Which wing of the Democratic Party do you feel fits you the closest?

[Quixote1818]

For explanations of each see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factions_in_the_Democratic_Party_(United_States)

Note: You will have to cut and paste the link above. For some reason it's not linking right.




.

53 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	Centrist Wing
	2 (4%)
	Conservative wing
	0 (0%)
	Liberal wing
	3 (6%)
	Libertarian wing
	2 (4%)
	Progressive wing
	8 (15%)
	Social democratic and democratic socialist wings
	37 (70%)
	Other - Explain Below
	1 (2%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Algernon Moncrieff]

1. I personally think of myself as somewhere between Blue Dog & Centrist - However...

... I recognize two things that a lot of DUers don't like to hear.

1)The party will go nowhere trying to chase the center. The only way to succeed is to move further left - away from the center -- just as the Republicans found success moving further right of center.

2) The party has its share of deadwood that needs to be trimmed.

We need fresh faces and an approach that realizes the changing voting demographics, and that Baby Boomers are now no longer the biggest voting block.

[radical noodle]

3. Deadwood?

Are you suggesting that some Democrats be dumped?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

92. I'm suggesting primaries are part of the political ecological cycle

NE - 2 was a perfect example with former congressman Brad Ashford losing to Kara Eastman.

[radical noodle]

96. I agree with that

Primaries can shake things up.

[vlyons]

11. Baby boomers are dying off

I'm 71 and a baby boomer. Another friend of my youth just died off. I love seeing the young people finding their power and beginning to exert themselves. Just as my generation did in its youthful time. My only advice to young people is to read everything possible. Let your curiosity determine your path.

[FM123]

58. Yes!

'My only advice to young people is to read everything possible. Let your curiosity determine your path."

[RobinA]

88. Hey, I'm 60

and a Boomer, and I don't consider myself "dying off." What worries me is that I don't find most millennials I know to be all that curious. As a group, not talking individuals here.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

91. According to those who track such things, Millenials will be the biggest voting bloc

The boomers were the biggest bloc for a long time. So this midterm and 2020 will have a somewhat different dynamic.

[radical noodle]

2. I'm a centrist on a few things

but liberal or progressive on most.

[rusty quoin]

4. Libertarian to me seems like an anathema to the Democratic Party.

[tonyt53]

51. I think you are absolutely correct!

[RDANGELO]

5. I would categorize democratic socialist and progressive as pretty much the same thing.

[rusty quoin]

7. Me too. Liberals, progressives, and democratic socialists want the same things.

[jcgoldie]

6. I don't really understand the difference between "liberal" and "progressive"...

...outside that one was popular 25 years ago and the other now. The issues I don't think have changed much. It seems to me that republicans were successful in attaching negative connotations to being liberal and so democrats on the left started using a different word. Is there something substantial I am missing?

[rusty quoin]

9. Let me try. I was confused too. I read an article about a decade ago.

Liberals want to do the right thing no matter the cost. Progressives want to do the same, but work within the system, and make sure we can pay for it.

I don’t buy the argument to this day, but that’s what I got from it.

[betsuni]

20. But these days I often see liberals called the establishment, which means working within the

system and making sure policies are paid for. Progressives consider themselves outside the system and do not like it when asked how to pay for things or get enough votes for legislation.

[tonyt53]

54. YOUR definition is spot on.

[appalachiablue]

90. In the 1980s and 1990s Limbaugh demonized the term 'liberal'

so much that people started using 'progressive.'

Also the meaning of 'liberal' is different in the US than in Europe where it basically libertarian.

In economics, 'classic' and 'liberal' are quite different too.

[applegrove]

8. I am in canada. Our wings are to the left of yours.

[Hortensis]

69. Good offering of perspective. This poll seems to suggest

Canada would practically average conservative in comparison.

I'm a lifelong strong liberal and aligned Democrat to maximize my voting power. I've always supported various approaches to problems, capitalist, socialist and other, most often mongrel mixes, depending on which works best for which situation. No rigid ideologue here.

I've always liked Canada, been glad Canada's our neighbor, and like to think I'd fit in up there.

[applegrove]

93. Oh we have much in common with the left in the US. I'm just sad we elected

a right winger in Ontario who is undoing the cap and trade agreement we had with Quebec and California. So we are not perfect.

[Hortensis]

94. Democrats are America's big left party, Applegrove,

and we have many who believe very strongly in meeting the challenges of change through methods that work. Do not mistake groups that exist to oppose those in power with the doers who make progress happen. Not in Canada or the U.S.

