What America Knows - Or Democrats Need Focus And Voice

One of the inherent problems in politics is an inability to maintain focus.

Whenever I need to re-focus I go to this link Casualties and it helps me get right back on track. That link is to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count and there is something on it for everyone whatever your political persuasion. But let's stay on task and that is talking about focus.

It is pretty obvious to me that the political landscape in the United States is divided into two simple groups and those groups are the conservatives and the liberals. (Please note that I said the political landscape and not the American people are in two simple groups.) Now I break those groups down a little bit more and I say conservative-bad and liberal-good. To me that is pretty straight forward but just for those who don't get it let's do it by the numbers.

Conservative – Bad – They want:

• A never ending war on Terror that bestows unlimited power on their president.


• Big tax breaks for rich.


• No tax breaks for poor and middle class.


• No regulation on big corporations.


• No Social Security.


• No Medicare.


• No Medicaid.


• No pension plans.


• No health insurance.


• No Food and Drug Administration.


• No Department of Education.


• No rich child left behind.


• No Environmental Protection Agency.


• No environmental protections.


• No Department of Health and Human Services.


• No affirmative action.


• No foreign policy.


• No fourth amendment rights.

Liberal/Progressive – Good – They want:

• An effective law enforcement and homeland security program to fight terrorism and bring terrorist to justice and keep our country safe.


• Fair taxes for everyone.


• Corporations to be regulated – No monopolies, no ENRONS.


• Social Security.


• Medicare.


• Medicaid.


• Pension Plans.


• Health Insurance.


• Food and Drug Administration – That does its job.


• Department of Education – So every American gets a good education.


• NO child left behind – with funding to pay for the program.


• Environmental Protection Agency – With enforcement capabilities.


• Environmental Protection for our fragile environment.


• Department of Health and Human Services funded and empowered to provide public health and human services required by the citizens of the nation.


• Affirmative Action Program – That ensure a fair and equal chance for every citizen.


• A foreign policy that incurs the respect of all of the nations of the world and does not alienate half of the world and promotes peace and prosperity.


• A government that respects the Constitution of The United States.

Now I don't know about you but when I look at those two lists I think conservative-bad and liberal/progressive-good. That's just the truth of it. So I don't quite understand where the focus problem for the Democratic Party comes from. I believe that the vast majority of Democratic politicians, the extreme vast majority, get it with a few Lieberman exceptions so why don't they just get on with it?

Certainly every politician has his or her own special circumstance but they all have pretty much the same American values and belief system and believe me this great country is not divided into two groups of extreme conservative-bad on the right and extreme liberal/progressive-good on the left. They are pretty much right down the middle moderates like you and me that want that list of programs and institutions listed in the liberal/progressive-good column above.

So my question is this. Why can't the Democratic Party take that liberal/progressive-good list and expand it to include everything I didn't mention and make that their pledge to America? Why can't they take that message to America and show them, and pledge to them, that the Democratic Party is the party of America made up of "the Fighting Democrats", "the Fighting Independents", "the Fighting Moderates" and the rest of just plain old home town America?

America doesn't need any more sniping and bickering. America doesn't need a party of name callers and partisans. America needs a party with a focus that is carrying America forward. They need a party that calls them like they see them and then moves on to solve the problem.

• They need a party that has called the folly of the Iraq war and that has a plan to withdraw from Iraq in a positive, productive manner.


• They need a party that has called hooey on the "war on terror" and has a plan to combat terrorism in a meaningful manner with police forces and tactics the world over and with military force only when needed and only with surgical precision and in unison with our real allies and coalition partners.


• They need a party that has called bull on the "my way or highway foreign policy" and has a plan to develop and implement a foreign policy that cultivates international relations and coalitions that will fight not only terrorism but poverty, genocide, and health crisis worldwide.


• They need a party that calls BS on hallucinogenic budget proposals and has a plan to balance the budget and keep America on the leading edge of industry and economics.


• They need a party that has a plan to guarantee every child will get an opportunity for a good education.


• They need a party that has a plan to guarantee that every American has health insurance and social security.


• They need a party that has a plan to insure that every American has an equal chance in every facet of our society.


• They need a party that is not corrupt to the point of distraction and ineffectiveness.

So here is what I think. I don't believe the average American follows the Supreme Court nominee proceedings and whether or not the nominee is conservative or liberal. I don't believe the average American follows the submission of or the budget process of the nation. I don't believe the average American follows whether CAFTA or NAFTA is approved or disapproved but I do believe this. The average American knows how much taxes they are paying. The average American knows when he or she has or doesn't have a job. The average American knows if he or she or their family has health insurance. The average American knows if he or she has or will have Social Security. The average American knows if he or she has or will have a pension when they retire. The average American knows how much it cost him or her to fill up their gas tank and how much it cost to buy that new car or stereo or washing machine. And the average American knows if the country is wining or loosing a war and they know if the country has or hasn't been attacked. And the average American knows if Americans are dying on foreign soil.

What all of this means is that the Democratic Party needs to talk to the American people about what they know and how the Democratic Party can do for them what needs to be done. That's what all of what I have said here means. It's time for a plan and plain English.

Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.