NY Press: "Best of 2002 ... " Issue "Best Reason to Leave the Democratic Party ... You?re Not Jealous of Rich People and You Don?t Fear the Christian Right? In Which Case party leaders have nothing to say to you. Every debate with a Democrat leads back to one of those two bugbears? usually both. If you happen to actually know and like some wealthy people and at least one politically active Christian, it quickly starts to feel as if your intelligence is being insulted. Jealously and fear are painful emotions. Anyone who wants us to experience more of them than is necessary, we figure, deserves our contempt. We want to debate the war on terrorism, the business scandals, homeland security, school choice and the national economy. But we?re going to do so thoughtfully. The Democratic Party seems to think that appealing to irrational emotions makes tactical sense. Maybe it does. Maybe it?s even worth losing a few rational intellectuals who are turned off by what we see as shameless frauds, enormous missed opportunities and decades? worth of squandered political energy. Problem for the Dems is, that?s a lot of smart cookies, and we?re not all going to just sit on the sidelines. After all, the other side enjoys real debate. Article Here