[struggle4progress]

10. I'm a pragmatist. Centrism, to me, is simply the practical stance

that it is our responsibility to continually re-craft a political center and to build winning coalitions around it

But I do not regard the "center" as fixed: the demanding task, always at hand, is to help that "center" to evolve so that it becomes ever more realistic about both material possibilities and actual material limitations, while becoming more willing and able to serve real human needs. For me a "centrism" that merely seeks, at any moment, to hide safely in a "center" that purportedly balances already existing tendencies, without attempting to move forward by appropriate educational and organizing efforts, is amoral: our task is to see the world clearly to improve it

[NanceGreggs]

12. I'm just a Democrat.

I am a member of the party – the entire party, warts and all. I don’t belong to a “wing” of said party, nor do I belong to a niche, a subset, a certain group or a particular crowd.

I am wildly to the left on some issues; I am a centrist on others. And depending on the issue, I can land anywhere in between those two poles. I am not confined to one school of thought, any more than I am defined by categories that have little relevance to reality.

I am always a Democrat, although my reasons for being so may vary depending on the circumstances in which my party membership can best be utilized. At the present moment, standing UP for Democrats means shutting DOWN Republicans, and that is a means to an end. Right now, reminding Democrats that the alternative to our party is unconscionable is not hurray-for-us! hyperbole – it is a weapon as well as a battle cry.

At a time when divisiveness is tearing the nation apart, I am not about to be divided from my fellow Democrats by identifying with a “wing” of a party that has more reason to be united than ever before, and more of a righteous purpose in being so.

Either we’re together in our mission to defeat Republicans, or we’re not. And if we’re not, all the cutesy little labels we attach to ourselves – or that others choose to attach to us – are an exercise in mindless futility.

Are you a Democrat determined to defeat Republicans? If the answer is yes, 'nuf said - welcome aboard. Everything else is irrelevant.

[Sinistrous]

15. YES ! Of course !

Diversity of emphasis within unity of purpose.

So beautifully phrased.

Thank you Nance.

[Silver Gaia]

21. What she said. Period.

[ariadne0614]

29. Out of many, one. n/t

[DFW]

43. About 15 years ago, the MSM tried to pin down a friend on this very question

On live national TV no less.

His spontaneous response was,"the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." He didn't even need two seconds to think about his response. I agreed with him then, and I still agree with him now.

[tonyt53]

52. Thank you for saying this! Oh, and "hell YES".

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

57. Yes, yes, yes...

I can’t fly because I have no wings.

Democrats forever.

[we can do it]

64. You speak for me, too.

[TeamPooka]

99. I'm with her. nt

[Garrett78]

13. It's really unfortunate that Social Democracy and socialism have been conflated.

They aren't the same thing. When people call themselves Democratic Socialists but promote the Nordic Model of Social Democracy (which is not socialism), they come across as being confused--and they confuse others in the process. To the detriment of their cause.

[Kaleva]

14. It varies by the issue

[DetlefK]

17. Which definition of "liberal" are you using?

The modern US-definition where liberals and progressives are the same?

Or the old-timey defintion when liberals were small-government capitalists?

[lapucelle]

38. By "old-timey" do you mean classical?

"Old-timey" is cute, but if the problem is definitional, then "old-timey" merely adds to the confusion.

[DetlefK]

40. I meant classical.

Funny thing is, in Germany the liberals still use the classic defintion. The liberal party in Germany is small-government, pro-capitalist, anti-regulation, anti-war, pro-civil-rights.

[lapucelle]

45. That's the general problems with labels, especially in a country

like the US which has a very limited number of political parties that are on the radar of the general public. The definitions tend to be amorphous and personal.

[betsuni]

18. Is it my imagination, or is all this talk about wings of the Democratic Party a new thing?

I'm a Democrat because there are only two parties on the national level. A clear choice.

Nobody cares what I think, I don't care what I think. The idea of having my own personal wing and not supporting the party because they don't do what I want: who do I think I am? People follow trends and imagine themselves to be unique and cool but are doing the exact same thing as millions of others, led around by the nose by pop culture and yes, capitalism .

If I had to choose, I'd be a dictator. That's my wing. Larry David would be my advisor and we'd force people to follow our rules of society.

