Why I am still a Democrat

I have been thinking about this for some time and wanted to write something down which explained myself to my friends and family. Most of my friends and family are Republicans. I don't hear too many people defending Democratic candidates in the elections down here in Georgia, or anywhere else I go these days. The days of the Solid Democratic South are long gone, replaced by an even more Solid Republican South. There are probably more racial and economic differences between the parties than anything. And the Democrats of eight years ago in the Georgia Legislature are now Republicans.

But I still consider myself a Democrat and this is why: The basis of the Democratic party in this country can be found in the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." In my mind, that is the foundational truth of our country and the Democratic Party which found its genesis in Jefferson and Jackson.

Jefferson saw a country made of simple, yeoman farmers, who took hold of their new-found freedoms to establish lives unencumbered by the rules of their "betters". Jefferson founded the University of Virginia to educate not the wealthy and high-born, but the common citizens of Virginia. The University of Georgia, the first land grant university, was also established on these simple principles. These were common citizens, travelling westward, both independently and collectively, to establish a country based on that simple concept of equality and liberty.

And as they passed over the Appalachians and across the Piedmont, they found new voices for political power, away from the wealth and traditions of coastal America. Jackson, Calhoun and Clay were the new voices of America. The Democratic Party of Jackson and Calhoun demanded a new place in Congress and the White House for those brothers, sisters and cousins who passed over the geographical boundaries of our country and demanded equal status with their eastern relatives. Ironically, they demanded the preservation of their personal liberties, even as they expanded slavery west across the mountains into the new heartland of this young country.

The Democratic Party of the Nineteenth Century bristled at any attempt at control, both through tariff or tax. The best government was the government which governed least. That was the motto of the Democratic Party of that era. I often think that the "Don't tread on me" sign continues to be a meaningful symbol for our country.

It was the Whigs who demanded taxes for new roads and bridges to build the new country. It was the Whigs who struggled with the desire to limit or end slavery. It was the Whigs who ultimately merged into the Republican party of 1856 and 1860, demanding abolition and the preservation of the union. This new Republican Party sent federal troops into the Southern states and ultimately made the slavery issue one of moral right and wrong. The Democrats attempted to argue that issues of slavery and secession constituted simple issues of sovereignty and property rights but the argument was ultimately decided by the moral high ground of the Republican Party.

Ultimately, the Democratic Party had to evolve and change to deal with the issues and cares of the growing nation. The present Democratic Party has changed considerably from its roots. The Democratic Party has even changed considerably from my youth to my adulthood. But I do still believe that the fundamental creed of the party holds true. We are all created equal. In some sense, the history of our country is the struggle of its citizens to make that statement apply to all of us.

And while I probably vote for Republican candidates equally as often, or maybe even more than I vote for Democrats, I still consider myself a Democrat.

Just like the symbol of the party, I am hard-headed and stubborn. Amen.