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A Perfect Conversation: More and Better

by: Gabriel D

Fri Apr 15, 2011 at 01:00:44 AM EDT

(10AM - promoted by Dreamer)

A quick reminder. I'm being kept pretty busy at the moment, so I haven't had time to read anything today, let along even check in except to get this diary published (thus the lateness). So feel free to share what you're reading. I should be back for the weekend.

This is a quick thought dashed off to give you something to talk about, should you want.

As everyone here is well aware, one of the lines you don't cross at the GOS is the principle of electing more and better Democrats. Key word being Democrats. This is a site for electing Democrats. Not Greens. Not Libertarians. Very definitely NOT Republicans. Democrats. The rule is pretty firm, right?

Now, this makes sense when we consider the standard electoral situation in most cases. Democrat vs. Republican and sometimes a third party (usually on the left). Our system makes third party candidates into leeches, which sucks, but that's how it works. So the rule of electing Democrats makes sense in that context. We stick together so we make sure we're defeating Republicans. I can get behind that.

But what if the Democrat is the third party candidate? Let's say a Democrat decides to enter a race against Bernie Sanders and some Republican. Now, as you know, Bernie may caucus with Dems, but he's made it very plain that he's no Democrat. Even so, he has broad support within the progressive community, and a large portion of this site. (Or maybe I've misread things? Feel free to correct me, as always.)

Who would you vote for? What if you knew yours was the deciding vote? If you knew it wasn't the deciding vote? Would you volunteer for the one you vote for? Would you advocate for them on Daily Kos? What other questions does this bring up? Feel free to make all kinds of assumptions about which office they're running for.

Reminders:
1. Site rules are very clear. Daily Kos is about electing more and better Democrats. Not candidates from any other party. Democrats.

2. Bernie Sanders: Not a Democrat.

Okay, so maybe not the best conversation starter, but hopefully it'll give you something to think about.

Gabriel D :: A Perfect Conversation: More and Better

A Perfect Conversation is a group for republishing diaries that:
A) Challenge the DK conventional wisdom.
B) Provide information which may lead to new ideas.
or
C) Push for action that is innovative or not just playing defense.
The point is not to agree (or disagree) with these diaries. It's about challenging ourselves to rethink our political philosophies, activities, and issue positions.

I've been out, so nothing Republished or Recommended today. :(

Chapter 3

Edit: Fixed a formatting error on my part.

Tags: A Perfect Conversation, Daily Kos, meta, (All Tags)

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A Perfect Conversation: More and Better | 4 comments

Mojo donations welcome here. (15.00 / 3)

I'm trying not to miss a day publishing these diaries.

by: Gabriel D @ Fri Apr 15, 2011 at 05:02:39 AM UTC

I don't know how you do it every day (13.67 / 3)

I do an Open Thread here once a week, and if I have a good topic (or think I do), I do another diary in that particular week. If it's two within seven days, I metaphorically pat myself on the back. One per day? Ouch.

Congratulations for attempting it, though. I bow to you, sir.

English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education - sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street.
E. B. White

by: Youffraita @ Fri Apr 15, 2011 at 06:45:22 AM UTC

I don't know, either. (15.00 / 1)

And I don't know how long I can keep it up. The one thing I have going for me is that the group's purpose is about republished diaries, so I have a technical out for writing off-topic if I want. ;) But for the most part, I always have an opinion or thought about something or other related to politics. So I should be able to keep it up for a while, at least.

And I just noticed--popping in here to check on things one last time before heading to bed--that I forgot to put A Perfect Conversation in the diary title. Fixing that now....

by: Gabriel D @ Fri Apr 15, 2011 at 07:03:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Okay...my last post on here disappeared for no fucking reason, so I'll do it the fucking hell over. (15.00 / 1)

Pardon my French, but it's annoying as all hell when that happens.

Here we go:

As somebody who was a Registered Democrat from the time I began voting almost 40 years ago and who had stuck faithfully with the Democratic tickets in the POTUS Election, I have not only voted the Democratic Ticket, but have also volunteered for such POTUS Candidates as George McGovern, Bill Clinton, Walter Mondale, Mike Dukakis, Al Gore and John Kerry, and have even attended rallies and/or bake sales and Move-On meetings and parties for some of these particular POTUS Candidates, most notably John Kerry, in 2004, only to have these Candidates lose the Elections bigtime, when election time came and the results rolled around.

I had voted for Barack Obama during the 2008 State Primary Election that year, but when I learned of his vote for the FISA and for continued funding for our war on Iraq, and his promises to ante up, escalate, expand and extend our war on Afghanistan, I immediately could sense what was coming from the distance and I decided that I could not (and would not), in good conscience, vote for the Obama/Biden ticket, let alone the McCain/Palin ticket. That decision on my part was re-inforced by Obama's taking the exact same positions as John McCain during the pre-POTUS Election Foreign Policy debate (when I promptly turned the TV Channel), and decided to write in my own POTUS Election ticket, for which I've had no regrets.

If a Third Party is an Independent or a Democratic candidate and they sound better than either the two major tickets for the POTUS Election, I will vote for this Third Party. If, on the other hand, none of them sound any good, I'll do what I did during the last POTUS Election and write in my own ticket. Write-ins are fairly common, you know, and they do get counted, at least here in the Bay State, and the city where I've resided for the past 23 years.

To quote the late Socialist, Eugene Debs:

'I'd rather vote my conscience and vote for someone who can't win than to vote for someone who can win and will betray me."

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

by: mplo @ Fri Apr 15, 2011 at 14:37:55 PM UTC

A Perfect Conversation: More and Better | 4 comments

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