What ARE LITMUS tests for Dems?

[Rustyeye77]

Pro Choice ?
Gun Control ?
Affirmative Action?
Anti Drug Control?
Anti using bombs to prevent wars... thinking of Korea?
Open Borders?
Anything else?
Single payer healthcare?

Before anyone hits the alert, I'm just asking question.


As an aside, I am prochoice, pro gun control, pro open borders, pro single payer.

And yesterday I had a post deleted because I said I was "confused" on Affirmative action. (seriously)

[MyOwnPeace]

1. Too bad.......

the "Pugs" didn't have at least one:

"Are you mentally stable?"

Things could be SO different...................

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. I have a litmus test

do you have a D after your name? If so, and you are on the ballot in November, you get my vote.

[JoeStuckInOH]

3. This. eom

[Kahuna7]

4. Me too. nt

[Rustyeye77]

6. Suppose the D ...

IS ANTI-CHOICE (Sen Bob Casey/PA) or against gun control (Sen Joe Manshun/ WV), is he still a D?

[JoeStuckInOH]

8. We had a few D governors in OH before Kasich (R) that were pro-gun and both were better than Kasich

[Eliot Rosewater]

11. Do you know how the 2 party system works?

If you do you will vote for any democrat in NOVEMBER, (not in the primary but the election), IF, that is, you WANT the party to have power.

[Atticus]

23. Casey won his seat by defeating Rick "Sweater Vest" Santorum. Who the hell would YOU

have voted for?

[Rustyeye77]

24. Take it Easy, buddy...i always vote D

I guess my point is .... are there Litmus tests anymore?

[GulfCoast66]

25. Of course they are democrats

Silly to think anything else.

[mcar]

27. Bob Casey does not advocate for anti-choice legislation

That is where I draw the line.

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. Me too. I won't tell them what to believe, but

but I expect them to support choice.

[mcar]

29. It really is that simple

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. Yep

[uponit7771]

33. You ask a very good question, we should have a cut off point IMHO but to give up the who vote

... because of a couple of extremely important issues is a hard choice IMHO.

I'll still vote D but with my nose pinched

[Rustyeye77]

43. Thanks.

I understand what you're saying.

[MineralMan]

9. Exactamundo!

[pandr32]

26. Yep!

Once we fill Congress and seats across the country we can work together to get things done!

[DBoon]

34. Yes

Party affiliation is everything now

There is no such thIng as an acceptable republican.

The most conservative Democrat will still support 90% of the right issues.

[angrychair]

36. This is ridiculous notion

As an example here in Washington, our state Senate is controlled by republicans because 1 Dem is caucusing with Republicans. He even got reelected in 2014, almost completely based on the premise of "as long as they have a "D" after their name I will vote for them".

Our budget fight this year was dragged out for months because of 1 vote in the Senate.

I will never vote for a Democrat that does not support basic human rights

Basic human rights include but are not limited to:
Women's reproductive healthcare
Equal pay for equal work
Women workplace protections from harassment
LGBT equal access to public restrooms
LGBT workplace protection
LGBT right to marriage
Equality under the law for PoC and immigrants
Equal and fair access to vote


Failure to enforce just these items listed above not only does a disservice to Democrats but to all Americans

[beaglelover]

40. Agree 100%

[JoeStuckInOH]

5. Ummm, many of those are NOT "Democrat" litmus tests.

Maybe far left liberal ideals... but most celebrated Democrats are not "anti-drug control", "Anti-bomb", want single payer, or want "open" borders.

Those 4 are quite far left of most mainstream democrats.

[Glorfindel]

14. "Democratic," please, Joe

Using "democrat" as an adjective is a Republican slur. Thanks!

[MineralMan]

7. All of those, sometimes, by some people.

It depends. It changes over time.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

10. It's different around the country.

In California, where I lived for 54 years, definitely gun control. You will be a pariah if you are a Dem and have anything good to say about guns, gun owners or the NRA. Even Republicans in CA generally keep quiet about guns.

In WA state, where I live now, that is not the case at all. It's basically a gun-neutral state.

[leftstreet]

12. If Democrats don't run on a Public Healthcare Plan, they'll lose

It's the ONLY issue that's motivated the GOP's OWN SUPPORTERS against them

The time is now

And yet, here we have party officials yattering on about reversing women's legal rights, hoping to get those misogynist votes they're so sore they lost

[sarisataka]

13. It is a personal choice

of what a person can tolerate in the endorsed candidate.

We had a group here that endorsed then Senator Mark Kirk over Tammy Duckworth based on an issue. It all depends on what is a person's "most important" issue.

