What Has Happened To My Parents’ Democrat Party?

fMy parents felt very strongly about the civic imperative of voting. Having suffered in Nazi Europe as non- citizens, they understood and appreciated the blessing of citizenship that America offered them. They took this right very seriously and voted in every election since they became citizens five years after emigrating  to this country. They instilled that patriotic fervor in their children, as well. Of course, my mother, in particular, always voted for the candidates on the Democrat line whether she knew them or not. It was understandable since in the early years the Republicans were in my mother’s words, “aleh  zahnen antisemitin”(they all are anti-Semites.)  Evidence of that were Senator Joseph McCarthy, who accused hundreds of federal employees of being communist without evidence many of whom were Jewish, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles who never met an Arab he didn’t like, and  Richard Nixon in his early years just to name a few.

We, Jews tended to support Democrats consistently until Ronald Reagan came along and we learned for the first time that we could press the Republican lever. We began to understand that it isn’t the party affiliation that mattered but rather the candidate himself.

 We had ingrained in us the belief that the Democrats were for the people and the Republicans were for the rich. But this year things are topsy-turvy.

 The despicable spectacle at Justice Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the US Senate judiciary committee has disillusioned many of us die heart Democrats. The women on the panel were especially disappointing in their demeanor.  They didn’t care about the presumption that one is innocent until proven guilty and that due process was a given right of all Americans. They exploited troubled women just to garner votes. It was politically expedient for them if those women who accused Justice Kavanaugh of misconduct should be believed even if no evidence was supplied to back up their claims.   They harped on teenage behavior as the benchmark of a man’s character as an adult. Most of those high and mighty senators would have failed this sort of personal scrutiny if their own youthful past shenanigans were used to judge their character.

What is so frightening is if the Democrats have their way, then any of us can be accused of all sorts of nefarious things without caring about the rule of law. If that would, G-d forbid occur, we Jews would be in great trouble. This has happened to us all through history and we cannot allow it to happen here.

The Democrats of today only want power as Senator Lindsay Graham eloquently stated at the Kavanaugh hearing. Women are being used as pawns so they can win in 2018 midterms, if we let them and we shouldn’t.

The Democrats that my parents responded to were patriots who put their country before party. They included President Harry Truman, Senator Scoop Jackson, Adlai Stevenson, and President John F. Kennedy (I come from Massachusetts) amongst others.

The so called leaders of the Democrat party today are an embarrassment. They espouse socialism and left-wing philosophies and don’t love this country the way that their predecessors did. 

I am particularly concerned about the tenure of their promulgating violent behavior and encouraging mob disturbances instead of civil discourse. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, for example, who should know better as   former law enforcement officer, stated ‘When they get low, we kick them. That is what the new Democrat party is about”. Hillary Clinton, who we can’t seem to get rid of, said “one cannot be civil with Republicans. Democrats need to be tougher”.

The Democrats are using metaphoric terms to instigate unlawful demeanor.  Perfect examples are Senator Corey “Spartacus” Booker and Representative Maxine Waters who tell their constituents to “get in people’s faces”.

Rather than impress upon their minions, who are acting as unhinged hooligans to stop their unruly behavior, Democratic leaders are encouraging this sort of anarchy. They have a calculated strategy of using bullying, harassment, screaming and physical violence to stop and silence anyone who disagrees with them. They are determined to disrupt the political process especially where President Trump’s agenda is concerned.

Democrats are whispering about the possibility of impeaching President Trump if they regain control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. They have contempt of the Constitution and want an unlawful takeover of our government. The powers that be need to be stopped before it is too late. The best way to do it is at the polls. The House needs to stay with a majority in favor of the Republicans.

These are not role models I wish to emulate. Any rational human being should think twice before wishing to be this sort of Democrat. `

These are dangerous times and as President Trump told voters in Iowa, ”you don’t hand matches to an arsonist, and you don’t give power to an angry left-wing mob. And that’s what the Democrats are becoming”.

This is certainly not the Democratic Party, my parents believed in and supported wholeheartedly. They would be appalled to see what has become of their party.

There is only one way to restore the Democrat party to its previous glary and that is for this bunch to lose decisively in the mid-term elections.  These leftist loons will then be discredited and cast aside and a moderate faction would be able to take their place. We have to show by our ballots that leftist socialists have no place in the leadership of our country. Their values are un-American and an insult to the precepts that my parents’ Democratic party stood for.

By Cynthia Zalisky

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Cynthia Zalisky is the Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.