As I write this, the Democratic convention wrapped 15 minutes ago. For the 1st time in the 240 year history of the country a major political party nominated a woman to stand for president of The United States. Over the 4 days, the contrast with the Republican (GOP) convention the week before was evident for all to see. I will not offer a side by side comparison of the two. Instead, a Republican who is a good friend of mine challenged me to explain "why your party is so great". Now I'm fairly certain that I've NEVER described the Democratic party as "great", but to be fair, during this election cycle I've been yelling long and loud to all that will listen to not only denounce Donald Trump, but to actively work to ensure that this clown never gets anywhere near the levers of power. At the same time, I've been fighting back attacks on Hillary Clinton from the more progressive "left". I consider myself a liberal. However I am not a radical. I believe in the institutions of our government, if not always the people that occupy them. I've been studying the modern Civil Rights movement for several years now and my take away is that you never get everything that you want in one go. You take your political victories when and where you can get them and build upon each success and then jealously defend them. One should not let their obsession with "perfect" cause them to miss the opportunity to grab "pretty good". "Perfect" is a unicorn. So I've been in the middle of a whirlwind of crazy, with supporters of a bloviating, egomaniacal, racist, juvenile xenophobe on one side (that list of adjectives could have been MUCH longer!), and die hard Bernie Sanders supporters who would feel justified in not backing the only candidate that could defeat him because, for a myriad of reasons that don't amount to anything remotely significant when compared to the consequence of a Trump presidency, they feel that a vote for that candidate compromises their principles. It certainly has something to do with Hillary Clinton escaping indictment on federal charges and the DNC's emails being hacked and exposing bias for Clinton over the insurgent campaign of Sanders. So given all that, what IS so "great about my party"?
My wife says "Democrats are just nicer people". That could be it, but there needs to be a bit more meat on that bone. I can't explain why I'm a Democrat without drawing a stark contrast with the Republican party. Sad as it is, our country operates within a 2 party system. If you want to play the game, the teams are either Republican or Democrat. I am primarily a Democrat because to be a Republican would make me feel dirty. Now to be clear, though I don't agree with the principles of the traditional Republican platform, I feel that a healthy conservative party is essential. A one party system is not an option that anyone should want to see. But those aspects of the GOP (Small federal government, low taxes, individual responsibility, projection of American ideals, strong military etc...) are not what I find most objectionable. It's not so much the Republican party that I find offensive, mostly it's Republicans themselves! Clearly that is a sweeping generalization, as this post started with a challenge from a Republican FRIEND of mine. I do have some and value them greatly. However, we've all heard the adage "You are judged by the company you keep", and for the last 50 years, the GOP has actively and openly courted the worst members of society into their tent in an effort to maintain power. They strategically rebranded themselves from the "Party of Lincoln" that abolished slavery, into "The White Man's Party". I am not "race baiting", I am not spinning a conspiracy theory. This is just fact. When Barry Goldwater was running for president he rightly assumed that he was not going to get the Black vote after voting against the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and that the GOP should go "Hunting where the ducks are"... The ducks were white people. Until 1965 the southern states were universally represented by white Democrats. As a block they were known as "The Solid South". They were able to do this by enforcing segregation and suppressing the black vote. After the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the white segregationists felt lost. They felt betrayed by the Democratic Party (Lyndon Johnson was a Democrat) and it went against their upbringing to even consider the Republican party of Lincoln. Richard Nixon actively courted these voters into the GOP. It was a numbers game. It was their "Southern Strategy". There were many more white people of voting age than black. They could afford to do it. So the racists now had a new home. They simply switched hats. Most of the powerful southern Democratic senators never switched though, as they would lose their hard won seniority and thus their influence. Party label meant little to them, as they would vote as Southerners, and not Democrats. But as a party, this was the beginning of the modern GOP. Had it stopped there, it would have been bad, but not nearly as bad as it was to get.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
Growing up I was not interested in politics. I had no affinity for either side and really felt that the country mostly operated on auto-pilot regardless of who was in charge. Then at 24 years old I had my first personal political encounter while living in Bangkok, Thailand in 1993.. I was working there for a bit, Bill Clinton was newly elected and Hillary Clinton was working on universal healthcare. I used to hang out at an ex-patriot bar, where I found myself sitting next to another American that was also a regular. This guy also happened to be the chairman of the Ex-pat Republican party in Thailand. Again...this meant nothing to me. That is until he started ranting about "Hillary-care" as Clinton's healthcare plan was known in those days. I could not understand what his problem was. I asked him "Why don't you think that everyone should have healthcare?.. What happens to the sick and the poor that can't afford quality care? What if they get cancer?" He said "Why should I pay for their illness?" To which I replied "Because they are people, they are Americans and they are sick?" (framed as a question). Then he sipped his drink, looked me in the face and nonchalantly stated that "Not everyone should live..For the species to progress, the weak and poor will have to die off eventually"... I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! That was a real conversation. I thought he must be kidding... He wasn't. When I picked my jaw up off the bar, I determined that if this asshole was a Republican, then I was a Democrat!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_health_care_plan_of_1993
In the following decade I came to solidify my views. I think world travel played a part. Traveling through some of the poorest 3rd world countries on earth, I'd often think that if not for an accident of birth, I could have been born into that kind of poverty... scrounging through garbage and living in a hole in the ground. Instead, I was born a white male in the United States. If not a guaranteed winning hand, it was certainly an aces over jacks Full House. I was made keenly aware of the privilege afforded me. Not that I was necessarily "given" anything, but I had very very few obstacles placed in my path.
