St. Louis, MO- September 9,2006-
Bill Clinton comes to St. Louis to endorse Claire McCaskill for US Senate.
It was a beautiful day. The weather was nice too. It was so encouraging to see thousands of people lining up to see the "rock star" of politics- former President William Jefferson Clinton. It made this grandmother believe that we may be, finally, on the path to change.
I am from a small town in Missouri 10 miles from Rush Limbaugh's hometown. There aren't a lot of Democrats around home. As a matter of fact if you get the Democrat ballot in the primary, you do NOT get to vote for local positions, the election is during the primary...there are NO Democrats to oppose the GOP in the general election.
President Clinton made a great point during his speech. He said we, the Democrats, are now the Conservative AND Progressive party! I personally can attest to that.
I am a 51 year old grandmother. I was a Republican for 35 years, but this year I changed my party affiliation to Democrat. I am a moderate...in the new GOP there is no room for moderates,or liberals, or conservatives. The Republicans are so out of touch with REAL people and their values it is frightening! They are the party of the Ultra-rich and they spend all their time in the pursuit of wealth, by and for their "base"..the 3-4% who would be adversely affected by the Estate Tax!
President Clinton spoke eloquently and didn't even glance at his notes! He spoke with passion and explained how the two parties have a fundamental difference. The GOP has an Ideology while the Democrats have a Philosophy. The GOP Ideology is similar to Steven Colbert's "gut feeling". No amount of factual information will change their perception. A Philosophy encourages discussion and debate. The United States would not be here today if we followed only an ideology. Philosophy is necessary for both growth and change.
I am volunteering at the MO Democratic HQ in Cape Girardeau trying to bring about that growth and change.
I hope many more people will see that change is possible and neccessary. One person can make a difference. Get out and vote! Volunteer to help...make phone calls, go door-to-door, stuff envelopes, put up a yard sign....DO SOMETHING!
Claire McCaskill will be a great Senator! We need her to take us forward...to hold the government accountable to the people. We need a government that addresses issues that affect people's lives...not fearmongering and namecalling.