Written- 9/7/12
By Tyrone L. Heppard
Has America Witnessed the Rise of A New Democratic Party?
In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency by running on the slogan “hope and change”, which seemed to get not only get the Democratic base “fired up and ready to go”, but encouraged Americans to take a look at what the Bush Administration left in its wake. In the end, they decided to give the “blue team” a shot.
In addition, Obama was also the first African-American president in our nation’s history, sending a strong message to the international community: despite what you may have heard, we are an America that isn’t divided by race. And here, anyone can do anything.
But that was in 2008. Now, three and a half years later, unemployment has gone down, but it’s still above eight percent; a place both sides agree isn’t where we want to be (job growth isn’t that spectacular either). The stock market has doubled, but investors are standing by on the sidelines, holding tight to their money, waiting for some sort of signal that says it’s okay to begin investing in America’s future again. The banks have recovered from the financial crisis, but in the wake of the JP Morgan Chase fiasco and the overseas LIBOR situation, it looks like the bankers haven’t heard OWS’s message, let alone learned their lesson.
What’s more, the American public has heard the whole “hope and change” thing before. Plus, true or not, they’re a little sick of hearing about how G-Dub left Obama a wreck to rebuild. The Republicans are saying that their guys, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, are the guys to do what Americans desperately want someone to do immediately: create more jobs.
Now, the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL took place the previous week and, frankly, the Republicans didn’t seem to give details about any real, tangible solutions to the issues. In fact, the leitmotiv of the RNC seemed to be, “Give us a shot. Honestly, we’ll try to do better by you, but, if we don’t – hey – at least it’s not Obama, right?” This is most likely the reason that after all was said and done, the Romney/Ryan ticket saw a modest 1% bump in the polls.
So, from September 4-6, the nation watched as the Democratic Party held their national convention in Charlotte, NC. This is most likely because although things have been getting better, they aren’t feeling the effects of the Obama Administration’s policy as far as the economy and jobs are concerned. Rightfully, everyone – especially the Republicans – wanted to hear what the president and his compatriots had to say about the state of the union and what they were going to do about it. And that’s what they got.
However, they also got a
front-row seat to the rebirth
of the Democratic Party.
We’re not just talking about a couple of good speeches here and there. We’re not even talking about a complete deconstruction and reassembly of what Democrats stand for in their party platform. This was the same party that we’re all familiar with. But for some reason, the party was electrified and emboldened at their convention while shutting up those who’d mocked and dismissed them for so long.
A new era of hope and change was born over the last three days – and it’s permanent. In addition, you can trust that this new Democratic Party will carry their new-found momentum far beyond the 2012 elections.
This started early in the beginning of the festivities; long before prime time. Right out of the gate, Obama’s surrogates took to the microphone with the goal of destroying everything you thought you knew about the Democrats followed by everything Democrats have been too afraid to say.
Take Newark, NJ mayor Corey Booker for example. In his fiery speech, he said, “Our platform emphasizes that a vibrant, free and fair market is essential to economic growth. We also must pull from our highest ideals of justice and fairness to protect against those ills that destabilized our economy in recent years,” like the “unchecked avarice of the past that trumps fairness and common sense.” But perhaps most importantly, he added, “Our platform calls for significant cuts in federal spending”.
Hold on a second. Isn’t that what Republicans used to say?
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro gave a speech that felt an awful lot like what we heard from a certain senator from Chicago back in 2004. Castro stood in front of that microphone and reminded America that Mitt Romney suggested the youth ask their parents to borrow some money for school or to open a business to become successful. He responded, “Gee. Why didn’t I think of that?” The Republican Party is going to have a hard time trying to secure the Latino vote after that.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick came out and said, “It’s time for Democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe.” Catholic nun Simone Campbell came out to defend the Obama/Biden ticket against the Paul Ryan Medicare budget Mitt Romney endorsed. She did this because in her words, it’s “immoral.” Campbell argued the Ryan plan inspired her to go on the road to let struggling families know that her and her sisters in God are on their side.
Wait a minute. Nuns are showing up at a democratic convention? I thought the right had a monopoly on faith and morals. Latinos are relating to the democratic president? Left-wingers are all about fiscal responsibility and less spending? And did we just hear one democrat tell the other Democrats to essentially grow a pair and to speaking up not only about what they were against, but what they were for? What is this – the Twilight Zone? Have you and I gone mad?!
No. This is just what happens when you’re a member of a party that has built a reputation of being overly sensitive and unrealistic. This is what happens when the guys across the aisle have been taken over by fanatics and extremists. Some say it’s the ebb and flow of party politics. I say it’s about damn time. It’s true that America’s approval of Congress is lower than it’s ever been; ever. But the Republicans haven’t shown us that they can handle the power they crave. Like Gov. Duval said about Romney in Massachusetts, they’ve been more interested in having the job than doing it.
The Democrats, however, are chomping at the bit to tell you why they haven’t been doing so well when it comes to the economy and jobs numbers.
At their convention, they had the chance to remind Americans Republicans are the ones to blame when it comes to not letting things move through Congress Not only did republican leader Mitch McConnell said it out loud, plenty of republican congressmen signed on to Grover Norquist’s pledge to never raise taxes; no matter what. There’s not too much you can do when one side refuses to bend.
And that was the point of the 2012 Democratic National Convention; to let everyone know that they’re about to take another crack at that “controlling Congress” thing again – and they're going to do it right this time. But no matter what Democrats say or what Republicans do, the people are going to decide who governs the country after Nov. 6. Let’s just hope that the Democrat's bite is as fierce as it's bark.
