Party rhetoric disingenuous

Richard Taylor

Reading the recent caustic comments by Frank Barbaro, the head of the

Democratic Party in Orange County, as well as vice-presidential

candidate John Edward’s referring to Newport Beach as the “other

America” for the wealthy, gave me pause for some serious reflection

(“A candidate comes to town,” Sunday).

Pandering for big-donor dollars at the Balboa Bay Club, they both

besmirch the very affluence that allows them to live and campaign in

the lap of luxury. Barbaro, a highly successful trial lawyer, lives

in a large home in Laguna Beach. Edwards, also a rich trial lawyer,

lives equally resplendent in Carolina. I’d say these two gentlemen

know plenty about the “other America.”

As a Democrat, I walked the precincts in Newport Beach and helped

organize voters when Bill Clinton ran for president. While

frantically pounding signs into the ground and pleading for votes for

the Democratic ticket in Newport Beach, I couldn’t help but lament

that top Democratic leaders in Orange County, steeped in wealth and

living in austere private communities, seemed so out of touch with

the rank-and-file Democrats that they purported to represent.

Don’t get me wrong, being successful in life and becoming wealthy

is a cornerstone of the great American Dream. But when I hear top

Democratic leaders -- especially extremely wealthy leaders, ascribe

to that tired, old class-warfare rhetoric, which the Democratic party

is so fond of trotting out, especially while they are standing in the

Balboa Bay Club, with their personal millions and their limousines

and their special privileges -- lecturing to us about the “the other

America,” well, they are being plain disingenuous.

I am not a Republican, but a lifelong Democrat. I have worked

countless hours in the field and door-to-door for various Democratic

candidates, including both Clinton campaigns. Also, being a member of

the same trial lawyers association, which touts Kerry/Edwards as the

guardian of the oppressed, one would think that I would cast my lot

with the party line; I think not.

The Democratic Party’s lurch to the left I was able to dismiss as

a tactical error. But a far larger issue than class warfare rhetoric

was Sept. 11, an event that changed my perspective on party politics

completely. As I look at the presidential candidates, I see one man

who is pursuing a war on terrorism, seeking to find, and yes,

destroy, those who would attack our country.

The other candidate seeks to offer only apologies for our

protecting our interests. He seeks international redemption as a

priority over domestic security. Like Neville Chamberlain, he seeks

“peace in our time,” if only to mollify the international critics,

even as cadres of professionally trained terrorists hold European

nations hostage and increasingly attempt to alienate America and her

allies.

The decision, for me, is a simple one. Two men, two parties and

two profoundly different visions of America’s future.

* RICHARD F. TAYLOR is a resident of Newport Beach.