Here is a column about the current state of the Democrat Party, which has been transformed from the party of liberalism to the party of progressivism. Democrats today are committed to the following doctrines, each of which is (and deserves to be) an electoral loser:
- Identity politics. Instead of emphasizing what Americans have in common, Democrats emphasize their differences. Instead of "e pluribus unum" (out of many, one), it's "e unum pluribus" (out of one, many). (I may have the Latin wrong on the second of these, but you get my drift.) To Democrats, a person is first and foremost black, female, homosexual, disabled, or atheistic, and only secondarily (if at all) American.
- Cosmopolitanism. By any reasonable standard, the United States, however imperfect it may be, is the greatest force for good in the history of the world. Democrats think the United States is no better, and in some ways worse, than other countries. Many Democrats would love to have a world government.
- Egalitarianism. Democrats believe that resources (income, wealth) should be equally distributed, independently of merit or desert. The result of such a policy is to make everyone miserable, albeit equally so. Inequality is at most a sign or indicator of injustice; it is not constitutive of it. The concern should be how many people are poor and what can be done to alleviate poverty; that the poor are worse off than others is morally irrelevant. Unless I have taken something from you, in other words, the fact that I have more than you do is of none of your business.
- Political correctness. Democrats deny what everyone else rightly believes, namely, that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." The Democrat imperative is to ensure that nobody's feelings are hurt in any way, by bullying or otherwise. Speech that offends must be censored (by self or others) or punished. Criticism of certain groups, e.g., blacks, is unacceptable. We saw this in the case of Barack Obama, who, by the way, is only half black. Criticism of Obama's policies had to be racist; there could be no other basis for it, since Obama was, in Democrat eyes, perfect in all ways.
- Pacifism. Democrats believe that force is always impermissible, especially in foreign affairs, and even in self-defense. This is absurd. Force must be met with force. Some people are impervious to reason (like wild animals) and must be killed or otherwise disabled to prevent them from harming innocents. Those who aggress upon others must be removed from society. The first duty of government is to protect citizens from each other and from common enemies. Everything else is secondary.
- Politicization of the judiciary. To Democrats, the end justifies the means. The imperative of a judge, in their view, is to reach certain results, not to follow certain processes. The best example of this is the temporary restraining order against President Trump's executive order on immigration. Result-orientation in judges erodes the rule of law and replaces reason (right) with will (might). Even the doctrine of precedent is to be dispensed with if it hinders advancement of the Democrat agenda. The Constitution is merely an economic document designed to protect the wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyone else. It is to be interpreted so as to achieve egalitarian outcomes.
- Politicization of science. Science (the very word means knowledge) is the search for truth, however useful that truth may be and however painful it may be to know it. Democrats pay lip service to truth, but ultimately, as in the case of Global Warmism, the study of intelligence, the study of sex differences, and the study of homosexuality, they expect science to confirm what they believe and disconfirm what they disbelieve. Science, in other words, is a handmaiden to politics.
With any luck, Democrats will remain out of power for decades to come. Barack Obama has all but destroyed the party, both nationally and at the state and local levels. For that, if for no other reason, conservatives should be eternally grateful.
