President George W. Bush – the most vilified President in sometime – has been re-elected by a large margin. He captured the greater part of America and even in those states where he ran behind Senator Kerry, he lost by small margins. For some this is a time for celebration and gloating, but I think that is misplaced. The Trojans celebrated when the Greeks packed up and sailed away – unaware of the greater danger in their midst. I think this may be where America is today. I am not speaking of the terrorists, the economy, and the whole host of problems facing our country and the world, I am speaking of the Democratic Party. I do not mean that the Democratic Party is a threat to America – quite the contrary – I think a strong and vibrant Democratic Party is crucial to the well-being of our country and to the world at large. But that is not what I see when I look at the election results. What I see is a Democratic Party that is in decline and has been in decline for sometime.
If you look at the map, you see the Democratic Party captured the Northeast and the West Coast and even here there were strong minorities. From my point of observation I see a political party that seems to have lost its focus. Their spokesmen seem to be extreme and exemplified by George Soros and Michael Moore with a sprinkling of Hollywood intellectual lightweights. I don’t mean to say that the Democratic Party is devoid of capable people, quite the contrary, I think the Democratic Party has some strong leaders and dedicated people, Senators Biden, Schumer, and Lieberman come to mind – yes even Senator Clinton would fall into this category. But these people do not seem to have any control or influence over the party as a whole. Instead we are faced with people whose only agenda seems to be hate and whose only objective seems to be obstruction and failure.
There are many examples of this but those that come to mind are the obvious ones. We have Michael Moore who seems to be obsessed with a virulent hatred of President Bush -- not his policies per se but the man himself. Then we have George Soros who has stated that he thinks capitalism is evil and is opposed to the President at a personal level and with a passion that borders on insanity. Soros has gone so far as to say if President Bush is reelected he will join a monastery. This is highly unlikely but is an example of his extremism. Then we have the press who have doctored photos and printed false statements in order to discredit the President – once again – not at the policy level but at a personal level. From this we can go to the networks whose bias reached a high (low?) point with Dan Rather using forged documents to discredit the President – again an attack at a personal level. This is not to excuse the ad hominem attacks launched against Senator Kerry because they are just as serious nor is it intended to say all of these attacks are wrong and evil. Quite to the contrary – our country has always lampooned, attacked, and generally insulted every candidate of every party. I don’t think this is wrong or that it should stop but I do think that when the attacks reach the point of pure personal hatred then that has gone over the line. My point has to do with how this destructive behavior, which is conducted outside of the mainstream Democratic Party is hurting the party as a whole and the country in general. Although I am couching these remarks in terms of the Democratic Party much of this applies equally well to the Republicans.
I think it is imperative that the Democratic Party repudiate these extremists and move back to their constituency. The people who are speaking for them are not connecting with the people. Instead they are relying on activist judges who are legislating from the bench but who are not in touch with the people. This is a Christian Country at heart. While it is true that we have religious freedom, that does not mean that we repudiate our Christian Roots. The actions by these judges at removing the Ten Commandments, removing Christmas Celebrations, and actively attempting to suppress God are not in keeping with how the majority of Americans feel. But the issue lies even deeper than this, because the extreme left wing on the West Coast and Northeast, support issues that are not supported by the vast majority of Americans. For example, the liberal elites support unlimited abortion and refuse to see any middle ground. I think the majority of Americans support a woman’s right to choose but think that the woman should make that choice before the third trimester. But any limitation is viewed by the extremists as a direct attack on Roe v. Wade. I don’t think this extreme position is really the position of the Democratic Party but it is the position of those who speak for them. Another example is AIDS, gay marriage, homosexuals in the military. Although these are all different issues they are connected in the minds of many Americans – including many Democrats in the heartland. We are spending millions of dollars on AIDS research when the actual number of people impacted in quite small and due in large to their personal conduct. This money could be better spent on other research but this topic and homosexuals in the military as well as gay marriage are perceived by many as attempts to have society accept homosexuality as a “normal” and “acceptable” code of conduct and life style. If homosexuals want to be in the military all they have to do is keep their mouth shut but this isn’t acceptable. The same is true for gay marriage. Many Americans think that the state does not have the right to deny a license for a civil union to any one but marriage is between a man and a woman. But once again the extreme left – exemplified by Hollywood – insists that any limitation is nothing short of racist, sexual persecution, or whatever. Where is the voice of reason? Of compromise? Then we have the internationalists who actually believe in a world government and think that the UN is that vehicle, ignoring the rampant corruption and demonstrated impotence and anti-Americanism of that institution. The vast majority of Americans think America first and the UN be damned. It isn't that the mainstream are isolationists but it does mean that they put America first and the international community far down their list of priorities.
All of these points are arguable and can be debated endlessly. It can be argued that Republicans are just as guilty as the Democrats but I must come back to the obviously unbalanced distribution of the electorate. Something is wrong and perhaps my analysis is wrong as well but whatever it is, I think the Democratic Party needs to undergo a serious self-appraisal – for the good of the country as well as the party and that they need to purge or other wise disavow people like Michael Moore and George Soros.
I thought Senator Kerry retired from the field of battle with grace and dignity. He was more Presidential in defeat than he was in the campaign. He demonstrated that he really did put America first--something that he was unable to do in the campaign. It is my opinion that had he repudiated these extremists he might have fared better in the election. Although he did not win a majority he certainly won a strong minority and his "supporters" like Moore, Soros, bin Laden, and the international community did he a great deal more harm than they helped.
I mean these comments to be constructive and helpful because I truly think every party in power needs a strong opposition in order to steer a medium course – not too far left but not too far right either. Presently I fear that the true spirit of the Democratic Party has been hijacked by outsiders who have no agenda or an extreme agenda but do not represent the heart of the Democratic Party
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