftist socialist communist" because Republicans thought they could use this perceived weakness to their advantage. Now, I'm not entirely sure how Obama, who also tried to emulate FDR by proposing universal healthcare, and the Democrats in Congress could not be progressive or liberal when they controlled two of the three branches of government, but the only reason I can see is electability - they feared by taking a stand for a side rather than staying true to this balanced party stance would cost them their power.
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