Articulating Democratic Values

Many citizens believe that the Democrats stand for nothing. They have no core set of convictions or point of view. This is a completely untrue statement. The principal underpinnings are quite real for the voters. Unfortunately, the entrenched Democrat incumbents give citizens the illusion of elitism & have run the party into the ground over the last decade. When elected Democrat Congressional members . . .

• vote with Republicans for an energy bill that showers huge oil/gas companies with massive tax breaks at a time of record deficits, & that energy bill won't lower the cost of gasoline;
• ignore public demands for a withdrawal/exit strategy from Iraq, & instead vote against legislation requesting the President to explain an exit strategy from the war;
• say they are for economic fairness, & then the Democart "leaders" begin negotiating to eliminate the Estate Tax for the wealthiest two-percent of citizens;
• deride facts (e.g., the Bush administration lied to the country about the war & about its behavior before 09/11/2001, & then vote to confirm chief liar Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State);
• claim to care about protecting ordinary citizens' economic rights, & then corral corporate lobbyists to help pass a bill allowing credit card companies to gouge those same ordinary citizens;
• say they want workers to be protected in their workplace, & then vote to limit workers' ability to fight for their rights in court; or
• say they oppose unfair trade deals that sell workers out, & then refuse to voice any opposition to the latest corporate-written trade deal that sells workers out . . .

. . . Americans will believe Democrats stand for nothing.

The core group of committed progressive Congressional Democrats fights everyday to bring the party back to its roots. Recent signs suggest that these leaders have had some success (e.g., votes to reform the Patriot Act, & end massive corporate subsidies; the introduction of lobbying/ethics reform legislation; the roll out of the Progressive Promise platform; the tenacious opposition to CAFTA in the House; & the support of a bill to prevent Big Business from testing hazardous chemicals on humans). Unfortunately, the giant list of core sellouts & Republican-lite capitulations definitely overshadow those successes.

If the party really wants America to believe it stands for something, then the party has to actually stand for something - not just talk about standing for something. Americans aren't stupid - they know the difference between lip service, & action.

The timid entrenched Democrat incumbents have become an operative, adviser, elite class. They are not representative of Democrat citizens. These elected officials arrogantly believing that they can fool their constituents with hollow rhetoric only appearing that they care about the dwindling middle-class. Their attitude ultimately becomes an insult to Americans' intelligence because it proves that they think their constituents so stupid that they are oblivious to the reality of current events. – NOT!!! – Democrat constituents DO know what's going on, & they don't like it when slick political hacks in Washington try to fool them.

Every member of the Republican Party is completely aware of the facts. No amount of rhetoric will ever outweigh authenticity & conviction. Incumbent Democrat “leaders” should dictate policy decisions & should not continue thumb-in-the-wind political calculations.

Abraham Lincoln once said that with public sentiment nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed. Consequently he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. The entire population should expect Democrat incumbents to understand significantly more than how to protect their own careers in the Establishment. When the incumbents do not elevate political discourse beyond conventional wisdom, constituents should remember that there are other people that can do the job. Vote them out of office so that the Democrat Party can become the majority once again.