Consequences of idealism for Democrats ?

[steve2470]

Bear with me here, I'm not a political pro. Let's say 1- The Dems. could actually unite behind a common progressive anti-Bush agenda, 2- could exercise effective party discipline, 3- would ALWAYS fight for the idealistic goal in Congress, and 4- would effectively propagandize its efforts vs. the evil Republicans. 4 huge assumptions. What would happen ? Eventual WH and Congressional victory for Dems. or crash and burn ?

[Eloriel]

1. You forgot to factor in

the voting machines.

The Dems WON the last 2 presidential elections.

[steve2470]

2. yes, add honest elections, my bad nt

[MissMarple]

3. Ideology is a compass, ...

the hard work is crossing the terrain. It's just a fact. And sometimes the ideal isn't what you thought it would be. But that's OK, too. What you end up with is often better. :-)

[BillZBubb]

4. The Democrats would become the clear majority party.

Most Americans like what the Democrats stand for on big issues. A significant chunk don't like that the Democrats vacillate and compromise even on core principles. Change that, counter the Repug propaganda effectively, and we win big.

Keep going the way we are, and we'll remain a minority party in governance--voting machines or not.

[Andromeda]

5. I believe it would be a win, win situation...

for the Democrats. Harry Reid seems to be a strong leader because there have been more victories for Democrats since he took over. Party discipline is the key here and he seems to be able to keep everybody together.

Considering the ratio of Repubs to Dems the results could have been a lot worse. It's not ideal, but it's about the best we could hope for given the circumstances.

Democrats are more unified and Reid speaks out with very forceful language. Frankly, I don't think Repubs know what to do with that. They are used to the cowering, spineless Dems and now they have to actually work with Democrats instead of just bulling them around.

There are going to be things that aren't going to be accomplished because we're so outnumbered but I think the future looks hopeful for Democrats.