Ahh, if only we had proportional representation . . . I'd leave the timid Democratic Party behind in a heartbeat.

Democrats will never convince Real America that they're stronger on national security than Republicans. So what they need to do is to be smarter on defense. If domestic spending like muckdog's pet peeve NPR is fair game, then Pentagon pork like missile defense and the F-35 should definitely be as well. The threat of terrorism will never be defeated by becoming more militaristic (we already spend more than the next highest 23 countries combined).

In my dreams the Democratic Party challenges the notion that a bigger stick is more important than talking softly (and when necessary, speaking the hard truth to our Israeli and Saudi allies).

Remember the so-called Cold War dividend? Boy, the military industrial complex sure found a new Boogeyman in a hurry to swallow that up.

Larre - good post. You summed up some of the best points of why some of the Greens proposals make sense without demonizing and being hateful. I have to admit, " . . with a little that seems naive and a few awkward passages where the Greens wander into vagueness not unlike that of the Democratic platform.", is an extremely fair comparison. Some of the vagueness is a result of finding language that all the little factions of the Greens find acceptable, and some of it is because no one has found the ideas or language to articulate a vision we share - yet.

I could care less about Party - I'm a Green because of my firm belief that the political leadership of this country has got to offer more progressive choices to the citizens. When the DNC and DLC and all the other status quo Democratic organizations finally wrap their heads around that, I'll reconsider my membership.

Now that I've made my comment - cue whichever Left Coaster Author bannahead that usually makes snoring sounds whenever the Greens are mentioned.

There are some good points in the Green platform. Why not use that to take over the Dem party? The fundies did it to the party of Ike, La Guardia and others. I believe the Greens can do the same thing but better since they have the truth on their side.

Excellent comment, Bragan, but I wish you wouldn't use the term "Real America" to describe Red America.

Do you agree with Red America that Blue America is a "Fake" America? Of course not. So don't dignify such a concept by repeating it.