I’m a registered Democrat, as many of my readers know. I’d like to write a little bit about the shame that I feel as a result of my party affiliation, but before I do that I will briefly explain my views on American politics as I see it.
American Guilt
By no means does my disgust with the Democratic party have any association to the shame I feel as an American citizen, it’s a different kind of shame.
For starters, when I say I’m ashamed of my country or “ashamed to be an American”, it isn’t because I’m ashamed of America’s rich history, opportunity, liberties and the life that I’ve enjoyed. My shame has nothing to do with the brave soldiers who die for our country. Instead, it saddens me that the leadership of our country is so terribly incapable, dysfunctional and responsible for our broken government. The hypocrisy inherent in politics is beyond disgusting at this point and it comes from both sides, making it highly difficult for any independent thinker to support. My only consolation as I struggle to come to terms with the future of American identity is that I’ve discovered libertarianism and my zest for liberty and justice is what gives me some sense of purpose on the intellectual front.
Republican Failures Under President Bush
Americans, in large part due to the Republican agenda and Democratic cowardice, have succumb to greed, corruption, struggles with sexuality and pointless nationalism.
Our country’s leadership is responsible for the deaths of 5,000 American soldiers, tens of thousands of wounded, and millions of Iraqi civilians. In addition to the deaths, as if it can get any worse, we’ve left our children with trillions of dollars of debt. Our laughable scholars see it as fashionable to embrace variations of torture for the good of the country and we gladly “debate the merits” of what constitutes torture and when it is appropriate to do so, instead of shaking our heads in disgust as any American would have prior to the 21st century.
But hey, September 11th changed everything didn’t it?
It would take me days to explain everything that is wrong with that statement, but suffice to say we’ve made the mistake of beginning and ending all history over the events that happened on that day. We’ve thrown away 200 years of history, dismantled a beautifully crafted constitution and we have the nerve to call ourselves “freedom fighters” when in reality we’re doing just the opposite in every conceivable way.
Democrats will inherit American leadership in 2008, so what’s the problem?
Sharing my political affiliation is humiliating for a number of reasons and that’s a sad statement considering the demise of the Republican party — the only other viable party in the U.S. At a time when Democrats should be stepping out of the political trenches to seize power and clean up Bush’s mess, the party seems intent on self-destructing prior to the 2008 election. Over the next few months, pundits will analyze and debate the propaganda put forth by Republican party strategists.
“How can Democrats lead America, if it is struggling to hang on to its base?”
The short answer is simple and we all know what it is. America is so strongly divided and polarization is the status quo making it impossible for the party tol fall apart as Republican strategists and foolish pundits will predict. Whenever I see such bold predictions, I laugh because I know what motivates such statements. Many politicos, especially the strong partisans, often make statements that are suggestive, hopeful, and derived from wishful thinking. It’s a form of propaganda and political manipulation that I know well, partially because I’ve participated in some spinning myself.
As they say, you can’t con a conman, so why do they bother? Pundits and strategists do it in hopes of being heard by uneducated or apathetic voters, perhaps reinvigorating the party loyalists and attempting to remain relevant on the national stage in the process. Democrats could have it easy this Fall, but they’ve managed to screw up like only Democrats could.
You might be wondering at this point, “if he doesn’t think the party is falling apart, why such intense anger for the democratic party?”
Battling hypocrisy and defending justice in America
The questions that analysts and pundits are asking are the wrong questions.
The Democratic Party will win the White House and strengthen their leadership in Congress because they’ve been “playing it safe.” No matter how much people like me shout and scream about failures to impeach the president, defend our constitution, and protect our liberties, the majority of Americans that go to the polls don’t have the time to keep abreast of American politics.
Let’s talk about the real problems that have come from poor Democratic leadership.
Exploiting Racism in the Democratic Primary
This one is simple, and it really bothers me that I even have to raise this point. In the past, I’ve given Bill Clinton a lot of credit for being a political genius, a mastermind, a one-of-a-kind politician, possibly the best politician in American History. Any Democrat would agree that Bill Clinton would have surpassed JFK as the most memorable political icon — and perhaps regarded among the greatest Presidents to ever lead — if not for his sexual shot heard ’round the world. Republican loyalists would strongly contest that argument, thus validating my point.
However, the Clinton campaign redux and part of Hillary Clinton’s supporter base has crossed a line that is unforgivable. A historian or political junkie can list prior uses of racial politics in order to achieve certain political goals. However, when Clinton’s staff and surrogates are responsible for attempting to paint a picture of Barack Obama entitled: “Would you vote for a nigger?”that is when a line has been crossed. The words the campaign and surrogates use are much more subtle, but they are there. They’d never stoop so low as to use those actual words because I know deep inside their Democratic hearts, they understand the struggle of minorities in America. That said, Clinton’s camp is now responsible for three despicable uses of race in order to create doubt in the minds of American voters.
