I am proud to be an American

I am a Democrat. I guess I was just born into a working class family that voted for Democrats and I just continued the tradition. When I was young almost all working people were Democrats while most rich people were Republican. That is just the way it was when I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s. That did not mean that my parents did not vote for Republicans. My mother and father usually voted for the candidate that had their interest as his main goal or one who seemed best suited for the job. I registered as a Democrat when I became of voting age. That was a big deal for me because in a lot of ways I am a very conservative person. I never took drugs or burned my draft card. In fact I joined the service in 1966. I never even had long hair in my life. When I found the woman I loved we waited until our marriage to have relations because we wanted to do what we thought was right. We raised our children very conservative. My wife was a stay at home mother and we lived within our means. We went to church every Sunday. My children were expected to carry a GPA of at least a 3.5 at all times or their free time was taken away from them. There was a saying in our house, 3.5 or you don’t drive. My children were never allowed to wear tennis shoes to school during the winter months and I had strict guidelines on dress and hair. I never hit them but made then toe the line. When the each turned 16 I made then apply for 10 jobs with a Resume’ in hand. They were both required to take the hardest subjects, work, join band and keep that 3.5 GPA. When I taught school I kept my hair short and wore a tie each and every day. My shoes were always shined. While my children lived under my roof I never kept or drank any adult beverage around them. The question many people would ask me is with that strict conservative attitude why would I support or vote for Democrats most of the time? I have a set of core principles. I believe in a Progressive income tax instead of a regressive one. I am against tax breaks for large oil and gas corporations. I am against tax loop holes for the wealthy. I am against foreign tax havens. I am against tax abatements for companies to move around in order to escape paying local taxes. I am a big believer in the Public School system because it offers a fair chance to all students. I am against private religious schools that at times are used by the wealthy to promote segregation in certain parts of our country. Public schools have been the backbone of this country and along with the GI Bill and student loans have helped create the middle class. I am a great fan of Social Security. Unlike the 20’s and early 30’s old people have a chance at some independence at the end of a long and sometimes hard working career? This program also protects a workers family in case of a premature death. I like the fact that workers are paying 50% of their Social security tax along with an employee match. I do not like the fact that both Democrats and Republicans have borrowed almost 3 trillion dollars from this fund for their budget shortfalls. I hope that for the first time in the history of this nation Congress does not default on this debt. By law they must pay it back. I do not like the Republican attempt to persuade Americans that they must accept cuts in this, non budget, program. It is obvious that they are looking for a way not to have to honor their debt. I like the fact that we have a Medicare program that helps the elderly to pay their medical bills. I do not like the Republican attempt to cut back on payments instead of trying to fix the underlying problem. Wages have become stagnant since Medicare was instituted compared to the rise of Health care costs. We still have the same 1.45% employee and employer deduction as when it started .There has been no attempt to slow down or even cap the rising costs of health care for the elderly. A $2,000 CAT Scan costs $120 in England.. I know that people could not afford to pay their medical costs in the 60’s how can we expect them to use a voucher system and buy medical Ins.today. Who would sell it to them and for how much? This program can be fixed but all I hear from the republicans is cut,cut,cut. I do not like a Republican Party that will not take care of the poor but have no trouble attacking programs that help the poor and elderly but protect the wealthy. I detest their attacks on teachers and union workers while citing Wal-Mart as a great American success story. I guess I hate to see the class warfare practiced by the wealthy all my life. I worry about people who worry about their illness and their high medical bills. I am a great supporter of unions for hard working men and women. Unions helped create the middle class. I guess I am trying to say is that I am a conservative Progressive. I hate seeing bumper stickers every time the Republicans lose an election. I hate how they try to paint people like me as Socialists or Communists. I hate all the Supreme Court decisions that favor the corporations and pour tons of money at opposition attacks. I want shorter and government financed elections with a longer voting period. I I hate the way the Republicans make themselves out to be Christian while the rest of us are labeled as evil. I hate the way they yell about the Constitution when it is clear most never read it. I believe in every Americans right to be heard and their right to fair representation. Polls tell us that 70%or even 80% of Americans are for an issue and still they vote against it. I hate the fact that when Clinton and Obama won their races as Presidents they were attacked the next day. Republicans love to use slogans like “Don’t blame me I voted for Bush” Or” Nobama”. I am not really proud to be a Democrat or a Progressive or white or Italian but I am proud as hell not to be a Republican. I am proud to be a Christian,a child of God and an American.