I grew up in a family that were enthusiastic supporters of the Democratic party. Their views were strongly influenced by the policies of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. They all expressed a dislike for President Eisenhower for reasons that were never made clear to me.
As a child I was given the impression that Democrats were the good guys and Republicans were the enemy. Although I was not explicitly taught this, I suppose it was a subtle form of indoctrination.
As a young adult I didn’t give much thought to these matters. The Democratic party that I supported was exemplified by John F. Kennedy and his predecessors. I voted mostly Democrat until my mid-thirties when I started to pay more attention.
My political/societal views had not changed in any meaningful way. However I saw the Democratic party changing in a way that was no longer aligned with my beliefs. This troubled me but I stayed the course for a few more years.
Then I read a quote attributed to former President Ronald Reagan. When asked why he left the Democratic party to run for office as a Republican he replied, “I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the party left me”.
Then it jelled in my mind. He could have been speaking for me.
The Democratic party has since moved so far to the radical left that it is beyond my horizon.
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9 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I should have written my closing sentence differently. Rather than make an edit I will post here a replacement closing that more accurately reflects how I view the situation.
I should have written:
The Democratic party of my youth no longer exists. What remains now panders to the most radical anarchist groups while forsaking its traditional base of organized labor and blue collar workers. This shift puts it far beyond my horizon.
dumasarok
Level 7
Mar 20, 2021
1
Name the "most radical anarchist groups" that the Democrats pander to or stop repeating what you are told to say and look up the meaning of words before you use them.
Anarchist groups? No.
There is no anarchist movement in America.
@Zoltans_Queen I suppose we could quibble about definitions all day long but it would not be likely to get us to a meeting of the minds. I prefer to define a group by their behavior, not by what they call themselves.
I prefer to define groups with words that accurately describe them.
To compare the democratic party of today to the party as it was under FDR and Kennedy and conclude that it has moved far to the left, is to demonstrate that you have very little understanding of politics.
Zoltans_Queen
Level 6
Mar 20, 2021
4
They've moved but to the right. They have forsaken the middle class for the corporate donor class.
WilliamCharles
Level 8
Mar 20, 2021
3
I never really picked a side until I saw how hard they (they being the democrats and the media) fought against Trump. I voted for Clinton, Bush Jr. twice, and Obama once, and Trump twice.
As I’ve gotten older, I tend to lean more toward what mass media is against.
CourtJester
Level 7
Mar 19, 2021
1
Gee, let whatever news outlet you favor decide for you.....nice move!
And we all have known pretty much forever you voted for drump twice......
@AnneWimsey Trump hurt your feelings. Biden is hurting your bank account. Gas prices are almost a dollar a gallon higher thus far. But hey; you haven’t cried over a tweet.
I truly enjoy reasoned and productive dialogue with people I may disagree with.
I will no longer respond to comments that contain sarcasm, ad hominems or non-sequiturs. If those things are the best my correspondents can do they have nothing to enlighten me with.
dumasarok
Level 7
Mar 19, 2021
3
You don't respond because you have no valid responses. Your xenophobia makes you unenlightenable.
@powder Entirely predictable to see you kiss another dirty con's ass to try to get him to gang up on me with you, as though anything you say or do holds any significance. Must be hell living in a world to which you have nothing to contribute.
Your last assertion is simply not true. FDR was much more to the left -- and much mo effective -- than any Democratic president since. It is not that the Democratic party has moved to the left, but that the Republican party has moved much farther to the right. That makes the contrast stand out.
wordywalt
Level 9
Mar 19, 2021
5
You are correct about FDR. He was my Dad's hero. I was more of a JFK kind of guy. Thank you for the civil response.
It is very true that the republicans have moved far right. But we must also recognize that the democrats have followed them right. The Overton window has shifted conservative.
The democratic party under FDR was pro-union, social democracy. The democratic party today is right wing, neoliberal, and pro-corporation.
I feel the exact same way but there is a very importance difference.
The party has not moved left, it has moved right. And now, I refuse to be a part of it.
RoboGraham
Level 8
Mar 19, 2021
3
Not according to the GOP. You will turn further to the right before the Democratic Party goes radical left. You can say what you want about Biden, he won the election. Bernie might have won in 2016 if he had been nominated. We'll never know, but he would've lost to Trump in 2020. Biden was the guy Trump was scared of, that's why he tried to smear him. As for Ronald Reagan, he always was a right winger. That's why he appeared before The House Unamerican Affairs Committee. He named names because he was a coward. He never was a progressive. Anything he ever said that was poignant was written for him by Peggy Noonan.
They’ve right???? How so???
They no longer support universal healthcare, they have abandoned unions and the working class, They put children in cages at the border, they are war hawks on foreign policy, They engage in regime change for the benefit of American corporations, They have helped republicans to erode the social safety net and lower taxes for the wealthy and corporations, The democratic House under Pelosi rubberstamped all of Trump's agenda, They have done more than anyone to trample and impede the progressive movement, They have militarized the police, they do not support student debt forgiveness, They constantly agree to raise the military budget to satisfy the MIC, they allow weapons to be sold to brutal non-state actors and dictators in the middle east, they passed the conservative healthcare reform which was a giveaway to the health insurance parasites, they refused to raise the minimum wage, they are giving us less stimulus than Trump did, They refuse to end the drug wars and release non-violent prisoners, they are persecuting journalists and whistle blowers, They are opposed to socialism, they continue the sanctions against countries who's only crime is having a socialist government...
The list goes on and on, this is just off of the top of my head.
Who are the fat left?
The only Republicans in my family are ones too dumb to understand how facts are established and the significance of evidence in distinguishing fact from fiction. Your posts show that you are of the same ilk.
As if that is not bad enough, you are so fearful of people who are different than you are that you've convinced yourself that you are somehow better than they are in that you deserve a better lifestyle. To use the most obvious example, no, access to health care is not radical, it is a human need and everyone is just as worthy of it as you are.
You cons failed to develop normal attachment to other people such that you only care about your own and that all community members must contribute in order for the community to thrive. I pity you.
LovinLarge
Level 8
Mar 19, 2021
3
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