Now, I see the party as "Republican light." Corporate interests and big money carry more weight than the original core constituencies. The attempt to out-religion the Republicans is unseemly and abhorrent to me. The spineless behavior of Democrats in Congress is nothing short of a disaster. The Democratic Party no longer represents my interests save as the lesser of two evils.

I must tell you that there are Democrats who still reflect my views: Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee and Pete Stark for example. If you wish to keep people like me supporting the Democratic Party, give candidates like these more visibility and power in setting the party agenda. Had you run a candidate like Dennis Kucinich or even Howard Dean, you would have seen a groundswell of support from grass-roots supporters who favor doing the right thing even if it isn't universally popular. Losing an election in that case would have been equally disappointing, but far more constructive. If you continue to try to play by the Republicans' game rules, you will never be able to win.

I hope you see that returning to the traditional Democratic values is important to the future of the party and the country. You must be willing to set the agenda and promote the values in which we truly believe if you wish to dislodge the party of the rich and arrogant from Washington. And you must persist with unwavering conviction, disregarding the popularity polls and cynical media talking heads. Reclaim the definition of liberal and make it represent the positive humanitarian values it should.