Most progressive independents would be Dems if our party just made them welcome.

Last edited Thu Mar 24, 2016, 08:53 AM - Edit history (2)

And if our party did what it is supposed to and took their concerns seriously.

If we were a party that stood unambiguously with the powerless against the powerful, for a generally peaceful approach to the world instead of perpetual military intervention, for easily affordable higher education for all as a good in its own right, for a real effort to address the climate crisis, and for an economic model that gave everyone a decent share of the wealth and something of a say in how that wealth is to be used, progressive independents would naturally support and work for this party.

And we wouldn't lose the votes of anyone who supports us now. We gained no blocs of voters when we drove idealists and activists away in the Nineties.

Those independents are only "independents" because of our pointless obsession with appealing to a "center" that doesn't really exist.

Yes, a lot of people label themselves "centrist", but when you get past the self-labeling and look at the actual ideas they support, the vast majority clearly back a strong program of progressive change. We should base our policies on what people support, not on what they describe themselves as.