Over the years it became increasingly clear that the partisan battle lines were being drawn. A short list of political skirmishes.
Minimum wage increase- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Raise taxes on the wealthy- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Gun Control- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Universal Healthcare- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Gay Rights- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Corporate Welfare- GOP for it, Democrats against it.
Food stamps- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Funding Planned Parenthood- GOP against it, Democrats for it
Immigration Reform- GOP against it, Democrats for it
Unemployment Insurance extension- GOP against it, Democrats for it.
Raising the Debt Ceiling to pay our existing bills- GOP against it, Democrats for it (used to be a no brainer bi-partisan formality)
Cutting Social Security/Medicare- GOP for it, Democrats against it.
Climate regulation- GOP denies it's a problem, Democrats want to tackle it
Science in general- GOP is regressing to the Bible, Democrats are dismayed by this.
Most of these arguments mirrored the discussion I had in that Bangkok bar. "Why should I pay for some lazy poor person?" "Because it's right fucking thing to do, that's why!"
That is why I'm a Democrat.
At the end of the day, "Why should I pay?" is not a valid argument to not help the neediest amongst us. Of course there are long winded stances on both sides, but often if comes down to money, and the perception of "fair". My feeling is that government is designed for precisely this purpose. Government should foster an environment that enables success while simultaneously providing the safety net that prevents families from falling though the cracks. I think that the GOP misses the point. They frame these issues of money and income inequality as "Class Warfare". Personally, I don't care how rich a person gets. You should be able to accumulate as much wealth as you can. There should be no ceiling! However, I firmly believe that there should also be a FLOOR beneath which no citizen in this country should ever, EVER fall below. That we have as much homelessness and poverty in this country is a national disgrace. That we can't come together as a country to care for our sick, poor and elderly is an outrage to me. So where do we stand politically? I feel if that floor has to be constructed with the tax dollars of billionaires who have benefitted from the fortunes afforded them in this country, then they may have to learn to get by with $16 Billion instead of $20 Billion, or even $16 Million instead of $20 Million. (Gasp!)
Politically the GOP has managed to reframe debates away from the people who would benefit by trying to scare the crap out of people. (Government takeover, socialism, The national debt etc...)
They did their best to kill the Affordable Care Act and are STILL working to dismantle it 6 years later. Many GOP led states have even refused federal funds to expand medicaid to it's poorest citizens for purely political reasons. There are REAL people that are dying due to those decisions. It was more important to score political points at Obama's expense than to enact laws that could help literally millions of people.
That is why I'm a Democrat.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article76161897.html
Lastly, I'll say a little about Donald Trump, as he represents the state of the current GOP.
