As a John Kerry for President and Russ Feingold for Senate supporter in this last election who describes himself not as a Democrat or Republican, but as a progressive capitalist Catholic, I am disappointed with a couple of current moves by leading Democrats.
First, the far left’s obsession with voter fraud. Some claim that the Diebold machines were rigged, some say that John Kerry actually won the election and some even compare the “fraud” in this last election to the fraud in Ukraine’s first attempt at an election. Hillary Clinton made this claim in a recent speech she gave on the Senate floor after Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., employed a constitutional procedure that hasn’t been used since the 1800s to challenge the state of Ohio’s electoral college votes. Some far-leftists unfairly tried to paint Russ Feingold as a villain for not standing up with Boxer. Comparing the U.S. election to Ukraine’s? Likening the two is akin to comparing the wave pool at Noah’s Ark water park to the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka.
Sure, no election is perfect, as everyone acknowledges. But in Ukraine, people were beaten and nearly killed if they voted for Victor Yuschenko instead of Victor Yanukovich. Over 1 million ballots were stuffed for the pro-Russian candidate, Yanukovich, who is also alleged to have been involved in the poisoning of Yuschenko. I don’t seem to remember anyone being beaten if they voted for Kerry, Bush, or even Nader.
These kinds of allegations that John Kerry won the election are ridiculous. Bush won by 119,000 votes in Ohio and more than 3 million nationwide. Let’s move on from wild allegations and try to reform the voting system in America for the next election instead of pretending that conspiracies occurred and Kerry actually won. This makes sane Kerry voters look insane and unable to accept defeat. It is a terrible way to attract those “independent” or middle-of-the-road voters that were so much sought after up until Nov. 2.
My second disappointment deals with the tsunami disaster in Asia, where the death toll has now reached over 150,000. Just hours after this horrible tragedy, many far-left activists in this country jumped on President Bush for not making a statement quickly enough. They also condemned the United States for being “stingy” with aid.
First of all, the president was on vacation, just like Prime Minister Martin of Canada and Prime Minister Blair of Great Britain. Far-right conservatives in Canada who dislike Martin and far-left activists in Britain who dislike Blair threw the same sentiments at them. It was clear to see that these attacks were completely politically motivated and these people exploited this horrible tragedy for all it was worth.
If any of these leaders came out too quickly, they would have been accused of using the event as a photo opportunity and exploiting it (much like Clinton was for being “too quick” to make a speech after the Oklahoma City bombing). However, if they waited too long to say something, they would be deemed insensitive. It was a no-win situation for all of these leaders.
Calling the United States stingy was also unfair. On an annual basis, independent of the tsunami, the United States gives more aid than any country in the world when taking into account government aid plus private-citizen and corporate aid. We have pledged $350 million thus far and give about half that each year in private-citizen donations alone (around $180 million in 2003, according to government statistics). In addition, you don’t hear the same level of criticism against Saudi Arabia, which has thus far pledged just over $30 million.
Allegations that the United States is stingy are beyond ridiculous and unfair, but more importantly ignite yet another extremely negative attitude of independents toward the far-left, which is associated with the entire Democratic Party.
As someone who is deeply concerned about many policies of President Bush and some of the far-right-wing Republicans, I believe it is absolutely vital that the Democrats in this country denounce these outrageous allegations when they are made so as to distance themselves from these claims.
The likes of John F. Kennedy Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt and Robert F. Kennedy epitomized the virtues of integrity and fair play. They never felt the need to create the so-called “echo chamber” of the right that has worked well with the Republican Party, but will fail if Democrats try to do it in light of these types of far-reaching claims. I sincerely hope that future unfair allegations are strongly denounced by the leaders of the Democratic Party so the 2008 election can be compelling, exciting and fair, living up to the virtues of the Jeffersonian democracy that many hold dear and wish to reclaim in America.
Casey Hoff ([email protected]) is a UW student and is the host of New Ground with Casey Hoff, live Monday through Friday, 9-11 a.m., on Talk Radio 1670 WTDY.