How I’ve Come To Loathe the Democratic Party
Published by Fred Soto• March 11th, 2008
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I’m a registered Democrat, as many of my readers know. I’d like to write a little bit about the shame that I feel as a result of my party affiliation, but before I do that I will briefly explain my views on American politics as I see it.
American Guilt
By no means does my disgust with the Democratic party have any association to the shame I feel as an American citizen, it’s a different kind of shame.
For starters, when I say I’m ashamed of my country or “ashamed to be an American”, it isn’t because I’m ashamed of America’s rich history, opportunity, liberties and the life that I’ve enjoyed. My shame has nothing to do with the brave soldiers who die for our country. Instead, it saddens me that the leadership of our country is so terribly incapable, dysfunctional and responsible for our broken government. The hypocrisy inherent in politics is beyond disgusting at this point and it comes from both sides, making it highly difficult for any independent thinker to support. My only consolation as I struggle to come to terms with the future of American identity is that I’ve discovered libertarianism and my zest for liberty and justice is what gives me some sense of purpose on the intellectual front.
Republican Failures Under President Bush
Americans, in large part due to the Republican agenda and Democratic cowardice, have succumb to greed, corruption, struggles with sexuality and pointless nationalism.
Our country’s leadership is responsible for the deaths of 5,000 American soldiers, tens of thousands of wounded, and millions of Iraqi civilians. In addition to the deaths, as if it can get any worse, we’ve left our children with trillions of dollars of debt. Our laughable scholars see it as fashionable to embrace variations of torture for the good of the country and we gladly “debate the merits” of what constitutes torture and when it is appropriate to do so, instead of shaking our heads in disgust as any American would have prior to the 21st century.
But hey, September 11th changed everything didn’t it?
It would take me days to explain everything that is wrong with that statement, but suffice to say we’ve made the mistake of beginning and ending all history over the events that happened on that day. We’ve thrown away 200 years of history, dismantled a beautifully crafted constitution and we have the nerve to call ourselves “freedom fighters” when in reality we’re doing just the opposite in every conceivable way.
Democrats will inherit American leadership in 2008, so what’s the problem?
Sharing my political affiliation is humiliating for a number of reasons and that’s a sad statement considering the demise of the Republican party — the only other viable party in the U.S. At a time when Democrats should be stepping out of the political trenches to seize power and clean up Bush’s mess, the party seems intent on self-destructing prior to the 2008 election. Over the next few months, pundits will analyze and debate the propaganda put forth by Republican party strategists.
“How can Democrats lead America, if it is struggling to hang on to its base?”
The short answer is simple and we all know what it is. America is so strongly divided and polarization is the status quo making it impossible for the party tol fall apart as Republican strategists and foolish pundits will predict. Whenever I see such bold predictions, I laugh because I know what motivates such statements. Many politicos, especially the strong partisans, often make statements that are suggestive, hopeful, and derived from wishful thinking. It’s a form of propaganda and political manipulation that I know well, partially because I’ve participated in some spinning myself.
As they say, you can’t con a conman, so why do they bother? Pundits and strategists do it in hopes of being heard by uneducated or apathetic voters, perhaps reinvigorating the party loyalists and attempting to remain relevant on the national stage in the process. Democrats could have it easy this Fall, but they’ve managed to screw up like only Democrats could.
You might be wondering at this point, “if he doesn’t think the party is falling apart, why such intense anger for the democratic party?”
Battling hypocrisy and defending justice in America
The questions that analysts and pundits are asking are the wrong questions.
The Democratic Party will win the White House and strengthen their leadership in Congress because they’ve been “playing it safe.” No matter how much people like me shout and scream about failures to impeach the president, defend our constitution, and protect our liberties, the majority of Americans that go to the polls don’t have the time to keep abreast of American politics.
Let’s talk about the real problems that have come from poor Democratic leadership.
Exploiting Racism in the Democratic Primary
This one is simple, and it really bothers me that I even have to raise this point. In the past, I’ve given Bill Clinton a lot of credit for being a political genius, a mastermind, a one-of-a-kind politician, possibly the best politician in American History. Any Democrat would agree that Bill Clinton would have surpassed JFK as the most memorable political icon — and perhaps regarded among the greatest Presidents to ever lead — if not for his sexual shot heard ’round the world. Republican loyalists would strongly contest that argument, thus validating my point.
