A neighbor whom I helped register to vote for the first time Friday struggled wth the party affiliation question, saying she doesn’t even know what those party labels mean.
The definition of Republican has gotten much simpler: willing to make excuses for anything a Manhattan billionaire does in order to prop up a fearful redneck id.
But what are we Democrats?
In this guest column, Minnehaha County Democrat John Cunningham says today’s Democrats and progressives can define themselves by turning to Franklin Delano Roosevelt—no, not to the New Deal, but to Roosevelt’s 1944 proposal of a Second Bill of Rights, “a new basis of security and prosperity” for all Americans based on “certain economic truths… accepted as self-evident“:
What is a Progressive/Liberal/Democrat?
In a speech delivered in Germany recently, President Obama articulated a problem that both parties should be concerned with, but I will limit it to Democrats. Currently there are at least six states where “Independent” or “No Party” is the largest political affiliation, surpassing both Democrats and Republicans. In South Dakota, at current trends they will surpass Democrats to become the second largest affiliation in 2022. President Obama believes this is because both parties are constantly narrowing their definition, thereby excluding people that believe they do not exactly conform to that party’s definition. Republicans have become quite open about this. Any Republican that does not conform to the Tea Party definition of Republican is a RINO (Republican In Name Only). These persons are effectively encouraged to become something else. A person who believes in the conservative/libertarian ideas of small government, low taxes and minimal regulation, but who is horrified at the carnage our Second Amendment is supporting is led to believe they cannot be a Republican. They then register Independent but may likely vote Republican, especially in South Dakota where anti-gun candidates are scarce.
So the problem is how SHOULD parties, specifically the Democratic Party, define themselves. Definition is a two-edged sword. Overgeneralization fails to define the party. For example, if a party defines itself as all persons that love America, it has a large party potential base of nearly all Americans, but does not define itself or distinguish itself from others. To be a party, it needs to be more specific about what it is. But at the same time, excessive specificity excludes too many people Each time an additional plank is added to the party platform (which in another column, I will argue is useless and possibly damaging) the party further defines itself, but excludes another group of people. For example, adding a fifteen dollar minimum wage excludes many business people. Adding progressive income tax excludes more people. Each time we define ourselves over a new issue we reduce the party. Actually, in South Dakota we have generally avoided the limiting issues of abortion and gun control that could dramatically shrink the party because of the demographics of South Dakota. The problem is striking a balance between definition and exclusion. This comes to the question of what is the definition of Democrat.
My personal belief is that it is best articulated by Franklin Roosevelt. He proposed a “Second Bill of Rights” which I see as a definition of the core of what a progressive is and what a Democrat should be.
He declares that the Constitution should be amended to include:
- The right to a useful and remunerative job.
- The right to earn enough to provide food and clothing and recreation.
- The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return that will give him and his family a decent living.
- The right of every businessman large and small to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination and monopolies at home or abroad.
- The right of every family to a decent home.
- The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.
- The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident and unemployment.
- The right to a good education.
I believe that these eight statements represent a statement of values, and that the Democratic Party should adopt this statement of values as the definition of Democrat. The party does then become a “big tent” where anyone who carries a belief in these values is welcome. They may come with additional baggage. They may be “pro-choice” or “pro-life”, have a wide variety of positions on guns, environment, and other issues. They may have widely varying ideas of how to implement the seven values. Each group becomes a section within the party, each of which can recruit and support candidates that support their view, but MUST support the seven values. The primary process will then determine which group represents the party in that jurisdiction at that election. In fact, having more sections creating primary races. These primaries, while expensive, enhance the party’s visibility and inclusiveness.
I conclude that FDR’s Second Bill of Rights constitutes a set of values that I believe are the best definition of progressive/Democrat, striking the balance between defining who we are and not unnecessarily excluding people or groups based on peripheral issues.
—John Cunningham, submitted to Dakota Free Press 2019.04.20
Related Reading:
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Annual Message to Congress (in which FDR formulated the Second Bill of Rights), 1944.01.11.
- Cass Sunstein, “Sunstein on FDR’s Second Bill of Rights,” University of Chicago Law School News, 2004.10.01.
- Jill Prulick, “The Second Bill of Rights: How Franklin D. Roosevelt Envisioned Social and Economic Rights as Human Rights,” Lapham’s Quarterly, 2018.06.11.
- Thomas J. Adams, “Which Democratic Party? Bernie Sanders and FDR’s Second Bill of Rights,” Common Dreams, 2016.05.05.
- David Batker and John de Graaf, “A New Economic Bill of Rights to Create National Happiness,” Fast Company, 2012.08.10.
Like the bumper sticker sez:
“Voting is Like Driving.
To go forward choose D.
To go backwards choose R.”
