I hope, and have sufficient reason to believe, that John Kerry's recent policy outline regarding taxation and job creation is sincere and doable. This inspires me much more than "I know something about aircraft carriers for real" (although I do like that line).
I want "my father's Democratic Party" back. The one that stood up for the worker bees.
The "elitist" tag has stuck against the Democratic leadership because there is an element of truth to it. Over the past couple of decades the Democrats, under DLC hegemony and their slavishness to corporate cash, have come unglued from their base.
Let me be clear. It is not contemptuous that the leadership tends to be more affluent than the party membership (and John Kerry is a good example of that). The leadership need not live in the same milieu as the typical party member in order to understand their plight. FDR was the greatest "class traitor" of all time. It looks like John Kerry could be wonderfully 'traitorous' too. Good.
It does my heart good to see Kerry flanked by average workers, whether they be firefighters, police officers, teachers, janitors or autoworkers. I hope it signals that he understands who this party is supposed to represent. Kerry came to Michigan on Saturday. He spoke at an urban university in Detroit (Wayne State) and a working-class suburb (Warren).
IMO, this is exactly right. Our focus needs to be less NPR, and more PBR. Less internet and more interstate. Less Starbucks, and more Dunkin' Donuts. Less consideration of trial lawyers, and more attention to construction workers.
For far too long, the "least among us" or the mere "shareholders" in America, if you will, have not seen any action on our behalf. Corporate America and the wealthy have a very well-funded, effective party advocating on their behalf. What do the rest of us have?
I think we finally have a presidential candidate who "gets it". I think our party is united in making our American experiment a success again - for everyone. And none too soon.
It's high time the Democratic Party stood for something other than the next election. I think it is right to advance the issues of the ordinary American, not at the expense of the wealthy, but in addition to the wealthy.
If GWB thinks outsourcing is so great, let him run for President of India. In the meantime, my state is missing over 200,000 jobs since he took office.