Critical Days for the Democratic Party

Yesterday, June 8, 2005, was the start of a number of upcoming critical days for the Democratic Party. The party MUST change to meet the new American demographics of the 21st century. Many in the Party recognize this, however many are opposed due to the fear of the “liberal” label, and many are just simply confused. Trying to weld the present Democratic Party into a strongly united group, in the words of popular vernacular, “is like trying to herd an army of cats”. The sad truth is that the Democratic Party is composed of six main eclectic constituencies:
1) Old African American and other Minority Party regulars, remnants of the Civil Rights Struggle, who still view the Democratic Party through a dusty prism reflective of the glory days of the Johnson presidency and its Great Society programs.
2) Long serving, high seniority congressional Democrats, who have obtained political superstardom and are determined to preserve their own parochial national status no matter what the cost to the party or to the welfare of their own local constituents. They use pragmatism a mask of the true reality of their own personal attitude which argues that it is their respected and enduring seniority that entitles them to believe that their personal political goals are both critical and vital to the well being of the nation. Unfortunately the selfish nature of such a viewpoint leaves little room for any sincere and urgent concern over the survival of the Democratic Party.
3) Remnants of the former politically powerful labor unions, which are locked in a life or death battle for survival in America. Unions are desperately looking for help in its struggle to survive from its old traditional ally, the Democratic Party. Union representatives are trying to piggyback union organizing on the youthful Party “ward and town” foot soldiers who exhibited so much dedication in the national Democratic “get out the vote” campaign in the last presidential election. Unions are attempting to thrust the baggage of a clandestine union recruiting drive into the basic planning for the national Democratic 2006 congressional campaign.

4) Oscillating environmentalists who would really prefer a viable American “green” party but are stuck for now with the Democratic Party as the only reasonable choice between the two major political parties.
5) Pro-choice women’s groups, fighting desperately to preserve the legality of the “Roe vs Wade” Supreme Court decision. The Pro-choice groups are also fighting the exploding rise of anti-abortion political power in many other areas; such as recent decisions in some State legislatures to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill drug prescriptions that they feel may be used to prevent pregnancies purely on the subjective basis that it could compromise the respective pharmacist’s personal religious values.
6) Lastly, diverse legions of American youth who are yearning and striving for a nation that not only enshrines the American Bill of Rights, but honors it with a priority that supersedes all else.

Aggressive Republican strategists have recognized the splintering effects that result when special interest groups articulate the goals of the Democratic Party in the language of their own parochial priorities, and have attempted to capitalize on this by using saturation publicity tactics to spotlight one special interest group over another. For example, a well known Republican trick exploiting this Democratic rift is to broadcast the question (to the Democrats), “Which is more important, a women’s right to have an abortion, or the condition of the national environment?” One should also remember that the Republican’s TOTALLY CONTROL the media both broadcast and print. These channels, if not closed entirely, are certainly heavily biased against anything the Democratic Party has to say. Perhaps, the one exception to this would be a national notice that the party intends to disband! Democratic Party news would be stifled completely without Blogs and the vast reach of the irrepressible Internet. This technology is the primary force that is actively preserving the two party system in America.

Of the six main constituents listed above, The Democratic Party should choose one and only one priority and that is to the American Democratic youth. There is a parable in the New Testament of the Bible which uses the ancient adage of NOT putting “new wine in old skins”, as the old wineskin will crack and burst, and the wine will be wasted. This parable is particularly applicable to the Democratic Party at this time. The Party currently enjoys the pleasure of having the “new wine” of youth ready and energized to take the Democratic Party into the future of America. The Party MUST NOT attempt to package this fresh new spirit into the old wineskin sewn with the special interest ambitions from the past. The banner for the new youth driven Democratic Party must be Freedom, Equal Justice, and the Bill of Rights for all Americans. This is what the current Chairman, Dr. Howard Dean is attempting to create, and we should not impede his efforts, or be ashamed by the expected criticisms of the Republican controlled media. Howard Dean is showing the youth of American that tomorrow belongs to them, if they stand up and take it. The coming days will require REAL Democrats to stand up and be counted! Those senior Democratic congressmen and women who feel that appeasement of the Republicans is the temporary answer for these times should be effectively challenged in the primaries and voted out of office! These people have proven that they lack the will and are unprincipled when they are on the losing end of the stick. The loyal opposition only remains in a position of honor for as long as they remain true and steadfast to their principles of opposition. The current obsequious behavior of many Democratic senior members of congress has not gone unnoticed by the Democratic youth who worked so hard in the last presidential campaign. Therefore these individuals will have no place of honor in the Democratic Party of the future. I certainly do not advocate removal of anyone or any group with a particular interest or goal from the Democratic Party. Let them join and support Democratic candidates. However, the goals and aspirations of the Democratic Party must be formulated by those who are in the midst of the grass roots fight during these critical days. These are the people who will be the mainstay of the Party tomorrow, for they are the Democratic Party!