However, the Clinton campaign redux and part of Hillary Clinton’s supporter base has crossed a line that is unforgivable. A historian or political junkie can list prior uses of racial politics in order to achieve certain political goals. However, when Clinton’s staff and surrogates are responsible for attempting to paint a picture of Barack Obama entitled: “Would you vote for a nigger?”that is when a line has been crossed. The words the campaign and surrogates use are much more subtle, but they are there. They’d never stoop so low as to use those actual words because I know deep inside their Democratic hearts, they understand the struggle of minorities in America. That said, Clinton’s camp is now responsible for three despicable uses of race in order to create doubt in the minds of American voters.
Barack Obama the Muslim
First, there is the use of the Barack Obama photo in Kenya.
The photo of Barack Obama wouldn’t be problematic if distributed under a different context, but alongside the public release of that photo were e-mails and misinformation detailing Barack Obama as Muslim. In addition to these incidents, when responding on the issue, Hillary Clinton said to an audience, “As far as I know, Barack Obama isn’t Muslim.” Yes, Clinton is a lawyer. Yeah, it may even be clever politics, but it’s manipulation at its finest. It draws not only on the fears of Barack Obama’s ethnicity, but the fear of a terrorist (taking advantage of American ignorance and the association of Muslims and Terror) in the White House.
Comparing Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson
Next, Bill Clinton’s use of Jesse Jackson’s failed presidential bid as a reference point for depicting Barack Obama as another popular negro, but destined to fail because America isn’t ready for an African American president. This point is great to discuss in the classroom, heck it’s a fine talking point for political blogs and talking heads, but to use it to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of Americans is just downright disgraceful.
Not to be outdone, Hillary Clinton’s supporters are receiving media coverage over racial speech.
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”
According to CNN, Ferraro is a member of Clinton’s finance committee and a top fundraiser. She claims that the media has been hard on Hillary Clinton because of gender and not hard enough on Barack Obama because he is black.
“It’s been a very sexist media. Some just don’t like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign. I was reading an article that said young Republicans are out there campaigning for Obama because they believe he’s going to be able to put an end to partisanship. Dear God! Anyone that has worked in the Congress knows that for over 200 years this country has had partisanship - that’s the way our country is.”
On the issue of Gender Politics
Ferraro also touched on this issue. Women have done very well in America, and though I admit the job is not done for Women’s rights and equality, they aren’t exactly holding the short end of the stick. Compare the amount of CEOs that are black versus white, or lawyers, doctors, other professionals below the Presidential level. I understand that shattering the glass ceiling — especially when it comes to the American presidency — is an enormous step for women. However, it is beyond my understanding why some women are so quick to dismiss the minority candidate using the reason that “women have had it worse” than black people in America? This argument defies all logic, either you have suffered from discrimination or you haven’t. The fact that some flavors of discrimination are different doesn’t make them more worthy of fighting for. It bothers me that the Democratic party would even divide itself on the issue of race and gender.
As long as I could remember, the party’s mantra was about equality for all people and helping to “level the playing field”. Yet, the moment that the party has an opportunity to place a minority candidate into the White House, some segments of the party suddenly have issues with putting ‘that black man’ or ‘that woman’ into the White House. I’d expect Republicans to say, “I’d love to have a woman in the White House, just not that woman!” Now, Ferraro is using a similar line of rhetoric, just this time it’s “I’d love to have a black man in the White House, just not that man!” The qualifications used are different, but either way they are both similarly disheartening and problematic for Democrats.
The Iraq War Quagmire
Democrats have given Republicans a lot of hell over the Iraq War and rightly so. This is an instance where actions speak much louder than words. We’ve all heard the rhetoric, “Give us the power and we’ll end the war.” Easier said than done, huh? The fact is that Iraq is a lot more complicated than simply packing up the bags and sending all the troops home to their families. This isn’t a mess that can be undone overnight, it’s going to take time. Our exit strategy will require a continued presence overseas if not to defend Iraq’s political interests, then to defend our own.
Our Democratic leadership knows very well that even if troops are removed from Iraq, our candidates intend to pay Afghanistan a visit in search of Osama Bin Laden. To suggest to the American people that the war will be over is deceptive at best. Not until the new president is inaugurated will all of the facts come to light for the future Presidential administration. As President Bush has led a very secretive administration, it’s impossible to know how the occupation will end or if it will end any time soon.
Reality and Hypocrisy
When Barack Obama claims that he will bring hope back to America, help make partisan politics a thing of the past and be a step ahead your typical Washington politician, forgive me if I remain skeptical. In fact, I’d argue the opposite: Barack Obama’s biggest asset is his ability to play politics and his words will help him deliver to an extent. Democrats have failed our country by promising to end the war, they will fail our country by promising to put politics aside when they know it is an impossible feat. My guess is that Americans will continue to struggle because Democrats with power will continue to make promises that they know they cannot keep.
tags:deception, democrats, DNC, ideology, Injustice, lies, manipulation, Opinion, political, racism
Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
Email this author | All posts by Fred Soto
Anyone who claims Clinton was a political genius, and ran the country brilliantly has NO idea of anything beyond the front page news, and deserves no place in analyzing this political race.
