THIS IS NOT ->Delawareliberal

I like how you've framed this question Jason.

I'm not sure if the foregoing ramble is completely on point. But maybe it's instructive to look at why, as you put it, folks with somewhat extreme conservative views are in the driver's seat.

Broad brush strokes here, but look at two historical factors. One is the well funded, well organized network of media and think tanks developed by conservatives in the past few decades. These efforts were launched and nurtured by conservatives whose ideological (and to me mostly disagreeable) viewpoints were hardened by decades of frustration.

The other big factor is liberalism itself, the cause of the above cited frustration. When liberals were more in the driver's seat the more extreme (utopian) liberal ideals had some pretty unhealthy effects. E.g,

- the boundless liberal confidence in the ability of government to engineer positive social outcomes lead to failure as often as success and to a bloated unnaccountable federal beauracracy.
- The bedrock liberal belief that human behavior is determined by external social forces lead to a worship of victimhood and a culture of entitlement and irreponsibility.

Maybe the democratic party needs it's idealists, but I think we've already paid heavily for the ideological war between 'utopians' and 'dystopians' It seems to me that both parties need some strong voices who are willing to distance themselves from their parties' extreme wings. I'm not saying they should to this out of political expediency (it is NOT always expedient). I believe that from the standpoint of maintaining a reasonably prosperous, reasonably just society the exreme views just don't work.
 

Great comments. I'd quibble about the bedrock liberal beilief and votimhood, but your larger point has merit.

As I thought about this issue last night I wondered if my desire to bring the liberal extremists back to the Democratic party wasn't somewhat utilitarian.

I other words, the party needs them as a a kind of ideological anchor - and if so, no wonder thay don't want any part of it. Who want's to be cast in that role.
 

I don't have a dog in this fight but IMNHO, third parties have a much greater chance at the local level than they do at the national level. You are more likely to elect a green mayor or even governor than you are US Senator. A third party candidate for President is a pipe dream.
 

Jason, Is it better to vote for a crooked, conservative Democrat than a honest, progressive Republican?
 

is it better to live under a bridge or in a cave, troll?
 

"I other words, the party needs them as a a kind of ideological anchor"

"Anchor" is a good metaphor.

I guess I wanted to make a couple of points and I'm not sure I pulled it off. First, the political zietgiest has shifted pretty far to the right (a fitful shift over 25 years or so), making at least some truly liberal views a short term political liability for a party that's concerned with regaining power.

In fact some of my prior comments seem pretty irrelavent from the purely political side. Most national dems do not recently pander much to liberal constituencies. Unfortunately, a case could be made that they have spent lots of energy in recent years pandering to the conservative wing of the republican party (give me a better definition of fecklessness).

But another angle is that the truly successful democrats (not just politically successful, but successful in terms of the legacy of their statecraft), tend to keep the more ideological liberal wing of the party at arm's length. E.g.

-Truman proved himself to be a staunch cold warrior although at the time extablishment liberals were still tending to overlook the dreadful realities of Stalinist Russia.

-JFK was also a fierce cold warrior. And he lowered taxes and proved himself, in many ways, a social moderate.

-Clinton held the line on spending and enacted welfare reform, much to the outrage of many liberals. He also tried to take a middle way on health care (not successful on that one - but not a bad try).
 

he truly successful democrats...tend to keep the more ideological liberal wing of the party at arm's length

Which arguably gave rise to Nader's run in 2000.
 

I'm impressed with your site, very nice graphics!
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