Why I left the Democratic Party

The process of getting one's legislation passed in Congress.

Viz the GOP right now. They control both houses of Congress, firmly. The presidency and arguably the SC. This should be a ******* Bonanza of bill-passing for them. And what's happening?

Nothing much. They can't get anything passed, because the PROCESS is extremely difficult and passing bills that make significant changes to our country is really, really hard to do. Everything is a trade-off. Every Progressive policy we talk about instituting will involve painful and difficult choices, because that's how politics works.

So, who are these legions of Progressives who are going to pass these dream bills? I can count the number of truly Progressive Senators on one hand. The rest are centrists or right-wingers. They're not going to vote for what you want because they don't agree with you that this is the best thing to do. They're going to make all sorts of deals to water legislation down, until progress becomes... incremental.

None of y'all really seem to understand this. You have a lot of ideas that sound great, but you haven't done the decades of work it takes to get your ideology to be well-represented in Congress. So the rest of us look at every proposal with skepticism - and rightly so.

You're like a bunch of athletes who sit around talking about how great it would be to score, but you don't really know how to. The fact of the matter is that the Moderate, incremental, and not really Progressive wing of the Dem party has done more to help people in my lifetime than any Progressive has, simply because they've done something and the Progressive wing has done little to nothing.

Cycloptichorn

And, I forgot to add: none of you want to talk about this deficiency, because you have no real solution for it and it's not as fun as yelling at other people for not being as Progressive as you are. Isn't that correct?

Cycloptichorn

You and people like you put up road blocks. It is thinking like yours that has allowed the Republicans to control practically everything. Sure it's hard. The first time health care, as offered by Bill Clinton, was soundly rejected. Then Obama managed to get Obamacare through. Next step is universal: Not Hillary's "It ain't gonna happen." Your defeatist attitude is something Republicans love to feed upon.

what are YOU, personally, doing about it?

are you canvassing for young Progressive candidates? attending their meetings? making phone calls for them?

no excuses

you're an American white male. that gives you more power than many many many people around the world.

fussing and complaining does precisely nothing

__

My mother had me out canvassing and attending political meetings before I was 10. She was politically active in my home community til a few months before her death at 79. She was a 1960's housewife who got things done in her community.

Do something productive.

no

not other people

you

the people dragging their feet are the ones who want changes but are DOING nothing

talking online is doing absolutely nothing

you want progressives (whatever that is) in power? you've wanted changes for years? what did you do? what are you doing?

I suspect a number of them understand the process but can't be bothered to do the work needed.

needs to be said more times. We have many many people in Pa with thumbs up their asses complaining about why they aint got good politician. In the 2016 ellections weve shown the collective IQ has gotta hover around room temp

You might as well just have written "you're right, Cyclo, I don't understand the process and don't want to talk about it. Instead, I'll just blame... You. Because you understand it, and actually have the temerity to point out potential issues. And that makes me feel frustrated."

Cycloptichorn

It is LITERALLY your vote and those of other Stein supports (and millions of non-voters), that allowed that to happen.

You live in the real world where 45% of the country strongly disagrees with you. You don't have the luxury of waiting to be inspired by a candidate. Actions that you take today will shape the future. Actions like voting for Stein already have. What will you do next?

You don't know enough of my life situation to ask me those questions. I have been pushing to the best of my ability for liberal causes since 1965.

You are not so wise or the Republicans would not own everything.

I want you to ask yourself those questions.

No excuses.

Have you id'd young progressive candidates in your area (at whatever level - mayoral/congressional etc etc) that you can support? have you done what you can to help them - phone calls, sending emails, going to nominating meetings, canvassing?

Complaining about other people doing things you don't like is meaningless if you don't DO something.

Man, this isn't a cogent response to what I'm writing here. You're not answering in a way that makes me want to take you and what you write seriously.

The really funny thing is that the hardcore Republicans I know are frustrated as ****. They think that the DEMOCRATS own everything and that they are stymied at every opportunity to make 'real change' happen. You know that, right?

Cycloptichorn

Soon you'll be met with an article from Robert Reich or someone instead of Edgar's own thoughts.

He claims to write a lot, but can't ever seem to string together more than a couple dozen words of his own here.

So has Hilary Clinton, but that doesn't seem to have enamored her to you. Clinton's biggest "failing" was that she had concrete plans to move forward her agenda, perhaps move it forward slowly but forward none the less. That is why she was so effective as a senator - real plans, real progress even if it meant occasional compromise. Sanders had lots of slogans and he's been consistent over the years, but the reality is he's been a completely ineffectual senator. If you aren't out there electing people who can actually get something done, you aren't moving the needle.

In an earlier post, you said President Obama got health care reform, the next step is universal coverage. The actual next step was to defend Obamacare, then it was to expand Obamacare in more states, then to increase the government contribution. Somewhere down the line, you get to universal coverage. Or not, since we failed on the very first step of defending the progress we'd made. President Clinton wasn't going to get you to universal coverage, but she would have kept you on the road to it and that would have been progressive because it would have been progress.

this ^

Robert Reich or pdiddie

love pdiddie - he's someone who does a lot , politically , in his own community.

Reich, I wouldn't shake hands with in real life.

I started to write a defense of my actions after people who don't even know me started knocking me for what I have and haven't personally done. But none of you have grown up with severe Asperger's Syndrome, compounded by ten years of physical and emotional abuse. You wouldn't understand the limitations it puts on a life. None of you likely knows what an ordeal it is to simply walk the sidewalk, or bomb out when asking for a job because you freeze up and can't speak. Or put off making an important phone call for a week before working up the nerve to dial the number. Let's not talk about me, but why you people don't understand how mainstream Democrats have dropped the ball.

^ this x100

It's not Obamacare then *magic happens* then Universal healthcare. That's what Bernie was never able to communicate. No surprise that Edgar can't either.

Attacking me personally is not going to make any of you right.

To all (I seem to only be able to reply to one person today) -

I agree with ehBeth re getting in there and doing being very important. I know sometimes people just can't get out and do.
Husband and I worked on getting a neighbor elected, first as our assembly woman and later as secretary of our state (California). Some of that was driving folks who needed a ride to the polls.
Some years after that, I was involved in getting another neighbor elected as our local assembly woman, this time up north.

Now I don't get around much at all, but I don't feel guilty. I read up and I vote. I can go back to the olden way and type up some real letters... or short notes on post cards. Two birds with one stone.. that would help me get rid of all those post cards I bought and rarely sent.