Clinton was by far one of the most destructive forces this country has seen.
The Iraq war is a direct result of Clinton’s incompetence and Bush’s idiocy.
Do the world a favor and unplug your computer.
disinterested doesn’t mean what you think it does.
I don’t have many complaints about Bill Clinton, as to what hand he had in going to war with Iraq I admit I’m ignorant. Bush put us there though, and hopefully we won’t go into Iran before his ass is out.
As far as the article yes I agree politics sucks. I don’t believe anyone can get us out of this war quickly and it would be pretty irresponsible to do so. That won’t stop them from making polarizing statements, I believe they make them to try to capture the attention of masses and get their idea across. Using race/sex connotations against you’re opponent I will agree is something that just doesn’t need to be done.
I won’t vote for Hillary because she seems all to eager to get any kind of power. I’ll vote for Obama in the hope that he is smart enough to start the cleanup process and maybe charismatic enough to get the people behind him. McCain seems like he is too much for the status quo, sure he knows no one can get us out of the war, but he’s not even looking for closure.
I sure hope you’re wrong about Obama. When America stops holding its politicians to a high standard, what can you expect but to have them all start acting like manipulative, greedy pigs? It seems Americans have started to expect less and less from their leaders, and that’s exactly what is starting to happen. I really think even if Obama doesn’t “put politics aside” as much as he says he will, he is the best candidate in terms of leading the country in the right direction. Sure, “hope” won’t bring the troops home, but it is the first step towards really changing the country.
Could we know where you got your numbers : “millions of Iraqi civilians” ? And do you separate the casualties of war from the people who got killed by suicide bombers (those bombers are not on the payroll of Uncle Sam as far as I know)?
i agree with your viewpoints for the most part. but youre really missing the big picture of american politics.
not in this election, or any other election(for quite a while at least) has there been a leader worthy of leading america. every single american president since ww2 would be considered a war criminal, and if tried under nuremberg, would be hanged. reall kind of beautiful how these leaders are above the law, and are intent on keeping others inside it.
voting in this polyarchy wont do any good(america is not a defined democracy), the best thing you can do is NOT vote, and push for reform.
forget about democrats and republicans. obama, clinton, mccain, and others are all different sides of the same coin.
calling the violence going on in iraq is kinda of uneducated of you also, in all honesty. the illegal invasion of iraq is a war crime in which all american citizens need to have a concience about.
and really, the whole idea of patriotism is nothing more than a mechanism of control for those in power. used to stir up things like extremist views, and irrational submission to power. forget american values, fuck the tribe, i mean everyones tribe and everyones country. the place you were born is nothing more than the eventuality of your parents reproducing.
vote and participate in politics because you want to better your life, and others. not for false ideals.
A libertarian registered as a Democrat?
Now, that is an interesting combination.
I would think that libertarian beliefs are far closer to the conservative viewpoint commonly found in the republican party.
The most obvious conflict would be foreign policy. Are you a libertarian largely because of this or because of the strict interpretation of the constitution and disdain for regulation and high taxes?
I’ve heard many libertarian comments but none referring to Clinton as a great leader.
‘calling the violence going on in iraq a war is kinda of uneducated of you also’
Luke,
Clinton was a political genius just for the fact that only republicans talk about how destructive his administration was. He was a very well liked president.
Fred,
Interesting that you bring up the young republican vote for Obama. Many young republicans that I know ARE on the Obama band wagon purely because they believe it will give the US a “warm fuzzy feeling” and provide newer and better ammo in four years.
I am voting for John McCain, but I will not be upset if Obama wins.
I think what you’re sensing is that our current political system serves up two choices: radical authoritarian conservatives (Republicans) and slightly less radical authoritarian conservatives (Democrats). The gate-keepers don’t have to appeal to the entire populace because the majority of the populace is not really represented - two parties together cannot be all things to all people - and the lack of choice results in uninterested voters. Why vote if it’s not really going to make that much of a difference?
Barack Obama appeals to a lot of people because of his purported bottom-up approach. It remains to be seen if he can really pull that off. One thing I know: if the tide turns and the people learn government really can do something for them, like providing single-payer, government health insurance for all, they will immediately become much more interested in national politics. This is precisely what the powerful do not want, and Barack Obama will not be able to change that.