[loyalsister]

35. Exactly

Primaries exist to try to find some agreement on what the Democratic candidate should stand for. When you're talking about local offices, it's up to those voters to decide what they demand without conditions and what they can live with.
I tend to focus on local elections and that is where my money goes if I donate. I have never given to the DNC because I want my money to go directly to the candidates of my choice and I don't always like the one size fits all platforms.
I am very much against the death penalty and in primaries I always hope to be able to vote for a candidate who opposes it. Still, I voted twice for a governor who had overseen 90% of all executions in my state. There were a lot of things I really disliked him for, but I would love to have him and some prolife Democrats whose districts have swung republican back.

[LanternWaste]

15. By definition, it's simply the party platform.

By definition, the diaphanous use of "litmus test" is simply the party platform. Seriously kids, it's not as difficult or as hard as you pretend it to be. Simply read the platform, and you'll have the litmus test.

Try this grade-school level primer...
Party Platform: a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues.

Then merely read the Democratic Party platform (https://www.democrats.org/party-platform).

"Before anyone hits alert" (Part II), I'm merely answering a question with as much sincerity as it was asked.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

16. For the most part, just being registered and voting as Democrats, at least for me

Not everybody lives in a state where Democrats are totally liberal and perfect on some important issues but, for the most part, they're on the right side of the issues of the day. I'm not always happy with some of their votes or stated positions but even a Blue Dog Democrat will vote the party line nearly all the time. Not even Joe Manchin, probably the most conservative Democrat we have at the moment, broke from the party to vote for any of the ACA Repeal bills. With Democrats, there is usually a chance that they can be swayed if they're leaning the wrong way on a vote/position. Republicans are just going to follow their party leadership like lemmings on most things and don't care what their more progressive constituents think.

[Xipe Totec]

17. Tests which are as corrosive to the base as acid. nt

[still_one]

18. It depends on the person, and issue. There is no doubt in my mind that 99.9% of the Democrats would

say that Social Security and Medicare are the litmus test for any candidate to run as a Democrat.

The issue being discussed currently on DU is that the same criteria should apply to choice.

The reality is that it will be very difficult to convince someone who is strong choice or strong anti-choice otherwise. As can be seen from the posts here, with both sides presenting the reasons why their position is the correct one, no one's mind is going to be changed.

Those who believe that a women's right to choose is a human rights issue, and that should never be compromised, and those who believe that having a Democratic majority in Congress is critical to preventing what we are going through now, nothing is going to change those perspectives significantly.

[irisblue]

19. Pro Choice nt

[Azathoth]

20. I'd argue that Dems should avoid making any cultural issue a litmus test

Because, by definition, they are condemning themselves to minority status in certain parts of the country. Some cultural issues, e.g. LGBT and minority rights, can be framed as objective legal principles, which means they could potentially be litmus tests. But despite court decisions, issues like gun control and abortion are frankly pure cultural issues with persuasive arguments on either side.

Dems should instead unify around basic principles: ensuring that everyone who works can earn enough money to support themselves and their families, ensuring that everyone has access to affordable healthcare, ensuring that workers' rights and unions are protected, etc. Anyone who takes issue with those basic propositions shouldn't call himself a Democrat.

[mcar]

32. Abortion is not a culture issue

It is a health issue.

[Azathoth]

38. Only when the health of the mother is involved nt

[demmiblue]

21. I'm shocked that you had a post hidden. n/t

[YoungDemCA]

22. Opposing Trump/the entire GOP, supporting Democrats and Dem policies no less than 95% of the time...

and so on.

[David__77]

31. Each individual makes their choice.

I keep personal integrity and vote for those I suppose.

[marlakay]

37. Watch todays show on the view

Just the first 20 min where Whoppi does a great job of explaining to her group what it means.

I even learned a few things, like it wasn't set up just for minority's but for women of all races to get on the same playing field as men.

[ismnotwasm]

39. Not being a bigot

Or supporting policies that are bigoted.

[Warpy]

41. Something party conservatives yell about

because they think human rights are up for discussion and can be eliminated if it means getting the bigot vote.

[Rustyeye77]

42. I've learned a lot today.

You can be anti-choice and be a D
You can be against Gun Control and be a D
You can be pro death penalty and be a D
You can be against single payer and be a D.


Can you be pro-military preventative war and be a D?--- I think yes
Can you question Affirmative Action and still be a D ?--- I think yes

[Rustyeye77]

44. Apparently ...

some people here are anti -choice.(amazing)

But that's not a RW position.

[Ken Burch]

45. I've got a few

1) Never doing anything to make life worse for the poor;
2) Never leaving collective attacks on the poor or people of color or labor unchallenged;
3) Being less militaristic than the GOP(which doesn't have to mean being pacifist-just recognizing that even just wars are tragedies and that war is always the option to be avoided as much as possible);

[X_Digger]

46. The only litmus test I use is the (D) behind their name.

The most conservative blue dog will caucus with our party more than any (R).

It's so goddamned simple, of course someone has to make it difficult.