Welcome to "The Way Forward"

[EarlG]

This discussion thread is pinned.

Here's the Statement of Purpose for this forum, which you can find on the forum's About page:

Discuss the future of the Democratic Party and the left, strategies to rebuild the party's influence and reach, and tactics to retake political power from the right. REMINDER: Forum Hosts are only responsible for locking off-topic discussions in this forum, they are not responsible for locking discussions which may violate the DU rules. Please be aware that while the rules prohibit "bashing" of Democratic public figures, the rules also allow for constructive criticism. Between those two positions lies a large grey area, and if you want to avoid getting posts removed by Jury in this forum, remember that not everyone on DU may have the same appreciation or dislike for the same politicians that you do. If you treat your fellow DU members with respect and try to post in a civil manner, you will rarely have any problems. Posting derogatory nicknames for center-to-left politicians, groups of DU members, or individual DU members, will increase your chances of getting a post removed.

I fully expect that during the next couple of years, we are going to have plenty of discussions about where the Democratic Party should go next. I don't think DU should be afraid of that, even if it is going to feel like infighting a lot of the time. As you know, I don't think it does any good to knock down our chosen nominee during the weeks and months leading up to a presidential election, but General Election Season is over. Now is the time to discuss how Democrats should move forward.

YOU ARE VERY LIKELY TO READ THINGS IN THIS FORUM THAT YOU DISAGREE WITH, OR THAT MIGHT MAKE YOU ANGRY. I wish that were not the case -- I am not interested in manufacturing outrage in exchange for clicks. I tell you this merely to set expectations. My belief is that when we are not in General Election Season, members should be able express their opinion about the activities of Democrats that disappoint them, and members should be able to debate how the party, and Democratic public figures, should act going forward -- provided that it is done within the rules of course.

It is much easier to have these discussions if we can keep the environment relatively civil. The DU rules still apply in this forum. Try not to personally attack your fellow members. Try not to give labels to groups of other DUers that disagree with your position. Try not to give rude nicknames to Democratic politicians that you disagree with. If you can avoid all of that, you should have no problems in this forum.