"In Defense of Progressive Values"

Excerpt from an essay by Charles Sullivan:

"As painful as it is for some, we must realize that the Democratic Party, as a platform for progressive values, no longer exists. The Democratic Party has deliberately aligned itself with the same business interests as the Republicans. It has chosen to abandon its traditional role of advancing progressive values and representing working class people. Like its old adversary, the GOP, it too was lured to the money and it has also fallen under its corrosive spell. In the process it sold its traditional identity and abandoned its customary values. Yet progressives continue to express an alliance to the Democratic Party—a party that clearly does not share their values or advance its social agenda. How can this be beneficial? In reality America no longer has two major political parties—the Democrats and the Republicans. Sometime ago these two parties merged into a single party that only represents the interests of wealth and power. I refer to them as Republicrats. They share common financiers and common handlers. Campaign financiers always hedge their bets by contributing to both parties. They contribute significantly more to the party in power. They have created a win-win situation for themselves. The Republicrats do not represent the interest of ninety percent of the American people. This party has two right wings, both of them conservative. The more leftist wing is quite conservative; the rightist wing is populated by conservative extremists. They are the wing that is now in power; and they are seeing how far to the right they can push the envelope. The system creates the illusion of separation and choice; but there is little difference in the ideology of wealth and privilege, and there is no real choice to be made within such a system. The Republicrats have no incentive to reform a structure that generates considerable wealth for them and their corporate backers. It does not behoove us to contribute any more of our time, treasure, or political capital to the Republicrats. Continuing to do so only delays the inevitable revolution that is our only salvation. They sold us out, so they no longer deserve our support. American politics is so awash in corruption and corporate money that it has degenerated into a form of legalized bribery—a form of moral prostitution, if you will. It bears no substantial resemblance to the Democracy it purports to be. It is an imposter that is designed to deceive us. The idea of one person equals one vote—all votes being of equal value—is dead. Now it is money that buys access to power and determines outcomes. By now it should be clear that there is no competitive opposition party to the Republicrats. The system virtually precludes the entrance of viable third party candidates. It is designed to maintain the status quo that bears no resemblance to a level playing field. Until we get the special interest money out of politics there is no reason to expect improvement. We will continue to play a game in which the outcome has been predetermined—a game that ordinary working class Americans can never win. Money buys ready access to legislators. Money allows industry lobbyists to self regulate, to fleece the people and to plunder the earth with impunity. The more money one has, the greater their access to power. Those without money are denied admission and have no real representation. Over time the clout of the dollar supplanted the power of the vote, with the result that the vast majority of the people, ninety percent or more, have only token representation in government. The system has generated enormous wealth and power for those at the top of the economic ladder, while fleecing the rest of us. What incentive is there for them to change?"