The Fallacy of the Democratic Party

By Jesus A. Rivas

The Democratic Party is just as guilty as NPR of producing the illusion of an alternative to the Republican Party. Nobody would argue that their policies are not a lot better than those of the Republican Party for the poor people of the country and also for the environment. But the solutions that the Democratic Party offers fall far from the real needs and the problems of the country. For instance, they talk about making health insurance more affordable or universal health insurance, not about universal health care and making sure that everybody receives the medical care that s/he needs (as in the case in all the developed countries and several developing ones). They talk about raising minimum wages, not about making sure that every body can make "living wages". They talk about keeping more jobs in the US, not about stopping NAFTA and other free trade agreements that are so badly strangling the working classes (and the environment). They talk about "better diplomatic policies" and working with our allies, not about a deeper change in our approach to international politics; stopping for once and for all, policies of invasions, warmongering and "regime changes" that have characterized the US for the last century.

This is only a list of the many issues in which, while having a better proposal than Republicans, the Democratic Party still falls short of providing a real solution. In the mean time, because of their sole presence (and also active lobbying) they prevent the development of a truly pro-people and pro environment party that would stand for world peace, the rights of the working classes, true environmental policies and not catering to the corporate interests. So while the Democratic Party produces the illusion of an alternative, it does not help to solve the real problems the people have and ends up distracting from the search for a real solution.

Taken from the article, "What is wrong with pain killers, NPR, the Democratic party, and Conservation Biologists."

About the Author:
Jesus A. Rivas is a biologist from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. His research interests include natural history, ethology, and conservation. He has been working for a number of years in the study of behavioral ecology and conservation of large tropical reptiles of the llanos of Venezuela which is his homeland. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee (Laboratory of Reptile Ethology). He taught for one year at Boston University, made TV documentaries for National Geographic Television as a field correspondent and continues to make independent film documentaries. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Math and Natural Sciences at Somerset Community College in Somerset, KY. He is also a prolific writer on social and political matters.

Source: http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25333.shtml