Rah Rah Doesn’t Make for Change

Posted on April 24, 2003 in Citizenship

The praises of the Democrats as saviors of our country continue to ring out on many blogs:

• Raye continues to knight them as her personal stalwart for the resurrection of Americanism. Scott can often be seen in her comments rooting for her “Vote Democrat” articles. You may catch some of his own at his blog.
  
• Rob is another who can be counted on to list all the sins of the Republicans.
  
• Thorswitch thinks that by standing on a platform of “personal liberty for all” the Democrats might be able to attract libertarian votes. (Fat chance: the libertarians that I know are so pro-gun and Randenoid that they’d never leave the Republicans for the Democrats. They actually like what Bush is doing to keep the masses down in favor of private industry. They are certain — against all reason — that they’ll be part of the top 1% someday.)
  
• Les spews the dirt on yet another GOP hypocrite, yet another child pornographer for Family Values. Digging dirt on Republican lies isn’t enough if you don’t promote a change of attitude among your own, Les.
  
• Mary Beth, thankfully, at least points out that the Democrats aren’t there yet with a counter plan for the family values nonsense recently drooled from the lips of Rick Santorum.

In the meantime, my two recent pieces regarding why I distrust the Democrats remain unrebutted.

Mind you that I agree that the things these bloggists harp upon are serious problems and that Republicans are responsible for them. But I remain uncertain and unconvinced that the Democrats will grant me more than a few modest reprieves, that they will take steps to change the system that generates the woes.

Let’s consider a few standard Democratic positions:

• The Democrats are positioning themselves as the “anti-war” party. Well, that’s not exactly true. They are positioning themselves as the “less pro-war” party. Which means that if a Democrat is elected president, you probably will not see a troop withdrawal from the Middle East. All the weaponry and soldiers that George W. Bush deployed for this adventure will be waiting for the next wacko to use when he wants to prop up his sagging popularity ratings.
  
• The Democrats have been making hay about the 2000 election, but don’t look for them to abolish the electoral college or make much needed reforms in how the Senate and the House are chosen.
  
• You see a lot of talk about the “Felonious Five” “selecting” the president on Democratic blogs. But no one likes to recall that every one of the fools was chosen while Democrats controlled the Congress. We vote for them to make partisan stands, dammit: Scalia, Rehnquist and Thomas should never have been approved. If Democrats regain control of Congress, you won’t see impeachment hearings for Clarence Thomas for whom there is a mountain of evidence to show that he lied — under oath — to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
  
• Democrats have run far, very far from National Health this go round because that shows all too well that they don’t deliver on promises. It suggests that they never intended to deliver in the first place.
  
• Democrats give a lot of lip service to gay rights, but don’t expect gay marriage any time soon even if they are elected by a landslide.
  
• The War on Terrorism and the War on Drugs shall continue under Democratic administrations. There will be little rethinking of either our foreign policy or how we should handle the very personal problems of addiction.
  
• Campaign finance reform is another promise that you can guarantee that the Democrats won’t keep.
  
• The Bushes have been involved in evil for generations. The Democrats will not touch them lest they be accused of mere partisanship. Show me a Democrat who will take that lot and their Texas millionaire cohorts to court and I will show you someone who truly stands for change.
  
• There’s a huge bill to be paid for the largest deficit in history. I don’t trust the Democrats to put it firmly on the backs of those who ran it up for us so that they might grow rich. You can rest assured that we the people will end up paying for it with our taxes and with high prices set by the wealthy to offset the punishing fines and taxes that they are sure to pay.

So what kind of choice am I offered by this party? The Republicans promise me “War and Oppression” and the Democrats, it seems, offer me “A Little Less War and Oppression”. Many are the Democrats who tar and feather men and women of conscience who have cried out “Enough! Give us some real alternatives!” They blame us for Bush when the mechanisms that the Resident used to gain his dark victory over freedom were put into place and given imprimators by Democratic representatives.

Those who blame the ones who voted for Nader are applying a primitive logic that the Republicans themselves invoke: if you aren’t for us, you are against us. You’re on their side. When you study how both Republicans and Democrats react to me, you will discover a third position on the political map. And with further study, you will find many more.

This two party system just doesn’t represent Americans.

I’ve had enough of libertarians who sell out to Bush’s oppression and I have had enough of Democrats who won’t put up a fight when it counts because they are afraid of alienating their constituencies. As I told Raye a couple of weeks ago in an article that she’s apparently still thinking about:

If liberals won’t treat people like me as human beings and talk seriously about our grievances, it will not be our fault if we vote our consciences. That’s what a thoughtful and informed voter is supposed to do. I won’t be called a traitor for being honest about my feelings or blamed because the Democrats can’t field a candidate who unites my interests and concerns with those of the rest of the nation’s people.

I point to my list of grievances and ask: what substance does your party offer me to correct the deficiencies that have brought us to this evil state of affairs, to end this tyranny at home and abroad, not just for all, but for as long as this generation lives if not beyond? Then I ask: How do I know that you will keep your promises?