Dear DNC,

As a member of the Democratic Party, I recently received a survey in the mail from the Democratic National Committee (DNC). I felt that questions like “Which potential actions by congressional Republicans most concern you?” and “How important it is to regain Democratic majorities in Congress and put another Democrat in the Oval Office in 2016?” did not address the issues that are most important to me, both as a Democrat and as an American. So I wrote them a letter….

Dear DNC,

I have considered myself a member of the Democratic Party since the 2000 election. I was barely 13 that November, and it was the first time I had taken an active interest in politics. President Bush ruled the first eight years of my political life, and I was terribly disappointed that I was a year too young to vote for Senator Kerry in 2004. I registered as a Democrat on my 18th birthday and had the privilege of voting for President Obama in the first presidential election in which I was allowed to vote.

I do not agree with all Democratic Party views, but most of our principles and concerns are the same, and I would consider myself a loyal member of the party. I believe that many people in this party want what is best for the nation, and generally speaking I believe a Democratic Party platform is likely to make the United States better.

However, I am also acutely aware that my views are not shared by a large number of people in this country. I am also aware that these people have a right to their opinions and that no one organization, including the Democratic Party, is always right. Many Republicans feel that the Democratic Party does not have their best interests or the interests of the nation as a whole at heart.

Section IV, question 1* of your Official 2016 Democratic Party Survey makes me think they may be right. The Democratic Party’s goals cannot be to beat the Republicans and try only to get more Democrats into government. As a democratic nation, no one party should ever dominate our political field. It’s not right and, quite frankly, it’s never going to happen. There will always be another side, and that push and pull is why our nation has been a beacon of democracy for more than 200 years. We need to accept that the other side is not going anywhere.

And we need to accept that the only way forward for the United States is to work together.

My entire political sentience has been dominated by the Democrats and Republicans yelling at each other and refusing to work together. I know mush of this comes from the other side, particularly since 2008, and I am plenty frustrated with them. But Democrats, particularly in Congress, could be doing much more to reach across the aisle.

As long as our goal is to beat the other side, we achieve nothing. We need to find issues we agree on and work to do something about them. They do exist. The Zadroga Act had no business being a partisan issue. Reform for Wall street is something most Americans support. Cyber security and privacy rights are issues where common ground can be found. These issues, issues that have the potential to bring Democrats and Republicans together, are where we should be focusing our efforts. Because Americans are mad as Hell about the stagnation effect that partisan politics has had on our nation, and they’re not going to take it anymore!

I know that trying to work with the Republicans is frustrating. I get it. I really do. But Democrats have to be the bigger people here and walk across that aisle because if we don’t, this nation is going to fall. If we don’t make every effort to work together to make positive changes, it will be just as much our fault when things fall apart, and everyone will suffer the consequences.

Sincerely,

Nicole Feldman
Registered Democrat

*Section IV: Democratic Party Priorities
1) Please rank the following Democratic Party goals in order of importance. (1 = most important)
__Protecting progress achieved by President Obama
__Pushing President Obama’s new initiatives through GOP opposition
__Keeping a Democrat in the White House
__Winning back control of Congress
__Electing more Democrats to state and local governments
__All of the above are equally important