What are you most dissatisfied with the Democrats about?

[rucky]

ABB or not: What's the main ISSUE that makes you most dissatisfied with the Democratic party?

[Ninga]

1. The leaders of this party forgot where they came from

and the working class people that brought them to the party so to speak.

I hated NAFTA and The Defense of Marriage Act, the smarmy way Welfare Reform came about, etc.

These bills were the direct result of the DLC leadership, which in my opinion is more about being in the center than being progressive.

Can anyone tell me who was the last President to champion the underclass and working class? What year? How long ago?

[Woman of the Phoenix]

4. You might want to go back to

look up the origins of the Democratic Party. Lincoln was a Republican. The Democrats began. Think about it.

Anyway, I am absolutely disgusted with the disparity of wealth and the lack of healthcare for all.

It's time to read about it being our duty to change a govt when it no longer serves us...(Declaration of Ind.)

[Ninga]

7. The Great Society Programs of Lyndon Johnson was the last.

Our elected officials have let us down.

Good God, while the politians fiddled we lost our manufacturing base.

All of the Bastards should be fired. Why the heck aren't the voters fired up? It is NOT about electibility, it's about the lack of progress.

I'm moving to New Zeland.

[billhos]

5. That is the truth

The Republican elite are a corporatist party of suburban executive types, small town grandees and southern bourbons. The Democrat elite are a party of upper class urban elite types, who are condescending and patronizing of the common person, they are also dominated by trial lawyers. what is happening in the American system is making me sick. My health insurance went up too 998 dollars per 3 months, i need elp to ay for it from my family. I don't think either partys cares. I do not doubt that they average person who votres for thier party does. But he is very mistaken if he thinks the people who run either party see this as anything but a problem or an oppurtunity, too take advantage of.

[newyawker99]

51. Hi billhos!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[corporatewhore]

2. SLAVERY outsourcing privatisation of publicutilities asystemso oppressive

it drives people to armed revolution the theft of land from idigenous people the rape of the land in two words FREE TRADE
Actually conservtives hate free trade too texas gop wants outta naftawto as well their is bipartisan disgust for our jobs going to india why in the name of electability do we run a pro free trade canidate whe we could get old school conservative,liberal democrat libertarian and green support if we ran an anti freetrade cannidate

[Guaranteed]

3. Oh Jesus, don't get me started...

But, I voted for "other."

If I had to pick one thing, I'd have to say that it's their lack of leadership. It's cowardice. They're a bunch of cowards.

It's not that they don't know what the right thing to do is...it's just that they're afraid to stand up for it. STILL, even after Dean's injection of courage. And as long as they're cowards, and everyone sees them as cowards, they will lose election after election.

Politics is about leadership. It's about standing up in faith and knowing that the people will get behind you because you're doing the right thing. The Democrats have gotten soft, and no longer understand that.

[terryg11]

13. second that

Kerry is going to be our candidate and that's fine except that he's going to get beat over the head with his voting record ( for pat act and Iraq war) and then bitching about the results later, special interest money he takes, gay marriage (he's against it? yeah, the republicans will still kill him with it).
I'm going to vote for him but would like to see him stick to his guns


My thing with Kerry is just illustrating my frustrations with the democrats and how they don't provide great leadership in a time when we really need it.

[Guaranteed]

14. Yup

I still haven't decided on whether or not I'll even go to the polls for Kerry.

It just feels fucking wrong. Reward the guy that abandoned us? Psssh.

[AlinPA]

6. Not being tough enough with the republicans.

(not answering the right wing ). By showing up on Fox "News" and being used as fodder by the right wing.

[rucky]

16. If that were a category, everybody would vote for it

I'm trying to pinpoint the issues behind the behavior.

Which GOP-enabling vote pissed you off the worst?

[SaddenedDem]

8. Change 'Other' to 'All of the Above'

Then, I'll be able to vote in your poll.

[snoochie]

9. Corporatism

Some call it cowardice, their failure to stand up to republicans and republican propoganda. I am not so mistaken. I see it as the complicity it is.

In their lust for corporate cash, they have to watch what they say. This can be mistaken for cowardice, but it's really just fealty to their corporate masters.

[Guaranteed]

15. I think there's a lot of that, too nt

[Iverson]

10. They're too focused on helping the poor and unemployed!

Hold on a second ...

Whoops! I guess they're not. My bad.

[Armstead]

11. The complete surrender to corporatism

[RichM]

30. I agree. BTW, "corporatism" is far, far more than just the "free trade"

issue offered as a poll choice. Corporatism is taking the wrong side of virtually every issue: the polluters' side of environmental protection, the armament makers' side of defense spending, the privatizers' side of social services, the insurance/pharma/HMO side of health care, the conglomerates' side of media reform, etc etc.

