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swdowning said 12/04, 12:56 AM
Perhaps the most noble concept to come down the political pike in the last century was that of tolerance, and it was advanced by the Democrat Party. When tolerance animated the policy proposals of the Democrats, the very idea percolated into the national debate, and eventually found a fairly great degree of acceptance.

Then, about 25 years ago, things changed. The vilification of Ronald Reagan and, by extension, those whom he nominated to high office (Bork, et al.), and, by association, anyone who identified himself as a conservative, resonated with the mainstream media and was duly echoed under the aegis of unbiased reportage.

Tolerance was still all well and good, said the Dems, just so long as you agree with us.

Today, the Democrat Party - particularly the leftist fringe (moveon.org, dailykos, etc.) - has abrogated any claim to tolerance. With that abrogation, it has also ceded the moral authority that enables the retention of power.

The leftist fringe of the Democrat Party is increasingly effective in calling the tune to which otherwise moderate Democrat candidates must dance.

This leftist intolerance will reap a bitter harvest.

swdowning said 12/23, 07:21 PM
The risks faced by the Democrat Party are greater, I think, than can be discerned on the basis of one year's election results.

There is conflict between the Democratic old guard and the "New Left." The old guard are willing to tolerate those who disagree with them; the New Left aren't. The New Left vilifies all who are conservative, and they increasingly call the tune. This is one of the distinctions between liberals and conservatives today. Conservatives regard liberals as "misguided"; liberals regard conservatives as "evil."

You say that the American people are "responding with blind rage against the Republicans." I question that claim, and ask you to support it. It sounds like liberal wishful thinking to me.

My point depends on more than one specific issue or election cycle; it addresses the long-term ramifications of the left abandoning the best and most animating concept we've recently seen: tolerance. I submit that the Democrats did consistently better when they embraced that concept. And have done worse since they stopped being tolerant.

You confirme suspicion that Democrats have turned tolerance into a political ploy by telling us that "they keep it for the best time."

swdowning said 12/27, 02:33 AM
First, which groups that wield significant power in the Democrat Party do you see as being or appearing to be tolerant? I think they've all been shouted down by the leftists (dailykos, moveon, etc.).
Second, the American people have not moved away from conservatism. Yes, they voted for change in '06, but that's best seen as a vote of dissatisfaction with how the war was then being managed (rather than as a statement that the war itself was wrong), as well as a message by true conservatives that GWB's overspending had gone afoul of conservative principles. As evidence, the new Congress has a much lower approval rating than does GWB.
My final point is that the hypocrisy of the Democrat Party, exemplified by its selective tolerance, will eventually alienate even the moderate voters under their tent, and usher in another shift to the right.
I don't expect that in the coming election cycle, but I have faith in the American voter, who has historically held hypocrisy in contempt.
Leftist hate has pervaded the Democrat Party, and we are a better people than to be swayed by the politics of poison.
The Democrats' job would be easier if they were truly tolerant.