You probably know that the Democratic party released a platform yesterday that was notable for a) not referencing any deities and b) not proclaiming Jerusalem as Israel’s “true capital.” Rather than referencing “God,” the platform included a fairly lengthy passage about the importance of faith in American life, yada yada yada…. I put on my game face and interpreted that as an attempt to move outside of the Christian Box that encases American politics these days and move the party in an explicitly inclusive direction. Nonbelievers were excluded (I’m shocked!), but it was still a step forward.
Not surprisingly, right wingnuts went ballistic; I cheered for the Democrats.
That was yesterday.
Today, the Democrats amended their platform to include both items enumerated above. That was an incredibly stupid move both politically and ideologically. First, by doing so they have given every appearance of bowing to right wing pressure. Again. I’ve lost count of how many times that’s happened in recent years. Can they not grasp how fucking weak this makes them look? They’re not behaving like political visionaries and leaders.
Second, my suspicion is that their intention was to move discussion away from religiously based culture wars and back to sociopolitical and economic issues on which Democrats have made significant headway in recent months. That’s a dangerous move because it gives a very strong impression that the Democratic party doesn’t actually stand for anything except calculating which positions are most likely to win them the most votes in November.
If the Republicans weren’t so goddamned scary, I’d be tempted to vote for someone other than the Democrats just to protest Democratic spinelessness. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be a viable option, as it looks like the realistic choices available to me are to vote for either the tyrannical or the spineless. Or to not vote at all (that’s not going to happen).
Sigh.
Welcome to election 2012. Some of us call it hell.
– the chaplain
ubi dubium
September 5, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Aw, crap. Just when I hoped that they might be starting to get it, they go and take a huge step backwards.
the chaplain
September 5, 2012 at 8:38 pm
I know. Some things never change.
PhillyChief
September 6, 2012 at 3:23 pm
So pathetic.
Spanish Inquisitor
September 6, 2012 at 6:01 pm
What gets me is that it has become a discussion about semantics, rather than substance. They didn’t use a word. BFD. And then they did. But the DEMS still kowtowed to the concept of faith and how important it is to their political platform and America, when it’s all a bunch of bullshit.
And then the wing nuts get their panties in a bunch because the word wasn’t used, but every time a speaker ends a speech, that say “God Bless America”. And that’s not good enough? We all have to bow down, or they’ll bitch and moan and whine and complain that they are being persecuted?
Speaking of complaining and whining, did any of you see this?