I'm a Democrat because... - Carl Ballard

You inspired me to write this and put it up on the website, thanks!

I'm a Democrat because I believe that we have to help the least among us. If that's healthcare for children, the elderly or the poor, if that's education for people who's family can't afford to send their children to private schools, if that's women who need abortions, when it's gays or African Americans being discriminated against, if it's working folks trying to get a fair shake. I'm a Democrat because the Democrats stand with them.

I'm a Democrat because I understand that the Constitution is more than the just Second Amendment. I'm a Democrat because I understand that the Bible is more than just Ecclesiastes 5:17. Because the Declaration of Independence is more than the words "our creator." Those and other important documents to us have a context that we have to understand.

I'm a Democrat because I understand that law and order means more than just locking people away. We need drug rehab. We need to give people the opportunity not to commit crime. We need to keep people out of desperate straights in the first place.

I'm a Democrat because we're the party that won 2 world wars, ended segregation in America, contained Communism, founded the UN, set up Social Security, saved the Kosavars from genocide, produced the longest economic expansion in American history, and avoided nuclear confrontation in Cuba.

I'm a Democrat because we understand how to balance budgets. At the Federal level, Democrats were responsible for the largest surplus in American history. At the state level, we understand that roads, hospitals, and transit come with a cost, and we're still willing to pay that cost.

I'm a Democrat because Bill Clinton actually caught terrorists.

I'm a Democrat because Jimmy Carter knew how important human rights were to foreign policy.

I'm a Democrat because LBJ ended legal segregation in America.

I'm a Democrat because John Kennedy was willing to look our demons head on and still remind us what a wonderful country this is.

I'm a Democrat because Truman set up a sane international consensus after the Second World War including containing Communism, and the Marshal Plan.

I'm a Democrat because FDR showed us that we have nothing to fear but fear itself as he ended the depression and won World War Two.

I'm a Democrat because Wilson showed the world what a sane foreign policy and America what a sane economic policy would look like.

I'm a Democrat because Democrats haven't sold weapons to Iran. We haven't given aid to the Taliban.

I'm a Democrat because we have humility. Can you imagine a Republican apologizing to the country the way Clinton did after the sex scandal? Let alone the way JFK did after the Bay of Pigs? Taking any personal responsibility for anything? Shit George W. Bush couldn't even figure out anything he's done wrong in 4 years.

I'm a Democrat because we stand for clean elections. Here in Washington we actually passed good legislation dealing with this despite the fact that our problems were much smaller than Florida and Ohio who still haven't done anything to address their problems.

I'm a Democrat because we're the party of cities. We fight for transit. We fight to get people to live near each other. We fight to get affordable housing. We fight to make cities livable. We fight to make cities a great place to work. We fight to make cities engaging.

Finally, I'm a Democrat because of my family. My Mom who worked for Bella Abzug. My Dad who explained to me at a young age that Republicans favored the wealthy, and Democrats stood up for everybody else. My Grandmother who fought the good fight on women's rights her whole life, and my Grandfather who threatened to kick me out of the family when I turned 18 if I voted for a Republican for president (I think he was kidding, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it never happened). I couldn't imagine being anything else.

Carl Ballard - carl-ballard.blogspot.com