Oct. 15, 2008 — When I was very young my grandpa gave me my first lesson in political science.

He simply said that Democrats are for the workingman and Republicans are for the rich.

I was fantastically conflicted by this statement. As a child I spent every weeknight glued to Tom Brokaw’s newscast hoping to see and hear Ronald Reagan who was, in my view, the second smartest person in the world right behind my grandpa. Both men contributed to my perception of the world and along with my dad (third smartest due to his youth) educated me on economics, moral values, and workplace principles. The older I got the more I realized that my grandpa agreed with Ronald Reagan on almost EVERY issue. Knowing Reagan was a Republican and Grandpa was a Democrat I was perplexed at the symmetry of their worldviews. It took me many years to understand how two men on opposite ends of the spectrum were so philosophically aligned. One had a D next to his name and the other an R.

As a teenager I fell into the MTV crowd and adopted philosophies that I now know to be the principles of socialism. As a 17 year old I was fairly enamored with Bill Clinton’s charisma and for the first time in my life considered myself to be a Democrat. I thought, “now I am the same as Grandpa and we can talk politics.” I was wrong. My beliefs were the same as all the other democrats I knew. I was pro choice; I thought big government social programs were great ideas. I even dreamed up a society where private property was not necessary and everyone would share everything and at this point I had never read Utopia and had no idea who Thomas Moore was. My grandpa thought these ideas were nonsense. As a Christian he was totally opposed to abortion, as a landowner he thought everyone should have their 40 acres and a mule, and as a man who had worked his whole life he didn’t like the idea of giving a hand out to people unwilling to even try. Where had I gone wrong? How was it that the smartest man in the world, who was a lifelong Democrat, did not agree with me and the presidents who were also Democrats? Had Grandpa left the party? Grandpa had not gone anywhere. The party had left Grandpa.

As with many people from my grandpa’s generation his opinion of Republicans was rooted in one name, Herbert C. Hoover. Because Hoover’s administration had resided over the stock market collapse that lead to the great depression every Republican from 1929 forward would be marked with the scarlet letter of economic ineptitude in the minds of countless Americans who had to live during the most difficult years of the 20th century. It is the view of our elders that a Republican caused the great depression and a Democrat ended it. While the policies of FDR seemed to be the saving grace that resulted in the economic boom of years that followed it is also true that his taxation policies helped to prolong a depression that most likely would have been abbreviated by helping small businesses rather than murdering them with high tax rates.

Regardless of your opinion on Hoover and Roosevelt, there is no denying that the Democratic Party has simply abandoned the fundamentals that made it a once great institution.

I cannot think of one person from my grandpa’s generation who is truly aligned with the Democrats of today. Most of the people my grandpa’s age, at least the ones I know, are good church going folks who have an evangelical view of the world. Abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research are issues they are vehemently opposed to. While it is the position of the DNC that the second amendment does not guarantee citizens the right to own and bear firearms, most of the Democrats I know have a cabinet full of guns. So, why all the scuttlebutt?

Once upon a time the Democratic Party found out that by using fear and purse strings they could cultivate an electorate of people who felt disenfranchised. The first place they looked was in labor unions. I am saying this to all the hard working, dues paying union members who are good honest people and sacrifice life and limb to provide for their families; there is no politician whose affection for your union is deeper than the campaign contributions and the public endorsement. Fine people like yourselves are better than to be pandered to by the Obamas, Bidens, Clintons, and Kerrys of the world who do not understand the principle of manual labor. The next time you shake a politician’s hand notice how soft it is. They claim to be one of you, but all they want is your vote and your donation. They promise great things and deliver little to you.

The next place the party parsed for grievance was the minority community. Need I remind you that it was Lincoln who ended slavery and Roosevelt who sat idly by watching Germany commit genocide until Japan attacked us? I also submit that it was the Democrats who cooked up the drama and decided to promise minorities gifts rather than help them succeed. If Dems were serious about helping African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities achieve equal hiring status they would spend more time helping them get educated in the inner cities and less time lying about how it is conservative policies that hold them down. As long as Democrats can keep minorities convinced they are helping them the electorate will always be there. It is sad that a segment of society is vulnerable to smooth talking do-nothings who swoop in and promise them Park Avenue only to give them back alley. If I were black in America today I would be so insulted by liberalism that I would probably be more conservative than I am now. We need to quit handing out fish and start handing out fishing poles. These people need to be helped not patronized.

Social Security is the epicenter of anger for senior citizens and yet another place where Republicans are given a bad rap. When Social Security began it was promised to be voluntary.

We know that has changed. Roosevelt’s plan kept Social Security separate from other government funds, but Lyndon Johnson lumped it into the “unified federal budget”. And in 1993 Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-breaking vote in the senate to increase taxes on social security benefits. Those were the three major detriments to the program and Democrats perpetrated both. The truth is, when it comes to retirement we all better have a good back up plan because there is not a solution to repair the damage that has already been done.

When we examine where the Democratic Party is now verses where it once was we see a stark difference. Retired Georgia Senator, Zell Miller (a Democrat) wrote that the Democratic Party was, “a national party no more”. He was right. The party of my grandpa has died and the party of Michael Moore has risen in its place. Liberals are quick to evoke the name of John F. Kennedy, but I do not think I am alone in saying that John Kennedy would be grossly ashamed of the direction his party has taken especially on national defense.

So, ask yourself this; were you a Democrat in 1960 or are you a Democrat today? There is certainly a difference.

carterconservative@live.com