Where have all the good Dems gone?

Vice President Kamala Harris, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., stand and applaud as President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Did you watch President Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night? (If you didn’t, you’re in good company. It was the least watched such speech in recent history.)

There were no surprises in the speech really. It consisted of a predictable laundry list of problems facing the country that massive applications of government spending and daily life intervention are going to fix.

Taxes are going to go up (but only on the rich) and all sorts of things that used to cost us money are now going to be “free.” The government is going to make sure that mean old employers give employees three months paid time off whenever they feel like they need it. Childcare and community college are no longer going to cost anyone a single dime out of pocket.

Oh, and there’s going to be a lot of togetherness. The president was relentless in saying that we need to “come together” and “work together” and “do it together” and just generally be more “together.”

What struck me as I listened is the thought that there is no way that a hypothetical President Daniel Patrick Moynihan, or a President Joe Lieberman, or even a President Tip O’Neill – Democrats all – would have given the speech that the all-too-real President Joe Biden gave Wednesday.

Moynihan, Lieberman and O’Neill, liberal as they were, were nonetheless still tethered to reality. Joe Biden, at nearly 80 years old, is himself of that era in the Democratic Party. But Delaware basement campaign rhetoric aside, he is nowhere close to being the “moderate” that we were promised. Together with most in his party, he has become completely unmoored from the basic common sense that once chastened American politicians of nearly every stripe.

Where to start? Spending perhaps. The tax-the-rich canard refuses to die. And a canard it is. You could tax every person in America making more than $400,000 a year at the rate of 100 percent and you would still come nowhere close to covering the six trillion dollars in new spending that has been passed ($2 trillion) or proposed ($4 trillion Wednesday) under the Biden administration. I thought Obama-era spending was irresponsible. I was often critical of Donald Trump’s deficit spending. Biden is taking it to levels never imagined.

But Biden’s real departure from old-school Democrats clangs loudest when he talks about the country he signed up to govern. To hear Biden tell it, the United States is populated to the tune of about 200 million people for whom the accident of having been born makes them white supremacists. To hear him tell it, anyone wanting to Make America Great is a racist. Biden’s America was in fact never great, it is instead irredeemably guilty of original sin.

Dems from a generation ago, liberal as they were, were nevertheless patriots. They would have never talked like this.

Liberal policy I’m sure we can survive. But radical leftism I’m pretty sure is a malignancy that has the potential to kill us – faster than we think.

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Paul Gleiser

Paul L. Gleiser is president of ATW Media, LLC, licensee of radio stations KTBB 97.5 FM/AM600, 92.1 The TEAM FM in Tyler-Longview, Texas.

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24 Responses

  1. Richard Anderson says:

    A five-star column!

    Where the Democrats have gone is over to the “other” as in to the EVIL side.

    Something Senator Ted Cruz picked up on that I think is of great importance is when Biden said “we the people are the government.” And then the senator said that statement by Biden couldn’t have been more wrong. I agree.

    We The People means “THE PEOPLE” of The United States of America and NOT the government!!! We The People tell the government what it can and cannot do. They work “for us” “The People” — we do NOT work for them or are mere subjects. WE are Citizens with FULL Constitutional RIGHTS given of GOD and the government is limited by “our” CONSTITUTION as to what it can and cannot do.

    But today, the whole concept of LIMITED government is lost and not comprehended by Democrats. When they say tax the rich, what they really mean is ANYONE with a DOLLAR shall be taxed, and taxed MORE!! The American people are taxed enough already — at every level. Enough of the depraved Democrat party!!

    Vote conservative Republican if you believe in honest work, small business, and limited government. The Republican party is the party of working men and women whether they work as an employee, or are self-employed, or own a business, big or small. It’s the pro American free enterprise party and the only one who stands for LAW and ORDER for all and who support the BLUE without reservation.

    God bless the 45th President Donald J. Trump. And God bless The United States of America.

    P.S. To note, America is NOT nor has it ever been about white supremacy. That is a LIE being foisted on us all by Democrats. I am a white man and I feel not an iota of shame — and neither should you if happen to be white. Be proud. And if your black be proud too. We live in the BEST country on Earth for all our citizens bar none. Let’s keep it One Nation under GOD.

