Why I cannot ever be a Democrat.

Any organization is known by two things; what they say and what they do. Many times what they say tells you why they do what they do and the Democrat party Platform does just that. I will start first by saying the Democrat Platform and the Republican Platform have good and bad agenda items in them. There are some agenda items in the Republican Platform I do not agree with but while I may disagree with particular agenda item, I agree with the basic principles the Republicans espouse. Having said that let me explain why I cannot ever be a Democrat.

The first line of the Democrat Platform starts by stating, “The fundamental principles of the Democratic Party of Arkansas are the promotion of individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and a healthy and vibrant democracy.” Most people would admit that on the surface the opening statement sounds pretty good but we must really look at what is being said. First as I have said, there may be agenda items I can agree with but it is the principles, the why they do things that concerns me. The opening line does state that what follows is the, “The fundamental principles of the Democratic Party of Arkansas”, so here we go.

According to the Dem Platform they believe that the “promotion of individual freedom”, is a principle they believe in. There is a very fundamental difference between what a government is supposed to do and what it does. The fundamental role of government as defined by our founders is to protect individual Liberty not promote individual freedom. Liberty is a right every living being is born with and Freedom is Liberty minus coercion or constraint. So, promoting individual freedom assumes and accepts governmental coercion and constraint instead of resisting it. This is a VERY important distinction because when, “We the People” accept governmental coercion or constraint as necessary instead of a necessary evil we begin to accepting government’s definition of Liberty instead of our Founder’s definition of Liberty. For all Liberty-minded individuals this should be the deal breaker or Non-negotiable.

Going further is simply icing on the cake as the first point should stop the most Liberty-minded individuals but there is still some who may need further convincing, so here we go. The second point is their statement of the principle of, “equality of opportunity”. Ask yourself this question; why does the Arkdem’s use equality of opportunity instead of equal opportunity? It goes back to point number one, the Arkdems believe that it is the role of government to create a levelized playing field instead of a level playing field. If you are a believer in Liberty you are someone who believes that you should be allowed to succeed and enjoy the fruits of your labor based upon following the rules that apply equally to others. The Arkdems believe that it is the role of government to create rules that produce an equality of result without equality of effort. Equal result without equal effort results in a degradation of the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship while encouraging apathy and acceptance of the status quo.

Finally, promoting a, “healthy and vibrant democracy”; wow, so much can be said about this last statement but I simply want to make the most salient point. WE ARE NOT A DEMOCRACY!  The United States of America is a constitutional republic, which is a political system where the supreme power is held by the citizens who are entitled to vote for officials. Thomas Jefferson said, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson said, “The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind.” The contrast between a republican and a democratic form of government based on the latter’s being a direct wielding of power by the people with unrestricted majority rule, and the former’s being a government by representatives elected by the people with restrictions on the power of the majority. If we cannot get one of the two major parties to understand even the proper form of government we have; how can we expect them to understand the proper role of government?

So, the evidence is clear and the decisions are easy. If you want to support a party position the Democrat party is not one of Liberty, because it does not support or understand the proper function and proper role our government was created to perform. If you cannot get the foundation right, in the end you will never get anything else right. As a closing point just because I am convinced I could never be a Democrat doesn’t mean the Republican Party doesn’t have a lot of work to do. But at least the foundation is right and We the People can work on the rest.