Donald Trump is not an anomaly. He is the natural culmination of the GOP "Southern Strategy" that I described earlier. He is nothing but a mirror held up to society. Terrifying. I find it amazing that the Bush's, Romney's and other establishment Republicans are outraged by him, as he is their Frankenstein Monster. The GOP has been building this beast for nearly 50 years. They have been fostering racial and religious divisions for decades. To listen to people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Alex Jones Laura Ingraham etal, is to see the rise of Trumpism. It's mean. It's authoritarian. It's very scary. His embracing of Richard Nixon's "Law & Order" campaign is startling. He plays and preys upon the fears of the masses to his own benefit. I've said it a zillion times. Terrorists can not destroy our way of life, only WE can, by succumbing to authoritarian rule in the name of "safety". That is crazy. Society hinges on certain things.I stand on the subway platform and trust that no one is going to push me in front of a train. Nothing is stopping people from doing it. If a lunatic wanted to do that to me, all of Donald Trump's bluster could not prevent him from doing so. It would just mean that we would live in a world of police surveillance, curfews, security check points, etc...is that the "order" that Trump is offering us? The Terrorists would not be doing that. THAT WOULD BE ON US! We would cease to be the country we aim to protect. Freedom means that from time to time shit will blow up and people will die. We pick ourselves up and move on. I watched the towers fall on 9/11, I knew people that died in them, and yet I still feel this concept of freedom is worth dying for. All this tough talk about "American Exceptionalism", yet when a few dozen people out of 300+ million die, we lose our collective minds. Don't fall for it. Be strong. If a political party's first response to terrorism is to be terrified, then perhaps that party should not be making decisions related to that subject.
I put it to you that Donald Trump is a shameful badge that sticks with you. You can't cherry pick what you like about a man such as him. You can't say "He'll keep us safe" while you are ignoring that he mocks disabled people for laughs in front of a crowd. You can't say "He tells it like it is" and ignore that fact checkers can't seem to keep up with the stream of bullshit that comes out of his mouth. You can't say "He'll secure our border" and ignore that he wants to make a registry of muslims and have a religious test for entering the country. You can't say "He'll get rid of ISIS" while he is encouraging violence at his rallies. If you are for him, you are for the bigotry, the religious intolerance, the bullying, the xenophobia...all of it. It's a package deal. He is a stain that you will have to wear on your sleeve going forward. His behavior is HIS behavior. It's childish, ignorant and mean, but we've come to expect it and unbelievably some seem to have accepted it. But your support of him speaks to YOU. If you are going to support someone who would make it acceptable to mock my disabled daughter, or call her a fat pig because she might not meet a certain standard of beauty... What does that say about you? You have to own that. We can have a real discussion about Hillary Clinton's email server and the history of supposed scandals that have been leveled against her, but ask yourself if SHE behaved in ANY way similarly to any single one of Donald Trump's outrageous acts, what would the fallout be for her? When you have former KKK Imperial Wizard David Duke saying that Trumpism has cleared the way for him to run for Senate, what does that tell you? The REALLY REALLY disappointing aspect of this election cycle is the lack of political courage shown by the GOP establishment. To watch them cower and fall in line behind a demagogue that they surely disagree with on almost everything is shameful, and they will carry this baggage with them going forward. Ryan and McConnell have literally had to twist themselves into pretzels to fall in line. Not exactly "Profiles in Courage". When Newt Gingrich came to power in 1994, he decreed that "party" trumped "office", meaning before all else, you were a Republican FIRST and a congressman SECOND. Compromise became a dirty word. Party purity started to become paramount. Say what you want about Democrats, they may be many many things, ideologically pure is NOT one of them. (Ask Bernie Sanders' die hard supporters)
That is why I'm a Democrat.
It's NOT a hard choice for me. Is there corruption and abuse? Certainly. I'm not an idiot. Politicians are known to have a loose relationship with the truth from time to time, but in NO WAY is the mendacity the same on both sides of the aisle. The false narrative of equivalency is maddening.
Being a Democrat means standing for racial equality, sexual equality & gender equality. It means treating healthcare as a right, not a privilege. It means acknowledging that climate change is a real threat to our security and that every citizen has the right to vote. If our government was NOT so divided along partisan lines, and compromise was something that happened...ever... I'd probably be more inclined to be independent. But as it stands now, the lines have been drawn and I fall squarely in the Democratic camp. I realize that I've fallen a bit short in answering the question "Why is my party great?" and spent most of my time explaining what I feel is wrong with the GOP. At the end of the day, the answer to latter explains the former. Lastly, ask yourself why no artists are requesting that the Democrats stop using their songs at their speeches while Republicans are constantly being asked to cease and desist? Artists tend to be the conscious of a society. While in this election "I'm With Her", generally, when it comes to artists, I'm with THEM!
(I have edited this piece WAY down, I should probably write a book with more historical context, I left so much out!)