    • Matthew E says:

      Well I think there’s work to be done in Republican Party; Governor DeSantis ( Florida) recently signed off on passing a new ” Consumer Tax” apparently on all purchased goods over internet, that’s my understanding.

      • Richard Anderson says:

        In any event, the philosophy is this…

        The Democrats..TAX MORE & SPEND MORE

        The Republicans.. TAX LESS & SPEND LESS

        Less tax is ALWAYS better than MORE tax, especially when the current administration in DC and in likewise Democrat “controlled” state capitols where waste and mismanagement of the treasury is the rule, not the exception by those who know not what limited government is.

        • Matthew E says:

          Well as far as the philosophical side of Republican Party yea they say a lot ,but now more than ever they have no ideas or suggestions much less legislation to pass on anything that could have meaningful positive affect on people’s lives, education, health care, infrastructure, growing huge gap of income inequality, how about inflation maybe,they simply just talk trash about Democrats, their ideas ,plans. I personally don’t think that doing things that seem only beneficial to the top 10 % is best approach for all ” Americans ” . Their constant repeating of the words Freedom Liberty Patriotism to mention few in most speeches , interviews, is a just one big head game.

          • Richard Anderson says:

            The big picture is this. One party the Democrats are FOR abortion on demand which means the wanton ending of innocent Life. That’s EVIL.

            The Republicans are PRO LIFE or FOR the defense of innocent Life. That’s GOOD.

            The RIGHT to LIFE is the very FIRST and PARAMOUNT Constitutional guarantee of our Republic to all our citizens including the unborn. To disregard this Right imperils us all.

            I shall never vote for any Democrat as they have little –if any– regard for the…1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments of The Constitution of The United States to name but a few of the areas where they have serious issues which conflict with our Founders and with GOD under which our Nation was established.

            Democrats are the party of wokeism* and “heavy-handed government*” (*i.e. socialist/marxist/fascist/communist). One only need look at blue states and the current Biden-Harris cabal in Washington regarding COVID and how unnecessarily authoritarian they have been and desperately desire to continue to be! Their bad ideas are un-American and nonsensical.

            Republicans are the party of WE THE PEOPLE as in everyday citizens from all walks of life. They believe in GOD, commonsense, limited government, FREEDOM, and Capitalism — all the things anyone with a brain should hold dear if they desire to provide for themselves & their family, to be happy, and to prosper in this great land.

            God bless the U.S.A..

    • Matthew E says:

      Ted Cruz, who takes anything he says with a grain of salt, he’s as phony as three dollar bill, that guy has no shame for sure.

  2. Darrell Durham says:

    Thankfully, Sen. Tim Scott offered a very eloquent, sensible response to Biden’s lecture. He, along with Candace Owens, Herschel Walker, and several other black people have been speaking out in support of conservative policies. However, they have also been subjected to ridicule and RACISM from the talking heads that populate liberal media. They themselves have experienced, expected, and RISEN ABOVE such talk. This is a major reason racism is still alive. Democrats require it to survive in order for them to survive. Once black people realize they have been used as tokens, or they actually make their own way themselves with hard work like other successful people, are educated instead of indoctrinated, they tend to switch to the republican party. Thousands voted for Trump in 2016 because he actually asked them, “What have you got to lose?” Believe it or not, by many metrics blacks experienced historic gains during Trump’s term, but the media refused to discuss them. Scott offered his police reform bill that was filibustered by DEMOCRATS, who now look to do away with a “Jim Crow relic” because it stands in their way. I am hopeful that enough black and hispanic voters will be able to see through all the smoke and mirrors, and that election laws are changed in such ways as to restore our faith in the process, that the government can be wrestled away from the power grab we are seeing happen right in front of us, and we can save this greatest country in the world from sure destruction. Many empires have crumbled because of socialist policies. Anyone that thinks America will be different will be left wondering, “What if …?”

