"This plays right into the hands of the Republicans."
"Our only goal is to elect a Democrat into the White House in 2008. Nothing should distract from that."
These the main sound bites from Senator Art Torres at the California Democratic Party meetings this weekend.
They should be the talking points of the grassroots Democrats whose anti-torture platform was shot down yesterday.
The actions of Torres, committee chair John Hanna, and others in the California Democratic Party leadership played right into the hands of the Republicans. The core principles of the Democratic Party - freedom and upholding the constitution - were blatantly violated by one of our members, Senator Dianne Feinstein. The message our resolution sent was simply that we expect better from our Senator, because nothing distracts more from electing a Democrat to the White House in 2008 than weak-kneed Democrats in Congress who betray even the most basic Democratic principles.
Torres and Hanna's strong-armed tactics played right into the hands of the Republicans. They have sent the wrong message to California, and the wrong message to America.
There's a reason that Congress has approval ratings even lower than Bush's. It's simple: too many Democrats aren't standing up to fight for our principles. When it comes to issues of grave importance like war and torture, the California Democratic Party jus cannot be silent.
That's why this movement is far from over. The CDP was shaken this weekend by the power of our coalition. We'll continue to press for our party to stand and defend its core principles. And we'll win, even if it takes some time.
The message that the coalition of grassroots Democrats wanted to send from the Anaheim meetings is that the California Democratic Party does not stand with President Bush. The California Democratic Party stands for freedom from torture. The California Democratic Party will not be silent when one of our members betrays our simplest, most basic principles.
Instead, the message sent by Torres and others was: "The California Democratic Party sometimes supports Bush policy."
Despite Torres and Hanna playing right into the hands of the Republicans this weekend, in the end, they're just two people. The real power lies with us - the grassroots. We're going to go on and make sure that we elect a Democrat into the White House in 2008.
From The Courage Campaign