What is a Democrat?

John Kasich said that he does not know what is going on with the Democrats and he could not identify with the party of FDR and JFK.  Then this week we saw Southerners say that they do not care if a candidate dated high school students and maybe assaulted some of them, they would not ever vote for a Democrat.  So, what does this mean?  What is the issue with Democrats?  What has caused some in America to so misunderstand Democrats?  Where does this come from?

Gov, Kasich, here is what I know of the Democratic Party as a 35 year member of this disorganized group of Americans. Maybe this will help you decide to jump to the party of the people away from the crazy party. The Democrats still believe in the lofty ideas laid down in Franklin Roosevelt's four freedom's speech given to Congress on the eve of America's entry into War World II in 1941.  Democrats still believe that all people have a right to freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. The freedom of speech includes universal access to the fastest internet possible to exchange information.  The freedom to worship includes not being stigmatized because your country of birth is majority Muslim nation. With the freedom from want, Democrats believe in an end to homelessness, hunger and bankruptcy due to health care bills.  Freedom from fear is a world that every year reduces the number of bombs, tanks and weapons of mass destruction as well as freedom from one country threatening another through tweets or a blockade.  Here is how Roosevelt characterized the struggle,

"The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are: Equality of opportunity for youth and for others. Jobs for those who can work. Security for those who need it. The ending of special privilege for the few. The preservation of civil liberties for all. The enjoyment . . . the enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living."

That is what a Democrat believed and still believe.  We also still recognize John Kennedy's summary of our Democratic values in the Inaugural Address in 1961.  Everyone remembers the, "ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country," but there was plenty of other important doctrine in this Kennedy speech.  He talked about the importance of science and exploring the stars and the earth.  Kennedy spoke about unifying the country, but it was really a speech for the world laying out the reason for America taking a leadership role and a reason for the rest of the world to follow without fear.  "To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

Kennedy's words echo through history and are still relevant today. These are neither Democratic or Republican values, but they are certainly lost on many in the current political environment.

"So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.  Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us."

The Democrats still believe in the Great Society even though it came from a deeply flawed President in Lyndon Johnson. Think of all he could have accomplished if he had just gotten out of Southeast Asia. All the Civil Rights speeches by Johnson are still relevant today.  I think we also learned from Johnson that we should never ever involve ourselves in unnecessary or presumptive wars as we did in Vietnam.  Johnson's words are still relevant today with all the groups trying to restrict access to the ballot box.  "There is no moral issue. It is wrong — deadly wrong — to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of States rights or national rights. There is only the struggle for human rights. I have not the slightest doubt what will be your answer."

Democrats embrace the belief in being a good steward of the natural resources and as Jimmy Carter often spoke working to improve the environment. "Intelligent stewardship of the environment on behalf of all Americans is a prime responsibility of government. Congress has in the past carried out its share of this duty well--so well, in fact, that the primary need today is not for new comprehensive statutes but for sensitive administration and energetic enforcement of the ones we have. Environmental protection is no longer just a legislative job, but one that requires--and will now receive-firm and unsparing support from the Executive Branch."  Even though he was widely criticized, we do believe as Democrats that our leaders should be able to "feel our pain" and that ordinary people should not be excluded from political power.

Democrats do not support working with a foreign power to win an election as we suspect happened in 1976 with Iran and the hostages and we know happened in 2016 with Russia.  But we do support a former Democrat's perception of America as "city on a hill," and not another former Democrat who sees America's great days as only being in the past and our describes the current country as "American carnage."

I was never a big fan of Bill Clinton, but he did have some good speeches at conventions after his presidency. Here he is in the 2004 convention urging the country to unite around John Kerry, "My friends, at every turning point in our history, we, the people, have chosen unity over division, heeding our founders' call to America's eternal mission to form a more perfect union, to widen the circle of opportunity deep in the reach of freedom and strengthen the bonds of our community. It happened every time, because we made the right choices."  In his Southern style he was always able to be Bubba to the American public and not William Jefferson, the Ivy League graduate. That style worked and people followed him.  Any of his convention speeches were great summaries of what it means to be a Democrat.

In a rare move, President Barack Obama went to Chicago and delivered a farewell speech in January 2017.  This gives a good summary of what it means to be a Democrat, and is delivered in the shadow of knowing that the country had rejected his candidate for an extremist business man sent to Washington to basically burn the place down. Obama went through all the things that he did as President, which I believe are core values of Democrats.  He talked about the slow growth in the cost of health care, the decrease in terrorist attacks, and the restoration of confidence in the stock market after the crash.  Obama talked about turning away from Cold War disputes in Cuba, and helping with a smooth transition to a more compassionate society with marriage and gender equality.  As the leader of the Democratic party, he talked about the rights of workers and the support for unions as both strong values for the country. Finally, he systematically destroyed all the dog whistles offered by the current occupant of the White House.

"If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce."

This is what it means to be a Democrat from the past five occupants of the White House with a D next to their names.  They support workers over rich people and corporations. I believe that after the repeated attempts to undermine the healthcare system, most Democrats will have to support universal health care.  The Democrats are the party of poor people, and support a basic safety net to include housing.  They support (for the most part) criminal justice reform and assistance to poor people who need representation in court (even civil court).  Democrats believe that government can solve problems and the people who work in government are providing us a service. They believe in leading the world, but not getting involved in unnecessary conflicts.  They embrace diversity and the overwhelming amount of positives brought by immigrants far overwhelming the small amount of risk. Democrats follow precedent and the best intentions of our founding documents.  Democrats do not put party over the interest of its citizens and institutions.

Brian Davis