My daughter asked me one day, “Daddy, why aren’t we Democrats?” So, I pondered a minute, and gave my little girl the following reasons:
Democrats tend to view opportunity in America as a limited prospect. They feel limited by a playing field that favors those with the most ambition, intelligence, capital, and connections. To level that field, Democrats rely on government for taxation, regulation, and redistribution of money that other people earn through their hard work.
Democrats view the role of government as a great vessel of social and economic justice. They point with pride at their Social Security program, the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal that lifted our country out of the depths of capitalistic failure. They forget all about World War II and the fact that the United States still had a 25% unemployment rate until the Japanese obliged FDR and truly brought us out of the Depression. Later, Democrat nostalgic idealism nearly came to fruition with Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty and Great Society programs. (Unfortunately, poverty and North Vietnam won their particular battles with Lyndon and his heirs.)
Democrats view the problem of racism in America as one that will be resolved with pay offs, quotas, and perhaps a $20,000-payment to every descendant of slaves. They believe black people cannot progress without the paternalism of the Democrats and do all they can to denigrate the achievements of African Americans who happen to be Republicans.
Democrats regard money earned by the wealthy as fair game for government confiscation. They rely on class envy to make lower income people jealous and upper income liberals feel guilty. Those of us in the middle watch nearly 20% of our income disappear to support thousands of overlapping, expensive, and ineffective social programs that provide employment to career civil servants, paltry benefits to the poor, and a balm to the consciences of the limousine liberals.
Democrats regard the military as a necessary evil to be used only in emergencies and principally in humanitarian “meals-on-wheels” type missions. However, the very minute one soldier is killed in action, they immediately withdraw their support, forgetting that, in the end, the mission of the military is to inflict mayhem on our enemies. Between conflicts Democrats typically neglect the military, try to reduce its size, preferring instead to give millions of potential voters a $13 raise in benefits at the cost of billions a year.
Democrats ridicule and denigrate Christians, unless those Christians happen to be members of black congregations with “ministers” like Al Sharpton who use the pulpit as a political platform.
Democrats need to keep racism alive and kicking. In fact, Democrats have their coterie of “enforcers,” principal among whom is “The Reverend” Jessie Jackson, who in the guise of “racial justice” runs a huge protection racket enforced by the threat of bad publicity and hypocritical demonstration routinely shake down main stream corporations for payoff money to keep his “Rainbow Coalition” flush with hush money.
Democrats have a strange understanding of the concept of patriotism. For example, to Democrats like George Clooney and the Dixie Chicks, it is not unpatriotic to criticize their country overseas in front of foreigners. They see no difference between disloyal statements than, say, in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. They are both patriotic acts, they say. They fail to see that one activity is patriotic; the other is merely exercising free speech. Exercising free speech is, of course, not always patriotic.
Which leads me to my final criticism of Democrats: Democrats, rather than lose an argument, prefer to change the meanings of words, for example:
Abortion is a “women’s health issue.”
Taxation and confiscation of wealth is “investment.”
Terrorists are “insurgents.”
Illegal aliens are “immigrants.”
Amnesty for 10 million lawbreaking illegal immigrants is “immigration reform.”
Treasonous statements are “free speech and a patriotic duty.”
Lying under oath by a President is “okay if it’s about sex.”
Returning to my conversation with my daughter, it is important to note that it was way back when Jimmy Carter was President and actively trying to lower America’s expectations during a crippling inflation rate, energy shortage, and double-digit interest rates. Also, we were in about day 340 of the American hostage crisis in Iran. Fortunately, the very next year, America returned to its senses and elected the greatest Republican of all Ronald Reagan.
The great “Ronaldo Maximus” is the principal reason Daddy after all these years is a Republican.