Recently I was informed of the following:
As a Democrat, I fully believe in using the power of government and taxation to guide the capitalist system toward benefiting the country."
The implication was that if I wasn't on board with that then I wasn't a Democrat. I'm wondering if this party wants to win in 2008 or just be right.
Karl Rove calls us elitist snobs. He effectually uses statements like those above to drive moderate Americans away from the Democratic Party. How can we expect Republicans to work with us if we can't work together?
Power of the government = I think the Declaration of Independence declares power is of the people, by the people and for the people. So we can agree gov't should be about benefiting the country. As to whether that power should be used to guide the capitalist system or not, quite frankly is where we may disagree a bit.
I believe that this is the failing of the Democratic Party because moderate Americans recognize govt's place in society but generally speaking do not believe that gov't is a tool that should be telling people or businesses what to do. However, I also believe there is a way to work together despite these differences to achieve what is best for the country.
We must start by recognizing the areas we can agree on. For instance, everyone in America right now can probably agree that we need to do something about the safety of our food especially products from outside the USA. The difference is in the solution. One group wants gov't to inspect more products coming into the country. Another group says start making products here in America so these rules can not so easily be bypassed. These are 2 different solutions but the interesting fact is that both agree on one thing......gov't regulations.
One group wants more gov't regulations. The problem with this solution is we can't afford to enforce the regulations we have now on imported products. We can't afford more inspectors. We can't even afford to screen every contained against terrorism. So logic would say that is an impractical solution.
Now the other group relies on current regulations and laws being enforced. Enforcement is the difficulty with laws. You can legislate all you want but if you can't and don't enforce these laws then what good are they? And what good are more laws for the same reason. The recent recall of toys was a result of current laws not being obeyed from 3rd party contractors outside the US.
The common point we share is that there is good in these gov't regulations. Most people just want gov't to be reasonable, not excessive or wasteful, and to stay out of their personal lives. This is another point most of us can agree on.
Now as to the taxation part, I believe the same rule applies. Most people don't mind reasonable taxes but just want everyone to pay their fair share and the gov't to spend it wisely. Where we would disagree would be the use of taxation as a way of guiding our system. Now if you had left out that part we would definitely be closer in agreement. But all I have to do is look at how our gov't has used their power to tax companies. Are companies paying their fare share? NO WAY! Are you going to blame that all on Bush and the GOP? I don't think so. Yes they have made things worse but the tax laws that have encouraged businesses to leave US have been around a lot longer than George. Democratic Senators and Congressman cannot shirk their responsibility for enacting tax laws that encourage the exact opposite of the above statement.
Can anyone name me ONE example of something that BIG GOVT has solved effectually? Please do not waste my time with examples of attempts at solutions. I'm talking about real solutions that work and aren't wasteful. I've been told there is a long list so it shouldn't be hard to site one.
Yes, we can all agree that George and his groupies have done more to destroy our system than perhaps any other person in history. But BIG Gov’t did not start with George. George has just shown us very clearly how wasteful and corrupt gov’t can be in the hands of the wrong group of people.
Regardless though of whether we see the solution as more gov’t or we see the solution as less govt, we can at least agree there is a problem. Right now the problem we face together is getting elected so we can repair the damage that Bush and his loyal Bushies have done to our great society.
So, I'll end this my friend by asking you this question. Do you want to win in 2008 or do you want to be right? Because unless we come together and use our resources wisely, we could lose the next election. And that my friend would be a much greater tragedy than either one of us being wrong.