People who want Dems to move to right - what issues do they have to drop?

[Beet]

My biggest is foreign policy. I don't see changing the party's focus in foreign policy as "moving to the right." Compared to most countries in the world, especially the developing world, the U.S. is still relatively liberal. A strong and assertive foreign policy that builds alliances with moderates and liberals in the developing world and comes down hard on nationalists, authoritarians and religious fundamentalists in those countries can hardly be called moving to the right.

Projecting American power would only be equivalent to projecting conservative power if one has already given up and accepted the inherent conservative nature of America. In that case, you might as well just stop contesting elections because you can never win anyways. If you don't accept that America is inherently conservative, then I don't see how you can forbid the possibility that projecting American power can one day also mean projecting a liberal, progressive power into the world. And I think that would be on balance a good thing.

[Beet]

My biggest is foreign policy. I don't see changing the party's focus in foreign policy as "moving to the right." Compared to most countries in the world, especially the developing world, the U.S. is still relatively liberal. A strong and assertive foreign policy that builds alliances with moderates and liberals in the developing world and comes down hard on nationalists, authoritarians and religious fundamentalists in those countries can hardly be called moving to the right.

Projecting American power would only be equivalent to projecting conservative power if one has already given up and accepted the inherent conservative nature of America. In that case, you might as well just stop contesting elections because you can never win anyways. If you don't accept that America is inherently conservative, then I don't see how you can forbid the possibility that projecting American power can one day also mean projecting a liberal, progressive power into the world. And I think that would be on balance a good thing.

If you mean attacking countries like Iraq for no good reason, while letting Bin Laden get away in Afganistan, HELL NO. Is that what you mean?

No. Iraq should have been the least of our concerns as it was a very weak, contained country, and attacking it was exactly what Bin Laden and his allies would have wanted, for it served their interests. Their main goal is to draw America into a misguided clash of civilizations with Islam, so that they can then carry the banner of Islam. The only way to prevent that is to separate moderate Islam from fundamentalist Islam, and affirm the former. We should not forget that.

[Beet]

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If you mean attacking countries like Iraq for no good reason, while letting Bin Laden get away in Afganistan, HELL NO. Is that what you mean?
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No. Iraq should have been the least of our concerns as it was a very weak, contained country, and attacking it was exactly what Bin Laden and his allies would have wanted, for it served their interests. Their main goal is to draw America into a misguided clash of civilizations with Islam, so that they can then carry the banner of Islam. The only way to prevent that is to separate moderate Islam from fundamentalist Islam, and affirm the former. We should not forget that.
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That sounds reasonable, but what exactly are you suggesting that the Democratic party change?
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Stop empowering the radicals and weakening the moderates. Leave Israel and the Palestinians to solve their own problems, for example. Stop giving aid to one side or another. Channel money into pluralist muslim scholars and organizations, and build alliances with pluralist muslim countries like Malaysia and Turkey.

[Beet]

Stop empowering the radicals and weakening the moderates.

Who is the radicals, who are the moderates, and how do they differ?
Do these "moderates" spend more time bashing liberals than the far-right who runs this country?

He's talking about radical and moderate Muslims.

Well, I'm not sure what that had to do with this thread. Obviously liberals realize that Turkey has a better government than Iran or Saudi Arabia.

It's one thing to realize A is better than B, it's another to do something about it. What this has to do with this thread is that liberals seem to have few ideas about how to use American power proactively, and I'm suggesting that putting resources into promoting pluralist muslim theology and/or politics is one way to do it.