On 5/25/04 2:29 PM, "Dorian D. Eder" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I am one of theose DFLers who hold out hope that Greens will come back > to us, or cross over and vote for our candidates, or participate in both > parties equally. We need them. And I don't think Greens are Greens's > because they're fundamentally flawed individuals - there are legitimate > gripes with the DFL. As Democrats, we should always be looking in the > mirror when people tell us they don't feel welcome and/or represented. While I appreciate that Dorian Eder is trying to be respectful and applaud her support of IRV, I don't feel very respected by this statement. To characterize members of the Green Party as simply DFLers who have lost their way or who have gripes is both arrogant and ignorant, in my view. I never belonged to any political party until joining the Greens in 2001. And in my nearly three years as a member of the Green Party, I have seen far more folks like me who were never interested in being a Democrat than I have disgruntled or lost former DFLers. Part of the problem I've always had with the DFL and the whole "big tent" approach is that when you try to welcome and represent everyone, you end up not really standing for anything. I would have a lot more respect for and willingness to work with the DFL if they would just decide what they're actually going to stand for and then stick with it without worrying about trying to be all things to all people. Members of the DFL and GOP need to get it through their heads that there's absolutely nothing wrong with having three, four or even ten active political parties in the mix. People should be free to explore and identify the party that best fits their personal philosophy and outlook on life and communities without having to deal with guilt trips about "staying unified" or any of the other scare tactics that are used by DFL and GOP members to keep us uppity third party folks under their thumbs. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