[Walt Starr]

12. All of the above an then some

I want the facts in the Kerry scandal. Kerry is running for president so he needs to prove himself innocent.

If the scandal is true, I will never forgive the man for destroying the party because total destruction of the party will be the result if true.

[doc03]

21. Kerry sort of denied the affair on Imus didn't he

I didn't see Kerry on Imus. From what I understand he sort of denied the affair. Now if it turns up to be true, he is toast for lying
about it. If it is true how could he be so arrogant and stupid to think he could run for President and no one would find out. It worries me that the main stream news media may be sitting back waiting until it's to late then breaking the story. I hate Bush but I can't see myself voting for Kerry if this is true.

[snoochie]

22. He did not deny it

He did a great job of sounding like he denied it while not denying it.

*sigh*

[doc03]

27. Sorry, but I can't take 4 years of

what the definition of is is, blue dresses and bimbo eruptions.

[Walt Starr]

28. He categorically denied it at a later event

But his campaign needs to squash the story if untrue and he needs to pull out of the race if true.

If untrue, resouces must go to showing it is untrue because the Republicans will stop at no lie to get him.

If true, Kerry is the biggest SOB in Democratic Party history.

[snoochie]

34. What event?

Got a link or a hint so I can find it? I was very bothered by his 'there's no story' denial. I'd love to see his actual denial.

[Adelante]

17. Other: For sitting on their

asses and letting us get steamrolled the past four years.

[rhite5]

24. Amen to that!

The timidity and silence is a crime. No excuse is conceivalble.

We need so much systemic change in this country. The system is rotten to the core.

Let's start by thinking of a multi-party system, so we get more voices at the table and try to avoid the extreme divisiveness which has become mostly phony as both parties pretend to be in the middle.

They have made a mockery of democracy.

edit - typo

[snoochie]

26. No exucse - obvious reason: Corporate influence

How many democrats have fought for election reform so we can obtain this multi-party system?

[corporatewhore]

18. how about Israel/Palestine

[rucky]

20. GOOD ONE

i forgot about it because it hasn't come up in a hellova long time.

[JohnLocke]

25. Change my vote from finance reform to I/P

[Tinoire]

40. Ditto & then in this order

Israel/Palestine = War
Free Trade/Corporatism
Smearing/Disloyalty to My Faction
Campaign Finance

[demnan]

19. All of the above

but especially the Iraq war. That disaster was so avoidable.

[LWolf]

23. Education.

At both the state and federal level, they've fallen in line with the standards/accountability/high-stakes testing "movement" designed to destroy public education.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

29. Capitulation on all of those.

[John_H]

31. Easy: Risk Aversness

They're so afrad of making mistakes--from the lowliest, most-careerist staffer--to the top party leadership, that the GOP--who are completely shameless in seeking what they want--walks right over them.

[loftycity]

32. That they let this happen....

They knew it was coming and let the train wreck happen. It is out of control.

Spineless and worried about their jobs more than the people that pay their salaries to represent them.
We sure did not get what we payed for..we need an iron clad return policy.

[liberalmike27]

33. Certainly

There is a general spinelessness in the party. For years now, instead of fighting for any given issue, free-trade, the death penalty, ridiculous drug-sentencing, higher minimum wage, media fairness and consolodation, and any number of other issues, they've been AWOL, and this would of course include Kerry.

Dean had a better spine than any of the other candidates. The Democrats could enlist 40 million or so without insurance, and below the poverty level, and even if we lost ten million middle class folks, we could still blow them out.

The Dean campaign proved that poor people, even giving fifteen or twenty dollars at a time, bound together to be a massive force to compete with corporations, and untie the hands of the politicians to work for the people.

Guys like Kerry, who gain most of the contributions from network executives--the same ones who obliged Kerry by destroying Dean and Clark--will never really address the concerns of the poorest in our society, and that is the reason the Democratic Party has lost its soul.

[snoochie]

35. Dean did not have a better spine than Kucinich

The media is silencing Kucinich and allowing Dean to have his say.

[library_max]

36. The self-defeating fratricide.

AKA the circular firing squad.

I voted "other" instead of "smearing," because it's not a matter of disloyalty to my faction, it's a matter of damaging all the candidates to the point where none of them would be viable in the general election. That's a big part of what happened to Dukakis and we don't need it to happen again.