[Demovictory9]

26. yes, it's new

[betsuni]

27. Thank you.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

98. No - it's not

Obama vs. Clinton
Dean vs. Kerry
Jackson vs. Mondale
Kennedy vs. Carter

There are competing interests in our party - Labor, Anti-War, Civil Rights, Personal Liberty (these are just four - I could go on). in a broad sense, we all support these things -- but in different orders and different priorities. Remember the first year of Obama and the "I'm sorry you didn't get your pony" flame wars? Not everyone gets their problem solved or considered with the immediacy or importance they attach to it.

There are still primaries to be run, and division in primary season is normal and healthy. After labor day - when the midterms get started in earnest - you will see a far greater sense of unity than you see now. Traditionalists (mostly, but not entirely older Dems) are not thrilled with the role O-C and Sanders are playing. O-C excites a younger, lefter crowd. Will it translate to primary wins for the those she's making appearances for? Assuming we have free and more or less fair elections in 100 days, it will be exciting to see. Conor Lamb will be exciting to watch. Harley Rouda, Kara Eastman, Cori Bush and so many others. I feel like this election could be like '94 was for the House Republicans - the rise of a new generation of leaders.

[Squinch]

35. And just in time for the midterms.

[lapucelle]

44. I think the categories are agenda driven in some cases.

Look at the narrative that polls like this promote. For example, this poll conflates social democrats with Democratic Socialists and then characterizes them as a single "wing" of the Democratic party.

The poll also confuses readers who want more specificity concerning "old-timey" (classical or classical modern) liberalism and modern liberalism. Some old-timey (pre FDR) liberals, social democrats, or Democratic Socialists are certainly members of the party, but I wonder if they can properly be called various wings.

While the majority of the people here on DU who responded to this poll might be representative of a majority of members of the Democratic party, embracing one or the other of two divergent labels conflated as if the political philosophies were interchangeable, it seems unlikely.

Similarly, I wonder how many of the respondents who identify as "social democrat/Democratic Socialist" are proponents of the "dreaded" Third Way, one of the variants of social democracy.

With the 2016 Democratic Party Platform in mind, I like Howard Dean's characterization best:

"I belong to the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."

[Skidmore]

62. +1 nt

[Afromania]

19. The "ain't no more time for factions" faction

ANM-T/F2 Guidelines

1)Do things that "positively" affects the 99% of folks. That's everybody on the Democratic side; nifty eh!

2)Be open to trying different things that make sense and are economically viable until one of them works for the 99%. Again, that pretty much describes all Democrats.

3)Leave the fear and hate of 'the other' at the door. This again is the majority of Democrats but there are still far too many that have at least a few prejudices hanging on em. Luckily, these people aren't stupid enough to let it affect goals 1 and 2; otherwise they'd just be Republicans.

4)Realize that having different viewpoints on some things doesn't negate the fact that goals 1-3 are non-negotiable parts of being a Democrat.

4B)Realize you're just a regular old Democrat and go vote that way.

[Docreed2003]

39. Excellent post! My thoughts exactly. NT

When we follow the guideline you laid out, we win!

[Voltaire2]

22. Proud socialist here.

[unc70]

23. The Democratic wing

I am with Paul Wellstone.

[geardaddy]

81. +1

[roscoeroscoe]

24. How about"we've got to win"

I'm progressive, in terms of solving problems and investing in the future, and space.

But we need every Democratic candidate and voter to win and stop this mess!

[Squinch]

32. This!

👍

[Quixote1818]

37. Because running a bunch of centrists across the country has sure worked out

since we no longer control anything and that is even worse at the state level Meanwhile, the Republicans run people the base loves and they are now running the country as a minority party.

[qazplm135]

59. yes

the problem is the secret progressive majority have all been voting for those republicans instead of the centrist democrats...makes total sense!

[herding cats]

25. Where I live, I'm with the one with a D behind their name who made it on the ballot.

I wish I had the luxury of such micro politics. I don't. I find these discussions an example of the banality of insulated people feeding each other's interpretations of our collective political reality. Yet, they don't actually know what's taking place in other people's lives just outside of their sheltered views. Which is the places where congressional seats are won, or lost.

I'm to the extreme left of the vast majority of the voting population where I live. I'm to the left of every single person I know, or have ever spoken to here. All of them. Yet, I long for the day they elect a centerist. I work with them to make it happen.

