Utterly sick and tired of the MSM meme that "the Democrats don't stand for anything"? We are a diverse group, but all Democrats have a few core beliefs, that hold us together and form the basis of our party. Its important that we bring these to the forefront and use them to smash the nasty little meme whenever we hear it. Here, in my first diary, I've tried to briefly summarize some of these core beliefs, and provide a one sentance sound bite and some supporting ammunition to smash the meme.
A common meme of the GOP-controlled MSM during the past election cycle was that "the Democrats don't stand for anything". Over and over again this GOP talking point was pounded into the electorate, and we can expect more of the same in 2008. It's actually a very effective little sound bite, for a few reasons. It completely deflects attention from a huge number of issues where the we accurately reflect the views of the vast majority of the electorate. And, subtly, the talking point also plays the race card. All you have to do is switch the "anything" to "anybody". Democrats embrace the diversity of the electorate and seek a just society for all, thus, Democrats are not standing "for wealthy white guys" or any particular group of "people like me".
Our diversity is such that not all Democrats have an identical set of views on the issues. We are famous for our lack of party discipline, and this is actually a good thing. We are not walking in lockstep at the direction of an authoritarian leader. Instead, ideas and approaches percolate up from the rank and file, and we are wiser and more just in the aggregate than any single authoritarian leader could be. But, there are four core beliefs that we all stand for.
We believe in government of the people by the people and for the people. Thus, we believe in The Constitution of the United States of America, a constantly evolving document formed by the representatives of the people that limits the power of the government and establishes the law of the land. We believe that the government has no powers not enumerated in the Constitution, and that all Americans, including the President, are subject to the laws of the land. We do not believe the president can do whatever he wants to and then "make it legal" later, let alone sign bills with explicit statements that he intends to violate the newly-enacted laws or openly state that he is breaking the law. We're not interested in having a king.
We believe in certain inalienable, inherent rights of man, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These inalienable rights are established in the Bill of Rights, international treaties that are the law of the land, and our beloved Constitution. Thus we believe that our government has no right to torture anybody or hand over prisoners to others for torture, or maintain secret gulags, that our government has no right to spy on American citizens and form databases cataloging our legal activities, that our government has no right to stifle organized political opposition against the government, and has no right whatsoever to take any action harming any individual in retaliation for their political beliefs (either here or abroad). Due to international treaties that are the law of the land, our government also has no right to wage wars of aggression against nations that do not threaten us based on lies to Congress and the American people, steal other nations property, form and fund private armies for purposes of conducting acts of terrorism within other nations, or other such activities.
As our name implies, we believe in democracy. We believe that all adult citizens must have an equal right to vote, and to have their votes fairly counted so that the outcome of elections truely reflect the will of the people. We believe the methods of conducting elections must allow and encourage all citizens to participate, and that the process be trustworthy and verifiable. Cheating at elections and suppression of voting are essentially acts of treason against our democratic system of government.
Finally, all Democrats stand for fairness. All citizens should have equal rights under the law. The role of government for the people is to strengthen the nation as a whole, not just some small segment of the nation or small segment of society. While there may be many opinions as to how to best strengthen the nation, fairness will always be one of our guiding principles.
Now, we Democrats are as diverse as the wonderfully diverse society that we represent. But, we all share these 4 core beliefs: rule of law, inalienable rights, democracy, and fairness. These are the traditions handed down to us by the wise and courageous founders of this nation. The other side, by their actions, rejects these principles. So, the short answer is, we stand for the principles upon which this nation was established.
That should make the difference clear.