Politics Not As Usual

Over the past few months or so, I've been really thinking about politics and where I stand with the democratic party. My political views have shifted from left to center on a few issues and I'm starting to feel as though the democratic party does not speak to where I am in life right now. I even flirted with the idea of switching to the republican party but after doing a little research and some sole searching, I decided to stay with the Ol' Dems. The two major reasons I decided to stay with the Democrats are: the Kennedy's and the Clinton's. A few weeks ago, Tisha and I watched a 3 hour TV movie about the Kennedy's and once again I felt inspired to get involved with politics. I must mention that Bobby Kennedy will always be my favorite Kennedy because of his dedication to social justice and his tenure as the U.S. Attorney General against organize crime. The Kennedy's was a prime example of what it means to be a democratic and I was proud to be associated with the political party of such strong men and women who closely hold on to their conviction of justice and service to the least of among us. The second and more important reason why I still consider myself a democratic is the example and legacy of Bill Clinton. Clinton considered himself a New Democrat, and as of today, I consider myself a New Democrat. The New Democrats were created after the 1984 election of Ronald Regan. The founders of the Democrat Leadership Council (DLC) believed the United States Democratic Party needed to shift to the right of center to remain viable during the Reagan era. A New Democrat basically identifies with a center-right view on social/cultural issues and favors a fiscal conservatism on economic issues but still holds a sense of accountability to the people. Andrew Jackson said it best when he proclaimed,

Equal opportunity for all, special privilege for none.

The DLC also notes that at the heart of a New Democrat are three principles:

Promoting opportunity for all; demanding responsibility from everyone; and fostering a new sense of community.

So there you have it. I will continue to vote democratic and possible run as a democrat some day because of this unique approach to solving America's problems. As a country, we have to move beyond liberal or conservative views of where we should go and try to find a moderate view of critical possibilities of where we could go for the benefits of the generations to come.

Above you will see a picture of myself with Delaware's Senator Thomas Carper. Click on the picture to learn more about the Senator. I have a great story to tell about Delaware's other senator and presidential hopeful Joe Biden but I will save that for another time.