Democratic PartyThe short simple answer: The Civil Rights Act of 1964. That turned the southern conservative Democrats into Republicans. Without the conservative wing of the party maintaining centrism, the party drifted to the left, and alienated more voters along the way by adopting some positions that ran counter to the values of the more traditional base.
At one time, the Democratic Party was able to represent the combined interests of New York Jews, Boston Irish, urban blacks, Southern Dixiecrats, Appalachian miners, Midwestern farmers, Texas ranchers, Rocky Mountain pioneers, Pacific Coast adventurers and migrant farm workers.
Simple question: Whatever happened to that Democratic Party?
Vince Milum
Lenexa
Yes, I mean Democratic gun control policy. Get rid of that plank, and we gain back the middle and the west in two election cycles what we lost 42 years ago when Johnson did the right thing; knowing that by doing the right thing, he might destroy the party, knowing that if the party survived, it would take years for the recovery to take place. But he did it anyway.
I am an unabashed liberal, (with a libertarian streak a mile wide and a hundred feet deep.) Because of my devotion to civil liberties and the Constitution, I pitched my tent with the Democrats and preached the virtues of small-ell libertarianism every chance I got; and a few times I jumped in when someone else just stopped their own sermon to take a breath.
The Democratic Party is on it's way back, as civil liberties fall under attack by a craven and dictatorial administration that legalizes torture and suspends entire articles of the Constitution.
As Americans realize that Democratic values are American values, we are rebounding. And Democratic values are American values. Look at Kathleen Sebelius, look at Brian Schweitzer, look at all those returned veterans running for congress on the Democratic ticket.
And God bless Howard Dean. His insistence rebuilding the party from the local precincts up was inspired. Without that strategy, without his insistence that the party field a candidate in every race in the country, we would not be in the catbirds seat and set to capitalize on an imploding Republican party today.
Mr. Milum, the fat lady hasn't belted out the closing aria yet, but she's warming up back-stage. Ask that question again on November 8th. Hopefully I will be able to say "We are all around you."
