I was a real Democrat for over 30 years, starting with the 1980 campaign. I even worked for Jimmy Carter after being disappointed by Ted Kennedy’s loss, purist that I am.
But now I’m not.
I couldn’t stand how the party was given away to big money for the sake of careers and personal wealth; how it stopped advancing the fight for justice, heart-breakingly imperfect as it was, and instead started fighting against justice.
I couldn’t stand how it trafficked in “hope” while ever more institutionalizing the transfer of wealth to people at the top of the ladder. To the people who owned the ladder because the Democratic party no longer stood in their way. In fact, it elevated their tribunes to high office.
Since I’m not a real Democrat, I don’t care about defending anyone’s legacy for the sake of their reputation or about creating a gender-integrated oligarchy.
I don’t care what the corrupt DNC or the swirling dregs of the DLC think about anything, nor will I be any candidate’s punching bag so they can impress conservatives of either party with their red-baiting.
In the end, the Democratic party is nothing if it’s not a vehicle for moving this country closer to economic and social justice. If the party can’t do that, it’s worthless to me, and that’s as it should be, for what’s this or any political party worth otherwise?
That’s what I think about when I see the candidate who reflects the values of the New Deal being described as not a real Democrat, or a Democrat of convenience, by another candidate who has turned their back on the values of the New Deal.
The people who created the New Deal, nurtured it, and defended it used to be the real Democrats. If the candidate who stands without apology for New Deal values is not a real Democrat, then who is?
Not me, I guess. Maybe one day again, but it’s going to take a political revolution.