Most of us here are Democrats.
And even if some here are not registered Democrats, most assuredly they are independent liberals and/or progressives who share the common policies priorities, goals and interests of the Democratic Party, and tend to, more often than not, vote for Democratic candidates.
Sure, we all have frustrations and disagreements with individual Democratic officials or with our party leadership, but in the end, we are all here to either elect Democrats, especially better and more progressive and aggressive Democrats who are willing to stand up for what is right and willing to fight rather than capitulate, or to reform the Democratic Party to make it more responsive to our issues and concerns.
Some of us here have single issues that are so important to them that any disagreement with those issues is a sin that cannot be overlooked or forgiven.
Others are more pragmatic and practical and are mostly in agreement with the core principles of the Democratic party.
Indeed, the issues that unite us all are vast.
We favor raising the minimum wage so people can actually live above the poverty line while on it.
We oppose tax breaks and giveaways to oil companies, for we favor developing alternative forms of energy other than oil or coal that are cleaner and renewable.
We believe in a balanced and fair budget that protects the social safety net and invests in our future, rather than a budget that gives away money to the rich who do not need it, and wastes untold billions in no bid contracts to Halliburton. We believe in being fiscally responsible with the people's money and we believe the best way to spend the people's money is to provide for all the people.
We believe in universal, affordable, preventive and quality health care.
We believe in protecting the environment and regulating and punishing those that pollute. We believe protecting the environment is tied to pursuing alternative energy sources, which in turn will lead to a stronger economy, new and better jobs, increased national security, a clean environment, and a better quality of life health wise for all our citizens.
We believe that every American child should receive the best education possible, and that every American child should have the right to go to college. We want college education to be affordable to all, for education is the silver bullet that solves most of society's other problems.
We want fair trade, that increases the marketplace for American goods abroad but protects American workers at home.
We believe in a progressive tax code where everyone pays their fair share, instead of having the tax burden fall disproportionately on the poor and the middle class.
We hate discrimination, inequality and intolerance. We support equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of sex, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, creed, or national origin.
We believe that same sex couples should have the same rights under the law as heterosexual couples enjoy. Some of us think civil unions are the best way to ensure that goal, and others think that we must push for full legalized gay marriage. In the end, we agree that homosexuals should not be denied equal rights just because they are in love.
We believe in reproductive choice. While some here may be anti-abortion, the vast majority of us believe that we should protect a woman's right to choose an abortion, while at the same time, through education, birth control and adoption, we reduce the need for and incidence of abortions.
We believe the government should fund stem cell research as it provides the chance to save lives and reduce human suffering.
We believe in a strong, yet real national security. We actually want to find and bring to justice those responsible for attacks on America, rather than invading countries that did not attacks us.
We oppose the Iraq War because it was unnecessary, illegal and immoral.
We oppose the doctrine of unilateralism, which dictates that the United States should use military force without any assistance from other nations whenever it believes there is a threat to its security or welfare. We believe the United States should act in the international arena in concert with strong alliances and broad international support.
We oppose the use of torture in all its forms. Torture is inhumane, decreases the United States' moral standing in the world, and produces questionable results.
We believe that individuals should have a right to privacy, and generally supports laws which place restrictions on law-enforcement and intelligence agency monitoring of U.S. citizens so as to respect our Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
We believe in the First Amendment. Everyone has the right to free speech, and everyone has the right to practice a religion if they choose to, but our government has no right to favor one religion over any other, and indeed it has no right to endorse religion in general.
We believe in public financing of our elections and campaigns so as to reduce the influence of corporations and lobbyists.
We believe in some reasonable gun control measures as a way to reduce crime, while at the same time respecting the Second Amendment.
And I could go on and on.
The reason we come here to Daily Kos is because we all basically agree on the fundamental principles above, and we are interested in talking about those issues and taking action to advance those causes, or to fight against those who would do harm to these principles, namely the Republicans and conservatives. We may fight over the nuances and the details, and we may fight over the actual issues from time to time, and we may fight over the best tactics used in advancing or defending our goals (because if we all agreed on everything all the time we would be Republicans), but in the end, there is more that unites us than divides us.
Right now, because we Democrats and Democratic leaning independents, liberals and progressives are engaged in choosing the Democratic Party's nominee for President, we appear more divided than ever. That is only because right now, in the midst of the South Carolina primary and with Super Tuesday just over the horizon, the stakes are high. We are, if nothing else, a passionate bunch of people who share politics and government as an interest. So it is understandable if disagreements among us as to who will best represent our interests as our nominee in the fall reach uncivil and indeed hostile levels.
What is not understandable, nor even permissible, is to allow our disagreements in this primary to divide what is not dividable. Whether our nominee is Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama, or John Edwards, the issues upon which we agree will not change. And I hate to break it to you, but each of our prospective nominees actually share that agreement on the basic issues that unite us as Democrats.
Yes, its true.
Clinton, Obama and Edwards all believe in those same issues I listed above.
Our disagreements with each of the candidates come from personality differences and some disagreement over nuances, details, and tactics, not from the major substantive issues that unite us.
So as our fellow Democrats take their respective turns in choosing our nominee, please remember that we are united, not divided. And if your candidate does not become our nominee, while his or her campaign for the Presidency may end, our agreement on the issues of the day lives on.