By Tyrone L. Heppard
Has America Witnessed the Rise of A New Democratic Party?
In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency by running on the slogan “hope and change”, which seemed to get not only get the Democratic base “fired up and ready to go”, but encouraged Americans to take a look at what the Bush Administration left in its wake. In the end, they decided to give the “blue team” a shot.
 |
| Photo Courtesy of the LA Times |
In addition, Obama was also the first African-American president in our nation’s history, sending a strong message to the international community: despite what you may have heard, we are an America that isn’t divided by race. And here, anyone can do anything.
But that was in 2008. Now, three and a half years later, unemployment has gone down, but it’s still above eight percent; a place both sides agree isn’t where we want to be (job growth isn’t that spectacular either). The stock market has doubled, but investors are standing by on the sidelines, holding tight to their money, waiting for some sort of signal that says it’s okay to begin investing in America’s future again. The banks have recovered from the financial crisis, but in the wake of the JP Morgan Chase fiasco and the overseas LIBOR situation, it looks like the bankers haven’t heard OWS’s message, let alone learned their lesson.
What’s more, the American public has heard the whole “hope and change” thing before. Plus, true or not, they’re a little sick of hearing about how G-Dub left Obama a wreck to rebuild. The Republicans are saying that their guys, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, are the guys to do what Americans desperately want someone to do immediately: create more jobs.
Now, the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL took place the previous week and, frankly, the Republicans didn’t seem to give details about any real, tangible solutions to the issues. In fact, the leitmotiv of the RNC seemed to be, “Give us a shot. Honestly, we’ll try to do better by you, but, if we don’t – hey – at least it’s not Obama, right?” This is most likely the reason that after all was said and done, the Romney/Ryan ticket saw a modest 1% bump in the polls.
So, from September 4-6, the nation watched as the Democratic Party held their national convention in Charlotte, NC. This is most likely because although things have been getting better, they aren’t feeling the effects of the Obama Administration’s policy as far as the economy and jobs are concerned. Rightfully, everyone – especially the Republicans – wanted to hear what the president and his compatriots had to say about the state of the union and what they were going to do about it. And that’s what they got.
However, they also got a
front-row seat to the rebirth
of the Democratic Party.
We’re not just talking about a couple of good speeches here and there. We’re not even talking about a complete deconstruction and reassembly of what Democrats stand for in their party platform. This was the same party that we’re all familiar with. But for some reason, the party was electrified and emboldened at their convention while shutting up those who’d mocked and dismissed them for so long.
A new era of hope and change was born over the last three days – and it’s permanent. In addition, you can trust that this new Democratic Party will carry their new-found momentum far beyond the 2012 elections.
This started early in the beginning of the festivities; long before prime time. Right out of the gate, Obama’s surrogates took to the microphone with the goal of destroying everything you thought you knew about the Democrats followed by everything Democrats have been too afraid to say.
Take Newark, NJ mayor Corey Booker for example. In his fiery speech, he said, “Our platform emphasizes that a vibrant, free and fair market is essential to economic growth. We also must pull from our highest ideals of justice and fairness to protect against those ills that destabilized our economy in recent years,” like the “unchecked avarice of the past that trumps fairness and common sense.” But perhaps most importantly, he added, “Our platform calls for significant cuts in federal spending”.
Hold on a second. Isn’t that what Republicans used to say?
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro gave a speech that felt an awful lot like what we heard from a certain senator from Chicago back in 2004. Castro stood in front of that microphone and reminded America that Mitt Romney suggested the youth ask their parents to borrow some money for school or to open a business to become successful. He responded, “Gee. Why didn’t I think of that?” The Republican Party is going to have a hard time trying to secure the Latino vote after that.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick came out and said, “It’s time for Democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe.” Catholic nun Simone Campbell came out to defend the Obama/Biden ticket against the Paul Ryan Medicare budget Mitt Romney endorsed. She did this because in her words, it’s “immoral.” Campbell argued the Ryan plan inspired her to go on the road to let struggling families know that her and her sisters in God are on their side.
 |
| Gov. Deval Patrick speaking at the DNC |
Wait a minute. Nuns are showing up at a democratic convention? I thought the right had a monopoly on faith and morals. Latinos are relating to the democratic president? Left-wingers are all about fiscal responsibility and less spending? And did we just hear one democrat tell the other Democrats to essentially grow a pair and to speaking up not only about what they were against, but what they were for? What is this – the Twilight Zone? Have you and I gone mad?!
No. This is just what happens when you’re a member of a party that has built a reputation of being overly sensitive and unrealistic. This is what happens when the guys across the aisle have been taken over by fanatics and extremists. Some say it’s the ebb and flow of party politics. I say it’s about damn time. It’s true that America’s approval of Congress is lower than it’s ever been; ever. But the Republicans haven’t shown us that they can handle the power they crave. Like Gov. Duval said about Romney in Massachusetts, they’ve been more interested in having the job than doing it.
The Democrats, however, are chomping at the bit to tell you why they haven’t been doing so well when it comes to the economy and jobs numbers.
At their convention, they had the chance to remind Americans Republicans are the ones to blame when it comes to not letting things move through Congress Not only did republican leader Mitch McConnell said it out loud, plenty of republican congressmen signed on to Grover Norquist’s pledge to never raise taxes; no matter what. There’s not too much you can do when one side refuses to bend.
And that was the point of the 2012 Democratic National Convention; to let everyone know that they’re about to take another crack at that “controlling Congress” thing again – and they're going to do it right this time. But no matter what Democrats say or what Republicans do, the people are going to decide who governs the country after Nov. 6. Let’s just hope that the Democrat's bite is as fierce as it's bark.
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