    • Matthew E says:

      Are the ” Forgotten ” I think their typically white Americans, as their called and as mentioned as recently as a few days ago on popular show ” Hannity ” are they also pawns?

    • Matthew E says:

      So you’re suggesting that a large percentage of black Americans aren’t making it on their own,maybe Hispanic as well? And the reason why there is still limited amount of black people in the Republican party is essentially due to lack of success, what’s success is is an opinion of course.

  3. Pete Faz says:

    What a weak minded traitor he is

  4. Ron Eagleman says:

    Paul, this is a very thought-provoking question, which requires a critical look at our society, and especially ourselves. Except for cases of voter fraud, we know that most of these politicians were voted into office by a majority of their constituents, so we need to think hard about how that was allowed to happen. I submit that the moderate Dems, to whom you refer, have been replaced by attrition (retirement and death) with those who have been “re-programmed” by public education and higher learning institutions over the last 5 decades. Many of those who are now making our laws are the same youth that we saw spitting in the faces of our returning veterans of the Vietnam war. They were voted into office by an electorate who share their philosophy, due to the same indoctrination. Conservatives were not vigilant enough at the local school boards, and allowed this to devolve slowly but surely. What we are witnessing is the expected result of a masterful and well-executed plan to convert this country into a Socialist society without having to “fire a shot”. It will be interesting to see if this nation has “crossed the Rubicon”, or if there are enough patriots to turn this ship around.

  5. Matthew E says:

    So Democrats are only ones capable of cheating? Is Republican Party the Party of ” Integrity ” now ? Never misleads never lies,never any hypocrisy?

  6. Matthew E says:

    Paul ,I’m wondering is America great,or is it ” MAGA” ,I’m getting mixed messages from the ” Right ” on this one.

  7. Darrell Durham says:

    No, Matthew, both sides have been known to cheat when they think it would help. That is one reason conservatives favor less government. The country does better when the government allows capitalism to flourish. All these social programs sound great until demand exceeds supply, as always happens. There are hypocrites aplenty in politics, though none as brazen as the current democratic leadership.

    • Matthew E says:

      Social programs that provide subsidies ( welfare) to large corporations, just to mention a few ExxonMobil, Big Pharma list goes on ,is that not an issue? Is that capitalism? In some circles its called ” Corporate Socialism” , is that allowing capitalism to flourish? I also understand that only 6% of total tax revenues come from businesses, corporations,heard that on KTBB early morning news” America First News ” I think it’s called, don’t quote me on that.Does that even sound right? 6 %. When we here about all the money that’s being made in what is still considered wealthiest country( USA). After all I’m surprised these entities, Wall Street etc wouldn’t want to help graciously to support our defense and infrastructure that serves them so well, where’s the ” Patriotism “?, just wonder sometimes. That is where a lot more of our tax dollars go in total,compared to all those lazy folks that aren’t willing to work instead live off subsidies ( welfare) ,but could be a big lie,but I’m betting it’s not. It seems less government is preferred when it involves big money interests,and not so much things all society benefits from including them.Because there are jobs created does that make things even?maybe? I’ve also heard that many of the poorest states are ( Red) states,maybe just another lie.

  8. C M Solomon says:

    Could someone please explain to the “uninformed” newcomer that we Americans are in a life or death struggle to keep our Constitutional Republic that was formed by way of the Constitution as WRITTEN, with all of its safeguards to protect us from a tyrannical government, the “natural” state by which most humans have suffered in recorded history? The Democrat Party and the RINO Republican establishments have switched to a “peaceful coexistence,” weak, accommodating, tolerant, even subservient strategy of surrender to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its tyrannical goals. It’s called the “new normal, global partnership” for the American RESET. There is no more Evil organization in recorded history with more murderous blood on its hands than the CCP! The Chinese people have been the primary recipient of this Evil Empire. Now, the rest of the World is at risk and some stupid American politicians don’t realize that they will be the first to be purged if the CCP succeeds.

