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Opinion

Democrats: Fight for what's left

Nick Somarakis
Opinion Columnist

They stood unified with the president after 9/11, showing the United States was a nation unwavering, determined and strong. They supported and believed the president when he said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which had to be disarmed. 

The Democrats have supported the president throughout some very difficult times because they believed supporting him was in the best interest of the United States. Now the Democrats must adamantly oppose the president to avoid some very difficult times in the future. 

The president has proposed severe cuts in spending on medicine for children, health care for veterans, environmental and labor initiatives and small business loans in his budget. While advocating these cuts, he states he would like to make his tax cuts for the wealthy permanent. 

A child without health care still suffers pain when he is ill, and the Democrats must not compromise spending on health care for children. Veterans have spent time fighting and defending our country, the Democrats must fight and defend the veterans. 

As Bush pushes to make sure that the rich become richer and corporations increase their bottom line, the Democrats must oppose him every step of the way to protect and defend the rights of the forgotten people: the middle class. 

Democrats must stand their ground, express and defend those beliefs now. They must fight to determine the soul of this nation and its people. Democrats must demand that Americans look at the path this nation is headed on and determine if it is correct.

If Democrats truly fight, they can save the United States from becoming a nation of ill children, abandoned veterans, forgotten farmers and ignored poor. If Democrats fight, they can prevent unaffordable higher education, poor elementary education, higher taxes on the lower and middle class, forced pregnancies, air and water pollution, low wages for workers and bad working conditions. 

Democrats must fight for their core beliefs: personal liberty, efficient and effective government, environmental protection for future generations and the ability to achieve the American dream. They should fight for funding for health care, education, Social Security, veterans' benefits, small business growth programs and environmental and labor initiatives -- all policies Democrats believe in. They should fight the tax cuts because making the rich richer is not a priority. 

This is not a time for bipartisanship or bipartisan support for the Bush budget. This is no time for weak talk, nice gestures or compromise. In defending one's beliefs, there is no compromise, and the Democrats must defend their beliefs and avoid any compromise.

Somarakis, an opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at nick_som1@hotmail.com