Counterpoint:

Democrats and Better Government Reflect the People's Will
James Hall - From the Left

I can almost see my colleague James foaming at the mouth as he regurgitates the tired litany of mythologies, half-truths, and misapprehensions about Democrats and the role of government in our nation, and would gladly loan him my hanky to wipe the foam from his jaws. Just as people of the 18th and 19th centuries bemoaned the end of the Middle Ages and loss of kings and chivalry, James and his compatriots mourn a perceived loss of buckskinned individualism and hard frontier values. But the idealistic and ideological picture that James draws of American individualism never really existed in history any more than the divine right of kings or the idealistic picture of knights in golden armor coming to the rescue of fair maidens.

In reality the rugged individualism and individual freedom that James touts played but a small role in the history of our nation. More often pioneers, settlers, and colonists acted together in groups and communities to survive, together they built forts, houses and barns and churches, fought their enemies, and regulated their civil affairs. Every township had its elected selectmen, every colony its compulsory militia, its legislature and governor. After they fought collectively for their freedom, Americans abandoned the weak Articles of Confederation for a stronger, more effective central government, ensuring our survival among powerful empires and nation-states. The concept of government is every bit a part of the warp and woof of the American psyche as individualism.

Americans do respond with dislike to autocratic government or dishonest government or inefficient government--history is replete with examples. But replace government with anarchy? Never. Throughout our history the trend has moved away from anarchy to effective government oversight by and for the people of our nation, making America the preeminent power in the world today.

Individual freedom plays an important role in our culture, as reflected in our Bill of Rights, but it does not play the sole role or even the primary role. Our founding fathers knew that collective action was necessary for our survival as a nation and a people. This truth is revealed in core documents like the Declaration of Independence, which referred to Americans as "one people," not a collection of individuals, and which enshrined the principle that governments are instituted to secure the rights of individuals, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed. The Preamble to the US Constitution, which established by the consent of the "people," not individuals, and created the "more perfect union" that is our government, makes it clear that our freedoms are preserved only through government that has the consent of the governed.

The Democratic Party is the oldest political party in the nation, with roots going back to Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. It has long represented the interests of average and poor Americans against the interests of the wealthy and corporate interests, and developed policies to support its position representing ordinary, hardworking Americans. Democrats are primarily responsible for America's social safety net protecting the very young and old, and for programs raising the poor out of poverty. The Democratic Party has successfully grown government to fulfill these needs, and does so without apologies to any who would deny help to the poor and destitute of our land.

You have only to look at the policies of the two major parties to see how enamored Americans have become of a strong representative government. In the past decade, government grew by 8% during a Democratic president and Congress. Under a Democratic president and Republican Congress, it grew at a 6% rate. A Republican president and Congress is trying to protect a 4% growth rate, but will likely settle for at least 5% growth. That's a continued growth of government even under the Republican Party, supposedly the more conservative, government-distrusting party of the two.

Moreover, look closely at a few of the Republican Party's campaign platform promises in the past election: it vowed to increase government's role by establishing a prescription drug benefit for seniors, create an HMO bill of rights that actually preempts state laws, expand the military, increase aid to public schools, build a huge $100 billion missile shield over the whole country, and add a privatization program for Social Security that would have the federal government investing heavily in the stock market. All this from "the party of less government."

The reality is that almost every American believes in government and wants government to do something for him or her. Liberals want government to create equality under the law; social conservatives want government to legislate morality; corporations want sweetheart deals and tax breaks. Americans generally want better public schools, better highways, Social Security, a strong national defense, laws against pollution, and government-funded research and development to make better medicines and safer consumer products.

The hard reality for libertarians of James' stripe is that today's Americans want more government, not less. And that's a lucky thing for us. If all Americans decided to build the Libertarian Paradise that James desires, disbanding our standing army and navy, reducing and crippling the controls that maintain our economy, it wouldn't take long for a powerful nation state to knock us off. We'd quickly lose our research and development edge, our technology edge, our economic edge and go the way of the dinosaurs.

