Recently, some of my fellow bloggers, impatient with the pace of progress, have labeled some of our Blue Dogs as "bad Democrat" or "not a real Democrat". In particular, the reluctance to support the particular variety of health care legislation is a litmus test for to be a true Democrat. This diary questions what makes a true Democrat, and poses a poll for calibration.
We Democrats are a varied lot. And I am a Democrat of many years, having always in my life voted the straight Democratic ticket, except for one particular occasion back in the 1980s when I voted for a particular district judge. (Here in Texas, most judges are elected.) In that one instance in the 1980's, when I cast that single vote for the unopposed Republican incumbent, I personally knew the man to be of the highest ethics, and because he was unopposed, I voted for him. Other than that vote, my conscience is clear, and no other Republican votes cloud my conscience. Yet I worry based on some of my fellow bloggers here, if I am a "true Democrat".
I hear some of my fellow Democrats RAIL and WHINE about how some Democrats don't support their particular version of health care reform. At the risk of insult, some of these bloggers sound like REPUBLICANS, with their complaints about people "not being true Americans". This is bit tiresome to me. Even so, sometimes I fear that history might repeat itself again. Some of you may remember how we felt in January of 1995 when the dreaded Newt Gingrich took over as Speaker from the amiable and kind Speaker Tom Foley. If you are too young to remember that, close your eyes and for a moment contemplate Speaker Boehner, the (R) wing-nut from Ohio. And imagine for a moment how you will feel when you see the news reports of Speaker Pelosi moving out of the Speaker's offices, to the offices of the Minority Leader? Think for a moment, kind friends, before you decide to eat our young.
I remain worried that I will not pass the litmus test of my peers, despite my record. To help calibrate my sense of what is a true Democrat, I would ask you to participate in a poll. Since we judge a tree by its fruit, what is the most important vote of the session that validates that a Democratic congressman is indeed a true Democrat?