Guest Editorial: From a Democrat to The Democrats

— by Lynn Baker —

Where the heck are you guys?

I have been a Democrat all my life, (except when I registered Republican to vote against Reagan in the primary).

The Democrats had NO BUSINESS LOSING THE 2016 ELECTION. But you offered nothing clear except identity politics and opposition to Trump. That’s not enough.

Under all the noise, the Trump administration is taking us back to the 1890s. Without a renewal of the Democratic Party, I fear we’re doomed to lose a century of progress. Please get on it!

My local elected officials represent my views, but the national party does not. The Democratic Party used to stand up for regular people. Now, what’s it for? I’ve read the 2016 party platform. Ten zillion details in search of a message. We need a real, honest cause. And it’s about government serving people. That’s what the Democratic Party used to be about. Please do so again. Re-read FDR.

“We must humanize our social and political and economic structure,” Rep. John Lewis* has said. That’s the point. For decades, the country’s been moving so far right that what passes today for the national Democratic Party seems farther right than the Republicans under Ike. A friend who was once a Republican state senator voted for Obama because, he said, “My party left me.” My party is now his. Where’s mine?

For what it’s worth, here’s my platform (on one page), attached. I hope you adopt something like it. Lincoln gave us the cue: GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE. All the people. Not corporations. Not just the rich. Everybody.

Thank you for listening. I want my country back. I want my party back, too.

*Rep. John Lewis quoted in “The Soul of America,” John Meacham. 2018. Pg. 238.

A Democratic Platform

One Person, One Vote
1. Outlaw gerrymandering (several states have figured this out)
2. Restore the Voting Rights Act in full
3. Encourage vote by mail
4. Overturn Citizen’s United, by Constitutional Amendment if necessary
5. Establish that corporations are not people, they’re just societal tools.
  1. Define corporate responsibility to society.
  2. Corporations now have more privileges and fewer responsibilities than people. Reverse this.
6. Restore contribution disclosure requirements. No dark money.
7. Restore, by disciplined example, civility in public discourse. Follow MLK’s lead.
Equal Opportunity for Everyone
1. Support public schools, roads, non-car transportation, infrastructure.
2. Net neutrality
3. Fair contracts and laws that protect people, not just corporations (limit non-disclosure agreements; no more required arbitration; allow class-action lawsuits; no prohibition against suing for poor workmanship, fair wages/limits on CEO pay disparity, etc.).
4. Support unions, cooperatives, non-profits.
5. Well-considered immigration policy, including asylum and visas for highly skilled workers. Administer immigration with kindness and dignity.
6. End the Marriage Penalty. Government should encourage morality, not penalize it.
7. Restore rules that give us equal rights regardless of race, sex, religion, or ability.
8. No prisons for profit. Overhaul the justice system so our incarceration rate matches others’.
9. Gun control. Death disenfranchises the innocent.
Restore Truth and Fairness in Government
1. Restore and protect the non-political civil service and court system.
2. Restore fundamental reliance on science and facts in American decision-making, including on climate change.
3. Restore open government and public information. Too much is now hidden or lost.
4. Vacate Trump administration orders that flout facts or fairness.
5. Restore the legislative process, with time to read and debate bills openly.
6. Restore confidence in the U.S. as a reliable world partner. (This will take time.)
Government for the Greater Good
1. Support NASA, the Smithsonian, National Parks and other programs that benefit all.
2. Reweave the safety net: Keep Social Security, SNAP, etc.
3. Medicare for everyone. Take insurance company profits and bureaucracies out of healthcare and see if costs don’t go down, service up.
4. Protect the environment. Restore environmental protections. Implement the Paris Accord. Take climate change seriously. Get us off oil. (There’s a jobs program.)
5. Rebuild public financing of public community and state colleges plus vocational, technical training. Build 21^st century jobs that will survive automation/AI.
6. Address housing cost trends; support new approaches to housing. (Or, if we’re going back to the 19^th Century, bring back boardinghouses!)

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2 Comments

joseph murphy August 4, 2018 at 11:29 am

It is difficult to argue with this platform on its merits, but I would argue it not quite meretricious enough to deal with the job at hand.

As the Roman historian and poet Cicero wrote as the empire crested and fell, “What good are laws, where money is king?”

I believe , despite the fact that prior to Constantine the Empire was pagan and much enamored of the smash and grab mentality of social Darwinism, that Cicero also was referring to “Moral” law.

Until we reduce the role that money plays in our public discourse and in our lives, the Dismal Dollar Drenched Dems will continue to play bait and switch with the greater good.
We have not answered Cicero’s query. Nor will we until a viable, labor and environmental based party emerges.

Not the D’s They’re toast.

Read Marx.

(Right now, if we don’t stop Kidder/Morgan it really won’t matter which party prevails.)
Michael "M.J." Johnson August 6, 2018 at 6:50 pm

Though you are correct there’s also a lot of things going down under the current administration that may put us into the “it really won’t matter which party prevails” category. Take your pick. I switched to the Green Party after witnessing what happened to Bernie during the primary, and I vowed from now on to vote my conscience. And, like you, what I’ve since witnessed coming from the national level confirms my thoughts. We’re lucky to live in a state where we can vote cross-ballot during the primary… it’s an opportunity for one to cast their votes “for the man” and not “for the party” at this level. Loved your post Lynn– thanks. As it’s in the public forum I’m gonna feel free to share it… please let me know if you have any problems, (or requests) related to that.