What do Democrats stand for?<\/p>\n
I was driving in my car, listening to CNN on the satellite, and there was a gentleman saying that all the protesters, those at the No Kings rallies, those at the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, were the same people…a small subset of the population made up of those on the extreme left who should be ignored, because they don’t represent America. As a matter of fact, he went on to say they were UNAMERICAN!<\/p>\n
He was not being histrionic, nor was he exasperated, rather he was stating his message in a grandfatherly way, kind of like Ronald Reagan saying “there you go again…”<\/p>\n
And I’m thinking of how the right has defined so many things in America.<\/p>\n
California is a hellhole, so bad that you’d better not leave the house because of the homeless population, and there are trans kids all over the schools and taxes are too high and why would anybody live there?<\/p>\n
But it’s not only California… The Republicans have had a years-long campaign of denigrating, of labeling negatively, unions, mail-in voting, welfare…never mind taxes. To the point where taxes are now anathema even on the left. What am I getting for my damn money! And I could do a better job of disbursing it. (This is the claim of the richest class…how did that work out with DOGE? Where cuts were made by AI, enforced by those wet behind the ears with no insight. This has been well-documented, but if you only follow the arguments on cable news, the argumentative sites you go to online, you may not know this.)<\/p>\n
The enemy is the elite, the university, the takers… They’ve all been demonized to the point where unless you’re a member of these groups, you too believe it.<\/p>\n
So what do the Democrats stand for?<\/p>\n
WE’RE ANTI-TRUMP!<\/p>\n
But that’s not enough, not if you want people to believe in you, there must be more. There used to be a party platform, those are now meaningless exercises. Furthermore, many old Democrats are disillusioned by the party and have now become independents.<\/p>\n
Used to be clear prior to the nineties, you knew what Democrats stood for:<\/p>\n
1. The working man (and woman!)<\/p>\n
Not a hard concept. But so many of these people are now Republicans. Because they were overlooked by the Democrats. The party was run by economic grifters trying to get closer to the money. Can you say EPSTEIN? Irrelevant of whether they were on the right or left, what we learned was the rich want to hang with other people with status and benefit from those relationships and the entire enterprise is encased in a cone of silence. But if you’re a working person?<\/p>\n
You have no access. Even worse, you have no access to the best educational institutions, because the elite has locked them up with not only legacies and donations, but enrichment programs and…<\/p>\n
So who is looking out for you?<\/p>\n
You could say George Soros, but the right has labeled him to the point where just uttering his name makes people wince, he’s toxic…the Democrats never rose to defend him, for fear the right’s labeling of him would rub off on them.<\/p>\n
2. Unions<\/p>\n
The right has completely changed the narrative, unions are evil. The tide turned with the air traffic controllers being excised by Reagan in the eighties. If anybody goes on strike… Oh, they’re overpaid and selfish. Yup, these teachers educating your kids. Meanwhile, the company has you on part time, oftentimes with split hours, so you get no benefits. As for health insurance, it’s got “Obama” in the name. Only it doesn’t! The right slapped the Affordable Care Act with the moniker Obamacare to ensure negative perception. But it’s even worse, there’s the code word “Democrat” party as opposed to “Democratic.” The only person I’ve seen stand up to this is Bill Maher, and he is anything but warm and fuzzy, and therefore not changing minds as much as elected officials who could blow back every time they hear this label. It’s like being called a pejorative on the schoolyard. You can either walk away or punch back. But the Democrats stand there and take it.<\/p>\n
3.Social safety net<\/p>\n
Are there some people breaking the rules, getting undeserved pay? Of course, hell, there are people in Congress, our President is breaking rules constantly. But the truth is the system works quite well. I don’t care who your parents are, whether they’re drug addicts or not working, children deserve to have food on their plate and a roof over their head. Just like we believe when you experience a national disaster, you can count on the government to come rescue you, to a degree anyway. But now even that is in question. And, if you don’t take care of those at the bottom, they undercut the entire society. They not only camp in your streets, they break into your home and… Even if your house is behind a gate and you fly private…do you want to live in constant fear, do you really want to be this isolated from the population?<\/p>\n
4. Taxes<\/p>\n
Our nation runs on them, but they’re a dirty word. Even worse, the richer you are the less you proportionately pay, if you pay at all. As for corporations, many don’t even pay taxes, irrelevant of the statutory rate. But they’ve convinced us of the trickle down theory. Yeah, like if you caddy for a fat cat in your town he’ll tip you…exactly how much? It’s a pittance compared to the bank account of the player, even of the price it costs to get out on the course and play!<\/p>\n
