I’ve been a Democrat for 50 years, but I’ve become increasingly concerned that the party is not properly representing the citizens. And, I’m skeptical of the party’s ability to accomplish its goals.
In the meantime, I think the party risks losing some of its members. It took some Democrat votes to elect Trump (wake up). Democrats must get to work, figure out how to get organized, and create new leaders from within the party who are electable.
Where does the party stand on tax reform? Democrats better be a good part of that national conversation. I don’t know any Democrats who aren’t in favor of lowering taxes for the middle class. If Democrats work to help the middle class, their efforts will begin to show. (It didn’t show during the Obama administration; it really was the opposite. The rhetoric was not supported by the facts, and the facts didn’t support the rhetoric.)
The Democratic Party believes in helping those who can’t help themselves – but so do Republicans. The difference is that the Democratic Party takes a much stronger position on labeling Republicans as not wanting to help those who can’t help themselves. (The Democratic Party has always defined the Republican Party. I find it so interesting that the Republican Party never gives enough facts and details to counteract the rhetoric of the Democratic Party.)
Americans want less government, lower taxes, and for the government to help people. If we compare various political theories, we find that both Democrats and Republicans believe in many of the same things. As just one example, I think Democrats and Republicans believe in having a clean environment. Problems arise during the implementation of programs to achieve these goals, since the parties often have totally different ways of seeking similar ends. I think Republicans are more realistic about how long it’s going to take to keep the economy going. And we need to establish priorities. It takes money to clean the environment; if we don’t focus on running the economy, it’s possible the money won’t be available to work on cleaning the environment.
Furthermore, people have been talking about “smaller government” forever. I don’t know if that will ever come to pass, but I do know that we must find some new leaders. The current leadership within the Democratic Party has failed and is somewhat suspect – presiding over multiple lost national and local elections. These are not the people we want talking for the Democratic Party. Let’s find some new people who will have a chance to be elected.
Right now, we’re hearing nothing from the Democratic Party except “Russia, Russia, Russia,” with nothing to show for it and no end in sight. It’s getting old. I do think the party should continue to push for investigations into possible Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, ensuring that these investigations are handled properly. This investigation also needs to be conducted on everyone under suspicion and not just the president. If the allegations are confirmed, that’s great – but if not, the party is going to have to find a way to move forward no matter what the outcome.
What might Democrats do instead? They should start by saying they want to work on some other bills. How many bills are being proposed by Democrats right now? One thing I don’t think Republicans will do is table the bills put forth by Democrats. They may not give Democrats’ proposals much of a hearing, but they won’t table them, and at least some of these ideas will reach the population and help generate some positive images about Democratic governance.
We need and deserve better leadership from the Democratic National Committee and throughout the party apparatus. We must find a positive, since the negative is being overplayed. I believe the Democratic Party can get back in there and be strong again – but not in the way they’re going about it right now.
