Not Our Father's Party
The Democratic party of today is not the party of our Fathers. The Democratic Party of 2024 is different from what we remember from the past . . .even the recent past.
If a person is a life-long Democrat, a committed liberal, a passionate libertarian or a centrist-independent; a re-examination of what the Democratic party has demonstrated itself to stand for today is in order. They should then determine if that is what they, themselves, stand for.
It is not the party of Franklin Roosevelt, nor is the party of Harry Truman. It is not the party of John F. Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson. It is not the party of George McGovern or Hubert Humphrey. It is not the party of Jimmy Carter. None of these leaders would support or endorse the Democratic Party of today.
It is not the party that sought to remake America through programs such as The New Deal, The Great Society or The War on Poverty'. It is not the party that said, " . . .ask not what your country can do for you . . ."
This is not the party of Barbara Jordan or Caesar Chavez, both of whom opposed uncontrolled immigration. The Democratic Party in 2024 is not the party of Viola Liuzzo or Medger Evers, both remembered as murdered martyrs in the cause of Civil Rights... It is no longer the party of John L. Lewis who led civil rights protesters over the bridge at Selma. Nor is it the party of Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young and Jessie Jackson, all of whom knelt over the bleeding body of Martin Luther King as he lay dying of an assassin's bullet.
This is not the party that demanded that all of the protections and freedoms of the Bill of Rights be applied for all persons regardless of their point of view or the color of their skin . . . and then amended The Constitution to ensure that universal application of those rights occurred.
In this, the third decade of the 21st Century, the Democratic Party has moved away from its' liberal roots of the late 20th Century, to become the party of avowed socialists such as Bill de Blasio, Alexa Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders,. The Democratic party of 2024 has endorsed and given massive financial support to groups such as Back Lives Matter and Antifa; organizations whose announced intention and demonstrated goal is to dismantle our society through violence if necessary.
The Democratic party of today has turned its back on its 20th Century liberal ideals and has instead embraced the radical legacy of Saul Alinsky, Angela Davis, Stokley Carmichael, H. and Rap Brown along with Bobby Seal and Abby Hoffman. This is no longer the party of Head Start or The Peace Corps. It has, rather, turned to the examples of the Weather Underground.
In this current election cycle, the Democratic Party has enmeshed itself in a cabal with mega doners, mega business and big media to eviscerate the First Amendment and actively suppress opposing views through aggressive censorship. The Party today has undercut the democratic process itself by avoiding a priory vote and appointing the Harris-Walz ticket. In doing so, have abandoned a foundational concept of democracy.
This is back-room politics in the worse sense of the phrase.
And so, I say again: If a person is a life-long Democrat, a committed liberal, a passionate libertarian or a centrist-independent; a re-examination of what the Democratic party has demonstrated itself to stand for today is in order. They should then determine if that is what they, themselves, stand for today.