I must say as a former Democrat of 40 years and still a true Democrat at heart I cringe at what the so called democratic(note small d is on purpose) party has become. This is why you see so many former Democrats and some who still think there is hope for it distance themselves from it.
It makes me sick to hear these interlopers, leftist, anti-American, anti-religion, anti-capitalist, socalists et al hide behind the democratic title. As one can easily note they have far more in common with dictators and tyrants than with true Democrats. You will believe as I say or I will destroy you as the KOSputin crowd so amply illustrates. You will not stray one bit from what the party says are party's tenets. Current democrats are not very democratic.
You either follow in lock step or you are out of the party. At least the GOP is constantly fighting with each other. That is why we have the RINOs et al.
People I respected as a young man like "Scoop Jackson, Sam Nunn, Zell Miller et al would no longer feel at home in the small "d" democratic party. One only has to ask Joe Lieberman or Ed Koch.
Dennis | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 9:04 am | #

Clinton famously quipped that his policy for abortion was that it be "safe, legal and rare" yet all he did in office - and all the DNC did in the 1990's was to guarantee it's legality, not its safety or rarity...indeed they fought and continue to fight tooth and nail to make it NOT RARE at all. And every attempt to regulate clinics, assure doctor's credentials and procedures are safe are also resisted.

Democrats proclaim solidarity with "the poor" - only they fought against welfare reform, fight against allowing poor children to migrate to charter or private schools, and remove incentives for private enterprise to grow *(via higher taxes) that is the sole solution to 'poverty'.

In short, they speak to nice sounding ideals but their actions point to the opposite.

They proclaim their pacifism....for others, but don't practice what they preach: Washington DC residents are absolutely forbidden to own firearms, but the Democratic politicians have private and public ARMED security details guarding them 24/7. What's good for everyone else is apparently not good enough for them.

They claim it has been Bush who has "polarized politics". If so what are we to make of their mantra-like paranoia that projects all blame for EVERY problem on Bush or Karl Rove - from hurricanes to earthquakes to the personal foibles of low level government employees, to accidents and acts of foreign nations? When or how has he reciprocated?

Their prescription for saving their own socialist domestic spending programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? Hiking the tax rates on "the rich". Not reducing spending, just redistributing wealth from those who create it to those who aren't creating it. Somehow this is considered "fair".
John | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 9:38 am | #

Connecticut politics are strange; but then I've lived and voted in so many states that I can't tell which place is crazier than the other. Six years ago, Joe Lieberman ran simultaneously as Al Gore's VP, and re-election to the Senate. His opponent, former Waterbury Mayor Giordano, is now in jail for having sex with minors. Former Governor Rowland went to jail for taking bribes from contractors. I guess I'll vote for the guy that is most likely to finish their term of office, without going to the pokey!
Tom TB | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 10:42 am | #

Dennis said " You will believe as I say or I will destroy you as the KOSputin crowd so amply illustrates."

Ditto the Islamofacists.

Birds of a feather....
The Dude | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 12:24 pm | #

Hey Dennis,

Q: What's the difference between the Democrats (TM) and the old Communists?

A: You mean there's a difference?
Headless Unicorn Guy | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 1:27 pm | #

The Dude: I'm pretty relaxed about the tone of comments on the Doc's thread. But your equating Islamofascists with leftist bloggers is unacceptable. No Kos blogger is strapping on bombs and blowing up innocents or using children as shields during battle or flying planes into buildings. I'm sure you don't intend to, but by conflating the two, you legitimize what the Islamic thugs are doing.
Athenawise | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 1:51 pm | #

Atenawise:

Wishing death or worse on an elected offical, FOX newscaster, or similar is pretty bad. I'd say that ilk (KOS bloggers, etc) have descended well past the midpoint towards "Islamofascist-esque" views on their political opposition.
Dave | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 4:03 pm | #

Yet we must make distinctions, as Athenawise points out. If the worst of the Kossacks would likely have been a terrorist if born into different circumstances, that does not make leftists, even fevered leftists, the equivalent of jihadists.
Assistant Village Idiot | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 4:19 pm | #

Athenawise,

Thanks for the comment. Always appreciate constructive critizism.

I believe you took the word "destroy" out of context in the sentence you will do as we say or we will destroy you. By doing so it's easy to see how you came to your conclusions. I was refering to their shared ideologies that you cannot deny are easily equated, as the good Doc points out on countless occasions. I assure you, I would never purposefully accuse any lefty fever swamping nut-case of actually donning a strap-on (bomb, that is) and heading to the nearest pizza parlor or anything else as darkly heinous, God no. The lefties may be one brick shy of a load, but they certainly are not homicidal maniacs. I further assure you that my "tone" was meant only as snarky.

