This letter is in response to Martin Andrade’s Dec. 3 opinion piece “Reflection offers parties a chance to regroup and prepare.” Andrade argued that the Democrats fared poorly in the 2002 midterm elections because there is no longer widespread support for the liberal agenda.

Andrade even went so far as to declare that “the left is dead.” Andrade is sorely mistaken in this assertion. Liberal ideals are still very much alive. The problem is that there is no longer a major party that supports and expresses these principles.

On a national level, the Democratic Party has become right wing to the point where most Republican and Democrat candidates are virtually indistinguishable. This shift is not in response to any real change in people’s values but the result of a planned attempt by the Democrats to make themselves more attractive to special interest donations by shirking populist principles in favor of pro-business policies.

Liberals can passively wait for the Democratic Leadership Council to see the light and swing the party back to the left, but it isn’t going to happen. Because of special interests, the party is rotten to its very core.

So what do you do when your party abandons you? Liberals must, in turn, abandon the party. The Green Party expresses many of the same ideals the Democrats theoretically stand for. The difference is that they don’t accept special interest donations and therefore are not corrupted by them.

I urge all those who would call themselves liberals to re-evaluate the Democratic Party and decide if they really represent your interests.