On Wed, 20 Jan 2010, Doug Henwood wrote:
>> 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.
>
> They want to believe. Giving up that belief would require admitting too
> much about the nature of reality and the forces stacked against them/us.
That's one way to put it. Another way to put it -- the way they put it -- is that there is nothing to the left of the Democratic party that can piss out a candle nor will there be in the next five years, which is their action time frame. And the odds are overwhelming that that's true.
So when they say they have to support the Dems because there is no other choice they're right -- unless you believe that it is possible to create something that doesn't now exist. Of course that belief defines pretty much everyone on this list -- it's a crucial part of what defines being "left." But we haven't got much recent evidence to show it's true. Mostly we've just got memories of the past and soft analogies.
Michael