Quoting russell@coker.com.au (russell@coker.com.au):
You could say the same about most political terms.
But with huge and critical differences in degree.
If you were to rule out all words that could be considered to be political footballs then it would be impossible to have a discussion about politics.
I'll take care not to do that, then. ;->
Getting money out of politics is like trying to prevent politicians from lying.
Sanders's campaign proved it's still possible in 2016 to have a highly credible big for a major-party USA Presidential candidate, without big funding. This actually surprised a lot of people.
It's a good aim to work towords but it's not an objective you are likely to achieve.
They said that to Bernie Sanders about even making a creditable showing against Clinton, too. ;-> It's indeed serious work -- but not impossible.
Having a stated aim of an organisation matters. The Democratic party claims to be a left-wing party and attracts left-wing voters.
No, it doesn't. There is no meaningful statement of mission for that party. (There are party platforms fought over at both major parties' nominating conventions, but they're utterly without meaning.) Speaking for myself, I'm perfectly happy with the fact that the Democratic Party has never had a coherent ideology. IMO, it's been better for that.