are you an American first or a Democrat first...

I think that is an essential question. Because the other side seems to value party over country.

The very idea of making it the number on priority to stop Obama is frightening. And that is what Mitch McConnell has stated as the main focus of his party.

Not Jobs, not trade, not the economy.

No, destroy President Obama...

How is it that they appear more patriotic than us?

They are patriots in name only. Period.

We need to wrap our party around the flag not wrap the flag around us like the GOP does.

Being Republican means being Republican first. The Elephant always flies above the Stars and Stripes.

human. a compassionate caring empathetic human, which means of course i lean to the left politically.

They must see themselves as an island nation, separate from the rest of us.

They've wanted to stop Obama from the beginning. Remember how he had no honeymoon?

They may look patriotic, but to me, their patriotism is more flag-wrapped racism. And unfortunately, that still speaks to too many Americans.

Recommended.

One WEEK after Clinton's inauguration, the right was screaming "he hasn't accomplished anything!" all over the media.

Democrats never get a honeymoon from the neo-cons.

The word "patriotic" positively REEKS of greed and misogyny and racism and Islamaphobia and colonialism and narrow-minded self-interest.

We need to either redefine it, or (like the N-word) STRIKE IT FROM THE LANGUAGE!!!

And thank you for your very kind remarks.

:hi:

Pretty ambitious, but I like the way you think.

and it will take all of us working together to solve it, if you don't know what I'm referring to you haven't been paying attention.

American? By accident of birth, perhaps.

If I'm an American first, then I'm lumped in with half the country that I'd like to punch in the face right now.

While democrats are the better option, they are by no means perfect. Democrats have political and corporate affiliations too.

I am a liberal. My ideas are not bought. My ideologies are not for sale.

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Would you be as patriotic? Or would you want to escape to the United States?

And how should the 95% of the world feel about the deity he didn't see fit to birth them in a good country?

Welcome to DU!

--imm

first and foremost.

struggle for penny and scrap of food, the jobless..
I. AM. A DEMOCRAT.
Therefore, I am human.

A human resident of planet earth first.

"American" is way, way down on my list.

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We rank 49th in the world in life expectancy.
We're waaaaay down the rankings in healthcare, education, quality of life, and economic parity. We spend exponentially more of our tax money on worthless wars than do other countries and we spend billions in worthless subsidies for military contractors.
Oh, I guess we are Greatest in obesity, though, so that's something to be proud of.

:(

Obesity and prisons...We rule!

Oh, wait.. some of those guards are pretty hefty....

:rofl:

My abiding commitment to social justice comes before all else.

like Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809).

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:)

I am a father

a husband

a breadwinner

an American

a progressive liberal bleeding heart enemy of the gawd fearing right wing "Christian" folk, the John Birch society and the KKK ( now collectively known as the Tea Party)

A Democrat

A biker

A hot rodder

A joker

A smoker


A midnight toker...

:D

but I think the distinction between party and country is far more common within the left. How many times have you heard that you can't be a true American unless you're a Republican?

Right now, and for the past couple of years, when I think about the USA I have to also think about the ongoing fight we've had with my wife's health insurance company. Maybe not a totally fair comparison, but she would have been covered in France, Canada, New Zealand, and on and on. Most Americans are too smug to accept the fact that our healthcare system sucks compared to most other developed countries.

I also have to think about our education system. Georgia passed a law last year doing away with maximum student/teacher ratios in grade school to help solve our budget crunch (while still giving away millions in tax breaks to special interests). My kids no longer have science or math textbooks they can bring home, one set per classroom to be shared by all the classes - yeah that's the way to compete with the rest of the world.

So I'm kinda' down on the US of A right now. Maybe I'll get over it, we'll see. I was thinking about this very subject today, it's like when you get a phone call from school because your child disrupted class - you still love them but right after you hang up the phone you're mad as hell and want to kick their ass.

Most people mistook the thrust of this thread...

Perhaps I should have spelled it out so that people could easily get what I was trying to get at.

Perhaps I should have done a Poll.

Perhaps I should have said between being a member of the Democratic Party and a citizen of the United States, which ranks higher to you.

I guess the reference to the way the GOP views their loyalty hierarchy was not enough.

Ah well, I guess I will just live and learn.

Nuance and subtlety do not always work the day after a crushing defeat at the polls.

I say I am a Democrat with the American part being assumed...
Obviously as a Democrat I have the countries best interests at heart.