The Democrats Must Also Go

"I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

Will Rogers

Got'cha!

Here's a paradox about me: In personal relationships my feelings tend to get hurt very easily; it's just part of my inner makeup, I suppose. And yet, when it comes to the public arena, I've got skin of steel - seriously. I've been called everything from "a dangerous left-wing radical" to "a psychologically unhinged demagogue" to "one of liberalism's useful idiots". Truth be told, the invective rolls right off me like rain on a windowpane; in fact,  I get a kick out of it. It's a nice thing to know that one is being talked about - and that one is pissing off all the right people. It reminds me of the possibly apocryphal story about the late band leader, Artie Shaw: Upon learning of the death of Marilyn Monroe, he is said to have quipped: "Good career move." There's no such thing as bad publicity. I'm seriously thinking of going out and getting myself arrested for assault.

 

There is, however, one thing that is said about me (and it is said often) that really does bother me: when I am accused of being either a shill for the Democratic Party, or a press agent for them. That doesn't merely annoy me - that makes me seethe. 

 

I left that idiotic party in 1998 - in the merry old Month of May to be precise. I registered with the Green Party, and even ran for the New York state senate under their banner a few years later. Today I am a blank, a man without a party. I tried to re-register as a Democrat early this year (temporarily, I assure you) so that I could vote for Bernie Sanders in the primaries. As it turns out, I missed the deadline for being eligible for voter participation by two months. Other than that isolated incident, I have never looked back.

 

Now that the complete self-destruction of the GOP has been virtually assured, the time has come to take a long, hard and critical look at the Democrats. There are many reasons I bolted that party eighteen years ago; one of the main reasons was Bill Clinton - and by extension, Hillary. The Lewinsky scandal that occurred in that same year had nothing to do with it. The only reason for my defection is simply that "the party of Franklin D. Roosevelt" long ago forgot that they are just that - or at least that's what they used to be. it's quite easy to gauge how deep into the ideological sewer the Democrats have fallen these past two decades: Show me a party whose most visible spokesman (aside from the president) is a cheap, plutocratic stooge like Chuck Schumer ("the gentleman from Wall Street") and I'll show you a party that needs to be made over (at least) or completely destroyed (at worst).

 

This is not meant to imply that the party is beyond redemption (unlike the Republicans); the fact that there are genuine statesmen (excuse me: "statespersons") of the stature and gravitas of Elizabeth Warren, John Lewis, Sherrod Brown - not to mention Bernie - is decided cause for hope. But the rest of them need to understand that the time has come for a complete overhaul. This a warning that the Republicans should have heeded at least two decades ago. They neglected to do so and now they're on the verge of disappearing forever. Bye! Bye!

Let's face it, folks: Conservatives in this country have gone bat-shit-crazy. When the Republicans finally do fracture into a million itty-bitty pieces in a matter of a few short years, that will be a real opportunity for progressives to get to work remaking America's badly decimated infrastructure. If the Democratic plan for the future is to continue in their current guise as "Republican Lite", their certain destruction is imminent. By nominating Hillary Clinton in 2016, they are not off to a particularly good start. If the Dems are unable to detect the boiling rage just beneath their traditional constituency's surface, they will detect it pretty goddamned soon enough. You'd better believe it.

As Lenny Bruce liked to say, "There's gonna be a lotta dues, Jim!"

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

AFTERTHOUGHT:

Although the Andy Thomas painting depicted at the top of this piece is excellent, it is not quite historically accurate. It is rather doubtful that Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson would have been any-too-pleased to see Barack Obama being initiated into this most exclusive of clubs. With the exception of John Tyler and Andrew Johnson, they were the two worst racists to ever live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

SUGGESTED READING:

Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined nut:
Misadventures in the Counter Culture
by Paul Krassner

Paul Krassner

Paul Krassner is one of the more interesting - and unheralded - figures of the 1960's; sometimes a writer, sometimes a publisher, sometimes a comedian, sometimes a violin virtuoso. He often made perfect sense, and at times was as provocative as a snotty eight-year-old boy. A man of many virtues and a few flaws, he tried to be on the side of the angels, although he himself is a professed atheist. Of interest is his close friendship with Lenny Bruce. I found out a few things about Lenny that I was even unaware of (and I am a scholar on the guy!) His is an interesting story; in fact, putting this book down for even a few minutes was an ordeal.

SUGESTED LISTENING:

How Long Blues
by the Wingy Manone Orchestra

This was record was made sometime in the mid-thirties. I love this recording so much, I can barely put it into words. Give it a listen. It's great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6HoDpeZhD4   

How long? Not long.