Where is the campaign stating that taxes pay for road upkeep, the police and fire departments, national defense… Does the public really want those to be kneecapped?<\/p>\n
5. Reasonability<\/p>\n
The Democratic party is supposed to be a big tent, but the end result has become no one can say no to anybody. Trans good, but tell me again why we should have trans women in women’s sports? How this even became an issue… There are very few of these people anyway. But come on, I’m not tall enough to play in the NBA, I don’t ask for a waiver. I didn’t go to medical school, I can’t practice medicine. Even Martina Navratilova came out against trans women in women’s tennis. But those who’ve never even played the game know better. It’s a matter of principle. Really? And if you don’t agree with this you’re excoriated, said to be unenlightened. Yes, I’ll say that trans women should be able to use the women’s bathroom, but… The most salient point here is the right has made a major issue out of something quite minor. Where are the elected officials on the left stating how few people are actually involved? Rather they just take the line that it should be allowed. People are reasonable, if you reason with them.<\/p>\n
6. We’re all in it together<\/p>\n
Ain’t that a laugh. The wealthy elite want nothing to do with the great unwashed, they have contempt for them. And the working and underclasses know this, which is one of the reasons they voted for Trump. It’s not about the issues so much as it is a matter of principle. I don’t care if you’re the smartest kid in the class, I can even handle you being rich, but if you’re lording it over me, being an a**hole, I’m against you in principle.<\/p>\n
7. The rich don’t rule<\/p>\n
Look at all those tech titans who used to be Democrats who are now Trumpers. Because their wallet comes first, not the public. To let these people make policy for the nation is anathema.<\/p>\n
8. Public school<\/p>\n
We should all start out equally, on the same foot. And we should fund our institutions accordingly. But the right calls them “government schools” and goes on and on how bad they are and wans government money for their private schools, which in many cases are anything but neutral. I won’t say they\u2019re madrassas, but so many are religious and…<\/p>\n
9. Sacrifice for the greater good<\/p>\n
Today everybody is out for themselves, as for the rest of the people…SCREW ‘EM! You’re dumb if you don’t bend the rules. I’m out for myself and if in the process you’re hurt, or you fall behind, it’s your own damn fault. The right has convinced so many that it’s the poor’s fault that they’re economically challenged. I won’t even bother to refute this, it’s self-evident it is wrong, but many regular people now believe this.<\/p>\n
10. We’re all in it together.<\/p>\n
Income inequality is the scourge of our nation. And rather than hide with their riches, the wealthy say THEY EARNED IT! Exactly how? By creating a product that the public or government buys? Without a customer, without the population at large, you’re dead on arrival, you’ve got nothing.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, those “in power” on the left tell us their hands are tied and to trust the system. Yeah, the same system that is not giving me my FEMA money, the same one that took away my benefit so I can no longer afford health insurance? Go to the ER…yeah, like the public doesn’t pay anyway.<\/p>\n
As for elections… Believe in the same process that Trump denied in 2020 and is still denying, never mind pardoning the January 6th protesters?<\/p>\n
The left says “watcha gonna do…” And then does nothing. The right turns over the table with impunity.<\/p>\n
Never mind the left being the party of science, of innovation, it’s the right that wants to return to the past. But we’ve got old officials who don’t understand the new technology and it’s laughable. It’s the Democrats who should kick the oldsters aside and let the youngsters in. We live in a completely changed world and in Congress they act like it’s 1926. Or maybe even 1826.<\/p>\n
So you stand for something, or you stand for nothing.<\/p>\n
Religion had it right, with the Ten Commandments.<\/p>\n
And then you had the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n
We know what the Republicans stand for, but the Democrats? It’s amorphous at best.<\/p>\n
This is not rocket science. You could come up with a platform and hammer it. But that would mean you might piss off some people in your own party by speaking the truth. You might antagonize lobbyists. Elected officials are the absolute worst…they’re supposed to represent their constituencies, but it’s been proven time and again that they’re only out for themselves.<\/p>\n
But how come I know all of the above and those in control of the Democratic party do not?<\/p>\n
Because they’ve got their heads so far up their a**es that they’re out of touch. They’re just hoping that Trump alienates the public so much that they’ll gain some power. This is like trying to win a boxing match without throwing a punch. It’s fruitless.<\/p>\n
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