The Purple State | Coming to terms with being an angry Democrat

Benjy Sarlin Guest Writer

For the last five years, I've been warned over and over again about “the angry left.” Arch-conservative pundits Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter have devoted entire books to the cause, entitled Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, and Slander, respectively, that make the case that the left has grown hysterical and extreme, and has even lost their bearings on reality. Last year, the Grand Old Party released a video entitled Wild Thing that showcased a shouting Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. Minnesota’s Republican Party created a whole website just to document the phenomenon, WhenAngryDemocratsAttack.com, that collects examples of foaming-at-the-mouth left wing politicians and activists.

I've been grappling with this issue a long time and have come to a sobering conclusion: I am an angry Democrat. Angry doesn’t even begin to describe it. I am an incensed Democrat, a foaming-at-the-mouth, berserker rage, barbaric Democrat, and after much soul searching, I have finally made peace with this fact.

Much of the stigma associated with the “angry Democrat” label comes from a false conflation of extreme passion with extreme positions. I always considered myself a moderate, so how could I be so irked? But the country is not moving in some extreme left direction in its anger. Pelosi recently proposed an agenda for her first 100 hours in office should the Democrats take over the house. It included lobbying reform, a minimum wage increase, funding for stem cell research, intelligence reform, allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices with drug companies, and instituting “pay as you go,” a spending plan which helped curb the deficit under President Bill Clinton. Missing from this agenda is anything that could be described as particularly extreme or divisive, as all the proposals enjoy broad support from the public. On foreign policy, most Democrats advocate a gradual withdrawal from Iraq. Although the details are not agreed upon, the majority of Americans in polls consistently favor this position.

What a bunch of wild-eyed moderates those Democrats are.

I have come to terms with my anger because it is not some baseless “Bush hatred” that’s driving me up the wall or a “serial protester” complex, as critics on the right have claimed. It is the actual state of the nation. And regardless of your party, or how you feel about the role of government, or what you think we should do in Iraq, can you honestly say you’re happy with our current situation? Americans are not happy that terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and rogue nations like Iran and North Korea are gaining rather than losing power five years after Sept. 11. Few students see the previously absurd, now increasingly realistic possibility of a draft as cause for celebration. Does anyone like the fact that the national debt has more than doubled in recent years? It’s hard enough finding a job and an affordable Brooklyn apartment after graduation without the prospect of paying off some geriatric congresspersons’ latest spending binge. Who is it that thinks four representatives resigning this year for corruption, corruption, corruption, and pedophilia is a sign of a functioning government? I would rather not have to either pay off or fondle my local congressman to get an entry-level job in politics. The truth is, if you aren’t angry about the state of government, you probably aren’t paying attention.

And finally, the best part about being an angry Democrat: whether you’re in a state of Zen enlightenment, crippling depression, or steam-coming-out-of-your-ears rage, your vote counts just the same in the mid-term elections on Nov. 7. I intend to use it wisely and furiously.

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