The Democratic Party, as stated, does not exist any longer; in fact, it hasn't for some time. The people that call themselves Democrats, the leaders of the party, have all morphed in to one political animal, part of a larger, non-identified party that proports to stand for something but has ended up standing for very little at all.
After the historic election of 2008 Republicans lost their heart and soul. They have searched since then for the leader, and coherent voice, of their party. Is it Rush Limbaugh (and the absurdity of that never escapes me)? Newt? Palin? Big Dick Cheney? And even if they were find a mouthpiece, they have no platform on which to stand. They cannot claim to be for less government, as their last President grew government more than anyone; they can't claim to be financially conservative, as they spent the country in to oblivion; and they can't be for less government intrusion in to life and business, as they try to regulate who can and cannot marry, who can and cannot have legal medical procedures known as pregnancy terminations, no, they have lost their message and their messenger.
And now, the Democrats have done the same.
The party of the people, of the middle class, of civil liberties, the party that empowers the workers, that strives for equality and fairness that wants everyone under their tent to be happy, insured, employed, empowered and their country at peace...well, they have become as lost and their messenger as murky as their counterparts and lost their spines along the way.
In 2006 We, The People, spoke by electing a Democratic majority in the People's House, the Congress. The message of that election was clear: impeach George W. Bush and get out of Iraq. Nancy Pelosi and her other Democratic leaders quickly ignored that message by taking impeachment off the table; something she was not able to do. The Constitution says a President Shall Be Impeached...not may be at the discretion of the Speaker of the House. But she, and her majority compadres, removed it from the table and proceeded to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2008, We, The People, spoke out in record numbers to make history and elect Barack Obama, a man promising change. The agenda was again clear: get us out of the war, help us on Main Street to survive the aftermath of the Bush economy, unite the divisions, or at least try...and again, it fell on deaf ears.
The Democrats have the House, the Senate and the Presidency. If there was ever a time for bold strokes, the kind of "Screw You" moments that George W. Bush did, the, "We're going to do this whether the country, or the Senate, likes it or not..." types of things, only this time, with good things not war and horrific things, now is that time.
Universal Healthcare means just that. It doesn't mean private insurance companies still at the table running the show or involved heavily in it. It means, say it with me, Single Payer. A non-profit organization who collects premiums from all Americans that are able to pay, on a sliding scale of course, subsidizes those that can't, collects all bills for healthcare and then pays them. One policy, one coverage, all medical necessities from birth to death, like every other industrialized nation of substance. Obama knows it, and says and does nothing. Pelosi knows it, all Democrats know it. But they won't do it. Not very Democratic.
No more war means no more war. June 16, 2009 $106 billion more was appropriated for war. Where we are getting it, I can only imagine...can you say ChiMerica? $79.9 Billion of that is actually for the wars, making over $145 billion this year alone. What part of come home and stop spending that money isn't clear? 10,000 troops a week for 15 weeks, home. Spend any billions needed on the war to bring them home, once and for all. Leave 30,000 or so there for stability, the rest should already be on route.
So why do the Democrats, who rallied against the war, continue, now in power six months, to fund it and wage it, business as usual?
When one of the biggest violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution took place in California described as Prop 8 and upheld by the State Supreme Court, not one major Democrat spoke out about the abhorrent violation of taxpaying American's rights, not one condemned the upholding of it, decrying the activists judges, nothing. Silence. Obama is a Constitutional Scholar, he knows how blatant this violation is, and he he said nothing. He's on TV every 12 seconds, and said nothing. Then, to add insult to injury, he defends a law, the Defense of Marriage Act, a law he said should be struck down during the campaign. And he defends it with an argument that sites incest and pedophile activities as reasons for keeping DOMA active.
His excuse? While he dislikes the law, it is the law, and until Congress changes it he must defend it from attacks. Really? So we all believe he would enforce Jim Crow laws if they were still the lay of the land? Give me a break.
Obama and the Democrats said they're repeal the failed Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and yet this year the military has lost more valuable resources because of this program.
Unemployment does not pay a livable amount. It should be at least 80% of your prior year's salary, you know, so you don't fall in to poverty. It doesn't, and no one cares.
More Blacks youth are still in jail than in college. The immigration problem is not even being tackled. Women don't make equal pay. Nothing.
Banks and corporations, the Big Three, AIG, they've all been catered to. The Republican mentality that take care of the corporations and the people will then benefit seems to have carried over to the Democrats who continue to flood corporate America with money while cutting funds to regular citizens.
And don't get me started on how Democrats now have reached in to the Piety Pit, quoting God and the Bible at every chance they get these days. .
No, I don't recognize the Democrats, my party any more. In fact, I feel downright duped by it. I see no change I can believe in, sorry. I see cosmetic change. I see strokes that could be bold, quelled before their true potential even could be reached. I see half attempted outreaches with one hand, while slapping the hell out of the electorate with the other.
What I don't see is an invigorated, empowered, gutsy Democratic party ready to finally move their political and social agenda along because of the obvious advantages of having both Houses and the Oval.
Both political parties have morphed in to caricatures of themselves, touting all their core values on their sleeves while doing nothing to actually walk the walk and talk the talk. They fill the room with excuses about how hard things are, how slowly things move in Washington, how hard it is to truly effect change. They speak of how complicated the issues are, and how a consensus must be reached in order to proceed.
In fact, the one thing every Democrat seems to have in their fully stocked arsenal is a grab bag of plausible excuses and deniability as to why we can't have the basic things we need, health care, a place to live and call our own, clean air, water, renewable energy, equality for all people. They launch intricate campaigns and reforms, which all sound good that evening in the news, but don't seem to be yielding any real tangible results in neighborhoods throughout America.
2008's election so far has not brought me change I can believe in, but it has completely changed the political party system in this country by all but destroying it. Prior to the election, Republicans showed their true disdain for this country, and anyone not like them. Post election, the Democrats are now showing that even when given the chance to promote their positive, progressive platform, they still sit idly by, mired in muck, full of platitudes and excuses.
Neither party in this country stands on or for its own pronounced platform. Perhaps it's time to rip up the foundation and build a new party from the ground up; one not afraid to actually do what it says, to actually implement what it believes in and one that stops using the size of the system as a reason to not get anything done.
It's time for an American party, where, when We, The People say things like no more war and equal rights for all, the party actually responds, not in years, but with the urgency each of those matters, and more, warrant.