Do Democrats Stand for Anything These Days?
You know...it's physically painful to read through the DNC website. If you go to the "Issues" section, you'll notice that almost all of the subsections begin with some statement about how horrible President Bush is. The rest of the site is similar. Let's look at a few examples of what the Democratic Party considers essential content for their site. First, the front page, which contains:
-A large banner that says "Grand Old Petroleum" and links to a page about Bush's "secret deals with Saudi Arabia to keep [gas prices] high until the election."
-Not one, but two links about "the Bush record."
-Their apparent slogan, "Take Back America!"
Now, let's look at a few "Issues:"
-"African American Vote" (yeah, no pandering there) begins with "The Bush Record on African American Families: Economic Setbacks, Attacks on Civil Rights," which is followed by the opening sentence, "Bush's America is not friendly to African Americans." Another link criticizes Bush for sending John Ashcroft to commemorate Brown v. Board of Education, and yet another link says "Bush falling short in effort to woo black voters."
-"Children and Families" begins with "The Bush Record: Broken Promises to America's Children," and makes the opening statement, "The administration that claims to be so interested in defending and promoting the American family is doing a lousy job of it." The entire "DNC Research" section of this area is devoted to attacking Bush's education and economic policies. The "DNC News" section also links to stories about Bush's supposed failures.
-"Civil Rights and Justice" begins with "The Bush Record: Freedoms Under Attack," and opens with the statement, "Not surprisingly, Bush is no friend of civil rights. Years of advances are being rolled back, and Bush is opposing affirmative action and appointing judges who defend cross-burners and oppose voters' rights." A large red headline proclaims "Bush Nominates Right-Wing Judges" (really? I'd never expect a Republican to do such a thing).
This is fun. Let's look at some more...
-Of the 8 headlines and links in the "Disability Vote" section, only 2 are about Democrats. The other 6 are devoted to attacking President Bush.
-The "Economic Growth and Jobs" section reads like a Maureen Dowd Column. It begins with the headline, "The Bush Economy by the Numbers: What a Difference Three Years Makes," and introduces this with the following paragraph:
It's still the economy, stupid! Don't the Bushes ever learn? Bush inherited record surpluses, a balanced budget and steady job growth -- and he's blown it. The budget deficit is ballooning, job growth is non-existent and the stock market is faltering. Even Republicans are disgusted with Bush's handling of the economy. It's time to ask yourself the classic question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
Real professional. In addition, all 12 headlines and links in this section are about Bush, including " Tax Day: Facts and Fibs about the Bush Tax Cut," "Another Bush Ripoff: Health Savings Accounts," and "The Hazards of Halliburton."
-The "Education" section begins with "The Bush Education Record: Every Child Left Behind," and introduces this by saying, "No child left behind? Don't believe it!" All 8 headlines in this section are about Bush, including "DNC gives Bush "A" for Audacity" (how childish can you get?), and "Hispanic Students Need Real Reform, Not More of Bush's Empty Rhetoric."
-I think the "Environment" section was created by hippies. It starts with "The Bush Record: Industry Runs Roughshod Over Environment," and opens with the statement, "Drill everywhere! Foul the oceans! Pollute the skies! That's great if you're Big Business, but lousy if you're anybody else. Bush's policies are undoing decades of environmental protection and leaving a dirty world for our children and children's children to inherit."
-The "GLBT Vote" section includes a petition, sponsored by Margaret Cho, encouraging people to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment, since "It is now clear that President Bush and the Republicans will use attacks against gays and lesbians as their 2004 election year strategy," and [the FMA] threatens the freedom of all Americans because it denies the civil rights of a whole group of individuals."
-The "Health Care" section begins with the statement, "Health care in the Bush administration is sick, sick, sick." This section contains 10 headlines. 9 are about Bush.
-The "National and Homeland Security" section proclaims:
In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, Bush took advantage of Americans' patriotism to push through legislation that tramples our Constitutional freedoms. His efforts at homeland security are an underfunded, disorganized mess. And by chasing non-existent weapons of mass destruction, he's gotten us stuck in a quagmire in Iraq and squandered the good will of our allies.
Some of the headlines in this section include "Bush's Real Military Record" (He was AWOL, we tells ya!), "Weapons of Mass Distortion," and "Lies About Iraq."
...Wow. I can't take any more of this. It's almost as bad as Democratic Underground. So, what does the Democratic Party stand for? I think I can sum it up in 3 words:
"Anybody But Bush." |
