Who’s in charge of the democratic party?

I wish I knew, but here’s my guess. I think the former president Clinton is still driving the democratic train. If I am correct, then the worst part of Arkansas politics is still having its effect in D.C. This is just as it was during his time as the President. This includes focus group government and media rapid response work.

And I still do not know what their principles are. The agenda has changed at least seven times in the last year. This is an inherent defect in this type of governance.

And why are democrats tolerating people such as him (and there are others). They have bigger fish to fry. If it is money, then they should go on another path and see what happens. It may surprise them.

For those that remember, the biggest tax increase in history occurred in 1993 just after Clinton became the president on a lowering taxes promise. Then we (us citizens) learned by press releases that he had “discovered” how bad things were, and only tax increases would solve the problem he announced. The vote came down to Al Gore voting to break the tie in the Senate, and along the way most of what I read was Clinton’s sales pitch to the voters in the democratically controlled Senate. The sales pitch as I read it had nothing to do with our country; it was about how bad he would look if the vote were lost. Well, I guess it worked, and then and there I knew the old fashioned democratic party had been taken over by a person who could and would use the party for his personal objectives/ego.

Arkansas politics continued in D.C. under Clinton. National politics descended to low levels. When Bush came in, he promised change in the tone, but he has failed. In spite of his golden rule approach, he has been rebuked and stained enough to get my attention. I have almost given up hope for “the old days” of honest debate and conflicting points of view reported as same. In my selfish way, I had two reasonable alternatives back then.

Let me make it seem worse, before it gets better.

It appears that after the 2004 election of the President, all of the House, and 1/3 of the Senate, things might settle down to just doing “the people’s business”. Then I read that the democrats had changed their strategy leading to 2006 by not cooperating, and even more, being totally anti-Bush. If he says A, they say B. That hate is not a policy is obvious to me, but maybe not to others. And this is from one who has a visceral disrespect of Clinton, and can believe others have the same feelings towards Bush.

Let me make it seem better. Clinton is six years out of office and direct national power, and on the way out. That his wife still is in the game, extends his influence only so far. They and Arkansas politics have had their heyday, and are on the way out. After all, we Americans are more reasonable and golden rule oriented. I believe that also applies to most good people in Arkansas.

So if you can get through the democratic political ads today, what are their principles today? I don’t know, myself. I am beginning to think that former democratic senator Zell Miller’s book about “A National Party No More” is mostly on the mark.

History does prove that nations and parties can “become part of history”. It is possible to “screw it up”; that is abuse what we have been born to and ultimately lead to our demise. And whole groups of voters can switch in mass. How the federal government would respond to the natural disaster of the Mississippi River flood of 1927 is just such an example.

The democratic party I knew in the old days is alive and well, albeit in small areas. There are many “centrist” democrats still politically alive and well. They can be the genesis for the future of their party and maybe our country, I hope. Again I am selfish in expecting two reasonable alternatives to vote on.

You know, there was a reformation in europe centuries ago that, in my mind, was both a rejection of what was happening, and also a path forward.

I think we may be at the same kind of crossroads today. Who knows.