These things aren't black and white and I reject the premise of your poll. I may be who I am, but I will always support someone who can win and unseat the local hard right. I'd celebrate the victory with a good bottle of chilled champagne, too. Even if they're not my dream candidate personified. Because it would be that huge of a victory and a step forward.

[WePurrsevere]

36. Well said! While I'm not sure if I'm quite as left as you...

Since we've never compared stances, I completely agree with everything you've said especially this:

These things aren't black and white and I reject the premise of your poll. I may be who I am, but I will always support someone who can win and unseat the local hard right. I'd celebrate the victory with a good bottle of chilled champagne, too. Even if they're not my dream candidate personified. Because it would be that huge of a victory and a step forward.

[blueinredohio]

28. I'm a democrat plain and simple.

I'm voting for anyone who's a democrat no matter their "wing."

[SidDithers]

30. Social Democrats and Democratic Socialists are two different things...nt

Sid

[Chris Studio]

34. Indeed

Exactly why I added a clarification statement for my vote. I support one but not the other. More or less.

[Squinch]

31. Staaaaaaaaaahp!

[Iggo]

87. Agreed.

[Chris Studio]

33. I'm for

The Nordic model Dems.... Not the 'actually socialist' Dems.

"Although there are significant differences among the Nordic countries, they all share some common traits. These include support for a "universalist" welfare state aimed specifically at enhancing individual autonomy and promoting social mobility; a corporatist system involving a tripartite arrangement where representatives of labor and employers negotiate wages and labor market policy mediated by the government; and a commitment to widespread private ownership, free markets and free trade."

In the middle to long term our global economy will have to be completely reinvented, but I don't think it will be America leading the way. Ergo I think supporting actual socialists is a dead end.

[Fullduplexxx]

41. The people's front of judea or the judean people's front?

Last edited Wed Aug 1, 2018, 08:05 AM - Edit history (1)

[NurseJackie]

46. Splitter!!

Thank you! You can't go wrong with a Monty Python's Life of Brian reference!!

[empedocles]

48. Ah, Monty Python

Thank you.

They had a lot to say.

[Fullduplexxx]

50. Yes! .... "but you are the messiah and i should know i've followed a few"

Lol!

[geardaddy]

79. +1

[ananda]

42. I see no difference between liberal and socialist.

nt

[Stinky The Clown]

47. I would like to congratulate you on posting such a divisive thread

We’re approaching the midterms. Winning is critical. Existential. And you post this crap. How else can we figure out to divide ourselves when all we need is unity. Maybe you should reconsider and take this thread down.

[SidDithers]

49. +1...nt

Sid

[tonyt53]

53. At least one of these is popping up daily.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

56. True

That was pretty much my reaction.

[Skidmore]

61. +1 nt

[Hortensis]

63. And misleading poll that in no way actually

represents the makeup of the Democratic Party, neither Democratic voters nor our representatives in office.

As for divisive, I think perhaps this is enlightening in that respect. Huge sums of money are being expended this critical election year to divide the party, and we know those efforts are being greatly augmented by Russia. DU is, of course, our nation's largest single social medium for Democrats.

DISMISS, DISTORT, DISTRACT, AND DISMAY: DISINFORMATION

[Quixote1818]

66. Showing we have a big tent is divisive?

Just posted it because I was curious what the results would be. I welcome everyone into the party as long as they vote Democrat.

[Stinky The Clown]

73. Slicing, dicing, labeling, sorting, classifying . . . .

Those are, BY DEFINITION, divisive.

Try this for your next post: U N I T Y

You DO realize we are at the very edge of an existential crisis for our very democracy.

[SkyDancer]

55. I'm from the wing which wants to help people

[Recursion]

60. You left out us vile third way technocratic neoliberal scum

Still a Clintonian at heart.

[lapucelle]

65. Democratic Party "factions" as delineated by multiple, agenda-driven Wiki editors.

The page edit history is fascinating. In 2015, someone edited to re-categorize Bill Clinton and Barack Obama from "liberals" to "centrists". The same was done for Hillary Clinton later that year.

"Removed an unsourced clain [sic] that stated Clinton/Obama are liberal democrats. Their policy positions and record are a better fit as centrists." [double sic]

Bill Clinton is a Populist-Leaning Liberal.



Barack Obama is a Hard-Core Liberal.



Hillary Clinton is a Hard-Core Liberal.

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

This is an example of why it's better to rely on detailed, criteria-based empirical evidence provided by experts who compile ideology assessments as their profession using a standard methodology rather than Wiki.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Factions_in_the_Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29&action=history&year=2015&month=-1&tagfilter=

[MineralMan]

67. The Democratic Wing.

The Unified Democratic Wing.