But Americans won't let that happen. Americans like things just the way they are, thank you, and won't consider anything but incremental changes to today's government-provided services. Democrats made this possible, and even our Republican opponents understand this and won't seriously rock the boat. Government works the way it was intended to by the founders, and the rugged individualist and buckskin crowd have only their mythology of the "good old days" over which to fantasize. Sorry, guys, that's just the way it is.

Final Word:

In the end, with conservative/libertarian elitists, it always comes down to this: too many of "them" are getting the vote. I'm sure they'd love to go back to the days when only property-owning white males were allowed to vote or run for office. The rest of us are only worthy to live and work, not vote, in their morally weak universe. Sorry James, but we Democratic "deviants" won't put up with your baloney any more.

No, truth isn't determined by numbers, nor by its supposed existence in a falsified past "golden age." We live in the here and now, and libertarians have to live with the cold hard fact that in our Republic more government is the norm, not the exception. Last night (as I write this) we heard the President from the "Party of Less Government" announce new federal funding and involvement for stem cell research. He did so because the people of this country want and expect government to take the role in financing and regulating important scientific breakthroughs, the kind that make our country strong and the leader of the world.

James can hide behind his sneer and claim to be the sole purveyor of Truth with a capital "T." But so does the harmless street bum at the corner who will tell anyone who'll listen that Space Aliens are watching over us. No, James, in the words of a bygone campaign, "Where's the Beef?" If libertarians reflect the Truth and we Democrats don't, then why do their words fall on unconvinced ears? Why do today's Americans, liberal and conservative alike, expect more out of their government, not less?

James Hall, From the Left

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Point:

What is a Democrat?

A fool hath no dialogue within himself, the first thought carrieth him without the reply of a second.
- Lord Halifax

The stereotypes that characterize political affiliation sometimes are stranger than the Grim Fairy Tales that portray a much deeper meaning. In order to understand what a Democrat IS, we must analyze their philosophy and actions of their politics, while we ignore the spin of image of empty substance.

So what do Democrats have in common? Let's look at their shared ideology first.
1) An inordinate belief that government provides solutions for social ills.
2) All citizens have equal rights to social services provided by their government.
3) Government expansion and control is necessary to improve society.
4) Taxes must be progressive and punitive to prevent the rich from getting richer.
5) International intervention in world affairs is necessary to bring peace to the world.
6) Protection of the environment is more important than preserving jobs and life style.
7) Integration and affirmative action are necessary to bring equality to the races.
8) Citizens must be compelled to support public policies under the full weight of the law.
9) Business exists to fund government programs and their regulation is justified.
10) And the ultimate precept that sums up other beliefs: ALL PEOPLE ARE EQUAL.

Now compare the reality of actions and deeds to the stated values of Democrats.
1) The record is clear, larger government institutionalizes social ills and creates additional problems that feed the growth of even bigger bureaucracy.
2) The notion that the under privileged deserve help from government creates cradle to grave dependency and discriminates against those citizens that are able to provide for themselves. Inequality of dependency guarantees political support for bigger government.
3) Society is more important to the Democrat than the individual. Improvement to them means less freedom and more control. Socialistic principles underpin their agenda and programs. Coercion and force is justified to compel compliance and acceptance.
4) Discouraging the creation of independent wealth results in the expansion of the corporate economy which is an ally of government, while preventing average citizens from accumulating money. The rich remain in control, while eliminating competition.
5) National military defense has been sacrificed for the extension of domination over world affairs. Peace is now known as obedience to the 'world community'. Rogue nations are any country that resists IMF, World Bank and UN policies for assimilation.
6) Suspect science with dubious conclusions use guilt and fear to force additional restrictions upon specific industries to punish the small enterprise and manage the dominate business. Good jobs are lost, land is placed off limits and resources denied.
7) Required commingling has increased hostility and mistrust among the races and ethnic cultures. Diversity denies free association which results in resentment towards mandates in law where differences in conduct and values exist. Forced tolerance begets resentment.
8) Fines, penalties and imprisonment are normal occurrences that enforce submission to unintelligible laws and regulations. The rule of government dictate is now supreme with few accessible means to confront the system. You obey or you pay! Justice is abandoned.
9) Commerce is licensed to operate as long as their partner is the government. State policy supersedes ownership property rights. Restrictive constraints force bankruptcies and Free Trade practices destroy entire domestic industries. Government control and central planning of the economy expands, higher taxes grow with lower opportunity.
10) Social Justice becomes the ultimate causality when seeking a false equality denies the realities of human nature. People continually demonstrate by their behavior that they are NOT equal. Attempts to social engineer the impossible is at the core of government oppression. In the name of fairness, our society is transformed into a hostile planet.

