This was originally posted on June 20, 2009. Rightardia has updated it.
The late Ron Brown, former Chairman of the Democratic Party, once
said, "The common thread of Democratic history, from Thomas Jefferson to
Bill Clinton, has been an abiding faith in the judgment of hardworking
American families, and a commitment to helping the excluded, the
disenfranchised and the poor strengthen our nation by earning themselves
a piece of the American Dream.
We remember that this great land was
sculpted by immigrants and slaves, their children and grandchildren."
The
Democratic Party is the oldest of the US political parties, but hardly
the most conservative. It is a very big tent that contains loyal Yellow
dog Democrats, conservative Blue Dog Democrats progressives and
moderates.
It politics are based upon pragmatism, not ideology. It's
focus is the Middle Class and wants to give every American the
opportunity to achieve the American dream regardless of race, creed.
color or cultural heritage.
Thomas Jefferson founded
the Democratic Party in 1792 as a congressional caucus to fight for the
Bill of Rights and against the elitist Federalist Party.
In 1798, the
"party of the common man" was officially named the Democratic-Republican
Party and in 1800 elected Jefferson as the first Democratic President
of the United States. Jefferson served two distinguished terms.
Democrats
are still fighting against elites and other elements in our society
that would prefer that America function as an oligarchy rather than as a
democracy.
You have probably run into some of these folks. They will
tell you America is a republic, not a democracy. Actually the US is an
indirect constitutional democracy. Our country elects representatives
and senators to represent us in Washington DC.
When the
US is in crises, the Democratic party is called upon. In 1912, Woodrow
Wilson became the first Democratic president of the 20th Century. Wilson
led the country through World War I, fought for the League of Nations,
and established the Federal Reserve Board.
He also passed the first
labor and child welfare laws. The Democratic Party also supported
women's suffrage. culminating in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution. Woodrow Wilson was
instrumental in getting the 19th Amendment through the House and Senate.
A
generation later, Franklin Roosevelt was elected president running on
the promise of a New Deal.
Roosevelt pulled America out of the
Depression by looking beyond the Democratic base and energizing citizens
around the belief that their government could actively assist them in
times of need.
Roosevelt's New Deal brought water to California's
Central Valley, electrified Appalachia and saved farms across the
Midwest.
The Civilian Conservation Corps, the WPA and
Social Security all brought Americans into the system, freeing us from
fear and making the nation stronger.
Franklin also brought black
Americans into the Democratic Party during the Great Depression.
With
the election of Harry Truman, Democrats began the fight to bring down
the final barriers of race and gender. Truman integrated the military
and oversaw the reconstruction of Europe by establishing the Marshall
Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Truman's leadership
paved the way for civil rights leaders who followed.
Lyndon
Johnson followed John Kennedy's lead and worked to pass the Civil
Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Kennedy and Johnson worked together to
end the practice of segregation in many southern states.
Following
Kennedy's assassination, Johnson declared a War on Poverty and formed a
series of Great Society programs, including the creation of Medicare —
ensuring that older Americans would receive quality health care.
In
1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd President of
the United States. After twelve years of Republican presidents, America
faced record budget deficits, high unemployment, and increasing crime.
President Clinton's policies put people first and resulted in the
longest period of economic expansion in peacetime history.
The
Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 — passed by both the House and Senate
without a single Republican vote — put America on the road to fiscal
responsibility and ended perennial budget deficits.
Having inherited a
$290 billion deficit in 1992, President Clinton's last budget was more
than $200 billion in surplus.
The Clinton/Gore
Administration was responsible for reducing unemployment to its lowest
level in decades and reducing crime to its lowest levels in a
generation.
After eight years of dismal Republican
failure, America elected a brilliant man as President. It was personally
rewarding for me to have worked on his presidential campaign. Barack H.
Obama is the 44th President of the United States.
His story is the
American story: values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a
strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead,
and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to
others.
In his first five months in office, he worked
with the House and Senate to pass 11 major laws including HR1: The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Democratic health care legislation was a landmark law that will benefit Americans into the next century.
President Obama is a
young dynamic man who will lead this country into the 21st century. He
is a diplomat who has improved international relations in a very short
time with Russia and other former adversaries.
America is on the road to recovery. You can count
on it. There are many people like myself who now see a bright light at
the end of the tunnel. Get ready for the ride of your life, America!
The
cavalry arrived on November 5 when the Democrats stormed the
presidency, the House, the Senate, the governor's mansions and the state
houses across America.
The party has stated and it needs to continue.
Get on
the Democratic train or get out of the way! We're moving on.
Sources:
www.democrats.org/a/party/history.htmlwww.whitehouse.gov
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Editor's Note: See the hyperlink for web site that has many stories like this one. This is a young women who should be given every opportunity to live as long as possible. You can also watch the movie, Sicko, that documents many other stories like this. In the US the majority of bankruptcies are caused by medical situations like Megan's. This could happen to someone in your family. 
Editor's Note: If only the Republicans and Democrats could get along so well. Of course, they were not raised together. 
