The Democratic Party, in the form of its organizers at the DNC, has rolled out a plan and a candidate that strikes a Reagan-esque and neoconservative chord. How is it that the first female candidate for the presidency of the United States sounds more like a Bush than an Obama?
On Thursday, Loud & Clear’s Brian Becker sat down with Danielle Norwood of WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend), Kevin Aiken, Secretary of the California Peace & Freedom Party, and Loud & Clear producer Walter Smolarek to discuss the Democrats’ open embrace of the rhetoric of Ronald Reagan and Bush-era neoconservatives.
Becker observed that the third night of the Democratic Convention was focused on the issue of national defense, providing Democrats with "an opportunity to show that they really are the Party that is favored by the military-industrial complex, not just Wall Street."
Becker asked Norwood whether the historic nature of Hillary Clinton becoming the first female president was enough to override the war-hawk militarism espoused on the stage.
"For me personally, Hillary being the first woman presidential nominee of a major party is not all that important," said Norwood. "It is the worst type of identity politics, to prioritize representation above any kind of substantive change. Otherwise you could say that Margaret Thatcher was a great step forward for feminism."
Has the DNC been successful at rebranding Hillary Clinton as a candidate of the people?
"Having Clinton appear like she has broad grassroots support is a little difficult, more difficult than for some candidates, but if you have got a good stage manager then you can do a pretty good job of it," remarked Aiken. "I personally regard Clinton as the imperialist candidate, and I regard Trump as getting to be the loose-cannon candidate, but I intend on voting for a socialist candidate."
Why is the so-called Establishment opposed to Trump?
"Trump has an extensive business record, but Hillary Clinton is a quote-un-quote public servant, which means a servant of Wall Street. We can look at her record as [US] Secretary of State, during President Obama’s first term in office, to get a taste of what a Clinton foreign policy would look like; extreme regime change operations," said Aiken.
The Democrats now face the challenge of selling a neoconservative brand forged by Hillary herself for a party whose rank-and-file are largely on the Left. Fear-mongering, sabre-rattling, and American exceptionalism appear to be the best idea they have come up with so far.
