DU has not "changed"

[LWolf]

62. I disagree.

Not with your two examples, lol. Those are spot on.

The evolution I see, while predictable and understandable, is disheartening.

When I got here in '02, I was a political moderate. There were all kinds of people to the left of me, and it was, frankly, refreshing. That's why I stayed. A new and enjoyable experience for someone who has spent her entire adult life in red zones.

The shift happened in '08. First, the wheels came off the bus in the primaries, when the vast majority of so-called "liberals" lined up on gender/race lines. As a group of people who supposedly supports equality and social justice for BOTH, that was revealing. It was a mud wrestling match of epic proportions, and nobody came out clean. As someone who supports both gender and race equality, but neither neo-liberal Obama nor neo-liberal HRC, I was appalled. The shine was off the apple.

I also immediately, because I wasn't all excited about the new Democratic president, suddenly the enemy, taking a constant barrage of hits from the loyal party drones. It was at this point, with the election of a Democrat, that the site shifted from "underground" opposition to fiercely supporting the mainstream, no matter WHAT he did, or WHAT position he took on issues. The disconnect was staggering for me.

The shift from DU2 to DU3 recognized that evolution; language changed. DU was no longer a "left-wing" message board; that term was replaced in "About DU's" self-identification. The site attracted more people because of the "Democratic" part of the name than the "underground." Opposition to bad policy turned into excuses.

Of course, eventually, those excuses no longer held water, and many stopped hopefully waiting for change and began to again oppose bad policy, although it's a hell of a lot more difficult to do so when it's a Democrat at the helm. By then, membership had grown. Many of the "left-wing" posters had grown discouraged and moved on; more had been purged, and the site had gained a core group determined that party and personality would drown out issue.

There are still plenty of great posters here. The joint is crawling with people. There is still a contingent from the left, although it's smaller and posts from under the bus. It's not the same place it was. I know better. The unity found in opposing the Bush selection is fractured between those who stand on issues and those whose goal in life is to support and promote party and personality. I'm not going anywhere, this is not a GBCW post, and I am not "utterly full of shit."