Nothing is wrong with DU

[Angry Dragon]

Lately I have seen many posts on Du asking what is wrong. Why isn't it the same as it was?? Sorry to tell you this, 'There is nothing wrong with DU.' The world has changed since DU was launched in 2001. The people have been forced to change with the world or be left behind or crushed.

I remember Reagan had a saying, '"Ask yourself, 'Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was?” The answers are NO!

We elected a democratic president hoping this would stop the slide downward for this country and the start on the path to a much better country. This has not happened. We could ask the same questions that Reagan asked and one could probably come up with the same answer. NO!! This is the problem. There are a lot of people on Du that feel betrayed by President Obama. They see some differences, but for the most part things have continued on the same path as they did under Bush.

I feel the people on DU are no different than the people we meet out in the real world. Each of us have things in our lives that we are passionate about. Taxes, regulations, gay and lesbian rights, civil rights, wars, Social Security, Medicare, foreclosures, Citizens United, womens' rights, the corruption in politics, all the hate in this country, the bias of media, education, unions, separation of church and state, and the list could go on forever. How does one decide which one to work on, which one is the most important?? All of these are important, just some are more important based on whom we are.

This is the major problem with the Democratic Party, it tries to include as many people as possible. The true Democratic Party works for the benefit of all. The Republican Party does not have this problem. All they have to work on is attracting anyone that wants to destroy things. It is so much easier to destroy something than to build something that is good and can survive. When was the last time the Republican Party built anything beside wars??

Du is frustrated. People are frustrated. People come to Du to learn, vent, rage, rant, to do the things that they would do face to face with their family, friends, people they meet on the street. How can anyone that comes here expect anything different?? We are first and foremost people, there is no way to leave our passions , our intellect, our fears, our feelings at the door of Du and function on this website. If nothing else democrats are passionate. There is no way for us all to agree what needs to be done, in what order, and how to get it done. Those are large hurdles, something the Republican Party does not have to worry about.

In my journey though live I have found that anger is a most powerful emotion and force. It has as much power as love. It is time for the democrats to get angry. To use their anger to stop the republican party from destroying this country. It is time for true democrats to use their love of this country to loose their anger on the people that would bring this country down. That is using two powerful emotions at the same time. Anger has more power than hate. Hate is the only thing that the republicans have. Let them hate for it is just reverse love and it will turn on them and destroy them.

It is time to call the republicans on all their lies, it is time to attack the media for their bias, it is time to hold the republicans to the fire and let them sweat, to let them squirm in their lies and the bile that spews out of their mouths. Time to get angry with them. Time to ask them why they hate this country and the American people.

We are frustrated because we see so few elected democrats fighting for the things we want and need. It seems there is but a few. Franken, Weiner – lost him to his vices, Grayson – lost him because the DLC would not back him and the republicans really targeted him, Feingold – do not know what the people in Wisconsin were thinking, Sanders – and he is not really a democrat, can not think of any others off the top of my head. Not many willing to speak up. Where have the democratic fighters gone??

We are frustrated because this country is not better off than it was 2 years ago because the problems that existed then are still with us. Many of us are just waiting for the next bubble to burst. When, what, how big??

All of the problems that exist in this country are not going away just because we wish them away. It is going to take hard work, phone calls, letters, elected officials that know how to fight and are willing to fight for the American people. All of the problems that exist in this country are inter-connected. One can not work on one thing and let the others slide.

Just remember when you are talking and writing with other Duers they want the same things you do. Maybe they have different priorities than you, different passions. We are all different. That is what makes the Democratic Party better, because we have passions and not just hate.

[geardaddy]

1. Tell it!

[Kaleva]

2. Rec'd

[Warpy]

3. Thanks, it's been scrappy and contentious from day one

and that's just the way I like it. It would be tragic to have everybody agree with everything we said. We don't learn anything new that way.

[Kaleva]

5. Yes. The main reason I come here is to learn.

[bobburgster]

4. Great post!

Love your last paragraph!

[Angry Dragon]

6. Thank You

[madmax]

7. Seems fine to me, too. We're like family

we fight, we disagree and scream and curse and then...

[Johnny Harpo]

8. AMEN!....n/t

[hfojvt]

9. We lost some of our common enemy in 2006 and more so in 2008

before that, the answers seemed easier, and the source of problems clearer. Bush and Hastert and McCaonnell and other Republicans were the source of most problems, and the answer was to vote them out. Except we did that in 2006, and didn't seem to get much for our control of the House. Then in 2008, we seemed to have it all. Presidency, House, 60 seats in the Senate. And what did we have to show for it? Seemingly nothing, or less. Big changes were promised, and big changes were not delivered.

So now we have more of a split. From being united over getting rid of Republicans, we are now split into at least two major groups. The satisfied and the dis-satisfied. Some think that the Democrats have done okay, and blame the troubles on the power of the opposition, they support the Democrats. Others see those Democrats are corporate-bought tools who have not even tried to fight for us, whether they had the power or whether they didn't. This second group would like to replace half or more of the Democrats that are in office with people who would be populist fighters. The first group sees the second group though, as part of the problem. By constantly carping and picking on the Democrats, they add to the Republican Noise Machine that is doing the same thing - carping and picking on the Democrats.

So, there is definitely more of a split, although even in pre-2006 DU was often split on the issue-du-jour and battles would periodically flare up for almost every new "big" story.

[Angry Dragon]

10. I agree with most of your post

If they want to call themselves democrats they need to fight for the people or have very good reasons why not

[WillyT]

11. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

:yourock:

:bounce:

:hi:

:kick:

[amborin]

12. K&R

[PlanetBev]

13. I've been on DU since it's inception in January 2001

I could not have made it through the Bush years without it and I can't live without it now. Since I no longer have a party that represents me (scared bunny Democrats) Keith, Rachel, Skinner and all the rest of the Democratic Underground crowd are the only ones that keep me from going insane.

You're damn right there's nothing wrong with DU. It keeps me from feeling so alone while I watch this country circle the drain.