Why I Dislike The Democratic Party

Today I finally got to the breaking point in my relationship with the Democratic Party. I have been a lifelong Democrat and have a long history of putting considerable time and energy supporting Democratic candidates. That was when I actually thought the Party believed it's own platform and in the historic ideals of inclusiveness and social justice. I suppose I was naïve and the reality has always been that Democratic politicians have always been politicians first and Democrats second.

It used to be, however, that Democrats did try to live up to their pol-speak and worked for things like civil rights, preserving Social Security and helping the poor, the disabled and the children. The late Senator Edward Kennedy spent his life working for expanding healthcare to all. It was his passion and he believed and worked for it. In short, he believed in the ideals of FDR.

 Since Bill Clinton however, the Democratic Party has been moving to the right. This is often referred to as neoliberalism. It is basically what happens when a political party is taken over by corporate interests and the extremely wealthy. They do not have any interest in social justice. They care only about the bottom line. People are merely a means to an end for these corporatists. Social Security is a hindrance to their profit margin, as is most of the social safety net.

Democrats may have, at some point, tried to resist the pull to the right but at the end of the day, they caved in to the 1%. Now there are  only small differences between the belief systems of the Democrats and the Republicans. There is no left-wing of the Democratic Party just as there is no moderate wing of the Republican Party.

Given this background, it is no surprise that we have a candidate like Hillary Clinton who is basically Bill to the second power. Yes, she does have experience. Yes, she is an effective politician but is she a true Democrat? Does she hold to and work for the kind of social justice pursued by the Democratic Party prior to 1992? No, she doesn't. She gives lip service to the social contract but it is obvious that she either will not or cannot live up to the ideals of FDR. There is simply too much corporate money influencing her and the rest of the Democratic Party.

 The people don't stand a chance in the Party as it stands. The poor cannot even afford to be a part of the Party process. It costs money to go to state conventions and even more to attend the national convention. Their voices are lost as are those of the elderly, the disabled and children. Who speaks for them? A bunch of corporatists in Democratic clothing.

 This doesn't even begin to address the problems Hillary Clinton has with credibility and character. She comes with a long list of issues surrounding her judgement as well, the email scandal being only the latest. People want to be able to trust their President and she has not shown herself to be trustworthy at all.

Many people simply cannot allow themselves to vote for her. The thing is, she is a symptom of the modern Democratic Party as it has evolved into a creature of corporate interests. Thus we have Democratic leaders buying into Hillary wholeheartedly. Thus we have them booing a candidate who believes in social justice, who has moral credibility and stands with the people of this country. He will not roll over and accept the status quo and for that he is booed. Shame on the leadership of the Democratic Party. They have even abandoned good manners. They are not the Democratic Party I grew up believing was on my side. They are on the side of the wealthy and their own self-interest. I am done.