[charlie]

41. Dukakis gets full blame for Dukakis

A stuffed laundry hamper could've debated and campaigned better than him. Whatever oppo the Repubs glommed from the primaries is nearly immaterial, anything Atwater came up with would've stuck to that sad sack. Bush could've beaten him if he just stood on his side of the debating stage and said "liberalliberalliberalliberalliberalliberal"... which actually is pretty much what he did anyway.

[corporatewhore]

37. kick

[PurityOfEssence]

38. Corporatism

n/t

[arcos]

39. nearly 100 votes and not one for civil liberties??

(except mine... the first)

[rucky]

42. We're afraid Ashcroft will know we voted for it n/t

[Vernunft II]

43. The general lack of spine...

Although there were some bright stars most of the Dem party simply rolled over and let the Reps have their way. That´s NOT how I understand political opposition.

[AnnitaR]

44. Agree 100%!

That is my #1 problem with the Dem party too!

IMHO, Kerry still doesn't zing em' at Bush like Clark did!

[RafterMan]

45. WAR

As for "corporatism", I find the less I care about corporate goodies, the less corporate power touches me.

But I will unable to escape the consequences of war. If both major parties accept this lowering of the bar for a "threat" that justifies attack, my country is doomed.

[Crunchy Frog]

46. Other

The biggest issue for me is the way they have just been rolling over for the repugs and are afraid to actually stand for something. They seem to believe that appeasement is the best approach to encroaching fascism. And most of them don't even seem to see what the Republican party is morphing into. I hate how they completely allow the issues to be defined by the Republicans and let them frame the terms of the debate. It's basically the pink tutu thing I guess, that gets me most of all.

The other thing is the party power structure. I've just come to realize this primary season how little my voice counts. I believe that the party powers that be would rather lose the election than win with a truly outsider grassroots candidate that they can't control.

I've already decided that if the Dems blow it this election, I'm changing my party affiliation to Green. I'd rather belong to a marginalized and unelectable party that actually stands for something than one that doesn't.

[texasmom]

50. What Crunchyfrog said...

Definitely not standing up for the 50%+ of the people in our country who do not want the country to go the way the radical right is, and has been, dragging it. Stop rolling over!! Hopefully they have learned that we want to fight. But then again...after the primaries, I'm not holding my breath.

The party power structure has been most disappointing to me recently. Sad to feel that I don't have any power at all. I'd like to believe it's different.

I can't go Green, though. I have to stay and fight within the Dem party. Things are too horrible and frightening to give up on the Dems and give in to the Republicans. I don't have to declare party affiliation in Tx., though, so it's not such a big deal.

[Piperay]

47. Other...Their lack of backbone

how they can't or won't stand up and fight the rethugs. Plus the Democrats let the term Liberal be defined by the RWingers they have yet to take back Liberal and define it as a good thing. :argh: :mad:

[Awsi Dooger]

48. Simple, we have not adapted to modern political electability

With an allmighty visionary atop the party, who isolates the best candidate(s) and dictates who we support and therefore nominate. I'm absolutely amazed this has not become a centerpiece on DU, since it is roughly one billion times more relevant to November success than fears over Black Box Voting.

Rove and Co. must be hitting the floor in a seizure of laughter, as we allow every bozo to enter races across the country then sit back and wonder who will prevail. Meanwhile, he flicks aside weaklings years in advance, then puts forth and finances only the most sensible candidate depending on the race/state.

As I've mentioned previously, in our position the Republican brass would have elevated John Edwards after about 10 seconds of analysis. Likeability and a positive populist message is what prevails in the general election, not a military background or any of the policy crap mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

[regnaD kciN]

49. All of the above...

...Iraq, globalism/corporatism, I/P, you name it...

...but especially for the ethical cowardice they have displayed for most of the past twenty-five years, and the last four years in particular -- the impression that they have swallowed Republican rhetoric themselves, are convinced that the voting public really dislikes historic Democratic ideals, and thus need to back away from them as discreetly as possible and try to pass themselves off as Republican Lite.

:grr:

[GRClarkesq]

52. Gun rights n/t

[diamondsoul]

53. Other-

The insane railroading of Democrats to rally behind a particular candidate on a regular basis. We're like rats in a frickin' maze here

DEAN! Dean's the front runner, hurry and rally behind him....No KERRY! Kerry's the front-runner, hurry and rally behind him...who the hell is next? Edwards?

Screw this crap!

[GreenPartyVoter]

54. All of the above and then some

These would be moot issues, though, if they ran mostly Dennises and Pauls.

[littlejoe]

55. The worst democrat is better than the best republican.