I’m not a Democrat or Republican, and haven’t even decided where I stand on many current issues. I was moved after watching Michael Moore’s “Sicko.” The film claims that Canada, England, and France have better healthcare and other systems because the people aren’t afraid to protest. Why don’t we do the same? After all, the United States began with a revolt. Has the great experiment failed with our own complacency?
The Iraqi death count is more of a hundred thousand mark. But their deaths are a direct result of American soldiers or an indirect death due to the toppling of the stable government of Iraq and the subsequent influx of terrorists.
I think that saying Billy C. was the best president ever, I wouldn’t go that far. His hand in the economy wasn’t too strong, and he certainly did begin the Iraqi invasion plan. But NAFTA is a smart move, bringing us closer to a North American Union.
I think your view of Obama is far too pessimistic and characteristic of your own opinion: that people have lower standards for their leaders. Yes, Obama knows politics. Yes, he’s good at using words. But honestly, where’s the harm in using words to inspire people to change and fight for it? (Right now, I’m going to indirectly quote Obama.) I have a dream- just words, right? We have nothing to fear but fear itself? If people aren’t interested in politics, if the youngest generation don’t give a rat’s ass about anything on the Hill then it really doesn’t matter how many damn bills or amendments we pass, because no one will care anymore. Put Clinton up against McCain and we lose. Another couple years of the Senate getting vetoed again and again on Iraq will destroy any remaining confidence in that 11% who approved of Congress. At that point I’m moving to another goddamn country because America will have careened off the cliff. But Obama is sincere. I know he is. I trust him to it. My optimism equals your pessimism. We all have to hope that he can do it, because without hope what’s left?
roger-
the way you are going about choosing the criteria for your politics is at best uneducated, and in all honesty ignorant.
picking a leader for how he inspires you will do nothing but perpetuate this terrible system of politics we have going on in america.
common man follow not reason, but faith. some quote you should think about for a bit.
by using imagery and avoiding subjects these “leaders” can somehow win your vote? sorry, its people like you that originally got the electoral college in place. kill your ignorance and embrace truth.
and btw, since you speak of an american union, american hegemony is not in anyones interest. and i mean the species in general, not just joe blow in america. try reading something not so sensationalist, or hell, shut the tv off for a bit.
Your complaining about the Democratic Party in this article, but your spend most of the time article complaining about Hillary’s campaign tactics. While your right about the democratic party letting us down after gaining control of congress, that is mostly because of the “blue dogs” who don’t vote with the democrats. Your a libertarian who has nowhere to turn in American politics, and while you don’t trust Obama, lets admit that he is the peoples best candidate. Vote down lobbyists by voting Obama, and forget about Hillary who has already lost the primary.
I’m a registered Democrat and I haven’t voted in years. Why? Because I’m SO SO tired of politicians who lie about the dangers in the world to stir up fears of the unknown, who try to make us believe that everyone who does not agree with us is a monster, who scream, shout and use tv megalomanics like Oprah to try to enforce their ideas through - still more fear. All people (and indeed, all of life) deserve the same amount of respect without being labeled because they may not happen to agree with the majority. Until that happens, until career politicians finally fall silent, I’ll believe very little of what these people have to say.
What I don’t like about the Dems and their strangle hold on the media is that they have scared so many people about so many things that everyone is afraid to even leave their homes anymore, positive that something terrible is about to befall them, sure that someone is out to get them. Who’s happy anymore?
In writing “Republican loyalists would strongly contest that argument, thus validating my point.”, you suggest you are automatically correct by virtue of Republican loyalists disagreeing with you. I’ll bet Democrats you criticize thought they, too, were correct in their ways, simply because some Republican disagreed with them.
First time I have ever made comment over anything have read on the web. You managed to put into words what have been feeling for some time. Just moved back to lower 48 after 30 years remote Alaska,Have found the shape of our country depressing.Even the fact that the current president has even a 33 percent approval rating disturbing.He should be in prison. My hope has always been with the democratic party,now feel have lost that.At 60 came from generation of hope. Even this democratic congress has been spineless.Love what this country has stood for,and now don’t get it. We are split apart and on road of self destruction.
Need more people to speak out the truth.
Thank You Mike
If the democratic party is so bad then vote republican you f’ing crybaby. Heaven forbid Clinton or Obama try to start a new direction in Iraq by stating we will remove troops. Heaven forbid that they may make promises they can’t pay up on. At least Obama will have the judgment to not go into another Iraq situation, unlike Mccain.
To summarize, cry moar faggot.
(I’m a 21-year-old college student, and I’m a registered Republican, just for some background info.)
