Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> On Jan 20, 2010, at 6:46 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
>
> > The thought that liberals cannot stand is that the actions of the DP &
> > its leadership really represent what the party fundmentally stands
> > for.
>
> I prefer my formulation: the Dems are a party of capital that has to
> pretend for electoral reasons that it's not. So it makes "progressive"
> noises sometimes to excite the base, but when in power acts to please
> its funders.
I would agree with that description of the Democratic Party, but what I am after is to account for the teDPnacity with which for a century or more liberals and even radicals have held on to the faith that the DP's "progressive noises" reflect in some way the reality of the party. After all, one must be committed to a purpose before one can "sell out."
Carrol