strong candidates such as Clinton, Edwards and Obama....

[k_jerome]

will ensure that our party is not co-opted by the fringe left, as the Republicans have been taken over by the fascist extreme right. The Democratic base will not allow the fringe elements of our party steer us toward self-destruction as the radical right has the Republicans.

extreme left and right may differ in objective, but are nearly identical in method.

[depakid]

1. So what would be extreme left?

Sounds to me like anyone who isn't a far right enabler.

So called "centrists" are responsible for legitimizing the extremism in the Republican party- and have caused us to repeatedly lose elections over the past 12 years. I guess you want to see more of that...

[TomClash]

3. Good question nt

[LWolf]

27. Thank you.

As an independent, I always considered myself a moderate centrist.

It wasn't until I became a Democrat in 2001 that I realized I was an extreme lefty. :eyes:

Of course, it couldn't be that the Democratic Party itself is not nearly as "liberal" as it's been painted. :sarcasm:

[durtee librul]

2. Obama and Edwards..yes, .......

but Hillary is part of the problem. She is a political hack who is only in this to pander and cater some more to the rightwingers.

NOW and only NOW since she is running has she found a 'voice' that should have been heard long ago.

Sorry Hillary lubbers out there...keep her. She is NOT, nor will she ever be my candidate. She had no guts and no mouth when we all needed her the most....she leaned to the right and PANDERED to the McCains and the other zealous nutcases.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. There is no fringe left in the Democratic Party

Even our most liberal elected officials like Ted Kennedy would be considered left of center in any other civilized nation and even in this one in the Pre-Reagan era.

The fringe left doesn't exist as a viable political force in this country anymore and hasn't since the 1960's. Even then, the fringe left wasn't part of the Democratic Party.

[Catchawave]

6. Are anarchists mistaken for our fringe left ?

That's the first group that comes to my mind when I see "fringe left".

I consider myself a pretty moderate Dem, but I go to anti-war protests :D

[Hippo_Tron]

7. Yea, that Anarchist Party is really threatening to split the vote in 2008

[Top08Gear_com]

14. here! here!

Darn Anarchists! :)

[Forkboy]

5. "Mandrake, have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water,

...or rain water, and only pure grain alcohol?"

"Nineteen hundred and forty six. Nineteen fortysix, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your postwar commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard core commie works."

[The Count]

9. Dr Strangelove, right?

[Forkboy]

10. Seemed apropo for the discussion

Well remembered! :thumbsup: :)

[The Count]

8. Yup. DU is overrun with operatives....

Onward and upward....

[madfloridian]

11. Ha ha ha....read this from 2003...deja vu all over again.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/62

Fringe all over again.

Just for the record....because we know the war in Iraq must end we are not fringe. We are in the majority.

Because we don't think we should attack Iran...we are in the world majority.

You sound just like Al From and the DLC did in 2003....same words.

[madfloridian]

12. Meet your fringe.

Me.

[Solon]

13. Who is this "fringe left" that you speak of?

You guys that claim to be in the middle always bitch and moan about the fringe leftist loonies, yet you can't define them, or identify them, so who the hell are they?

Anarchists? Can't be, they refuse to vote, more often than not, and hate "statism" and political parties, and are mostly unorganized as it is.

The Green Party? They could split the vote, that is true, however, they are much more moderate than people seem to think, which is part of the reason why they can split the vote, at the same time, they aren't members of the Democratic party, and therefore are outside our own "extreme leftists"

Socialists? Well it depends, there are some socialists who aren't members of the Democratic party, and generally don't vote along with us, however, the two largest groups, the Socialist Party USA, which is a distinct political party, and Democratic Socialists of America, who are a PAC group that works mostly within the Democratic Party, both of them have a tendency to support, with money and time, Democratic Candidates. Individual members, of course, support whoever they choose to support, regardless of the organizations' positions. In fact, up till recently, Democratic Socialists of America actually hosted the Congressional Progressive Caucus website, which was, at the time, composed entirely of Democrats with one independent, Bernie Sanders. Not to mention that the Democratic party, back in the early 1930s, co-opted the party platform of the Socialist Party USA, hence why FDR won big.

Then we end up with the leftist of leftists, Communists, there are about half a dozen political parties in the United States who claim to be communist in one form or another, and to be honest, they are so small, they barely register on the political radar. A few of them even refuse to participate in the voting process at all, even as a means to an end, so they are pretty much irrelevant, by choice, on their part.

[Forkboy]

15. Thanks for giving some perspective

Though I suspect the OP will care less to make such distinctions.They aren't looking for any real answers,just huffing and puffing,wishing all would fall at their annointed feet.

[Solon]

16. The most confusing issue, to me, is this...

They blame "radical leftists" for costing Gore the Election in 2000, mostly by bolting to the Green Party. However, if what they say is true, then they must concede that these same "radical leftists" are powerful enough to at least affect the outcome of national elections. Yet they then turn around, and tell us to basically get out of the party, I guess, so if they lose, they can blame us again.

[madfloridian]

17. You are right.

You are right. Any way to marginalize...call us anything maybe we will go away.

But a funny thing happened....it's called the Iraq invasion. Even those who started out very moderate find it intolerable the way we have been lied to....and the deaths and torture.

Some of the links from the Dean Campaign in that thread I posted are dead, but they are preserved for the future fringe activists posts.

:hi:

On edit...I was responding to the wrong post?? Not sure.

[Solon]

19. Dammit! Don't be trying to steal my thunder!

OK, I'm just joshin' ya! :evilgrin:

[madfloridian]

20. Heck, I don't even know if I was responding to the right thread....

I read it and it must have been responding to something else. I think I must be seeing things.

:evilgrin:

Don't you love how the word "fringe" never goes out of style?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Define "fringe left."

Now that a solid majority of Americans oppose the Iraq war, it can't be defined by just being against the war. Pro-choice? Nope, can't be that; most are pro-choice, too. How about people who are concerned about global warming; are they fringe-lefties like Al Gore? Crazy people who want habeas corpus reinstated like that commie Chris Dodd? How about folks who are trying to prevent union-busting? Now that sounds pretty radical. And maybe if you'd like to see the civil rights laws enforced, I guess that makes you a left-wing nutjob, too.

If those things don't define "fringe left," why not tell us what does?

[Solon]

21. Don't expect a response...

If anything is a "hit and run" post, this is thread is a classic example of that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. I figured as much. They usually are.

[Thrill]

23. I now want Al Gore

.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. Al is a fringe leftie, you know...

Can't have that, now. :sarcasm:

[win_in_06]

25. Candidates always try to secure the base during the nomination process

so you can be assured that all three of the above will run to the left of the spectrum in the coming months.

[AtomicKitten]

26. bingo

Many people don't understand that. It's maneuvering to the left in the primary and to the center in the general, all to cast the widest net. Politics is a strategic game. I think if people understood that they wouldn't go over the edge when politicians make the smooth moves they need to to win. I feel sorry for our candidates being pounded mercilessly from all quarters trying to shape them into what we want to see. I respect the process and realize there are certain moves they must make to win which, after all, is the object of the game.