The Democratic Party has continued to reenforce this statement in many ways. At a time when we so desperately need change, both our Congressional representatives and Democratic National Committee members are blocking it at every opportunity.
Even though we spend more than the next eleven countries combined, a majority of our Democratic Congressional representatives voted to increase the military budget, and even defeated a bill that would allow some of budget to be used for human needs. In addition, they allowed the continuation of war, both through actual warfare and through sanctions that cause suffering of innocent people.
Party leaders insist on keeping the same control that has kept the party in the hands of the oligarchs and the lobbyists for insurance, fossil fuel industries, and the military industrial complex. They continue to accept corporate money and to ensure that Democratic candidates will not challenge their rule. At a time when millions of people are being cut from their employee-based insurance, the Democratic Party refuses to consider Medicare for All, a system similar to that used in every other industrialized country in the world.
The excuse for rejecting change this time is Donald Trump. While I understand the need to defeat Trump, I also see the need for change. The Democratic Party needs to be challenged. We were not always a tool of corporate power. If it’s really about defeating Trump, the people need to be ready to be in the streets as soon as the election is called, whatever the outcome. If the Democratic party cannot be changed, and that certainly seems to be the case, a people’s party must be formed immediately, for the sake of the people and the planet.
