My life my fortune and my sacred honor

[The Booman]

This got tedious very fast.

[Chris]

This got tedious very fast.

Arguing definitions generally does.

[The Booman]

Arguing definitions generally does.

The thing is whatever we were we stopped being a long time ago. That's really the issue. We lost our way.

[IMPress Polly]

Some folks may have become cynical about the ability of their representative to represent them under our system of Solon votes for sale.
My representative is pramila jaypal. While she take some money from big donors her vote does not seem to be unduly affected by them. I am very happy with my representation in Congress.
Democracy!

Welcome to the forums! Your Rep is the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus? Good to have a proper progressive around. You might be the only one here at this point. For my part, I count myself a democratic socialist and the forum's principal feminazi (and am the only non-heterosexual contributor left), though some of my social views (e.g. crime, border policy, gender ID stuff) skew a bit right-of-center these days. Nice to meet you, especially as someone else who's interested in getting money out of politics!

Unlike others, I won't parse words around what democracy means since I know what you mean by it. This is a pretty elitist (and heavily right-skewing) crowd that way and I apologize on their behalf for this asinine reception you've gotten. We NEED you to stay, so please do, I'm begging you, if only for the sake of this place's opinion range!

[Peter1469]

Welcome to the forums! Your Rep is the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus? Good to have a proper progressive around. You might be the only one here at this point. For my part, I count myself a democratic socialist and the forum's principal feminazi (and am the only non-heterosexual contributor left), though some of my social views (e.g. crime, border policy, gender ID stuff) skew a bit right-of-center these days. Nice to meet you, especially as someone else who's interested in getting money out of politics!

Unlike others, I won't parse words around what democracy means since I know what you mean by it. This is a pretty elitist (and heavily right-skewing) crowd that way and I apologize on their behalf for this asinine reception you've gotten. We NEED you to stay, so please do, I'm begging you, if only for the sake of this place's opinion range!

If the boot fits, I wear it.

[Chris]

Welcome to the forums! Your Rep is the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus? Good to have a proper progressive around. You might be the only one here at this point. For my part, I count myself a democratic socialist and the forum's principal feminazi (and am the only non-heterosexual contributor left), though some of my social views (e.g. crime, border policy, gender ID stuff) skew a bit right-of-center these days. Nice to meet you, especially as someone else who's interested in getting money out of politics!

Unlike others, I won't parse words around what democracy means since I know what you mean by it. This is a pretty elitist (and heavily right-skewing) crowd that way and I apologize on their behalf for this asinine reception you've gotten. We NEED you to stay, so please do, I'm begging you, if only for the sake of this place's opinion range!

Still, the main difference between a democracy and a republic is a constitution that limits what the government can do and that's an important distinction lost in declaring the US a democracy.

[slideman]

Welcome to the forums! Your Rep is the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus? Good to have a proper progressive around. You might be the only one here at this point. For my part, I count myself a democratic socialist and the forum's principal feminazi (and am the only non-heterosexual contributor left), though some of my social views (e.g. crime, border policy, gender ID stuff) skew a bit right-of-center these days. Nice to meet you, especially as someone else who's interested in getting money out of politics!

Unlike others, I won't parse words around what democracy means since I know what you mean by it. This is a pretty elitist (and heavily right-skewing) crowd that way and I apologize on their behalf for this asinine reception you've gotten. We NEED you to stay, so please do, I'm begging you, if only for the sake of this place's opinion range!

Thank you

[Chris]

The question to be raised here for progressives pledging "My life my fortune and my sacred honor In defense of democracy" is what exactly are you pledging to defend? Progressivism is reform and change so you're not defending what is but some unknowable future. Sure you can say you defend equality but that's an abstract and infinite never-reached goal. Sure you can say liberty in the spirit of Rousseau to free the individual from the chains of society but what does that leave but atomized man in the chains of the State?

[carolina73]

Whatever you want to call us, almost 40% of the country wants a divorce and growing. Irreconcilable differences.
Returning to the original Constitution and returning the rights to the states would help heal that wound. Then we can shrink the Federal Government back to what the Constitution designed ti to do.
Leftists on the West Coast can go back to having sex with animals and Alabama can have mandatory daily Christian church service but most of us will live in states that fit us.
The only one that will be upset are those that want to steal other peoples money to fund their social programs. Each state will have to fund their own.

[Standing Wolf]

This got tedious very fast.

It usually begins, as it did this time, with someone assuming that the one speaking/writing is ignorant about something and needs to be "educated". Had one of the forum's members who was known to be a self-identified conservative posted the identical OP, the comment would never have been made and the thread would have, at least for a little while, remained on the rails.