Why It's Hard to Be a Democrat

After watching Barak Obama try to describe his tax plan and alleviate the woes of Joe the Plumber, it dawned on me that being a democrat is a tough egg. 

Joe's problem was Obama's tax plan for businesses with incomes of over $250,000. Joe was going to buy the company he toiled over for 15 years. He wanted to know why he should pay more taxes for working so hard. Obama responded with compassion and insight but Joe wasn't convinced. And why should he? 

First, let's discuss the things that were created by the media to stereotype the modern day Democrat.

Pop Culture View

1. Traitor - Well not exactly like Benedict Arnold but the modern Democrat is viewed by the media and popular culture as a callow wimp because they generally don't want to go to war, especially with Iraq. This is one of the easiest reasons to hate Democrats and love Republicans. America is a nation of victory and the only victory that matters is in war. Sure, we'll get pumped for our son's win on the ball field but we'll have raging hard-ons if we watch some Central Asian wave a white flag from his cave. 
2. Hippie - Stereotypes are fun because they allow us to define someone in the most basic of terms. While I'm convinced that the hippie that everyone is familiar with doesn't actually exist anymore, many consider Democrats as  hippies. And it's not even about caring about the environment anymore (I guess they were right about that) it's really about maintaining the difference. If you don't support the war, then you're a hippie, mainly because we haven't invented a word to describe you and I'm not creative enough to do so. 
3. Elitist - The "Liberal Elitist" identity is one that really confuses me. How can someone who supports welfare be an elitist? It just doesn't make sense to me. But, to the average joe, in the stereotype encyclopedia Democrats are elitists. They are educated, they are rich, and they belong to a class above the plebeian. There aren't any Palin-esque Democrats. And that's the appeal of Sarah Palin and John McCain - they remind us of people we know. Most people know a veteran and most people have a mom and that's what McCain and Palin are - at least that's how the media pegs them. But what the hell is Obama? "Um, he was an attorney. A WHAT?! BOO! Does he even drink beer?"
4. Socialist - In the interview with Joe the Plumber, Obama's socialist persona was cemented by Fox News. His "spreading the wealth" rhetoric was translated to "we'll all be wearing the same shoes soon". The first thing people ask themselves when a democrat is running is, "Okay, how much is this going to cost me." And I understand the question because many people work very hard for what they have. But again, this viewpoint is really encouraged to further the divide, further the stereotype. It's a way to make Democrats different from Republicans. Democrats are Marxists communists while Republicans are hard-working small business owners. How can you argue with that? (I think I should note that this is essentially the modern Democrat's most altruistic trait but no one really sees it that way.)

And these are the things that people just think about when a Democrat goes on the air. Really, these characteristics aren't real. But when you think about the things that define a Democrat, it's hard to ask yourself, "Why would anyone listen to them?"

If a Democrat had some kind of bullshit detector or language simplifier, this is what one would say if running for public office:

• I'm going to raise taxes.
• I'm going to try to stop the war.
• I'm going to make abortions legal. 
• I'm going to try and save the environment.
• I'm going to make the government bigger. 

Intrinsically, why would anyone vote for such a person? Granted this is a wildly over-simplified vision (stereotype) of a Democrat, but it is the essential agenda of one. 

So the point of this post is that Republicans have the easiest rhetoric in the world of politics. You don't need to be a smooth-talking, hyper-intelligent, suave politician if you are a Republican. Everything that Republicans believe is agreeable:

• I'm going to lower taxes.
• I'm going to win the war.
• I'm going to save all the babies.
• I'm going to make gas cheaper. 
• I'm going to make the government smaller. 

Of course save the babies! How can you argue with that? Thomas Jefferson said that a government should never be bigger than the people it governs. Totally. Make gas cheaper? That's great! I drive all the time! How can you debate that? How can you say to "NO!" to any of that? How have we had ANY Democratic presidents? It's so simple. It's so easy to understand. 

But there in lies the problem. Life isn't simple. Maybe this is why stereotypes are bad. Everyone's had a moment where they witness a stereotype fulfilling itself and we say, "Figures," under our breath. But these stereotypes are misleading rather than enlightening. A Democrat is, if broken down into a stereotype, a horrible weakling traitor who wants to let people kill babies. And the Republican stereotype is a person who is the Uber-American Patriot and Savior of the World. There's no truth to it. Maybe this is why there are so many undecided voters for this election. The stereotypes we are feed aren't living up. 

The world isn't a stereotype - it's full of vastly different people and difficult circumstances and random events and tragedies and heartbreaks and hard decisions and ups and downs. Stereotypes don't work because they put a overly-simple thing into an infinitely complex system. It just doesn't work. 

So here's the problem - the media, and the candidates themselves probably, perpetuate these stereotypes. They want people to see them in simplified terms, not complex and organic, like the world they inhabit. 

Maybe they do it because it's easier for us, maybe it happens as a result of the mass media editing and shaping their identity, or maybe they are just lazy. Maybe it's to further the divide. Either way, it's definitely hard to be a Democrat.