Oh, Democrats;
As others have sung in songs, I will say now to you:
“Nobody broke your heart – you broke your own – ‘cause you can’t finish what you start.”
It was a great pleasure to attend the annual Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Hollywood, Florida this past June 11, 2011. I have to tell you, my attendance reveals to me an astonishing challenge for our continued development of New Deal progress. The challenge presents itself as a Democratic question. Will America be good to herself, or will she be subservient to an executive royalist status quo? Will she serve her hundreds of millions of people, or will she serve the would-be new executive royalty?
There is a supermajority active constituency in America that favors an active people’s government that approaches our country’s problems with bold new solutions. You’re not going to hear about that supermajority in the executive palace, nor its associated country clubs, or media outlets.
Federal support for the arts and humanities, federal championship for a federal livable, minimum wage; active expansion of better wage and benefit agreements for all of the labor spectrum, not simply for the executive class; federal emergency support for the poor and ailing middle class, fair representation of authentic minority interests, rather than the carnival and cannibal that parrots executive interests – an activist government that truly involves stewardship of wide commonwealth interests is what the people want, because the supermajority of the people, in their heart of hearts - are liberal. That’s why we have a democracy, in case Democrats have forgotten.
The conservatives, wherever they lay, are challenging the lasting achievements of the New Deal. Rather than simply defending the dilapidated state of that old and wise bargain – the people request that we expand it.
Democrats! - yes, we started the New Deal – but we have not finished what we started – we need to multiply the only tradition that defines us. Without that commitment, we are nothing. And the people don’t care about jingles, or being ‘fired up’ – or ‘change’ or anything else – if there is no legislative truth and action to back it up. That’s what they’re ‘IN’ for – not to elect or reelect any particular representative at any given level. The people do not seek to take care of the political life of politicians – every poll tells us so. And yet, too many politicians see that as their primary job.
America senses that politicians are working against the New Deal legacy. If you do not portend to expand the New Deal legacy – you are not a Democrat. And chances are, you will not be elected or reelected in 2012. That is the writing on the wall for 2012.
Sure, party operatives and their associates are easy enough to stir into a cheerleading frenzy: they’re paid to do so. And those in attendance have virtually paid to offer the desired response – we’re ‘IN’! But not the rank and file voter. They have to be inspired. And the Democratic Party as of late has been anything but inspiring to the citizen voter. Remember 2010? Other citizen voters were inspired by their party – they’re called Republicans.
So we are left with two competing theses. The conservative thesis: we are Republicrats and ConservaDems. We pander to the radical right, and fight for a mythical center. We give executive royalists what they want most of the time – because in many cases, we consider ourselves executive royalty too, and we’ll bask in the perks, now and when we leave office. We invite conservative guest speakers who will linger for the duration upon personal gain and individual salvation, narcissism and personal profit-seeking, poorly disguised as populist good will and public service. We truly want what the corporations want, because they reward us well to tow their line. We’ll act like conservatives and they’ll vote for us. If we lose Democratic votes, it won’t matter, because we’ll get Republican votes to replace them.
The conservative thesis was tested in 2010. It failed. In fact, such a thesis seems the prevailing Democratic Party executive trademark for the past thirty years. You see where that gets us, no? Record unemployment; record hawk-driven war spending; record poverty, record civil rights erosion, etc. If Democrats continue this policy into 2012 they will lose. Obama will lose his conservative presidency to an eager, fire-breathing Republican candidate. Bill Nelson (D-FL), who came out like a real hawk at the Jefferson Jackson event, recounted tales of U.S./ Middle East military theater, and ultimately pontificated that Obama’s cardinal presidential act was the assassination of Osama bin Laden - will lose his conservative Democratic senate seat to an openly unapologetic Republican. And tragically, the Democratic Party will lose more seats nationwide – ensuring the Republican coup d’état will reach a greater ascendancy in 2012 when they control the House, the Senate and the Presidency. They are almost there.
But the conservative thesis does not have to happen. There is another path.
The alternative thesis is the one my candidacy represents: the liberal thesis. We are liberal. We seek to expand the New Deal in a 21st century way, because it’s the right thing to do, and because our country is desperately in need of such development. The New Deal did not end with FDR – it began. We are not ‘new’ Democrats – we are old school, dyed in the wool, unapologetically progressive Democrats. We represent the supermajority of American people. Every poll confirms it. Every townhall meeting confirms it. We are guided by a Democratic tradition and belief in liberty, social justice, legal fairness and the commonwealth of humanity. We represent the republic of Main Street. We see and respect Wall Street only as a partner, not a master. And we do not believe in the myth of royalty, nor the spectacle of celebrity as a governing principle.
In other words, we may only inspire our Democratic brethren and citizen voters, young and old, with the active solidarity of democratic ideas for our society based on what the people truly want to see in American life: better times for more people. If we do anything less than this, we are lost.
And there will be no Democratic grace in 2012 - without open-minded leadership and vision to take us there.
Put a progressive Democrat in Congress.
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Nicholas Ruiz III, Ph.D
NRIII for Congress 2012
http://intertheory.org/...
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Editor, Kritikos
http://intertheory.org
Nicholas Ruiz III for Congress
PO Box 1372
New Smyrna Beach, FL
USA 32170
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