You left that one out.

[lapucelle]

68. A 2016 version of the Wiki article cited includes "convicted felons" as a part of our base.

No agenda there!

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Factions_in_the_Democratic_Party_(United_States)&direction=prev&oldid=746776485

[spicysista]

70. I'm a Democrat.

I'm going to support all dems in the upcoming elections.

[lapucelle]

71. On December 26, 2017, an editorial shift begins with the addition of Democratic Socialist

as a "wing" of the Democratic party because Lee Carter was elected a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Factions_in_the_Democratic_Party_(United_States)&direction=prev&oldid=817122503

Later that same day, the label is revised to read "Democratic socialist / social democracy wing" because eight Democratic Socialists were elected to office as Democrats. No reason is given for the conflation of "social democracy" with "Democratic Socialist".

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Factions_in_the_Democratic_Party_(United_States)&oldid=817148949#Democratic_socialist_/_social_democracy_wing

Here's the footnote supporting the inclusion of a new "wing".

https://www.dsausa.org/15_dsa_members_elected

Later that same day there is a further edit to the details concerning the "wing". Enter Bayard Rustin and Senator Sanders!

In electoral politics, the Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) National Co-Chairman Bayard Rustin stated in 1974 that the goal of DUSA was to transform the Democratic Party into a social democratic party.[1] Since the Great Recession, Occupy Wall Street, and the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, support for democratic socialism in the Democratic Party has increased. During the 2017 United Stated elections, eight Democratic Socialist of American members were elected to public office as Democrats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Factions_in_the_Democratic_Party_(United_States)&oldid=817149444

[demmiblue]

72. 3, 5, 6 n/t

[Blue_true]

74. I chose progressive.

I would have chosen social democrat had it not been conflated with democratic socialist. How the democratic socialist are defining what they believe in turns me off some, I am ok with their social and immigration platform, but most certainly not ok with their government ownership of production (though I feel that government should be active in regulation to protect the public interest).

[Fresh_Start]

75. The pragmatic wing

doesn't matter what you want if you don't get elected or make promises with 0% chance of enacting them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

76. I'm a Democrat. Trying to fit us into "factions" is divisive

and just encourages internecine squabbling. There is a spectrum but most people don't fit neatly into any faction and I certainly refuse to be pigeonholed. The GOPers and Russian trolls are trying to make us fight among ourselves. Don't let them.

[greatauntoftriplets]

77. Oy.

[Orsino]

78. Whoever's getting out the vote. n/t

[lapucelle]

80. Ah...the "Committed to Doing Grunt Work Every Year to Elect Democrats" wing.

We need more members!

[33taw]

82. I am a member of the Democratic Party. This serves only to divide us. Been there done that.

While we will continue to evolve, I don’t want to divide us into camps.

[emulatorloo]

83. It is a big tent party. I vote for the most left primary candidate, then enthusiastically GOTV for

whoever wins the nomination. It ain’t rocket science.

Please stop with the “Democrats are Divided” pundit hot take. We aren’t divided on our goals.

[JustAnotherGen]

84. other

The one that is going to go into the voting booth and go
D - Click, Click, Click, Click, Click, Click, Click this November 6th.

Mayor
Council
Council
Freeholder
Freehold
House
Senate

It's simple- I'm voting D because if not - America is over on November 7th.

[brooklynite]

85. Something with that many wings won't fly

[Iggo]

86. Votes for Democrats and Votes in Every Election wing. (n/t)

[VOX]

89. Yellow Dog Democrat, every election, all the way down the ballot.

I have my favorites, but will vote for ANY Democrat against ANY Republican.

[Adrahil]

95. I'm a Democrat!

I don't want to see active factions within the party.

[Starry Messenger]

97. I think these categories are meaningless to an individual

My positions are much further left than the Democratic Party, but I'm a member.

A candidate I might support nationally I might be more picky about regionally, because I live in CA and have options here that are less centrist. What does that make me?

I think less naval gazing about "who am I?" and more consideration of who is in motion on opposing the GOP and advocating for issues that will help people, to make us a stronger cohort, would be best.

[JonLP24]

100. Im in good company if Im with H2O Man!!

[defacto7]

101. Nooooot playing this game.

[TygrBright]

102. The Democratic wing is good enough for me. n/t