Another diary has restarted the familiar flagellation of Democrats on DKos, our self-described Democratic site. For those who have truly and irrevocably given up on the Democrats, my best wishes to you; perhaps you would be happier at other sites. For those who, despite ongoing frustrations and disappointments, are open to the fact that there are at least SOME redeeming qualities to the Democratic Party which make it demonstrably superior to the Republicans, here are a few reminders of what the Democratic Party, at its best, does.
With all due respect to Glenn Greenwald: THIS is what the Democratic Party does. It's who they are:
1930s:
- the Works Progress Administration, Social Security
1960s:
- Medicare, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, War on Poverty, First African-American Supreme Court justice
1970s:
- Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CAFE (minimum fuel efficiency) standards for autos, Department of Education, Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel
1990s:
- Childrens Health Insurance Program, Restoration of democracy in Haiti, Dayton accords ending war in Yugoslavia
2009:
- Lily Ledbetter Act (equal pay for women), restoration of embryonic stem cell research, abolition of torture by US government, Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, creating between 1 and 2 million jobs (according to CBO), first Latino Supreme Court justice
2010:
- Begun process to end Don't Ask Don't Tell, Comprehensive Health Care Reform?????????????
Frankly, I have had it with the endless attacks on Dems from the left. Yes, they can be weak and spineless. Yes, they too often speak like wonks without stating the moral imperatives of their positions (such as HCR). Yes, they can be too quick to compromise and too timid to move. So we need to push, prod, and help them - beginning TOMORROW (Feb. 24) with calls to insist on health care reform now. But let's not abandon them. Look at the good that's been done. Imagine the good still to be done. And imagine a return to power of an ever more right-wing Republican party.