The difficulty with political party threads is who gets to decide where everyone fits in? If I am a progressive and disagree with another progressive, will I get kicked out of the progressive board? How much am I 'allowed' to disagree before I am no longer progressive? Witness Buchanan interviewing Nader in American Conservative magazine. Witness Catholics for Kerry. Two parties, and two labels (or three, including moderate/independent) just seems like a recipe for isolationism to me.
I'm not saying we shouldn't have 'What do you like about Bush/Kerry/Nader/whoever?' threads. But it is offensive when someone says 'you're not progressive enough to participate in our discussion. Please, only people who agree with me may participate in this thread/board.' Politics is different from parenting topics, from spirituality; it is the public sphere, it is *the place* where we come together to discuss how we want to be governed.
It seems to me that there are a fair number of people here who try to see both sides of an issue. Cordoning people off by political parties not only doesn't work in this country, it actively disenfranchises people who are genuinely trying to create an alternative.
It bugs me when some who call themselves conservative assume that if I am conservative I will support Bush, or be religious, or be Republican, or will agree with them on whatever. It seems to me that the two-party system just leaves so many people out, forces people into artificial categories, that it doesn't leave room for genuine discussion. I hear this over and over again on this very board.
I'd much rather see people from all political spectrums mount respectful arguments, and be able to disagree than say that we need little 'safe' areas where we can slap each other on the back politically without having to examine our own positions (or our candidates).
Bipartisanship seems almost dead in this country right now, save for a few brave souls. I feel that the partisan climate of our country at present is one of the biggest, most serious problems this country has. It is a climate of victimhood - each group attacking the other, and ignoring the real problems within their own self-identified group. And both political parties privately decrying the lack of 'unity' in their own party (and sniggering at the lack of unity in the other's).
I think there is a significant (perhaps more silent) group who would jump up and cheer to see more politicians (and political discussions) reaching across the aisles, or even reaching across the seats within their own aisles. That doesn't just mean finding common ground (though I do see a significant number of those discussions here too). It means hearing the other side, reading other sources, and learning how to disagree. I sincerely hope that the current partisan climate will not be reflected on these boards with the creation of little 'safe' houses where people can spout ideology without fear of ever being challenged.
I am tremendously grateful to the moderators on these boards, for helping keep the discussions civil. I know your work is hard. But I think you are doing a good job. And I fear that if we dissolve into 'liberal' and 'conservative' areas, or 'Republican' and 'Democratic' areas, the current, ugly climate of partisanship in this country will win and real discussion will end.
My two cents.
