Democratic Oak Tree

This month, Americans celebrate the birthdays of two presidents, George Washington (number 1) and Abraham Lincoln (number 16).

Let’s hope that a hundred years from now our posterity is able to look back with gratitude and pride at President number 44 – whom We the People are responsible for electing next November.

For the sake of all the children of the earth we need a Democratic President who will lead for the common good with judgment, persistence, and foresight.

Right now, if we had such a President, Democrats in Congress wouldn’t have to limit forward-thinking legislation – whether on health care, education, climate change, economic and energy policy, or international cooperation — simply to avoid a Presidential veto. (Compromises would naturally have to be negotiated among members representing different regions, interests, and parties.)

May the next twenty years be as significant in improving the lives of all Americans – and in furthering international cooperation – as during the long period, 1933-1952, when Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman led the nation.

Those truly progressive leaders had to do battle with both Republicans and the still powerful senior Democratic congressmen and senators representing the Old South, yet they moved our whole society forward.

My generation tends to take for granted the amazing progress for which they were responsible.

Think what our lives would be like without unemployment insurance when we or a family member has been laid off, or without Social Security checks during retirement years.

It’s likely that in most of our families a veteran was lifted from poverty because of the education or housing opportunities provided by the GI Bill.

Think what low-wage jobs paid before there was a federal minimum wage. (Making a living is far from easy even with our state’s higher minimum.)

Think about the lynchings that would have continued to be practically ignored, the military that would have remained segregated .

Imagine what our world would be like if we hadn’t won World War II,  followed creatively by the Marshall Plan and the United Nations.

Since then, we’ve had briefer periods of progress. Under Democratic Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, 1961-1968, and a Democratic Congress, Medicare was enacted, against strong opposition from Republicans. If you are a Medicare recipient now, or your parents or grandparents are, consider what it has meant to the health of your family. Could you pay your family’s hospital bills without the help of Medicare?

Additional steps forward were under one-term (1977-1981) President Jimmy Carter, who also worked with a Democratic Congress. He was responsible for the 1978 Camp David Accords, resulting in a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He established full diplomatic relations with China, created the Department of Energy, and expanded the National Park System. If We the People had given him a second term, there would be more to write about. (After his presidency he won a Nobel Peace Prize for his international leadership.)

Two-term Democratic President Bill Clinton had only one Democratic Congress (1993-1994) during his eight years in office – for six years he had to work with a Republican House and Senate. That’s why his accomplishments tend to be in areas where the President has executive control, including monetary policy and international relations. Still, under Clinton, private-sector jobs increased, and the national fiscal deficit became an astonishing surplus. The US was especially respected for its foreign policy.

The next time you hear people talking about not voting because politics is “dirty,” or because politicians are “all the same,” ask them to consider how what has taken place in Washington has affected their families.

And when you hear people saying they “vote for the man, not the party,” ask them to review the facts about what has come about under Democratic rather than Republican administrations since 1900.

When people complain about partisanship, remember that a party represents shared political values. By supporting a party you help turn its basic philosophy into actions. You may not agree with every idea associated with that party – few people think exactly the same way about every political decision.

Perhaps you appreciate what Democrats did in the past but are frustrated they’re not doing more now. That’s understandable, but keep in mind that it takes political power to achieve results. We the People of fifty diverse states will determine whether Democrats remain in congressional leadership positions, whether Democrats gain enough seats in the Senate to avoid filibusters, and whether a Democrat becomes President in 2008.