This was posted by local activist in Madison, WI on a progressive discussion group. I thought it worthy of sharing:
As individuals we can only do so much at a time, we all have our own priority issues, and what I hear here is an expressed desire to have the full weight of the Democratic Party focused in on what each one of us wants in exchange for our loyalty, whether it’s pushing impeachment, fully finding public education, universal health care, women’s rights, LGBT rights, environmental sustainability, clean energy, lower profits for oil companies, ending the war, getting Democrats elected, etc., etc..
If this is the case, if anyone thinks the Democratic Party – whatever THAT is – is going to focus in on your pet projects and even come close to producing perceptible results somewhere in the range of minimally acceptable sometime while you’re still alive to so much as taste a single fruit, then expect to be disappointed.
And if you require flawless gratification supplied by your Party in order to remain therein invested, all while patching together a reasonably fulfilling life on the side, I recommend jumping ship while your still young.
If on the other hand, you conceive of yourself as well worth your salt as a thinker as much as a doer, a good leader as much as a good follower, and you would like to have on your pet issue action team a dandy mechanism for amplifying what limited time and voice you currently have, the Democratic Party is such a mechanism.
I work now on impeachment because I think it’s the biggest bang I can get for my buck. I’m very aware there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell it’s going to happen but I think it’s the best issue out there to build momentum in time for the next election cycle toward getting people to realize the Republican world view is the wrong direction we ought to be heading enough to drag themselves out to the polls and vote the bums out.
I view the Democratic Party merely as the best vehicle still available to virtually anyone by which this country’s political center nudges itself to the left. And right now we’re the only team on the field scrambling for that midfield fumble.
The last thing we need is a block in the back by those who want and believe in exactly the same things us. Let’s first save the Republic from theocracy – if that means calling yourself an unapologetic Democrat, at least for the time being – and then we can talk about working toward a more representative form of government, where peoples’ votes are counted and a multitude of political parties have a respected seat at the table.