I'm a Bulldog Democrat - Democratic Underground

dave29

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Sun Aug-14-05 12:23 PM
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I'm a Bulldog Democrat

And I'm done being defined by Republicans, or Democrats who are afraid of Republicans.

There is no such thing as the "center". The center is what you make of it, and will respond according to how well you define and stand up strongly in defense of your core beliefs. The Republicans have artfully taken advantage of simplifying their message to make it more pallatable to "the center". They have mastered manipulating the media to their advantage.

Turnabout.

The "center" needs to understand that everything they were told by the GOP was marketing, and nothing else. What they received from the GOP was pretty much exactly the opposite of what they were promised. And the Democrats in Congress have been slow to resist what so many of us knew was going to be a reign of terror (pun intended).

It's time we stood up and reclaimed our moral authority - not just as a nation, but as Democrats.

Here's what I believe.

1) Democrats need to stand up against the Birth Tax.

Part of respecting life from it's beginning to it's end means ensuring every child born in this country isn't saddled by trillions of dollars in National Debt. And that our elderly can rest assured that the money they put into the system will be there for them when they retire. Republicans love to accuse Democrats of wanting to raise taxes, while at the same time... they run around recklessly spending our nations hard earned capital on poorly planned, poorly accounted and frankly unneccessary wars as well as countless other policies that benefit their benefactors rather than all Americans.

Our budget is out of control, fiscally irresponsible, and a danger to the stability of the global economy. Democrats are the party of fiscal responsibility, and it is our moral obligation to bring this country back to solid financial ground. We will fight Republicans and their reckless spending. We want to cut beurocracy, and create a lean, well connected Government with all the tools it needs to support it's citizens.

2) A true culture of life promotes wellbeing in every aspect. It is our moral obligation to ensure every American has Health Care, and that everything is being done to protect our environment. It's time we stood up to the energy industry and demanded innovation over greed. As Democrats we should lead the fight to silence those who would cast doubt on obvious science. It's time also for big Pharma to take the moral high ground and not overcharge the American people, and to ensure every drug is tested to the most rigorous of standards.

3) Our foreign policy should be based on the virtue of humility. As the only super power left in the world, the last thing we need to do is make demands and threats to allies or even our supposed enemies. War should truly be a last resort, and when used, we must be sure our military is sufficiently trained, armed, and protected to get the job done fast, with minimal casualties, period. And most importantly, we must have the support of the global community that our action is justified, and understood by the global community.

4) We are the party of innovation, and looking to the future. We will invest in technologies that will get us away from fossil fuels. We will work with allies to expand our space program and take advantage of that fellowship to find new ways to provide power to our planet from a wealth of potential sources off of it.

5) We are the party of tolerance. We understand that the beauty of America is that every single one of us has a right to our beliefs. There is no one religion that rules this country. There is no one ideology. The moral authority of America is woven into the countless stories of countless cultures that fought to make this country what it is supposed to be: a beacon of hope for the world.

I will fight anyone who says we can't win be standing up for our moral agenda. Democrats need to talk tough, and call the Republicans out every time they try to gloss over people's eyes with their corporate marketing campaign.

The truth sells better, anyway. The tide must turn, and we must get our message out - we owe it to our forefathers.