Where are the traditional party principles?
Posted on September 24, 2007
The Democratic Party used to be the party of the people, the party of strength and the party that has produced some of our greatest presidents. However, that is no longer the case. The party that once gave us strong leaders like Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy now gives us weak ones like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Howard Dean.
Since its founding, the Democratic Party was always known for bold ideas that challenged our nation to live up to its principles. Democratic leaders saw the greatness of America and they made the commitment to defend our freedom at home from those who might threaten it and promote freedom around the world to people who suffered under the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union, as Kennedy put it “the best road to progress is freedom’s road.”
Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 left the party without a leader. As much as he tried, Lyndon Johnson could not effectively unite the party because of his escalation of the Vietnam War. As a result, antiwar protesters and liberal extremists seized control of the party.
Fueled by the growth of the Internet, special interests groups have grabbed hold of the party in recent years and refused to let go. As their power has increased they became more brazen in their activities which have included influencing party leadership elections within the Democratic National Committee, bullying our elected leaders into submission over legislation and disgracefully attacking the men and women who fight for our freedom. These groups, led by MoveOn.org, the most sinister of all special interests groups, embody the shameful politics on display in Washington today that prevent our leaders from solving important problems. Yet billionaire MoveOn financier George Soros promotes all its activities by saying that “the ends justify every legal means possible.”
In 2004, MoveOn alone spent over $300 million financing John Kerry’s presidential campaign, along with many other candidates and ideas sympathetic to the Democratic Party, as well as relentlessly attacking anyone who dares oppose its platform. These donations led a spokesperson for the organization to famously claim “now it’s our party: we bought it, we own it, and we’re going to take it back.” No longer do the elected politicians set the policy for the party but it is rather the far-left special interest groups that do it for them. In addition, these special interest groups also demand that all Democrats follow their policy to the letter or else they risk having their political careers ended by vicious personal attacks.
This has become problematic for moderate Democrats who are running for office or reelection. Consider the case of Brian Baird, Democratic Representative of the 3rd District of Washington state, who recently visited Iraq. Once he returned home, he wrote an editorial outlining the progress our soldiers are making as they continue to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq.
MoveOn swiftly responded by airing an ad in Baird’s home district attacking him for straying from the party line. These groups also attempted to bully Sen. Joe Lieberman, Independent Dem. Senator from Connecticut, from office because of his continued support for the Iraq war by throwing all their support and financial power behind Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary.
Lieberman won reelection as a third party candidate, but going after a man with the public service record that Lieberman has shows the extent to which these groups will go to impose their beliefs on the party.
The fact that most Democratic congressmen and women adhere to the demands of special interests show that there are few left in Washington who still stand on principle. So the question that comes to mind is when will the Democrats in office stand up against the elites who have bought their party and demand that they return to the principles that made them great? If Harry Truman was around today, he would tell MoveOn where they can stick its money and I’m certain that it wouldn’t be in his pocket.
Tony Spadaccia is a freshmen business management and political science major.
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