Barack Obama the Muslim
First, there is the use of the Barack Obama photo in Kenya.
The photo of Barack Obama wouldn’t be problematic if distributed under a different context, but alongside the public release of that photo were e-mails and misinformation detailing Barack Obama as Muslim. In addition to these incidents, when responding on the issue, Hillary Clinton said to an audience, “As far as I know, Barack Obama isn’t Muslim.” Yes, Clinton is a lawyer. Yeah, it may even be clever politics, but it’s manipulation at its finest. It draws not only on the fears of Barack Obama’s ethnicity, but the fear of a terrorist (taking advantage of American ignorance and the association of Muslims and Terror) in the White House.
Comparing Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson
Next, Bill Clinton’s use of Jesse Jackson’s failed presidential bid as a reference point for depicting Barack Obama as another popular negro, but destined to fail because America isn’t ready for an African American president. This point is great to discuss in the classroom, heck it’s a fine talking point for political blogs and talking heads, but to use it to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of Americans is just downright disgraceful.
Not to be outdone, Hillary Clinton’s supporters are receiving media coverage over racial speech.
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”
According to CNN, Ferraro is a member of Clinton’s finance committee and a top fundraiser. She claims that the media has been hard on Hillary Clinton because of gender and not hard enough on Barack Obama because he is black.
“It’s been a very sexist media. Some just don’t like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign. I was reading an article that said young Republicans are out there campaigning for Obama because they believe he’s going to be able to put an end to partisanship. Dear God! Anyone that has worked in the Congress knows that for over 200 years this country has had partisanship - that’s the way our country is.”
On the issue of Gender Politics
Ferraro also touched on this issue. Women have done very well in America, and though I admit the job is not done for Women’s rights and equality, they aren’t exactly holding the short end of the stick. Compare the amount of CEOs that are black versus white, or lawyers, doctors, other professionals below the Presidential level. I understand that shattering the glass ceiling — especially when it comes to the American presidency — is an enormous step for women. However, it is beyond my understanding why some women are so quick to dismiss the minority candidate using the reason that “women have had it worse” than black people in America? This argument defies all logic, either you have suffered from discrimination or you haven’t. The fact that some flavors of discrimination are different doesn’t make them more worthy of fighting for. It bothers me that the Democratic party would even divide itself on the issue of race and gender.
As long as I could remember, the party’s mantra was about equality for all people and helping to “level the playing field”. Yet, the moment that the party has an opportunity to place a minority candidate into the White House, some segments of the party suddenly have issues with putting ‘that black man’ or ‘that woman’ into the White House. I’d expect Republicans to say, “I’d love to have a woman in the White House, just not that woman!” Now, Ferraro is using a similar line of rhetoric, just this time it’s “I’d love to have a black man in the White House, just not that man!” The qualifications used are different, but either way they are both similarly disheartening and problematic for Democrats.
The Iraq War Quagmire
Democrats have given Republicans a lot of hell over the Iraq War and rightly so. This is an instance where actions speak much louder than words. We’ve all heard the rhetoric, “Give us the power and we’ll end the war.” Easier said than done, huh? The fact is that Iraq is a lot more complicated than simply packing up the bags and sending all the troops home to their families. This isn’t a mess that can be undone overnight, it’s going to take time. Our exit strategy will require a continued presence overseas if not to defend Iraq’s political interests, then to defend our own.
Our Democratic leadership knows very well that even if troops are removed from Iraq, our candidates intend to pay Afghanistan a visit in search of Osama Bin Laden. To suggest to the American people that the war will be over is deceptive at best. Not until the new president is inaugurated will all of the facts come to light for the future Presidential administration. As President Bush has led a very secretive administration, it’s impossible to know how the occupation will end or if it will end any time soon.
Reality and Hypocrisy
When Barack Obama claims that he will bring hope back to America, help make partisan politics a thing of the past and be a step ahead your typical Washington politician, forgive me if I remain skeptical. In fact, I’d argue the opposite: Barack Obama’s biggest asset is his ability to play politics and his words will help him deliver to an extent. Democrats have failed our country by promising to end the war, they will fail our country by promising to put politics aside when they know it is an impossible feat. My guess is that Americans will continue to struggle because Democrats with power will continue to make promises that they know they cannot keep.
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