What Does the Democratic Party Stand For?
I caught the tail end of a MSNBC round-robin discussion of a group of 'concerned' Democrats, who were calling for unity, solutions to ongoing problems, working together, while claiming they did not to know what the Democratic Party stood for?
Really?
Just off the top of my head:
The Democratic Party stands for protecting the rights and security of women, minorities and immigrants, those who too frequently are demeaned and dismissed. They also stand for protecting the rights and security of everyone else as in voting rights--expanding the franchise, not compressing it.
The Democratic Party stands for a strong national defense, one based on diplomacy and mutual respect, while supporting nuclear non-proliferation policies.
The Democratic Party stands for healthcare for the American public, the right to healthcare, not a privilege.
The Democratic Party stands for a vigorous defense and support system to fund Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, the Democratic Party stands for offering assistance to children of the poor through healthcare insurance, food vouchers for school lunch programs and nutritional assistance for poor women and infants. They support benefits for the disabled.
The Democratic Party stands for clean air and water, a pollutant-diminished environment for the sake of the health and general welfare of our people.
The Democratic Party stands for solutions and ideas to mitigate the effects of Climate Change without invoking God or Fate of wishful thinking.
The Democratic Party stands for the education of our children, a quality, well-resourced public education, a system not based on zip codes.
The Democratic Party stands for workers' rights, rather than the Robber Baron philosophies.
The Democratic Party stands for retooling workers for the 21st Century, rather than lying to them, pretending the 'good ole days' of King Coal (or any other waning industry) are coming back or that ravaging the place you live--polluting streams and creeks, destroying the natural habitat of wildlife and fauna in the name of profit-making--is anything less than counterproductive and short-sighted.
The Democratic Party stands for sensible regulation be it guns or the financial sector.
The Democratic Party stands for a fair tax system, not an excuse for the rich and famous to shovel more money into their bank accounts.
The Democratic Party stands for the American people, the American Constitution and the protection and furtherance of our democratic Republic.
What else is there?
If a self-proclaimed Democrat doesn’t know this already, I don’t know what to tell them, beyond they haven’t been paying attention. Or perhaps they’re not really Democrats.
Whatever.
I would suggest these people reread the 2016 Democratic Platform, the most progressive platform in decades. If you can’t find the Democratic Party in that document or in the things I’ve listed above then you’re willfully blind and/or working off another agenda.
I’ve had it with the naysayers and whiners. Our eye needs to be fastened on the only thing that counts: 2018 elections.
The country’s safety depends on it.
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But then, complainers got to complain. And if I hear one more person write: well, the two parties are just the same . . . "
I may get violent, LOL.
Take my list and the 2016 Democratic Platform, scratch everything out, and you have the Republican Party's version of governance.
"But, but they're both the same" is a quick soundbite that is absolutely, positively false.
If we want to make the Democratic Party better, I'm all for it. But we have to get our shit together and win massively in 2018. The madness of King Badhair must be stopped.
(end of rant) 
