From The Good Guys to This

 

One of the nice things about growing old is that it gives you perspective. You don’t have to read the edited versions of post-WWII America.  You were there.  And if the lights inside your head are still burning brightly you remember.

 

One of the things I remember is when the Democrats were the Good Guys.  They were on the right side of most issues.  Civil rights, check. Equal Opportunity, check.  Protect the environment, check.  Women’s rights, Gay rights, Animal rights…Human rights….check, check, check, check.  The other side had Nixon…not good…check.  They even pardoned him.  And don’t forget Senator Joe McCarthy, he was on the other side.  Indeed, the Democrats were the Good Guys; and all of my kin save for one who married an oilman, were loyal, proud Democrats. 

 

So, what happened to the Good Guys? Some would say Sex, Drugs and Rock N’ Roll happened.  That would be an easy and obvious answer.  But it would be the wrong answer.  The cultural revolution that began in the 60’s changed a lot of things, some for the better and some for the worse.  But it’s not what changed the Democratic Party. 

 

If one were to point to a watershed moment it would be Roe v Wade.  The Abortion Battle became a dividing line.  Christians, in particular Evangelicals, Fundamentalists and practicing Catholics lined up on one side and the Democrats essentially said the Republicans can have ‘em.  

 

But they still had Jimmy Carter and he was a good man; one of the best human beings we’ve ever had in the White House.  But he inherited a bad economy and didn’t do much to make it better.  And he wasn’t great on the international front either.  So, the Reagan Revolution began and the Democrats circled the wagons. They decided to make a hard left turn, embraced the Rainbow coalition and got their butts kicked.  America wasn’t ready for that.  The adults came back and moved the party back to the center with Clinton/Gore. 

 

Say what you will, but they had a good run, Clinton and Gore; and if Bill had kept his zipper up, Albert would have won in 2000. He almost did anyway. By this time, the Christian coalition was solidly in place with the Republicans.  Democrats had a hard time accepting that they lost to George W. Bush.  The country came together briefly after 9-11 but then came the WMD fiasco and Katrina. The knives were out for Bush.  Then the economy craters.  The Republicans were going to lose big in 2008.

 

The Democrats’ dreams came true in 2008.  Finally, a Black President bringing Hope and Change.  The Republicans had baggage going back into the 90’s when far-right extremists made a lot of trouble, most notably the Oklahoma City bombing.  It seemed unlikely they would ever win another national election.  A new day had dawned for America.

 

But then Trump came along.  Talk about throwing a turd in the punch bowl.  The biggest upset in political history.  He knocks out a Clinton and The Democrat Resistance begins.  Since Trump’s emergence and the MAGA movement, Democrats have been consumed with pushing back by any means necessary and in doing so they move further and further to the left. 

 

They played it safe and went with Joe Biden in 2020 who was perceived to be a moderate.  But in a concession to the far left, they were not sharp enough to pick someone other than Kamala Harris as his running mate.  They further compounded their error by aggressively pursing far-left policies for four years and then running Harris for President in 2024, essentially gifting the Presidency to Trump.

 

The demise of the Democratic party is not good for America.  With Trump 2.0 we may have changed course but that doesn’t mean we are headed in the right direction.  Those on the Left are losing their minds and most of their credibility.  They are convinced that the “new” Republican party is a threat to democracy while those on the Right believe they are doing the Lord’s work. There is no middle ground.  This is biggest challenge America has faced since the Civil War. The World and the Angels are watching.