Politics

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******A little note before this one. I have been involved in politics since I was sixteen years old. I do not believe the Republicans or Democrats are endorsed by God. I do believe that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by so many special interest (and blame everyone else for our problems) groups that it is no longer a viable NATIONAL party.

I also believe that when we give to others (like writing a check or sending cash to a neighbor in need) without involving the government, it comes more from our heart and on a personal level.

I sincerely hope I do not offend anyone at Faithwriters with the following guest column (recently published in the local newspaper). I just wanted critiques on the writing style and grammar performance.

Thanks.********

And now, the column:

Conservative has advice for Dems
Dec. 23, 2004


By Dan Blankenship

Post-Tribune guest columnist

It is not often I would volunteer my services to the Democratic National Committee, but I truly believe I have some good advice for my friends on the left.

I hope members of the “party of failed ideas” have enough intelligence to really listen. They need some counsel from an inhabitant of the winning red states.

The main problem with the Democratic Party as a national group is, it lacks any genuine message, direction or focused leadership. Democrats have consistently adopted a platform of policies that contradict each other to such a degree it is almost laughable.

This is supposed to be the party dedicated to stamping out racism, yet it supports college scholarships and jobs for people based on the pigment of their skin. The Democratic Party should renounce its support of racial discrimination and move into the 21st century. After all, character makes for a good worker and student. Racial quotas create more chaos and anger than substantial improvements in erasing racism.

This is supposed to be the party that believes everyone is entitled to a job, yet the party faithful reject “right-to-work” laws that would stop people from being forced to join a union when seeking employment. If unions are such a benefit, let the worker decide if he or she wants to become a dues-paying member of an organizational advocate for the Democratic Party. One could not imagine the anger the Democrats would exhibit if the Republicans supported mandatory membership in any group.

The Democratic Party is supposed to be the party that believes education is a fundamental right in this country, yet it has battled against real reforms in the educational system — reforms that have been essential in making sure America’s children are receiving a quality education. It is time for Democrats to admit that school vouchers and school choice can improve our entire educational system, public and private.

The Democratic Party is supposed to be the party that supports the notion of health care being a fundamental right of every American citizen, yet it is beholden to lawyers dedicated to the destruction of the current health-care system. Do the Democrats expect us to believe that under a national health- care system, these tort lawyers will just walk away from their cash cows?

These are just a few examples of where the national Democratic Party is sending mixed messages to its constituency. I’m sure I could, given enough time, come up with a complete list that would fill many pages with print. But my purpose is to point out the current mistakes of a party so out of touch with reality, it can, at times, become quite scary to watch its members in action.

The simple solution is for this party to take a real stance on issues — any issue. Demo-crats have tried to be all things to all people and the end result has been a dismal failure in gaining support from mainstream America concerning national elections. Even the darling of the Democrats, Bill Clinton, could not have taken the White House if not for an eccentric, third-party candidate, Ross Perot, jumping into the 1992 election.

Although I have just listed some suggestions as to how the Democrats can turn their national party toward a winning strategy, I doubt they will implement even one of my recommendations. If that giant red map didn’t penetrate their thick political skull, one would have to conclude this is a political party destined for the scrap heap of failed ideologies.

I can’t say I’ll be losing any sleep over it.

Dan Blankenship is an author and resident of Lowell.

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