Our long long knives. Blades gleaming brightly with epitaphs and running red with a thousand pokes of everyones back.

This is not so hard to figure out. A few small groups of people from every side (almost always more than two) of every argument here are quite frankly horrible communicators or downright..well.. nasty. Clinton hater, Koochie wooo woo freak, disloyal fuck, fanatical lefty, dlc corporatist... it goes on and on.

These knives are wielded by the knave and angry. Sometimes ignorant, sometimes hurt and every now and then just downright pissed. Rarely are they your true enemy. Once in a while they are what you dont like about yourself.

There is hypocrisy to be had here, yes. There is also truth. There are also calm heads not wanting to bother speaking their minds in such a hostile atmosphere. Who can blame them? Say something even handed and you will most likely still be attacked. I ask the calm heads around here to please speak up! In OPs that do not seek to get a rise out of those who will oppose you anyway and dont bother with threads that start off with snark and/or snide even if veiled. Right now almost anything is flame bait....And its just so damn hard to have a decent debate with someone without it being this all or nothing death struggle of ideas. However if people purposefully try and limit their derision on any given subject so as to receive a true and measured response from their fellow DUers we could possibly get quite further along... develop unified strategies to help bring the change that is desperately needed.

Its not that hard to place someone on ignore who is obviously over the top or just over your line of tolerance. What's more, its not that hard to report someone who is abusing the site rules. To do much of anything else is only serving to inflame and widen the wedge.

People should be able to raise concerns about Obamas picks without being called a concern troll, people should be able to defend Hil without being called a war monger here. I am in no way advocating anyone holding their tongues or silencing their responses. I am only begging for more civilized discourse on issues that require tact to get a point across. Think about that please. Tact is not triangulation or manipulation it is adapting your approach on an idea or thought you wish to convey so that its intended audience will be more receptive to it. If you really care about an issue try being tactful if you want to change minds, because if you dont...Here at DU with the inter tubes being what they are and what not, it comes off as ego stroking, ranting, chest thumping, choir preaching or some other such thing or combination there of. Those things I guess have their place here at DU as well but in a serious thread about serious issues where the dialogue was civil until a rant took place, it only comes off as distasteful and usually only serves to harm your cause with possible supporters. Once again just try some tact, instead of ranting or posting a snide comment try some links and be open and heartfelt about why you oppose such and such a thing.

So yeah I am uhmmm begging you more level headed types from across the Democratic spectrum to post OPs that will encourage your rivals to speak up and give lively debate.. without rhetoric, memes of ill repute and long winded hyperbole. All sides here have people who have done this and I just think its time the rest of us smile at their knives for what they are, an empty sheath that is somehow bringing them comfort. Let them have their comfort while the rest of us debate our ideals in goodwill.

I used to burn up the threads here quite often if I ever really pissed some of you off I am sorry. Ive learned some things and seek only to share that tiny bit of knowledge.

Oh and please try not to flame me too hard, my fire proof suit has warn awfully thin and I cant afford a new one. Also a pre-emptive apology for my usually atrocious grammar.

on edit- wow extra bad grammar this time (there's still a bunch but its a bit more readable now )

Out of all the problems we have within our "system" of "government" I believe that this is the one that is overlooked constantly in favor of the "bigger" forms of corruption and ill gotten financial contris. I hate the two party rigging of our political discourse. However since that is how business is still being done with the corp whores (sorry sex workers no slam on you there), I want to bring up this issue for discussion here.

In my observations these kind of tit for tat compromises are the building blocks
of negotiation and thusly the very heart of politics. The very heart of our well being in every way that a ruling entity can be... and it comes down to horse trading. This is when you get screwed when you shouldn't and it doesn't matter what side of which issue you are on.

Your rep goes into the conference room and sits at a table and bloviates endlessly about something you care terribly about. That's good, they are pushing your position! Yay!

Except really your issue is just a bargaining chip. Your rep gets up with the rest of their power elite comrades and they all have a little convo here and there, they have maybe some martinis later at the local watering hole, or sit next to eachother on the exercycle at the gym, and that is where your dearly held issue gets bargained away for a vote or nonvote on some other issue.

Fine! Thats politics.. except for one thing.

You never know which rep did or didn't manipulate your issue for someone elses issue.

Why? What kind of sense does that make? Oh your reps voting record is accesible to the general public. Big deal, it only tells at best half the story... half the actual reality that leads to the abandonment of an issue that for whatever reason your heart and soul is linked to. That other half of teh reality is the horse trading... "Well Jim, my constituants would just slay me if I voted yes on that bill... but if you abstain in that other vote we were talking about, I'll see if I can get John and Jack to vote yes on that, they have much better cover and I still have markers on them for that boondoggle I helped them out with last April.".. to put it in a simplified context.

Now I would really want to know all about Jim, Jack, and John and how they scratch eachothers backs whilst screwing eachother from the same position. I'd like to know so I can make an actual informed decision on my reps overall sleaze quotient but more over so I can see what kind of horse trader they really are.

It's my honest belief that if all horse trading had to be made a matter of public record that you'd see your elected rep being a lot less flippant with your issue. The reps get elected to do the majority of their constituents bidding, when they horse trade away those issues, those biddings... with a consistancy that does not match up well with thoughtful and compassionate compromise then that rep should be fearing for their job.

Ok thats my opinion and it may be naieve or just plain wrongheaded but I would really like to see other opinions on this pet peeve of mine.

It's about complete and total transparency to me, that is all Im trying to say here and this horse trading shit is thick as an iron curtain.