I don’t write many diaries anymore….
During the early 2000s, I joined DailyKos because I felt that George W. Bush was a disaster and was leading us into the Iraq War without any plans to solve the post-war destabilization problems. I worked hard in Virginia to fight for liberal and progressive, hell even just ANY Democrat, so that we could fight against the Republicans who seemed so hell-bent on destroying through spite and ineptitude the country that I loved. In Virginia, in 2005 we elected Tim Kaine Governor in a squeaker. Then in 2006 we elected Jim Webb to the Senate in a squeaker! Then in 2008, we elected Barack Obama president of the United States.
Yes we could, and yes we did. Then came the Obama years. I’m not sure why, but the health care fight took almost all the enthusiasm I had for the Obama years out of me. I’m not sure if it was Ted Kennedy dying. The rampant self-interest of a many of the Democratic Senators and congressmen and women, or the weak, shitty Affordable Care act, that came out of it. The funny thing about the affordable care act, was that it proved to me that special interests had more power in Washington than I did. I called my congressman, I wrote letters, emails, I went to rallies, I convinced others to call and write and rally, but still nothing got better. I came to realize that Barack Obama and the Democratic Party were not the same thing, that he was much more liberal and progressive then the party itself, and that much of the party was very conservative.
I started to notice that my two Senators and Congressman who I had worked hard to elect didn’t really share many of my same values. My calls soon became more antagonistic, as I found myself calling more often to get them to vote for the things I believed in:
- Single Payer Healthcare (none)
- Not Supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (none)
- Fighting Monopolization/Conglomeration of Business (none)
- Sanctioning Iran during the Peace Process (none)
- Closing down Guantanamo Bay Facility (none)
- Net Neutrality (only Kaine)
- Increasing the Minimum Wage to 15/hr (only Connolly [partial])
- Fighting to close off-shore oil (only Connolly)
- More Gun-Control/Munitions Control (only Kaine and Connolly)
At the same time that I was starting to fight with my Democratic senators more often, I also noticed that the issues that were really affecting me were not even being discussed or addressed by Democrats in a meaningful way locally or nationally:
- Affordable housing — in my area, housing costs 50 — 70% of people’s take home incomes, and yet nothing has been done to help my generation get housing after the greatest economic downturn since the depression
- Income Stagnation — I have gotten one raise in the last 8 years that was enough to keep me going beyond the rate of inflation. I wonder how many other people my generation struggle with this problem.
- Billionaires — We have too many billionaires in this country, we need a wealth tax that taxes all individual wealth over a billion dollars at 100%. Too many billionaires are using their money to try to shape the country in their image, and I think it’s wholly undemocratic.
- Government cuts — tons of middle class, relevant and important jobs have been cut from the government due to ‘budget cuts’ by both Democrats and Republicans. Many of my friends in government feel that
- Abandonment of Unions — The good-paying union job is gone, and I think partly because many Democrats support right-to-work laws because they don’t believe in collective bargaining.
- Attacks on Public Education — The Obama years were very dark years if you were a teacher. The Obama Administration felt more like a corporate republican administration, as they pushed shitty, high-stakes testing ideology, and opened the door for the charter school and voucher system programs to thrive. It seemed Arne Duncan was as big a problem as Republicans in trying to ruin education.
I could go on...but I don’t want to beat a dead horse. I started to realize, that while I have moved to the left, the Democratic Party has stayed about where it was in 2005. I think economically, everyone who is under the age of 35, has moved to the left, while the Democratic Party has stayed in the center.
Looking at the last election, Hillary Clinton presented herself as a:
- Military Hawk
- Social Progressive
- Economic Moderate
During the primary, she won a majority of the Democratic Party voters, with one huge exception, voters under 35. She lost this demographic group in huge numbers, because economic moderation, the same Moderation of Obama, did not help us out. I did not vote for her in the primary for just that reason, she was too hawkish, and too economically moderate. She earned my vote against Trump, but that was more against him, versus for her.
I was watching Bill Maher talk to Dan Savage about what Democrats should do to reach people who didn’t vote in 2016. I think that one thing I agreed with him about is that Democrats don’t have one voice on any issue, while Republicans do. It’s hard to listen to counter issues when one side is screaming one thing, and the other is screaming 80 things in response. I think the Democrats need to start agreeing on some common issues that make you a Democrat, period.
In 2007, I think I would’ve called myself a Democrat. Now, I look at the party, and I’m not sure what they believe in. I’m not sure beyond being against Trump, why I would want to vote for the party. They seem 5 — 10 years behind the times, and I’m not sure why. So I ask you my fellow Kossacks. What does the Democratic Party stand for:
Is there a coherent Economic message? What is it?
Is there a coherent Foreign Policy message? What is it?
I will say at least on social issues, the party seems to be on good terms, and have moved to embrace our diversity and culture.