General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When a Centrist Independent is a more reliable vote for Democrats than, well, some Democrats... [View all]Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Most of us on the Left are people for whom Principle is our moral anchor. We believe in things, and we believe others should too. We believe our party should represent us, because we are the ones that are the core of the party. We believe that the Party, or at least those who we campaigned for, donated to, and voted for, should represent us. When they don't how can we show them we are upset?
Imagine for a moment, you drive a Patriot Motors Sedan (I made up the car company so nobody would get upset and start telling me how great their car was) and you have always driven a Patriot Motors Sedan. Every car you had, each of a dozen in your lifetime was a lemon. It was nothing but a long history of problems wrapped in different metal. The electrical system was garbage, the lights came on when you slammed the door, and turned off if you set the clock. Now, at some point it's no longer just one bad car out of a million, it's going to be that they make only cars that should be painted lemon yellow, they are POS's.
Do you keep going back and supporting Patriot Motors despite the fact that they can't make one car by accident that works? At some point, you buy another car, or you refrain from buying one of theirs until they get the whole car working off the showroom floor for more than a day.
We people on the Left feel like that all the time. We watched as our party voted overwhelmingly for DOMA. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/h316
We were astounded, it being obvious that it was a vote against GLBT that was veiled so thinly as to be nude. But 120 Democrats voted for it. Now, when your party betrays the fabric of your belief, how do you rush out and throw yourself into the idea of giving up your time, your small amount of free time, and work for free for them? How do you justify donating money to that party? Oh sure, seventeen years later the abomination was ruled unconstitutional, but how many have suffered for that time? Sure the Rethugs might have passed it without us, but why drive the nail into the hearts of your supporters?
I can name vote after vote. Issue after issue where we have been betrayed by our elected Representatives. In each vote, having the letter D following their name was utterly meaningless. They voted in the PATRIOT ACT. They voted for the War in Iraq. They voted the bailouts to the banks, and screwed Main street while saving Wall Street. All the while, we're expected to slobber and nod our heads and tell them how wonderful they are and how happy we are to donate to whatever candidate sends us an email, or flyer, or letter telling us how important we are to changing Washington.
So as time goes by, I'm less enthusiastic about the Politicians, but still absolutely bound by principle. Those principles are still my anchor, setting me against the changing winds and tides of this weeks thing we're for or against because someone else said so. Those principles are often all I have to hold onto as my Party rushes to the floor of Congress as fast as they can to sell me and my brothers and sisters out. The idea that sometime, in the future, it may be better.
Then the election comes around, and the same D after his name politician who voted the way I wouldn't have every single time now wants my vote. He wants me to show up and vote for him, when he never once voted for me. He's spent months telling me how I need to buy a yard sign and put it along the road to help him get elected. He's told me that my property along the state highway would be a perfect place to get his name out. Please won't I please consider putting a sign up. He can't help those folks in his district if he's not in Washington. Now, I need to vote for him, because if I don't then the Republicans will win.
And where was this concern for what I would do when he was casting votes to shoot down the Amash Amendment? Where was this concern when he was voting against the ACA.
Now you tell me I have to go out there and Vote for any old douchebag with a D after his name or else I'm a horrible person, and a worse democrat than you. But who am I voting FOR? How long must I throw everything behind a party that throws every lump of crap on me? I've already said, I'm not donating this election cycle. I sent the money I was saving, I set a bit aside every month, to the ACLU. At least they are fighting for things I believe in.
While you are pounding the proverbial table and screaming vote democrat. Vote democrat because if we don't, we'll lose. Lose what? DOMA was law since 1996, and it passed the house with 120 Democratic votes. Fewer Democrats voted to authorize the Iraq War than voted to shit out our own citizens. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/
How about the PATRIOT ACT. Every time it comes up for reauthorization the Democrats can't wait to show the constituents that they'll do whatever it takes to make sure the nation isn't attacked again. Which is an impossible standard, and a stupid statement. No Civil Right is safe when there is a chance for a Democrat to look tough on something.
So pound the table, make it look like I have a duty to support my party. But I ask this question. When the hell is the party going to support me? When the hell are they going to put principle ahead of Wall Street big dollar days for the few? When will they stand up and say that GLBT community deserves equal rights, instead of waiting and hoping that the Supreme Court does something in a decade.