There are battles worth fighting and then there is futility…and that is what all third parties face in these United States. While my heart and soul lie with the Libertarian Party I have come to realize that this entire country has turned blue and if we are to impact the political process, we must do so as Democrats.
There was a time a dozen years ago when I would have blanched at the very thought of joining the party of Bill Clinton. However, I was a Republican then and I have not been a member of the GOP now for several years. Today I agree with the Democrats on a whole slew of issues. We disagree on some, but overall I am more of a Democrat today than a Republican.
And who wants to be a Republican today? They are a dead party. You may as well register with the Whigs.
I don’t expect Orange County Democrats to accept me. In fact some of them may well drop dead of shock and dismay when they read this post. I may in fact change the name of this blog to the Blue Juice, or something to that affect!
Of course I won’t be a hack Democrat. I will continue to attack the bad Democrats in our midst…and Lord knows there are a lot of them. But this should make it easier for me to support the few good ones, like my friend State Senator Lou Correa.
Let this day, the first of April, 2009, mark the beginning of my new life as a Democrat! And please be sure to have a Happy April Fool’s Day!
Good choice if you want to have a real impact, Art, but be prepared to deal with the same kind of knuckleheads that fill the GOP, equally frustrating, you’ll have to keep your cool. The Libertarians, bless their hearts, will continue to be more of a gentleman’s philosophical club, however, the democratic party needs a bit more of the that libertarian spirit … as does the the GOP.
SAHS, please read the last sentence of this post carefully.
I think Art’s “Fooling” us.
But the American political scene is so dismal today that I don’t blame people for becoming Democrats. In the whole of Washington, there is only one decent politician who follows the U.S. Constitution no matter what — Ron Paul, a “Republican” who’s really a Libertarian. In last year’s primary, he got just 4% of the vote in “conservative,” “Red County” Orange County.
Look at the other Republicans on tap: Max Tax Arnold, and Bush, whom Republicans worshipped even as he destroyed the Republican Party, the conservative movement, the economy, Iraq, and America.
The real choice may be no choice — not voting at all.
John and Dave,
Yep! This is my annual April 1 post.
Ha ha, you had me going until I read the last sentence. If Ahmanson can be a Democrat, why not you? Especially since we’ve become a one-party state, it seems like the only way to have an impact and participate in the process.
You would not make it as a Democrat because they are not allowed to disagree with each other and you disagree with everyone.
Ron,
You are quite right! I am far too much of a troublemaker for the blue lemming party…
Hee hee very funny.
I bin got!
Art had me going until the end, too. But it’s also worth noting that America’s greatest partisans of liberty were democrats: Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Cleveland. It goes downhill rapidly after the great Grover, to the depths of FDR and LBJ, but at least they have that legacy of liberty.
John,
Very good points. It might be time for another Grover Cleveland dinner! We’ll have to talk to Greenhut about that.
I always have fun on April Fool’s Day. A successful post of this nature has to be plausible. This year’s post worked pretty well. In fact our webmaster, Terry, called to tell me I almost got him too!
And poor crazed Stanley Fiala emailed the Chairman of the Libertarian Party of OC to scream about my leaving the party. Gotcha Stanley!