Ignoring the vote, gerrymandering, obstructing voters for registration and polling places which Republicans have institutionally installed, RESULTS IN SOCIETAL DIVISION which renders the people’s’ government ineffective with disasterous results. India religious bombings occurred after “the lack of cooperation within the government, saying that when the prime minister attempted recently to call a security council meeting, members of the panel refused to attend.” Nyt today
Remember recently Mitch McConnell stalled the Russian investigation and public notice of meddling, obstruction and hacking, facebook ect fraud, misleading millions of voters. Trump won by a mere 77000 votes nationally.
Think Trump wasn’t illegally elected? Silly you.
FDR’s “Second Bill of Rights” includes fine values. They form that backbone of the history of the modern Democratic Party. I think 1, 2, 3 and 5 are redundant, and could be rewritten into one.
These values have been written into law in most cases, though those laws may need updating. Thus, we have a minimum wage to help secure some of those values, but over time the minimum wage has eroded. Only in the late 60s did the minimum wage actually reach a living wage that matched the values of FDR espoused. Since then there has been an erosion of the minimum wage and FDR’s values stated in
Thus, I’m puzzled by this: “For example, adding a fifteen dollar minimum wage excludes many business people.” At some point putting your values into law requires the guts to lead, rather than fear people who may not share enough of the vague values to embrace a solution.
5 USC 7311-criminal violation of congressional oaths of office. Overthrow of our constitutional form of government. Aid our enemies (Vladimir Putin-hacking, annexation of Crimea; Kim Jong Un-removal of military excercises in Korea; and Iran, interference with International nuclear arms containment agreement).
The Republican party is an all encompassing conspiracy to violate federal and state criminal laws for political power. The only way Republicans win in a majority rule democracy is by lying and cheating. For these skills they elected Trump.
But he is toast as I have said many times since investigative reporting has exposed him and his organization and administration. He will be impeached and then tried and convicted.
What a waste of national energy it has been. Thanks to Noem, Rounds and Thune.
Republicans have sold out to the billionaire class. Thier lawyers and think tanks have studied the loopholes knowing impeachment provided by the constitution is full of problems. That the Mueller report, which they obstructed at every turn took two years, and that a new election is approaching in 18 months, is a practical hurdle facing Democrats, especially given Republican’s conspiracy to support Trump in the Senate, which make it a very very difficult political solution. Rushing to pack the courts will help their conspiracy.
We lost Bush v. Gore but it was the correct fight and now we should not fear an impeachment of Trump, and then multiple USA v. Trump et al criminal and civil lawsuits.
Legislative fixes are also necessary to prevent in the future, class warfare like Republicans have used since the inception of the union, since even before they assumed the “turncoat” of today’s Republican party. They are traitors.
Let them call themselves “patriots”because true history reveals it as an empty message.
The next decade must be spent undoing all the damage they have caused to our constitutional democracy. At tremendous cost. At the same time a climate “moon shot” must be undertaken.
That is the positive side of Trump’s illegal election.
The myth of white supremacy that our founding fathers instilled, yet used the lofty rhetoric that all are equal, was built on “bloody conquest—of Native Americans, Mexicans, and farther-flung peoples [later, interred Japanese Americans, and earlier, Chinese labor that built western railroads]…[but] every open frontier eventually arrives at its end, the place where it turns into a closed border.” https://www.thenation.com/article/greg-grandin-end-of-the-myth-frontier-border-wall-book-review/
Democrats, with every form of liberal, progressive and independant, can raise up our constitutional democracy, hold wrong doers accountable, act on climate change, and repair foreign policy which threatens nuclear warfare.
A nation of 370 million Americans can do this.
http://northernbeacon.blogspot.com/2019/04/if-there-were-draft-would-you-serve.html?m=1ve.html?m=1erve.html
Mfi-draft avoidance. Too much loud rock music. Unique!
I have defined myself as an FDR/McGovern Democrat and I like the 2nd Bill of Rights. I wonder if a statement needs to be made that these rights are not abridgeable to any living human being for any reason other than criminal conviction for the duration of the resulting sentence?
I understand what Cory is saying about dance steps that show a basic form without stepping on toes. On the other hand, there are so many toes that stepping on some is unavoidable, while others need to be stepped on and probably hard.
It seems to me that Leslie is on another topic, the necessity of meting justice on the GOP members who have broken laws and perverted democracy to meet their needs for power. I support that, just saying perhaps it should be a separate post. Or is it too early? I dunno.
cory’s initial link headline is TRUMP IS TOAST which I have been saying here since he started.
