In the long political history that has brought us to where we are, this party, which began in a completely different time, in every possible way, has survived since 1828, a mere 39 years after the first Presidential election under the newly ratified Constitution, though its roots go back to Jefferson's Democratic-Republican party first formed in 1792. We are the oldest political party in the world, and the fact that we are still capable of winning elections and operating the most powerful Constitutional Democracy in the world is a testimony to our success.
On October 10, 1975, four days after turning 18, I walked into a voter registrar's office in Phoenix, Arizona and registered to vote as a member of the Democratic party and the following November, I voted in a Presidential election for the first time, proudly casting my ballot for Jimmy Carter. Since then I've voted, contributed, participated in precinct meetings, volunteered, was elected to serve as a delegate to state level conventions, and on top of that, I taught high school government, economics, American History and civics for over 20 years, across three states.
I'm one of millions like me, who can be defined as "grassroots" Democrats, voters who are reliable supporters of the candidates who are nominated through the primary process. We celebrate victories, mourn defeats, pay attention to what is going on, hold politicians accountable and, knowing how politics works, and being observant, understand that it doesn't always go our way, some of the people we elect are disappointments, not up to the job, didn't really represent themselves or their position well when they were running, or failed in some way. We are far from being in agreement with every single point every candidate makes, we have different positions on different issues in elections, and in this party in particular, represent a very wide diversity of opinions.
But what we have in common, as Democrats, at least, from my perspective, is the strength that is found in diversity, under the rights and freedoms and limitations of government power found in the United States Constitution. The values that our party has adopted and reflected, over time, include mutual respect for each persson and their freedom of conscience, and the absolute equality of every human being regardless of their race, ethnic background, religious beliefs, economic status, social connections, language spoken or gender. That's who we are.
What's Happening Right Now is a Huge Disappointment, and Disrespectful of Those Values
I support Democrats running for office within the restraints that exist which have a way of limiting that support. I don't know where I fall in terms of others who do the same, I just know that the limits I have make what I do a sacrifice of money and time. I've lost a few friendships that were valuable to me, not because I was hostile or overbearing, but because I wasn't voting for and supporting Trump. In some ways, those, too, were sacrifices, though I've accepted the reality of this kind of attitude and try to adjust my attitude to feel somewhat better off.
So the developments which have occurred within the Democratic party, surrounding President Biden's debate performance three weeks ago now, have been very disappointing, have created a high level of anxiety and worry as far as I am concerned, and are appoaching a point where I am now concerned that this issue, which I had hoped was over when it was obscured by the assassination attempt on Trump, will cost us the one thing that is at the top of just about every list of priorities for the 2024 election, and that is the complete loss of our Constitutional Democracy because of a Trump presidency.
I wonder, am I off in left field somewhere, in seeing this as the most important issue in an election that is four short months away? Have I put myself in some kind of left-wing extremist fear and picked up on the idea that Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, in those exact terms, when other Democrats don't feel as intense as I do, and believe they can still win Congress and neutralize him?
Is there something more to it than just the sudden panic created by the President's admittedly poor debate performance, and that has been and is being hidden from those of us who are just as committed, working just as hard, and making sacrifices to contribute? Because I am finding it difficult to figure out why one debate performance, which turned out to have almost no effect in a cluster of very dubious polling data, would cause members of Congress to speak out, and put pressure on the President to get out of the presidential campaign. What I am hearing, from the reports in various media sources, is that there is a segment of Democratic party leadership that has lost its confidence in Joe Biden's ability to win the election and serve a second term.
And while that's what we are hearing, we are not hearing anyone actually come up with some kind of plan, or alternative candidate, who can win the election.
What's disappointing, and disillusioning about that, is that we "grassroots Democrats," who are contributors and supporters, though with tens and hundreds of dollars, not millions, are either being completely ignored, or deliberately kept in the dark. And neither of those things is a value that I have ever associated with the Democratic party.
What's even more disconcerting and disillusioning, is that some of these Democrats sound like they have already conceded a second Trump presidency. That's extremely disappointing, because what they are saying, and doing, is giving up, telling us who are fighting against it that it is not worth the fight, and the work we have done is in vain. That's not a leadership quality, and that's not what someone in a position of leadership should ever do. And that opens up a very legitimate question about the integrity of those who are doing this, and whether they should ever have been put in leadership to begin with.
So please, we need to get our act together and know where we stand. Please tell us the truth about what is really going on. We do not deserve to be left in the dark.
From My Perspective, Nothing Has Changed
I still believe that Donald Trump is an existential threat to American Democracy. He will, with the help of everyone who supports him, working as hard as they can, attempt to subvert the constitution, impose all kinds of restrictions on individual freedom, put this country in irreparable danger from its enemies, and destroy 240 years of Constitutional Democracy. It has become clear that the federal court system is already in a position to help him do this, and has already struck down Constitutional principle of the rule of law. I will continue to work, sacrifice and support the candidacy of President Joe Biden because I believe he is the one candidate who is best equipped to defeat Trump, has done it before, and will do it again.
He's also got plans in place for cleaning up the mess that four years of Trump left behind. A lot of that has been swept into a pile, but there's still a lot of it that needs to be weeded out and discarded.
I'm not going to "take my football and go home." There are those in whom I've placed a lot of confidence, and for whom I've had a lot of respect, who will have to convince me that they are worth my continued support if there is a move to take the President out of the campaign without solid, justifiable, evidence that all Democrats have had a voice in considering. In spite of the anger and disappointment I know is already welling up inside, I will never switch to the other side and I refuse to cast a ballot for any candidate other than the Democratic party's nominee. That's how critical I see this. I only hope that there are enough Americans who feel as strongly about the threat of Trump to do the same thing.
We haven't even had our convention yet. Why do you think this polling data, that is pretty dubious, all over the place, and has had some spectacular fails in the past two years, is such a powerful indicator of failure?
Earn my trust. Because if you earn mine, you'll earn that of millions of other Americans who are genuinely frightened of another Trump presidency.
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