    The CCP has launched a global absorption strategy to essentially conquer the World with Marxism as the new “savior” of mankind. The CCP has declared itself as ENEMIES of the Judeo-Christian Ethic that has guided America to its shining glory as compared to other nations in recorded history. The Biden administration has gone full tilt to join the CCP as partners in their wicked schemes and polluted ideologies of GLOBAL Collectivism. This is NOT a debate on who is the most Evil, the Democrats or the Republicans, even though the Democrats are leading the way. It is the spineless Republican establishment that stays on the defensive while the Marxist steamroller consumes our Liberties, wealth, and moral core, that disgusts me the most!

    A silly response to our complaints about overbearing government by claiming the “Republicans do it to!” is childish and exposes the shallow thought process of anyone’s thinking that makes such claims. It is a dodge mechanism to the debate at hand and demeans our sincere discussions about the loss of American Liberty and INDIVIDUAL sovereignty. We are NOT just a GROUP of “Special Interests” looking for more government favors. We don’t need Government to tell us how to live and be prosperous. It is an insult for government politicians to consider us as anything but God created “Individuals”, ACCOUNTABLE to the Almighty who gives us Life, Breath, and a Conscience. We are not a herd of human cattle to be managed within the “breed” to which we belong. The Commiecrats are notorious in “dividing” and exploiting the country into “group politics” that “should be at war with one another” so they can “conquer” us more easily. Let the Marxists and their political sympathizers (no matter the label) be damned!

    • C M Solomon says:

      Again, the shallow (uninformed) Marxist follower, that obviously finds ANYONE that is an American financial success, can ALWAYS DEMONIZE that person as a “fraud” who exploited his fellow Americans to gain riches, certainly NOT because of his hard work and ethical behavior. It is the “old as Genesis” story of envy, jealously and covetousness that Satan uses to “divide and conquer” his victims in order to breed HATRED in the hearts of mankind against his fellow man: the exact opposite of LOVE that the Gospel represents in the Bible.

      This is the FUNDAMENTAL attraction of the Communist-Marxist religion of HATRED that spawns its dictatorial tyranny to obtain “Social Justice and Fairness” that DESTROYS Liberty in the process. In other words, only EQUAL OUTCOMES, not EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (FREEDOM) is the utopia that the Marxist forces (with threat of death) upon its victims!

      • Matthew E says:

        Wow how you get that from what I said? Demonize someone who is a financial success in America, really, huh,ok then. I think maybe that’s simply how you want to interpret it subconsciously, that narrative has been pushed by talking heads on the right for a long time. Fairness is an opinion,there’s no set rule or standard in what’s fair . Yea there’s plenty of explotation going on in different forms and levels nothing new there.Fear mongering is a good one, as in exploit someone’s fears so they make certain choices that inevitably benefits a certain group or person whether by financial gain or any number of things,it occurs on both sides of the fence.Also being shallow, maybe I need to look up the definition, but ok then .

    • Matthew E says:

      Who’s been devisive in recent years ? Has it been primarily the Comiecrats as you call them? The rhetoric typically coming from the right has been unifying you think? And I think many people unfortunately do need some form of guidance if you want to call it that on how to live in some respects (laws) ,because many don’t consider how their actions affect others,or simply don’t care obviously, we are a nation of laws ,infringement on others and trying to control that is not ” Government overreach “, simply put there’s a lot of self-centered assholes in this country,small Government sounds great unless it means letting the more powerful ( those with money) run over the everyday citizen ,environment, to get what they want. And the whole CCP thing I do know they like doing business with us and others, making lots of money, not sure they would want to fowl that up.And most folks in politics are certainly childish,we just got through with some of the most childish behavior from government in the last four yrs and its lingering on still today.

