Democratic Primaries

Going forward, the DNC needs better and more restrictive rules on who gets to run "as a" Democrat.

Actually, no more of this "as a" Democrat nonsense. The phrase "as a Democrat" clearly means that the comparison is being made with something that is NOT a Democrat. The candidate may be similar to a Democrat, but it's not actually Democrat, and therefore we cannot be assured that the best interests of the Democratic Party will be held in high regard by the "as a" Democrat contender.

I'm even suspicious of the "recently declared" Democrats who switch parties for one reason or another. I feel the same away about those politicians who believe it is in their current and immediate best interests to just-now make a party declaration of being a Democrat.

Therefore, I believe anyone who fancies a shot at becoming the Democratic presidential nominee must be a Democrat for at least ONE FULL election cycle--FOUR YEARS--before they can throw their hat into our ring and seek our party's nomination.

Being an "ally" isn't good enough. Having an 80% voting-with-Democrats record isn't good enough. Promising to "govern as" a Democrat isn't good enough.