My dad was a democrat, like his dad before him. When the time came for me to register my
allegiance to a party and vote, it was natural that I would register as a democrat too. After all,
this was the party of the working class and I was raised in America’s working class. Dad had
served in the Army through World War II and the Korean War, retiring after 25 years to work in
the civilian sector. He worked hard his whole life and depended on the Democratic party to back
him up. As a soldier, he felt the party was behind him fighting for the rights and protection of
those defending our country. In those days, the military wasn’t something to be opposed. It was
recognized that the men in uniform deserved the best our country could provide. After the
military, he depended on his party to fight for better pay and working conditions in the public
sector. There were four kids to feed and clothe in our household. Four kids to educate and four
kids to hopefully find decent jobs of their own as adults.
But something slowly began to change. It started as far back as the 1980s. As a young woman, I
didn’t pay much attention to politics. I had my hands full with a career and a daughter of my
own to raise. However my dad began muttering about the Democratic party just not being the
same. One day my mother whispered to me that he probably wasn’t going to vote the party line
anymore. To this day, I am in awe of the wisdom of my father and the fact that he saw so early
on what I’m seeing today. Dad passed away in 1992. I’m glad that he is not here to see what
has come of the party of his father.
No longer does the common soldier in the US military feel supported by the Democratic Party.
The party seems to see the military as an elitist expense and has forgotten the soldiers who need
to support families while they defend our rights and freedoms. As for the working class, where
are the candidates who understand our struggles in daily life? We are working, paying bills,
paying taxes, wanting to buy homes and put our kids through college. We want our elderly
parents to have the best of care and we need health care for our kids. Who is out there stumping
for the small tax payer? Where is the candidate to speak for the middle class?
The middle class has been left behind, or perhaps the middle class has left the Democratic Party
behind. Each generation has wanted better for their children, and for generations, have created a
better world for their children. Today my life is better because of what my father fought for. His
middle class world struggled to make ends meet. My middle class world can actually put away a
little savings or buy a stock or two. We’ve become small investors. Dad’s middle class rarely
thought of taking the risk to start a business, leaving behind the security of a weekly paycheck.
My middle class has many running small businesses from home, or working at home. My
middle class concerns have become far different than the concerns of my dad and vastly different
from the concerns of my grandfather. The party of my father has become far different too.
Unfortunately, rather than moving forward with the working class, they have widened the gap
that my dad so astutely observed 20 years ago.
The party of my father no longer exists. What I see is a party full of spite, targeting those who
would work to bring about more jobs rather than supporting those who fill those jobs. There
cannot be successful workers without successful companies to employ them. I see a party
struggling to cover their past displays of disdain for the military now that we so clearly need to
defend our country, rather than outright admitting the error of the past and moving forward with
the times. I see a party offering objections, but not offering solutions to the issues facing today’s
middle class. The conflicts are age old; corporate corruption taking advantage of the little guy.
So where are the solutions? Where are the ideas? What can be done to come to the defense of
the small taxpayer? We are now small investors; who is looking out for us? We are now small
business owners; who is looking out for us? Where is the glimmer of hope being held out by a
likely candidate for office? All around, all we see is bickering and finger pointing with no real
hope for real solutions.
There once was a party the working men and women of this nation could look to for support and
help in building a better future. There may again be such a party, but it seems that it won’t be the
party of my father.
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