Burnt Orange Report

Missing In Action

By Nathan Nance

I want to thank Vince for taking the slack on all the posting, especially since I was no help.

It should come as no surprise that I am overjoyed that Gov. Dean is now Chairman Dean. I supported him all along because I thought he would do the best job for a number of reasons which we've all gone over more times than anyone cares to remember.

I won't list why Howard Dean is going to make a good chairman. Instead, I want to remind everyone why we make a great party.

We are the party of FDR, JFK, Andrew Jackson and Bill Clinton. Our politics and our beliefs, as a whole, have changed a lot through all the years. While Jackson may have hated the idea of a national bank, it was Bill Clinton who signed NAFTA and ushered in the century of global free trade. While Democrats in the 1860s may have supported slavery, Democrats in the 1960s made the Civil Rights Act law. We are the oldest party that represent the newest ideas. We are always evolving, making ourselves better. We learn from our mistakes.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle do not. The party of big business and of the rich and elite in the 1890s was the party of the rich in the 1990s. The Republicans do not change, do not learn. Failed economic policies like cutting taxes for the rich to the detriment of the overall economy keep getting reused without a second thought. Cold War-era policies to fight the Soviets are used to fight a much different enemy in the 21st Century.

While the Republicans use scare tactics and falsehoods, we Democrats use the truth. As Harry Truman said, "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell." That's what makes us great. That's why we represent what is best with America and why we are going to win. The Republicans can't hold off the inevitable. People will see through the misleading words and the bad results.

Dean is the new chairman. It's his job to help us prepeare for that time so we can be ready to do what it is we do best, help America reach its full potential. Let's do all we can to help him to help ourselves and to help our fellow Americans.

The title of this post is Missing In Action. It was meant not just to describe where I've been, but where we've been. Too often, some Democrats attack others because of a particular ideology or group association.

I know I've taken my fair share of shots at the DLC and others have taken shots at us Deaniacs. Today is the day that ends. Today is the day when we start evolving; start to better ourselves. Today we are not missing, we are found. Today we have a new beginning. Today we are Democrats, pure and simple.

Today, we start the journey, together, toward winning back our government and repairing the damage caused by the Republicans.