​Dems Oh Dems: Don’t Make Us Weary

Fight Harder, Fight with Facts

And for God’s Sake Fight for the People Who Elected You

By Donna Smith

I am a Democrat. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired (borrowing a quote). I am
afraid. I am weary. The current political climate is not sustainable. Either Democrats will
stand up and really fight on behalf of the people who elected them or the republic is lost.
It truly is not more complicated than that.

For all the months since the 2024 elections, there has been a lot of screaming and
fundraising going on. Every Dem elected official tells us how disgusted they are and
how keeping them in office is only possible if we send more money their way.
Meanwhile, our own money is shrinking every day as inflation takes its toll. We really do
not need more fundraising appeals from Dems right now. We need real action to shut
down the damage being done around the world and certainly here so openly and
proudly by all the Republicans – no matter how their constituents cry out for relief.
In the face of the churning domestic news every day and bombs we are dropping on
people half a world away, the Dems are slugging it out to be on primary and general
election ballots as they think every “D” is a shoe-in. Party loyalists are falling in line.
Money is flowing into the campaigns. And younger, more capable candidates who are
freer of political obligations to outside interests are squeezed out before voters have the
chance to hear ideas and policies that might make change a real possibility instead of
an election year exercise.

It’s happening in my state – Colorado – where a wonderful candidate who could and
would defeat Lauren Boebert in CD4 is being systemically and effectively eliminated
from running a primary race against the Dem party’s anointed candidate. The Colorado
Democratic Party ought not interfere with the selection process assigned to voters.
Period. The Party’s choice might be the voters’ choice, but when the Party subverts the
process by choosing a candidate they believe has a better chance to win by measures
they will impact going forward with their decision to favor one candidate over the other.
The CDP needs to be the party of all Dems, not just the ones who have been accepted
into an exclusive club. We cannot say we offer a big tent and then only invite a select
few inside a special and secret society. Of course there is a political pipeline, a
hierarchy of people who are in line for higher office, if unofficially. That’s not the
problem. It is a problem that the CDP manipulates campaigns, strategies, and even
procedural issues in favor of a chosen few. Voters deserve an open and fair process so
we may choose the best people to represent all of us and not just the chosen few in
some exclusive club.

In Colorado, we value making our own independent decisions. No political party or
candidate ought to be in the business of restricting or silencing opposing voices. At this
complicated moment in our state and nation, Democrats must have the courage to
break free of the political quagmire that landed us here. Have the courage to be the kind
of Coloradoans and Americans that we need if together we are to salvage our freedom.