The Democratic Party’s erosion of our rights

     Elections matter not just in terms of electing a particular person but for the broader party they represent. While Obama is not on the ballot his policies, philosophy and supporters are. The Democratic Party has been a lock step partner with him and I believe it has reached the point that our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as described in the Declaration of Independence are severely threatened by that Party.  I would recommend two books that expand on this. One is by David Carlin (a lifelong Democrat and former elected state representative in Rhode Island) titled Can a Catholic be a Democrat. The other is The Party of Death by Ramesh Ponnuru. The Democratic Party has evolved in the last 50 years into what I consider the antithesis of what the Declaration proposed. Using the three main rights expressed in the Declaration the following observations can be made.

The right to Life. The Democratic Party is pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia and then lies about it. Obamacare was passed with a promise that no federal funds will be used for abortion, however, funding is provided for Planned Parenthood, community health agencies and for many state insurance plans.  The VA scandal is an example of how Democratic government run healthcare can cost lives. Instead of advocating the dignity of the human person and a culture of life, the Democrats emphasize the priority of human convenience and special interests.

The right to Liberty. The IRS and NSA scandals and the Democratic push for non-secret union ballots all show how the Democrats want to use government power to control those who do not agree with them. The Democratic party has been the party of “political correctness” to the point that failure to go along with their notion of what is “correct” results in government attempts to curtail 1^st amendment rights. The Democratic push for gay marriage and abortion rights have led to those who disagree to be brought to court for “hate speech” including Catholic Bishops for preaching against gay marriage and for some private individuals has meant fines and loss of businesses for acting on their faith.

Religious persecution under Democrats has taken many forms to include the federal HHS mandate actively denying religious rights and forcing fines for non-compliance. The California Democratic administration required all health plans including churches to cover abortion. The administration is suing the Catholic order of the Little Sisters of the Poor for non-compliance to the HHS is another example. The Democratic administration of the City of Houston directly violated 1^st amendment freedoms by issuing subpoenas for church sermons and documents that may be anti-gay. Democratic appointed Department of Defense administrators have labeled Catholics and Pro life advocates as potential terrorists and ordered Catholic chaplains not to preach on the HHS mandate.

Liberty can only be guaranteed if the government is honest with its citizens. Democrats have consistently lied on several issues. Examples are Obamacare (you can keep your doctor) to explanations of Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS and NSA scandals to knowing about ISIS and border issues. In turn, the Democratic administration prefers to govern by executive regulation than by following the constitutional process of passing laws through Congress. Why does voter fraud such as the recent situation in Illinois always seem to be by Democrats?

The right to pursue happiness. To pursue happiness requires a government providing adequate security to live our lives. The Democrats support for Defense budget cuts, the failure to defend us as well as persecuted Christians by taking effective military action against ISIS, the Benghazi scandal, the Fast and Furious scandal, the Ebola fiasco, and the failure to defend a strong border indicates a softness and lack of priority on security.  They fail to recognize our enemies for who they are. Examples are calling the Ft. Hood shooting by a radical Muslim “work place violence” and the failure of the Department of Justice to focus on the number one terrorist threat as Muslim radicals all show an unwillingness to do battle with our avowed enemies even though they have declared war on us. The push for diversity and inclusion of gays and women in combat roles further shows they have the wrong priorities that can result in decreased combat readiness.

The pursuit of happiness also requires a government that fosters economic growth and allows all to move up the economic ladder based on merit and effort. The Democrat’s agenda of regulations and taxes are counterproductive and we now see a shrinking middle class. Their educational policies keep students in underperforming schools with unaccountable teachers.

Past blogs have provided many other examples too numerous to mention. The overriding issue for this current election is that the consequences of Democrats maintaining Senate control are too great and they all must be voted out. Even though there may be some good Democrat candidates they will be forced to support the total Democratic platform. While Republicans have many “warts” they are the only alternative that can stop the Democratic Party’s erosion of our rights.