      • Michael Reagan says:

        Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, ever since man has walked the earth “those” with more wealth has used that advantage to steer power and influence in their direction. Please do a little research on the Rothschild family. If you do not know this name, you need to. Mayer Rothschild, who was the head of the Bank of England back in the early 1800’s made a profound comment to the extent that it does not matter who is in power, he who controls the money, makes the rules! So it does not matter if Repubs or Dems are in power, other wealthier players control the playing board. Again, Look Up “World Economic Forum”. That is where you will see those who control the money and who are working relentlessly to usurp this country. By the way, the Rothschild family continues to control the Bank of England and are THE most powerful family on the planet. Apply this to Zuckerberg, Bloomberg, and the other ultra-rich billionaires that are American’s; Elon Musk excluded. The Democrats are marching to the tune of the World Economic Forum to completely and fundamentally change America to a Marxist, one world government dictatorship. BUT, if enough of us commoners ban together and stick together through thick and thin, we can keep our Republic. You better hope we keep our Republic and the Electoral College, nine Supreme Court Justices, 50 States, and our ability to debate these topics. Do you understand that?

        • Matthew E says:

          Yea that’s all a given,but my comments weren’t exactly directed towards all that ,but if it works for you,but good point towards the end,it’s all just a big head game in my opinion, but some seem to see it differently based on what they say,it’s a shame something that can have big impacts on our lives ( Government, politics) is such a farce.But some are convinced one side is a lot better than other.

        • C M Solomon says:

          Michael, as you know not EVERYTHING is driven by the insatiable thirst for unlimited wealth as the Class Envy Marxists try to portray as they stoke hatred among the American people as they try to justify the confiscation of legitimately obtained wealth that a tyrannical government would steal in order to achieve “equality of outcome”. This is one of the primary appeals of those hate-America followers that scorn Freedom because it is “unfair” and therefore BIG, dictatorial government must come to their rescue.

          Anyone that thinks the CCP is only interested in “making deals to make money” is a fool and is a product of the Marxist (uneducated) propaganda designed to sell a LIE, given the fact that the CCP is the most evil, tyrannical, murderous, and God-hating organization on earth.

  9. C M Solomon says:

    It is really sad and frightening as well to see the TOTAL brain washing of the followers of the Leftist Media and the Commiecrats that have been propagandized for the last 50 years with the “virtues” of Marxism. NO amount of education and debate can penetrate their hatred for Conservative American principles as Paul has highlighted and contrasted in his essay regarding the disappearance of the “good Democrats of the past”. Unlimited examples of Marxist ideology that have destroyed major portions of our society or the utter devastation of formerly prosperous countries that have swallowed the Marxist LIE means NOTHING to these “blind followers”.

    Instead, they use “spit ball” and “silly arguments” that are almost impossible to comprehend in order to reject the proven virtues of our culture that has brought forth the greatest individual Liberty and Freedom from oppressive government that has plagued mankind for centuries. All they can falsely say is that the Conservatives are guilty of selfishness and disharmony while they totally ignore the incredible harm and permanent damage that has devastated the Blue states and cities that have been managed by Communist Democrats for years.

    Whatever the sins of the Conservative side, the institutionalized corruption and destruction of lives and property as practiced by the NEW Democrat (Communist) Party is greater by a thousand times. Yet, this means NOTHING to the Hate America First crowd that spews hateful speech and calls for revolution every day as they enforce the Cancel Culture, Race Baiting, and Class Envy throughout society. There is no HARMONIOUS way to fight off the Marxist enemy within when you are trying to save our country from the Global Marxist forces that are trying to eradicate Constitutional Conservatism from our nation and enslave the American people as they carry out the Saul Alinsky “Rules for Radicals” plan to establish a tyrannical Global Marxist government.

  10. Matthew E says:

    Steal wealth?, scorn Freedom? Hate America First? I personally don’t know of anyone that feels that way ; I know people who have issue with wealthy people dodging taxes by various
    means (according to IRS )that amounts to Billions I believe annually it’s estimated , feeling they shouldn’t
    get away with that,I wouldn’t call that wanting to steal someone’s wealth. Who wouldn’t want freedom as most would probably, maybe, agree on as to what that really means, never heard of such a thing,but maybe their out there.Hate America First,well I know there’s a lot of things going on in America folks hate(dislike),putting America First sounds great as long as it’s not harming others to achieve,after all ” Do onto others as you wish they Do on to you” I think that’s how it goes, I don’t know where these people are but far as I know, I know none of them, sounds like some pretty deranged folks whoever they are,if they even exist, as you describe them.

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