SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 7, 2016
Sullivan’s
Salvos 10/11/16
In this edition:
*We Are All Responsible!
*Privileged NeoLiberals
*Democratic Party BBQ
*Did You Know?
*We Are All Responsible!
You probably never heard of Chris Arteberry. Chris was an
18-year-old young man who lived in Cedar Rapids. Chris was recently murdered. I
attended his funeral Thursday. Chris had caused a lot of trouble over the past
year; I know that. But we let him down.
Who is “we”, you ask? His family let him down. The Department of
Human Services let him down. Four Oaks let him down. Our Governor and our
Legislature let him down. I let him down. And yes, you let him down.
We allow this. We allow a kid to fall through the cracks. Chris
was crying for help. Screaming for help. I did nothing. You did nothing. Our
State “systems” did nothing. And now he is dead.
Chris’ sister lived with our family for over a year. She spent her
Senior year staying with us, attending City High, and did really well. Through
it all, she said, “My brother needs help.” He spent a couple Thanksgivings and
a couple Christmases at our house, but we never really helped him. We let this
happen.
Are you OK with this? Because you are responsible. We are all
responsible.
*Priveleged NeoLiberals
There
is a group of voters that drives me nuts. But it is not the group you might
think.
Politics
in the US has been a binary system for a long time. Two parties, winner takes
all. Frankly, I do not believe this is the best system out there; it isn’t even
close. Just about any type of Parliamentary system would make more sense for
more people.
But
we have the system we have. There are Democrats, Republicans, and “No Party”
voters. And within that system, we get subgroups of Democrats, Republicans, and
No Party voters.
Within the GOP, you will hear folks discuss Evangelical
Republicans, Country Club Republicans, Ron Paul Republicans, Nelson Rockefeller
Republicans, Strom Thurmond Republicans, Rural Conservatives, Masters of the
Universe, and much more.
Within the No Party group of voters, you find Swing Voters,
Suburban Soccer Moms, Wal Mart voters, true Independents, Greens, Libertarians,
Socialists, and large swaths of Cubans, Catholics, Military Veterans, senior
citizens, the poor, and much more.
Within the Democratic Party, you will find African American
voters, Latino voters, Asian voters, Native American voters, Jewish voters,
LGBTQ voters, People with disabilities, Union members, young people, highly
educated voters, Atheists, and much more.
Obviously,
these groups are not hard and fast. You can be an African American Republican,
or an Evangelical Democrat. I personally know people who fit those
descriptions. Additionally, many voters move between these groups, or fit
multiple categories. The point is simply that political parties are made up of
VERY diverse groups of people!
I have been involved in Democratic Party politics for a long, long
time. I have held just about every role you can hold. I know how things work.
This is why I have such great respect for my counterparts in the GOP. I know
that they are doing the same things, fighting the same battles. We are both
recruiting candidates, finding volunteers, raising money, maintaining lists,
making calls, knocking doors, finding speakers, etc. We are getting criticized
for the same things. It is the exact same work.
I know my GOP friends care deeply about this country. They are
willing to stand up for something. As Teddy Roosevelt put it, they have “thrown
their hats into the ring.” They want a better world for their kids and
grandkids, and they are willing to work hard for it. How can I have anything
but respect for that?
So yeah, I’m pretty OK with my GOP pals. We disagree on many
things, but we are committed to many of the same goals.
There
is one particular subgroup of the Democratic Party that drives me nuts. I’m not
really certain how to refer to them; my term of choice right now is “Privileged
NeoLiberals”. (I also thought about calling them Omega Theta Pi, fraternity of
Greg Marmalard and Douglass Niedermeyer, but I decided OTP were Republicans.)
Who
are the Privileged NeoLiberals? Well, first off, they have privilege of various
types. They tend to be over 30, wealthy, straight, white, educated males with
no union background. They meet almost every definition of privilege. They have
been our Class Presidents since second grade, and they are used to running
things. They get VERY testy when they are not in charge!
This
group is also conservative. Not as conservative as more conservative
Republicans, but more conservative than some Republicans. Privileged NeoLiberals
and their peers own businesses. They see their job as to funnel public money to
their friends. They do not see this as wrong; it is simply how you perpetuate
privilege. They oppose the basic Democratic Party Platform on economic issues.
They are sympathetic on some social issues, but would much prefer to get back
to business.
But
basic democratic principals are getting in their way: their demographic group
is outnumbered. Their ideas are outnumbered. Unless votes are suppressed, they
will not be running the Democratic Party. This is beginning to sink in, and
their whining is deafening.
It
is not new to have struggles over the infrastructure of a political party. As a
matter of fact, it is constantly occurring. Both Democrats and Republicans are
seeing things shift. This phenomenon too, shall pass. Meanwhile, keep an eye
out for the leaders that emerge from these struggles!
*Democratic Party BBQ
The
Johnson County Democratic Party is holding its’ Annual Fall BBQ/Fundraiser on Sunday,
October 16, from 4pm - 7pm at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, Buildings B and C.
Join
us for some good food, good camaraderie and some great speakers! A cash bar and
vegetarian option will be available.
SPONSORSHIP
LEVELS - each includes 2 free tickets: Platinum Sponsor, $500; Gold Sponsor,
$250; Silver Sponsor, $100.
TICKETS:
Individual, $25; Couple, $35; Family, $40.
EXHIBITOR
6-FOOT TABLES: Local candidates $25; Statewide candidates $40; National
candidates $50; Non-profit organizations $25; For-profit organizations $50.
The
purpose of this event is twofold: 1.) Raise money to elect Democrats, and 2.)
Have fun! We hope to see you at the 2016 JC Dems Fall BBQ!
*DID YOU KNOW?
Johnson County is shooting for 100,000 registered voters for the 2016
elections. That number was 87,000 earlier this year.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 4:36 PM
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