I was just reading a post by RevRandy in which he said he was "waiting for the Democratic Party to stop playing politics and again be a voice of values and vision." I decided I had to post my response to the general audience, and here it is.
We ARE out here talking about a REAL Democratic message, Randy. Lots of us. But the "leadership" of the Democratic Party continues to throw us under the bus in favor of candidates who "can win" according to the calculus and logic of the folks in Washington.
I'm running for Congress against Tom Tancredo and I do have a strong, and REAL, Democratic message. But the powers that be have decided that I can't win, so they ignore me. Never mind that I have strong poll numbers that say I CAN win and I AM winning. They have their criteria and I don't fit it.
And I'm not alone by any means. There are so many strong Democratic candidates across America being ignored by our Party. It's deeply discouraging, to be perfectly honest.
But I'm not going to let it get me down or affect our campaign. We are going to win anyway, and I'll tell you why and I'll tell you how.
We are going to start by reclaiming the high ground in every debate and on every issue. We're not going to curl up in a corner anymore and say "Please don't hurt me". We're going to fight back.
When they try to say we are godless, we are going to go right to the source and quote the Bible back at them.
"Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you? Or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger, and take you in?
Or naked, and clothed you?
When Lord, did we see you sick, or in prison, and came to minister unto you?
And the Lord said unto them, 'Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you ever did it to the least of my children, you have done it unto me!'"
I'm not afraid to quote the Bible. I'm not afraid to stand up to religious demagogues. And I'm not afraid to stand strong on the principle of separation of church and state. I'll stand with Jesus and with Jefferson on this, and the other side can stand with Dobson, and we'll see where it ends up.
When they try to say we are not patriotic, we will fight back and we will say that true patriotism means loyalty to America, not loyalty to a President or a policy or a political party.
And I will be the rock on which you can plant your flag. I will stand and say I have ten years of service to my country that says I'm a patriot. I've got my own blood and sweat shed to defend America, and NO ONE is going to question that. And you can come stand with me!
And when they say we are weak, we will say no, we are strong. We are the ones who stand for working Americans. We are the ones who stand for the troops. We are the ones who stand for the lives of Americans and America's children.
And those who say we should continue to sacrifice the lives of America's children on what is evidently and clearly a failed policy must not be allowed to continue unopposed.
If they say "cut and run" then I say "What will you sacrifice? Will you send YOUR children to the war? Will you go yourself? Will you pay higher taxes to pay for it?"
And when the answer is no or stony silence, then I will say "How dare you offer up the lives of others for a slogan, when you won't pay any price yourself!"
And Congressman Murtha, you have my word, sir, that you will never stand alone again. If they want to challenge the honor of a United States Marine, then they are going to have to go through me to do it!
We stand for America. We stand for America's children and her future. We DO have a plan to restore greatness, and right the wrongs that we see so clearly today.
But we don't have to go out and talk about what is wrong. Americans know what is wrong. They want to hear how we are going to fix it. They want to hear our solutions, so let's give it to them. We have solutions and we are the party that gets things done.
Bill Winter
http://winterforcongress.com/