Reply #14: Every mistake, no matter how slight? [View All]

Surely you jest? Voting for tax cuts that bankrupt our country; voting to union bust with homeland security; voting for the Iraq war; NCLB; the patriot act -- those are SLIGHT mistakes?

No, those are votes that contrast mightily with our core principles as a party, and they were voted for by dems for the sake of political expediency and a misguided fear for their jobs.

Repugs have turned the word liberal into a dirty word, with a huge assist from us, because by gawd, so many dems would do just about anything to avoid appearing to actually be liberal when it comes down to their votes.

But people prefer politicians who stand strong for their beliefs, even if they don't agree with all of their beliefs.

Take Wellstone and Fiengold - both much more liberal than the state is as a whole. They were / are revered by their constituents. Take Gore - when he was the senator from TN he was adored (I lived there at the time) and he was always much more liberal than Clinton. TN didn't turn against him until he spent 8 yrs as VP and then as a candidate, where he began to cash in his core beliefs for what the thought was a broader constituency. He seems to have re-found his principles, and good for him, but it still provides a good example.