Dems doing it...And not.

Of course, one of the reasons that we have trouble getting the message through is that, on the local level, where people used to see the difference between Dems and Republicans clearly, people like this keep getting elected.

For those of you from out of town, Bob O'Connor is a Democrat like Zell Miller is. Well, perhaps not that bad, but John Breaux, anyway (my wife thinks that there should be an independent committee that determines political affiliation, so pro-business conservatives can't run in the Democratic primaries). Dumb as a box of rocks, and entirely beholden to business interests. He's got that hail-fellow-well-met thing going, and he looks like a jovial Irish, Machine politician, but he's a stooge. He confirms every suburban Republican prejudice about city Dems without offering a lick of progressivism, populism, or can-do governance.

Granted, the mayoralty of Pittsburgh is no longer on the national map, but O'Connor is hardly the only one. Every time a "Democrat" runs, it dilutes the brand. I'm not looking to purge the party - I'm no New Republican - but I think there needs to be an understanding of what it means to be a Democrat. There needs to be a minimal dedication to using government to help the governed (as opposed to the corporations) in order to attract Party support. If the DNC were sufficiently loud + proud about this concept, faux-Dems would have a lot more trouble running. People would start to understand what they should be expecting from Dems, and start demanding it. Fifty years ago, no Dem in the country could run without promising to stick up for the little guy. Now, Dems proudly run on platforms of helping the little guy...by helping the big guy first.