As a long time Democrat — I’ve been voting for 63 years and only voted Republican once — let me try to encourage you to stay Democratic. A party is only as strong as its people, but outside forces can take us away from our goals, and a big part of that is campaign funding.
Every Democratic candidate goes into the race with visions of altruism. “For the common good” is the goal, but the harsh truth is that money must be raised in order to move forward. It’s hard to look gift horses in the mouth when their campaigns depend on massive funding, thanks to Citizens United and the realization that it’s virtually impossible to win national elections without mountains of money at hand. Candidates take money from seemingly shady sources, not because they want to but because they have to. Donations don’t equate favors. I don’t say it never happens but, at least on the Democratic side, I don’t see it as common practice. (Don’t think there aren’t plenty of opponents checking the money trails to see where they lead.)
The DNC is not the party, but we need them during campaigns because it’s their job to raise funds and bring visibility to our candidates. Obviously, they don’t always get it right, but the party is much larger than that arm, yet when they mess up they become “the party”.
I’m proud to be a Democrat, and I’m proud of our platform. It reads like the items you attribute to the Democratic Socialists. (It’s here if you want to read it.) It obviously needs to be more than a wish list and we do that by electing people who understand the need to abide by it.
Most Democrats are more socialistic than centrist, but few of us are true leftists. We work hard to keep social programs in place so that the least of us aren’t swallowed up by the dark forces looking to minimize or destroy them. We’re the ones on the news programs trying to change minds about racism, xenophobia, health care, education, Republican dirty tricks, propaganda, creeping fascism— name anything Trump and the Republicans push and we’re against it.
Again, the bitter truth is there are only two viable political parties right now and the only truly effective way to fight against the GOP power play is to vote Democratic. Nobody wants to hear this but third party voters (in national elections particularly) inevitably do the opposite of what they intended and give the election to the Republicans. And when the Republicans win, they gain the power to stop or reverse every small-D democratic action we’ve fought for for decades.
I’m stoked by so many Democrats out there right now who’ve come forward and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. They make me proud. We’re in a crisis right now, with Donald Trump demagoguing all over the place and the Republicans misusing their power, cheating, lying, causing so much harm I have to wonder how much more than can do before it’s too late to fix it.
We need to stop them in their tracks. It takes a big party with a big presence to do that and if we all commit to working toward the same goal, we might just get it done.
Working together is the magic remedy. We weaken our mutual causes by dividing into splinter groups, arguing over methods instead of keeping our eyes on the prize.
You have to make this decision for yourself, but you put this out here for discussion and this is my two cents. Thanks.
