Really wanted to call this post "Run DNC", but it wasn't in keeping with my "R is for... RNC Run-Down" post, and I clearly had no forethought when writing that, so this point is now a little redundant... But just so you know- I did try and get a good pun in there (as always).
Sooooo, where to start?! I think the best way to describe how I feel about last week's convention is "deflated". But I kind of expected that. In a similar vein to my RNC post, I am going to talk about ten things I learned from the DNC - the title of which is as follows: "We're your bezzie mates!! <3"...
Here are ten things the Democrats are sure you'll have in common...
1. We still hate George Bush too!!
So, at the RNC, all their speakers couldn't shut up about how Obama administration still blame Bush for the problems with the economy. But the Democrats don't care...
They have even got a whole plank in the platform dedicated to remembering how much of a mess George W Bush made of everything, so that NO ONE can forget that all of the disastorous financial collapse was down to Bush under the Republican government.
I'm was actually surprised (and more than a little disappointed) that there wasn't a parody George gif played throughout the speeches.
Democrats: "Vote for us if you hate George Bush!"
2. We hate meanies too!!
Now come on everyone, let's all hold hands and sing lovely camp-fire songs whilst declaring what we love about each other, and how diverse and wonderful the world really is...
The Democratic Platform seeks to strengthen anti-discrimination laws, outlaw employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status. Everything will be rainbows.
Democrats: "Vote for us... whatever you are!"
3. We're love abortion too!!
"The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. We oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right. Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way."The platform also mentions that sex education helps reduce unplanned pregnancy and therefore the need for abortion, a fact lost to the pro-life morons on the right who think that sex is a thing kids hear about on the back of the school bus.
Democrats: "Vote for us if you want the right to not stay knocked up!"
4. We're middle class too!
The Democratic party platform has gone out of its way to frame the upcoming election as a choice between government that will support the middle class and government that will build a series of money bins for Mitt Romney, and other members of the Super Elite class who just love swimming in vast pools of gold coins. The platform document mentions the phrase "middle class" forty times, EIGHT TIMES IN THE INTRO ALONE!
Since pretty much all Americans claim to be middle class these days - this is a pretty strong move!
Democrats: "Vote for us... EVERYONE!"
5. We want you to get a job too!!
Jobs, jobs, jobs. The Democratic party is firmly pro-jobs.
Democrats: "Vote for us and we'll give you a job!"
6. We hate your student loan too!!
"To help keep college within reach for every student, Democrats took on banks to reform our student loan program, saving more than $60 billion by removing the banks acting as middlemen so we can better and more directly invest in students. To make college affordable for students of all backgrounds and confront the loan burden our students shoulder, we doubled our investment in Pell Grant scholarships and created the American Opportunity Tax Credit worth up to $10,000 over four years of college, and we're creating avenues for students to manage their federal student loans so that their payments can be only 10 percent of what they make each month."Translation: banks probably hate this, because it means they get less money. A conservative might interpret this as interference in the Free Market and complain that some poor secretary who somehow meets the financial requirements to own single shares of equities will be negatively impacted. How will Moms and Pops across America have those tough dinner party convos about how much the stock portfolio has shrunk this year, thanks to some stupid poor kids who want to go to college without being saddled with decades of crippling debt?!
Democrats: "Vote for us, poor people!"
7. We love gays too!!
Here it is, right in the platform:
"We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.The platform also contains strong anti-bullying language. In contrast, the GOP platform obliquely endorses Christian groups that promote anti-gay agendas.
We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act."
Democrats: "Vote for us, gays!"
8. We love arty folk too!!
The platform reaffirms support for the art, public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, and other things that aren't guns or explodey military toys.
Democrats: "Vote for us, hippies!"
9. We love public employees too!!
Pro-teacher, pro-firefighter, pro-police... you get it. Jobs, jobs, jobs.
Democrats: "Vote for us, service folk!"
10. We love women!!
Barack Obama couldn't try any harder to be BFF's with all the ladies, could he?! The President has gone out of his way to keep women's issues front and center in a debate that the other side wishes to steer as far from lady-related topics as possible.
"We are committed to ensuring full equality for women: we reaffirm our support for the Equal Rights Amendment, recommit to enforcing Title IX, support the Paycheck Fairness Act, and will urge ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women."At the RNC, there was quite a bit of grumbling about how women's health, equal pay, and abortion rights were a "distraction" from the REAL problems facing America, but what the Democratic party seems to grasp that the Republican party doesn't is that, for women, reproductive rights issues are economic issues. Kids are VERY expensive.
Democrats: "Vote for us, women!"
You want my opinion? You're reading my blog - you're getting it...
If I were to vote in America, I would easily vote Democrat. But not happily...
I hate the Democratic party. But I hate the Republican party more. I hate how "democracy" comes down to a choice of two options and people are forced to vote the lesser of two evils.
I hate how weak and capitulatory Democrats are to the Republicans. I hate how idiotic and broken the Republican ideal government and how it should work is, because it produces people who can't govern.
I hate how uninformed a lot of voters are.
The way I see it is this: people you don't like are always going to control at least some portion of any government all the time. Forever.
The crux for me is that although the Obama party are probably just paying everyone lip service and trying to secure votes on the back of not-being-Republican; they really don't have to work that hard to make themselves look good. The Republicans are intolerant and vile. It's just unfortunate that so are a lot of American citizens.
The Obama adminstration has in no way lived up to the expectations and promises of the last election, especially with the bi-partisan stuff. So there's little to no reason to believe they'll actually make any of the major changes they propose in their platform.
But, for me, you can't weigh up the weakness of the Democratic party against the idiocy of the Republican party. Give me a yes-man over a moronic mormon any day.
I know Obama is swaying it now (no doubt thanks to his wife and her incredible speech), but I don't think anyone can accurately predict how it's going to go. I genuinely think it could go either way. There's still a chance the Republicans could sway it.
Bring on November... (she says, dreading it.)
I'm hoping to leave American politics behind now until the election... but anything can happen with those mental Republicans..! Anyway, hope it hasn't bored you all too much...
L.
