Posted on 10/29/2004 6:10:26 AM PDT by dirtboy
IN MY 16 years as a city councilman-at-large, I was proud to claim my allegiance to the Democratic Party. It meant you really stood for something. It meant you were a regular guy who stood up for your family, country, friends and neighbors.
It was a noble cause that kept you in touch with real families in middle-class America. With profound faith and a belief in God unsurpassed only by the framers of our Constitution, the Democratic Party was your ticket to the American dream.
But a lot has changed since my days in public office. The Democratic Party of today shows no resemblance to the party I was proud to call my own.
The reality is that the party has been hijacked by left-wing, ultra-liberal, anti-American radicals. What once was a party associated with the blue-collar worker is now the party of blue-blood elitists who use the real working class as pawns to help push their liberal agenda.
My union friends and family claim the Democrats are the party for union workers. The hero of the new Democratic Party is Bill Clinton, the man who signed NAFTA, pushed for China's entrance into the World Trade Organization and made Arkansas a right-to-work state when he was governor. He even had his library built with non-union workers.
He and the Democrats, giving in to the demands of radical environmentalists, strongly oppose drilling for oil in ANWAR, which would produce thousands of union jobs and help reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil. Still think he's pro-union? Don't just listen to his words - watch his actions.
This election has redefined what it means to be a Democrat. Instead of promoting family values, a belief in God and loyalty to your country, the new Democrats are rubber stamps for every left-wing, anti-American special interest group.
The party has placed a litmus test on any potential federal judge appointment: Simply put, if you are Catholic, you need not apply.
Political correctness is the rule of law in this Democratic Party and has trumped the freedom of speech that our forefathers fought so hard to obtain. Speaking your mind as an American was a measure of freedom and strength - now it's considered libel and hate speech, except, of course, if you are a liberal.
Witness the liberal media's hypocritical attack on free speech when Sinclair Broadcasting attempted to show the documentary of the real John Kerry in "Stolen Honor." This film exposes John Kerry for what he really is, a man who turned his back on his fellow soldiers and testified to war crimes that "he and his fellow soldiers committed on a daily basis."
John Kerry said all of this and more while some of his "comrades" were still being tortured in POW camps by the Viet Cong.
Never in my life have I supported such a person - and I won't start now.
John F. Kerry likes to compare himself to JFK. Well John, this is no longer the party of JFK. No longer the party of FDR, no longer the party of Wilson or Truman. It is now the party of the ultra-liberal elite who have taken over under the guise of still being the working-family party.
It is the party of protestors who believe Mumia is innocent, it is the party endorsed by the French, and the party that Yasser Arafat, the very same terrorist who organized the murder of American diplomats in Khartoum in 1973, "prefers."
It is time for "Reagan Democrats" and "Rizzo-crats" and hard-working union families to realize that their democrat party has been hijacked by the left wing radical groups like MoveOn.org, the ACLU, NAMBLA and George Soros.
AVOTE FOR Kerry gives a resounding vote of confidence to the cowardly Muslim terrorists. It is a vote to increase your taxes and a vote for socialist health care.
It is the vote of a pessimist.
The only way to keep our country safe, to protect our children, and to help the family and working man is to stand up for your family and your country.
The best way to ensure that is to vote for George W. Bush. That's what I intend to do come Tuesday.
I ask like-minded Philadelphians to join me.
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Francis W. Rafferty is a former Democratic city councilman-at-large.
CONVERT!
Wish this letter had run in our local paper.
Bump.
Go, Frank, go!
More than a few Dems will be doing this very same thing.
My GOD! This is so persuasive and well-reasoned- I am sending it to all my Dem friends. These friends are confused at this moment- they've struggled to put these very thoughts into words in conversations with me. Zell is correct- it is a national party no more.
We must all pray that there are more Democrat patriots like Rafferty that will vote Republican for the same reasons. Only the delusional think the Democratic party hasn't changed for the worse. It isn't the same party it was in the way back...it's been taken over by a bunch of crazy liberal ex-hippies trying to get what they wanted back in the 1970's. John Kerry makes even Bill Clinton look like a statesman in comparison!
This endorsement and the insight of the Pittsburgh press on the other side of PA have it right. The public sees through the RAT lies, and understands what is important...PA will go for the President and the Culture of Life!
I heard Franny Rafferty on the Michael Smirconish radio show this AM in Phila.
Smirconish read this entire article and then had Rafferty on taking calls. Rafferty said that there are many 'Rizzocrats' and 'Reagan Democrats' from his S. Phila neighboorhood, and throughout Philadelphia, that will be voting for Bush!
I never know what to even think when I hear leftists refer to their love of our Constitution, except maybe to wonder if they've gotten it mixed up with the French constitution, that is, if France actually has one.
I think old-school working-class Dems had a better understanding of the Constitution than many current Republicans. Guns. Church. Freedom of Association.
ping
LOL ... Go Franny
Hey .. check out what Franny has to say ... OUCH!
Rafferty was one of our City Councilman here in Philly from 1979 to 1991 (back when Casey was Governor and busy resisting Clintoon abortion mandates as unconstitutional).
ping
REALLY??? .. WOW
That's punch in the face to John Street :-)
I heard it too.
Franny is the guy who punched John Street (current mayor) when they were both on Philly city council!
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