The only reason I am is that the alternatives (other than being an independent, which means I can't vote in the primaries in my state) are far worse.
If you remember the Smothers Brothers, you remember the regular feature, Teatime with Goldie. Ahh...the good old days of the 60s. A moderate should become a Democrat if he wants to stop playing Republican anecdotal games of outrage and work on constructively improving life for most people. There are quite different reasons for why a liberal should be a Democrat, not a Republican, but I don't think that applies to you, so I won't get into the morality of compassion and the inefficiency of a class/incentive system based upon punishment and meting out suffering. As for abortion, many Democrats, elected ones too, dislike abortion. That issue shouldn't stop anyone from defecting from the Republicans. Congressman Stupak had a dozen Democratic congressmen who argued that the health care legislation indirectly allowed abortion funding. Obama promised them that no change will be inserted in the final compromise. There are many Democrats who dislike abortion. As for spending, well, just compare presidents beginning with Carter. Democrats have averaged smaller surpluses. It's bad right now, because Obama's financial problems started in the Bush years.
The Democratic party is responsible for most of the societal progress we have seen this century, that's why. Democrats led the country through WWI, and passed the first labor and child welfare laws. The Democratic Party saved the country from the Great Depression, and in the process created Social Security. The minimum wage is due to Democrats. The Democratic party led the country through WW II. The Democratic Party was responsible for rebuilding and creating stability in Europe after the war - The Marshall Plan. NATO was created under Democrats. A Democrat saved the world from WW III - JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Jim Crow laws were outlawed because of Democrats - The Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. Democrats were in charge and allocated the resources that put a man on the moon. Peace between Israel and Egypt came about under the Democrats and Jimmy Carter. Peace in Northern Ireland was assisted by Bill Clinton. The Family and Medical Leave Act is due to Democrats. Welfare reform came about under the Democrats. The Democrats left the country with a SURPLUS budget in 2000. The first black president is a Democrat. Democrats lifted the ban on stem cell research. Democrats believe there is a strong right to privacy in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic Party. I think those are some pretty good reasons.
reason one- if you become a Democrat the Decemberists will play at your BBQs seriously I don't support either party. Their talking points are mostly just lip service as they both serve the same corporations through lobbyist cash. I wish either was fiscally conservative but at least the Dems are somewhat socially liberal. I support specific candidates and will occasionally register Dem or Republican when their is something I want to vote on in the primaries. STOMP
Background: Stomp and I just finished a knockdown, drag it out battle over whether Pritchard would hire McHale as Coach. As Pritchard's loyal board defender, I said he never would, while Stomp, nefariously usurping our boy wonder, insisted that of course KP would hire McHale. Chagrined, I felt forced to give in the stronger force and I finally agreed with Stomp, although I am secretly resentful that I surrendered to the brute. In this thread, I wondered whether Stomp is PapaG, and Barfo, deeply guilt-ridden, let it slip that he is one of those two, or maybe both, depending upon how one interprets his ambiguous admission. Or he could have been owning up to not knowing whether Stomp is PapaG. (Note the false harmony in "Not as far as I know," a phrase which observers of body language know to be a leading indicator of mixed feelings.) Like a Picasso, the interpretation depends upon how far away one stands and from what angle. As the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states, the position of an electron is never fixed except while observed. Therefore, it cannot be known what Barfo meant.
