Schmidt Wrote:Mcsweet -- Like Hillary Clinton in her youth identified as a Goldwater Republican, I was a Democrat because my parents were Democrats. My Dad was a miner and union activist in Butte, Montana. At 12 years old I was kicked out of bars for distributing union literature for my Dad. He felt that the local Mine Mill union had become corrupt and therefore wanted them replaced with the Steelworkers union. Times were good and pay was good while he was working. But during the frequent strikes not so good. During some of those very long strikes, my parents had to ask for handouts from the welfare agency...powdered milk and powdered eggs because we couldn't afford even those basic essentials. I still remember to this day the taste of the powdered milk. It had a distinct taste and wouldn't mix well with water. We never owned a blender.
Schmidt thanks for the amazing story. What I'd take away from that is that your loyalty to the Democratic party, originated in Montana, in that time and place and the hardships you faced. Respect. So did mine -- I was maybe 11 years old when Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were shot down -- and that period of time is forever imprinted not only on my mind, but on my soul: because those were soul-stirring times. Who could ever forget RFK's last train ride through Appalachia, with poor white southerners standing along either side of the railroad tracks -- as far as the eye could see -- waving to the train. I haven't seen that type of faith in a leader since then, until Bernie showed up.
I understand that party platforms and party structure is necessary for the functioning of a national organization -- afterall I'm not 18. That said, what many of us loved about the party (MLK, RFK, Eugene McCarthy, the list goes on) disappeared after the floundering of the party in the 80's and the demolition of the party in the 90s.
I respect the work you do -- I just think you are doing it too cheap.