>Since people have asked about the Democrats, let me raise question of my own:
>why so many good people lost their principles soon as they rise within the
>Democratic party? Is there a black hole of principles at the center of the
>party?
I suspect the process runs something like this. You enter the party with a principled desire to change from within. You're soon faced with some choice - sell out a constituency or betray a principle in order to cut a deal or advance your career. You rationalize the sellout/betrayal by saying it's a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain. Soon you find yourself doing that every day. You end up hating yourself or hating your former constituency or both. No doubt the same thing happens in organized labor.
Someone told me recently about having met Bill Clinton while he was still at the Yale Law School. Clinton reflected on the process of selling out - he said you make some compromise, feel bad about it, and look to random sex to distract your conscience. Amazing how prescient he was about his own career.
Doug