Why I'm not a Dimocrat by a former Repugnantan

Good article by Bruce Bartlett, a former Repugnantan who was ostricized from the Party when he started to articulately and accurately criticize it. He says of that Party today:

"The Trump phenomenon is the culmination of everything I hated about the Bush-Gingrich era Republican Party that drove me out, especially the anti-intellectualism. The sum total of Trump’s agenda appears to begin and end with reversing whatever Obama did; I see no sign of a positive agenda even from a conservative point of view. The Republican Party appears to exist for the sole purpose of acquiring power in order to shower rewards on those who support the party, especially those who support it financially."

But he won't join the Dimocrats for reasons I've blogged about before:


They don't really stand for anything, instead just being against Repugnantans. They need an agenda of their own and to message it repeatedly. Another is to work with progressives on the right. Granted they are far and few between these days but they must be found and coordinated with, at lease on particular issues. (E.g., see Ralph Nader on this.) And like the right the Dims need to create a progressive infrastructure from the school board up, just like the right did and it took them decades.

Also the Dims need strong, powerful leaders that fight for their values and policies. That would be Sanders and Warren. Bartlett says he might consider becoming a Dem when that happens, but it already has in at least those two Senators. But then again, they are the typical Dim that will never take Bartlett's advice, or even the advice of their own progressive wing.