The Democratic Party's Message

Earlier this year I read a book by Andy Stern, President of the SEIU, the fastest growing union in America. Stern made a very valid point that had been the shortcoming of the Democratic Party in the past two years--there was no clear message. Although many individuals have criticized Obama for having no concrete plans, I think that his roadmap for CHANGE represents the ideals of the Democratic party. These elements of change have been represented throughout the convention. For example, when I first arrived in downtown Denver, I walked around an outdoor tent area with various GREEN ideas. Next, last night at a free concert featuring Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, and Sugarland, these same GREEN ideas were emphasized. Obama has a plan of making the average American fit into this GREEN plan, rather than pushing the expensive earth-friendly options that have only been available to those with larger budgets in previous years.

Furthermore, despite the taxing situation that one individual commented on for my first post, one has to remember that when other government services are more efficient, taxing can be advantageous to the middle class. For example, rather than giving the tax breaks/research and development dollars to large oil corporations (e.g. the McCain/Exxon ticket), these tax breaks can be used for programs for the middle class, such as energy incentives, child care, and the like. Trust me, as a person who has grown up in the lower to middle class all of her life, I have been advocating a sliding scale program that encourages individuals to work hard, but recognizes that sometimes various events in our life, such as a sickness in the family, job loss, temporary lay-off, and the like, makes it nearly impossible to make ends meet. I believe that Obama/Biden will push the middle class agenda for the American people.

The life histories of both Obama and Biden illustrate this point. For example, Biden is from PA originally and grew up with modest means. Furthermore, even though he has been a DE Senator for approximately thirty-five years, he is both an insider and an outsider in Washington. He does not maintain a Washington residence. Rather, he returns to his personal residence in the evening. Additionally, even though he is a Senator, his income is approximately $150,000 a year. Although $150,000 per year is still a nice sum of money, it is very modest for a United States Senator. And, of course, as emphasized by Biden--he knows how many homes he has--he doesn't have to ask a staff member. While Obama has made a great deal of money from his book sales, he realizes how difficult it is to be a bright mind struggling to make it through college and grad school. Additionally, as he was raised by a single-mother for a great deal of his life, I think he also recognizes the struggle that single-moms and middle class families go through.

In addition to these life experiences and bright ideas, one has to keep one thing in mind. Intelligent visionaries surround themselves with individuals that possess the characteristics and talents that the visionary may lack. I believe that Bill Clinton did this with his Cabinet, while Bush simply placed individuals in his Cabinet that would agree with him on every issue.

I believe that Obama's vision for Change that provides a general roadmap to lead to the end goal, while maintaining flexibility is the best route to relief for the middle class.