What Is A Common Sense Democrat?
We, as Democrats, have allowed the Republicans to define who we are for a long time. We have been called “queer loving baby killers,” which is very insulting, and “libtards” which means liberal retarded. The one that I have yet to understand is “Woke.” What is so wrong about being “awake and aware”? I don’t think that is the way in which they mean it.
Trump has not left out the Democratic Party in his mudslinging nicknames when he referred to Democrats as “gnats” that have to be taken care of.” Tough “mafia-like” talk that Trump is famous for. Recently, he said Democrats “are sleeze-bags, bad, bad people.” Even preachers are joining in the dialogue to offer their insulting names.
What grabbed me when I heard a Democratic candidate use this phrase, “I am a common sense Democrat,” was….I’ve heard this before…..Republican-aligned groups frequently use the term “common sense” to describe their policies, framing their approach as practical and logical solutions to issues like the economy, border security, and social issues. Republicans have applied the “common sense” label to a variety of policy stances when speaking about immigration, the economy, healthcare, and other issues. I find it contradictory in view of the fact that there is nothing “common sense” about kicking Americans off their healthcare, arresting Americans off the streets and throwing them in cages, cutting funding to Medicare and Medicaid, using our military against our own citizens just because they didn’t vote the way the president wanted them to, shutting down the media, and violating our Constitution.
Some of the Republican candidates in Georgia have used “common sense leadership” as part of their campaign messaging. In 2021, a group of Republicans organized a movement called “A Call for American Renewal,” using the “common-sense” label to signal a return to traditional conservative principles in response to the rise of Trumpism. The Michigan Common Sense Party was formed in 2023 by a handful of Republicans seeking a more centrist, non-partisan approach, expressing concerns about extremism within the Republican Party.
Now we have the Democrats using the slang “Common Sense Democrat.” According to my research, common sense is the natural ability to make sound, practical judgments and to behave sensibly based on simple perceptions of facts and situations. It involves the instinctive knowledge that allows people to navigate everyday challenges, avoid risks, and understand social situations without extensive formal education or explanation. I find no problem with this until it comes to “without extensive formal education or explanation.” Being a Democrat should mean caring more than Republicans about the lives of poor people, about equal rights and non-discrimination, about restraining big business in matters related to pollution and fraudulent practices, and about protecting social insurance for the elderly and disabled. This is not just “common sense” but common decency.
Where are we as “common sense Democrats” and the Republicans are “common sense Republicans”? This is a whole big ole nothing! If we all had “common sense” our government would not be shut down right now, the National Guard would not be in Portland policing the streets, Veterans would not be homeless, the poor would not be losing their food stamps, the elderly would not be afraid of losing their Social Security, Americans would have affordable healthcare, community college would be free, assault weapons would not be sold to civilians, hospitals would not be closing, women would still have the right to choose, the LGBTQ would be lawful allowed to marry whom they choose just like everybody else, the rich would be paying taxes, and Donald Trump would not be president.
Lynda Kirkpatrick