Voter registration, party platforms, are important in SD w/ roughly 150k dems, 130k indies and 250 f*cking republicans. repubs cheat in every aspect to win, completely contrary to FDR’s 2d bill of rights. no cheating in dem platforms, nationwide. platforms=integrity. repubs have none. confusion abounds as to whether dems should register repub to torpedo repub primaries. indies ignorantly think they are beating both dems and repubs by splitting the ticket playing into repub strategy.
i struggle abit w/subsidized farmers with a separate right to a living. Monsanto will enjoy it.
w/o cooperation rank partisanship results in disaster. india (sri lanka) got terrorist explosions on easter. we got a Russian-hacked election that in 2 yrs has produced thousands of govt kidnapped, separated and jailed kids ect.
our bill of rights is under attack. we are going to let repubs/trump succeed?
the NATION article is essential to understand historically, white supremacy/male privilege which is completely contrary to both bills of rights.
Dr. David’s blog article sums up everything great about correct usage of our military, rather than as border minders. accountability led to the end of the Vietnam war and the draft. the military is a hotbed of republican thought.
the next decade must include massive revision of the constitution/bill of rights/statutory loopholes, electoral college, legal precedent ect as most recently revealed by Republican fraud in the last two years, but also going back to Bushes, Reagan, and even to 1964 Goldwater years when Republicans decided to overtake government by power grabs resulting in Trump/McConnell, and the three amigos noem, rounds and thune, and feckless graham, gowdy, McCarthy, nunes ect ect ect.
much of our constitution and bill of rights are being subverted by unaccountable republicans servicing billionaires perpetuating “founder myths”. we must take this crashing government by the horns to save it. every person has a huge stake in the outcome. repubs very well may win by outspending us. they will soon own the justice system and the media.
all while we mitigate climate change and face off NK and Iranian nuclear potentials. a big job.
voter registration seems to be the ONLY solution. soon we will lose the right to vote. what is a democrat in SD? certainly not members of the ‘Democrat’ party Rush Limbaugh created nor the party that founded the KKK, according to the “party of Lincoln”.
Unfortunately the Democratic Establishment does not respect FDR or his Second Bill of Rights. The Democratic establishment turned its back on the New Deal in 1976. Clinton and Obama consolidated the move toward neoliberal capitalism. Now we have Trump as president of the US.
It is foolish to blame Presidents Clinton and Obama on the election of Trump who lost the popular vote in 2016. republicans have the Electoral College for Trump.
Like my parents and Debbo I have always considered myself a FDR Democrat and proud of it. If people read the history of FDR and the WWII they would appreciate him more.
Right Roger. And the Great Depression.
(Note: Jason is a different, more sensible Jason than the Jason I’ve put on time-out.)
I can see Jason’s point: Clinton and Obama both tacked center, which is fine, since that may be where most Democrats are. They tacked center to a lesser extent that Sutton did in last year’s election, but they had a similar effect of making it harder to stake out a strong Left position in advocacy of vigorous implementation of FDR’s ideals and defense of those ideals against Republican dismantling. And as we know from South Dakota Democrats, the more Democrats sound like Republicans, the more voters can’t tell the difference, the fewer voters get excited about our party, and the greater proportion of yahoo redneck voters are left showing up at the polls and voting for red-ball-cap theater.
Donald mentions Cunningham’s apparent dubiousness about the $15 minimum wage. Donald is right that the minimum wage is essential to protecting the basic human dignity and liberty that FDR proposed to protect.
I don’t want to put words in anyone’s mouth—I invite John to lay out his own position on the minimum wage.
But I will try to find some common ground between Donald’s and John’s points:
Given that the minimum wage is essential to achieving FDR’s ideals, businesspeople who oppose any minimum wage probably ought to be excluded from the Democratic Party… although, ever the optimist, I’m willing to give them a chance to explain that they have a rock’em-sock’em policy alternative that will secure workers’ dignity and economic rights even better than a minimum wage (hint: a saving alternative is not The Invisible Hand).
At the same time, I can see that establishing a specific dollar figure for the minimum wage as a litmus test for the party is a bad idea. If all Democrats can agree that the minimum wage is good policy, we can encompass disagreements about how to calculate an optimal minimum wage (and I say “optimal” deliberately, to acknowledge that we might identify an ideal wage for workers but then have to scale it back to accommodate the practical needs of employers, the possibility of inflation, and other market forces).
And if the largest chunk of our party supports some specific dollar figure, we still need to keep businesspeople and others who might balk at that specific dollar figure by reminding them that even if we Dems are pegging the minimum wage a bit high for their blood, the alternative is to vote for Republicans who would wreck the dignity and liberty of workers that we all agree we must defend.
IMO, the alternative to a minimum wage is a return to the 70% – 90% income tax rate for the super wealthy, as it was during Eisenhauer. More business profits would be reinvested in worker’s salaries, union worker protection would grow, businesses would prosper and benefits would increase, as all ships rose. This is a preferable solution to a guaranteed income, which is also viewed as a replacement to a $15 minimum wage. VOTE BERNIE