You mentioned that it would take you “days” to clear up all the problems associated with making such a big deal about September 11, but you neglected to put the events of September 11 into an accurate historical context. A seemingly unprovoked attack on our nation triggers a massive reaction; the government drops its current policies and begins changing the rights of its citizens as it begins to go to war with those responsible for attacks on American soil. I don’t know if they teach you anything about American history in irresponsible journalist school, but I have picked up a few things along the way.
World War II. Japanese internment camps. The draft. Atomic warfare. All of these followed the events of just one day in history, a day that still lives in infamy, but also one that changed our nation. As a nation, America dropped its isolationist policies, revoked the rights of Japanese-American citizens, and drafted thousands of young men to fight for her.
Am I saying that September 11 is the new Pearl Harbor? Absolutely not. But either way, one day CAN change everything, and there is an entire generation of Americans who have seen too many such days in their lifetime.
What are YOU doing to make sure there are no more of those days?
You do realize that you are a part of an historic attempt to disenfranchise the “ruling elite”? I hope so! Read your founding documents and either agree that “liberal socialism” is a continuation of a bankrupt system, or look at “classical liberalism” and vote accordingly! I will be reviewing these comments to make sure that you are not censoring your contributions which would indicate a “limiting factor” on your dialog!
I haven’t been able to vote for a Democrat for many years now - Democrats were once the party of “Ask not what your country can do for you…” but the party has moved much more to the left - offering to expand government in order to help “victims” with government programs, rather than promote self reliance and self determination. I miss the JFK days when Democrats knew that the US government wasn’t created “provide” for people, just protect them.
I have come to the conclusion in politics that it’s not who says something or who does something, it’s what they say and what they do.
If George W. Bush came out and said, “The fact is that Iraq is a lot more complicated than simply packing up the bags and sending all the troops home to their families. This isn’t a mess that can be undone overnight, it’s going to take time. Our exit strategy will require a continued presence overseas if not to defend Iraq’s political interests, then to defend our own.” What would your opinion be?
Most liberal Dem’s I know wouldn’t believe a word of it. Now, Obama/Clinton says the same. Everyone heralds them as the people who will end the war.
They’re all politicians, they just have different parties. Pretending Obama/Clinton will give you a different result is foolish.
It’s plain to see that you are a Democrat attempting to cover the fact up with a silly effort to make yourself appear to be a Libertarian.
Crawl back into the hole from whence you came you fool.
you guys are all fags
I don’t get how people are simply a democrat or a republican as if it is some biologically essentialized characteristic. I think it’s about time that we stop reducing politicians to simple figures in vacuums e.g. Clinton to doing a good job etc. etc. (he was a clever politician until…hmm hmm)because it is leading down a worsening PR road whereby parties are just having a pop at each other rather than what they will do.
[...] While the media obsesses over Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, not all Democrats are happy with the party’s leadership over the years. http://whitehouser.com/politics/how-ive-come-to-loathe-the-democratic-party/ [...]
No time to address all of the points here, but my view of Libertarian thought has a lot more to do with authority than it does ideology. I see it as a philosophy and not an ideology. To claim that only Republicans can be Libertarian is either short-sighted or simply ignorant.
I believe in Liberty, I embrace limited government, and have a thirst for justice in our shared society. I’m not interested in entitlement programs, but if they must exist then I prefer that those entitlements go only to a small minority of disabled or struggling families and NOT to corporations as we’ve been prone to doing under “Republican” rule.
I particularly despise any attempts by my government to invade the personal space of its citizens, which is why I feel the way I do about FISA, abortion, guns, gays and taxes. Do I tolerate a higher number of taxes on the top 1% of Americans? Yep, because in my world money doesn’t mean a whole lot and when it rains it pours on the financial front so I’m not going to lose sleep over tax shifts.
Anyway, if that’s all you can use to base your judgment on my ideology, I’d argue you have a very weak case.
My only complaint about being a Democrat is that I come from Florida, and due to stupidities at the leadership level, my vote is being IGNORED.
That is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE, and UN-AMERICAN. Obama and his supporters have done their best to stop a revote, which shows that he is an opportunist and a hypocrite who will sacrifice his principles for short term victory.
How can Obama possibly claim that he represents “the people”, or some such BS, when he and his rabid surrogates work to disenfranchise Florida and Michigan?
If the Florida delegates are not seated, and if there is not a revote, I will seriously consider voting for either McCain or Nader.
I can not vote for some black racist FASCIST who denies me my right to vote.
Let’s nominate Hillary,
It will unite the party.
The republican party.
check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHDWo2LNIaM&feature=related
Didn’t more US soldiers die under Clinton than have died in Iraq? Something like 7000 vs. 4000. Time to get the facts strait Democrats. If there is anything to be ashamed of, it is your own part.