Standing for democracy, fairness and better government
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Democracy means that we voters get to decide with elections which candidates are empowered to serve in our local, state and federal governments. Those elected officials are supposed to serve us, not their own personal selfish quests for wealth and power. We want our political leaders to listen to our wishes and provide us with essential government services.
Our democracy has enabled us to enjoy and benefit from many rights and freedoms including speech, religion, education, civil rights, health care and others. We do not want them taken away. Thankfully, Democrats get that.
Republicans, now led by Donald Trump, are working very hard at pushing our government towards a Republican led autocracy (dictatorship) which will vastly decrease our services, rights and freedoms. They have already essentially established that culture within the Republican Party.
Donald Trump admires “strong” dictators and admitted he plans to be one himself if re-elected president. We do not want to copy the methods of the Russian, Chinese, and North Korean governments. We do not want to live in such a society (or world, for that matter).
Democratic candidates have worked for and will fight to preserve and protect our democracy.
Democrats wish to preserve and expand all those services, rights and freedoms that we value so much.
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Democrats also believe in fairness and obeying the law.
Today’s Republicans unfortunately do not. Even the Republican-appointed majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices have incredibly recently ruled that a president, the most powerful politician in the world, does not have to obey our laws. In their “infinite wisdom” they think that the politician who already has the most power of any American, should now have no boundaries to his or her behavior. They decided this knowing full well that Donald Trump has already broken many state and federal laws and promises to continue to break more, especially if re-elected. That is a disgrace.
Democrats respect and will continue to support and improve Medicare (for elderly and disabled), Medicaid (for those with lower incomes and for many children), the Affordable Care Act (providing subsidies towards private health care insurance premiums and requiring coverage of pre-existing medical conditions), Social Security (for elderly and disabled), public safety, public education, freedom of religion, our right to vote and more (for us all). The “Project 2025” Republican game plan clearly confesses their intent to take away many of these vital freedoms, rights and services we value.
Democrats wish to correct the historically unfair low income and investment tax rates currently paid by super wealthy persons and corporations. They believe we need a tax system with lower taxes for the majority of Americans, those who have lower and average incomes. They wish to raise tax rates only on the few who are already very wealthy and those earning more than $400,000 per year.
Republicans, on the other hand, promise to again further lower taxes on the very rich. They used to call it “trickle-down economics” which has been shown to not “trickle down” any benefit from the rich to the not rich. Their cynical plan is to further lower taxes on the super-rich in order decrease needed government revenue. This would result in an increase to the already huge federal budget deficit. That would then be their excuse to drastically cut spending for essential services and programs, mostly for the middle class and poorer Americans.
As a retired physician, I know that we should not give a few misguided (mostly old) men in Washington and Raleigh the right to tell individual (especially young women) patients what health care (even emergency treatments) they can and cannot have. These medically unqualified politicians should not have the right to determine what care and treatments our health care providers, including doctors, can and cannot offer to their patients.
Democrats, doctors, patients, families overwhelmingly want and expect that each patient and their health care provider be entitled to privately discuss and then decide on each patient’s personal medical care plan. Republican politicians (and judges) want to take over and limit those options and decisions. That would be very harmful to us all.
Western North Carolinians, like most people, do not like to be told what to do. We do not want to be ruled by a “king” or dictator. We must never let ourselves be deceived by Republican politicians and “pundits” who are not striving for more political power to better serve us for our benefit. Rather, they want total power to serve and benefit themselves and their super wealthy supporters. They hope to do this by suddenly making our county a Republican controlled autocracy. Afterwards there might not be any future free and fair elections.
Democrats strive to improve and expand the services, rights, freedoms, fairness and lives for all Americans. Democrats want to preserve our democracy, which our ancestors fought for and attained 248 years ago, keeping the power entrusted to and invested in the people. It is more important now than ever for citizens to vote, and specifically to vote for our Democratic candidates in 2024. We must never stop striving to move forward, not backwards, so to improve our country, our state, our communities, our families, and our personal lives.
(Henry Nathan is a retired physician who lives in Haywood County.)