I regret not making a clear(er) distinction.

Thanks again,

Kenn

AKA
The Dude | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 6:28 pm | #

"The victory of God's soldiers can only be achieved by God's help. "

You could say that. If America mobilizes again, only God could save your incompetent asses.
Aaron | Email | Homepage | 08.23.06 - 9:20 pm | #

Keeping in mind that I'm a knuckledragger, born and bred, I ask y'all smart folk input on this.

Why am I wrong when I am unable to draw any distiction between those that want me dead, those that support them, make excuses for them, finance them, parade in the streets in sympathy with them, attempt to justify their actions or spend energy trying to convince me they are more worthy of life than those I love or myself?
Grimmy | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 5:04 am | #

Good question Grimmy.

Anyone? Athenawise?
The Dude | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 12:33 pm | #

Sorry. I came back to this just now. Grimmy, if you find yourself unable to draw distinctions, then I would say it's OK to kill jihadists and those who "make excuses for them" and "parade in the streets in sympathy with them" and "attempt to justify their actions or spend energy trying to convince me they are more worthy of life than those I love or myself ..."

Is this is an accurate description of your thinking?
Athenawise | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 5:20 pm | #

The point I am trying to make is this:

There's a serious conceptual disfunction in seeing the islamofascists as the primary threat to our continued existance as a people, independant nation, self defined culture or society.

The very best the islamists can hope for in their declaired war against us is to eventually push us into deciding to totally iradicate them.

Those that pose the true and real threat to our continuance as a society or culture or self governing peoples are those on our domestic front that work to reduce, deminish or remove our collective will to fight against the foriegn enemy.

This is proven.

I offer our retreat from Vietnam and all that depends from that as proof.

Now, considering what's at stake in this fight. then yes Athenawise. But it is not that I am unable to differentiate, it is that I am unwilling to be inculcated into that cult of cowardice that allows for such distinctions to be made.
Grimmy | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 6:20 pm | #

> I must say as a former Democrat of 40 years

Dennis, contrast what the GOP actively supports these days (as opposed to things they give substantial lip service to, like R2L*) with what the Dems stood for 40 years ago.

Today's GOP would be quite at home with the likes of Kennedy, Johnson, and Humphries.

You need to become a Republican.

*(Personally, I don't support it at all, but I am aware of how much they really attempt to get policies in place to push it -- about as much as they are trying to cut the budget and reform Social Security)
Oh Bloody Hell | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 11:04 pm | #

> that does not make leftists, even fevered leftists, the equivalent of jihadists.

No, but they do strongly resemble a support structure for same...

In the end, is someone who pays for, encourages, and provides assistance to a terrorist all that much better than a terrorist?
Oh Bloody Hell | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 11:07 pm | #

> hy am I wrong when I am unable to draw any distiction between those that want me dead....

You are marginally wrong only in that the one enables the other, but is not interchangeable. Most of the tie-dye-wearing Left would shit their torn, faded jeans if they were told to strap on a bomb and "get out there!" The typical bomber, of course, would sneer with disdain at the surrounding people who so readily "support" him.

On some levels, the suicide jihadist is more worthy of respect. At least they are willing to put their lives on the line, even if it's wrong-headed to start. The typical Lefty is a bed-wetting pansy hiding from reality behind a big fantasy. (insert high voltage sneer as needed).
Oh Bloody Hell | Email | Homepage | 08.24.06 - 11:23 pm | #

Oh Bloody Hell:
"hy am I wrong when I am unable to draw any distiction between those that want me dead....

You are marginally wrong only in that the one enables the other, but is not interchangeable."


I can accept that as accurate and true. I will simply count myself fortunate that I have yet to believe myself in a "good to go" mode as permitted to act by the herd I feel obligated to protect.
I will do this with the understanding from working within communities subject to hostility that the "margin" you speak of will have changed as part of the events that cause the permission to act to be granted.

Things only go from bad to worse, until suddenly, they're good or we are gone.
Grimmy | Email | Homepage | 08.25.06 - 12:55 am | #

After further thinking on the issue, I recent my agreement to your point.

I believe that those who want to give the feckless and perfidious amongst us a pass are no more aware of reality than those that honestly considered the arab no more than an occasional irritant 10 years ago.

I believe this unwillingness is driven either by incompetence, cowardice or compromise.
Grimmy | Email | Homepage | 08.26.06 - 6:20 am | #

Was supposed to say , I rescind, not recent.

As a final offering on this particular discussion, I offer this:

[QUOTE]A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. [/QUOTE] —Marcus Tullius Cicero
Grimmy | Email | Homepage | 08.28.06 - 7:40 pm | #