Democrats are loooosers . . . who are unwilling or lack the talent to compete in the real world. They are willing to relinquish their own natural rights, to government; for the false promise that they will be protected from those that have superior ability. Redistribution of wealth from the producers to the torpid is their dream. The use of forced coercion is their method. Specious guilt and relativism in feelings are their values. Lies, deceit and distortions are their message. Theft is their chosen vocation, and ignorance their mentality standard.

Logic, common sense and the Truth are their adversary. Freedom and LIBERTY of the individual is their principal enemy. Limited and accountable government is their nightmare. And the necessity to become responsible for your own actions is their dread. Democrats are traitors of the America vision. They are opportunists that seek power to dominate over decent God fearing citizens who reject the secular humanism that underpins the party of asses. Their worship of the State, is based upon their adoration of a false god. Their willingness to become servants of an evil master, results in our entire society descending into serfdom.

Yes, the Democrat is the enemy! A state of war exists and any notion of partisan cooperation with those who want to destroy you, your values, and our Nation; is absurd and fatal. For those who are duped into accepting the scam of the Democrat, you are the fool. As for those who work for their advancement, you are the betrayer. And power brokers within their ranks are fledgling Wormwood pupils, to a Screwtape from Hades. Read C S Lewis, you need to discover your soul . . .

James Hall aka SARTRE

Rebuttal:

It is amazing that 'true believers' continually attempt to push square pegs through round holes. Reproach about their religion invariably causes them to stick their heads above the sewer stench to defend their contamination. Rationalization that amentia of the masses is a substitute for truth, is as pretentious as claiming that America is a Democracy as opposed to a Republic. Deficiency in perspicacity voids parity of conclusions. Opinions of idiots, dupes and suckers doesn't refute the accuracy of natural rights. Attempt to depict traditional moral conduct and values as passé or never existing, avoids the task of intellectually invalidating their correctness. But what else can the secular humanist argue? Facts are inconsequential to them, respect for virtue is absent, and personal responsibility becomes trite.

Community collaboration and cooperation is a noble objective when conducted among civilized inhabitants. But the society that Democrats seek is an equivalence among deviants. The issue is not a rejection of community, but what kind is worthy of our consent and willful compliance? The individual is not a slave; and retains the absolute right to accept or reject the legitimacy of their institutions, based upon how their government treats them and the deeds of their policies. Respect for each citizen is the standard for acceptance. When will the Party of the posterboys for murder, sleaze and treason learn this lesson?

Those who are unable to perceive the distinction between limited government and anarchy, are in urgent need of 'stem cell' therapy to expand their cerebral matter. The People is never defined as the majority. The mob is the source of votes for Democrats. Adding to the ranks of halfwits, only furthers the reigns of power for the Elite's who control the course of the Democratic Party. Electing the greater fool, does not achieve social justice. If America demands an ever expanded intrusion into their life out of a false achievement for security, your result will be neighbors like the bad seed. For me, there is no part for the likes of Democrats, of this ilk in my community . . .

James Hall - 'The Right'

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