Hello Green Party.

I am gutted and crushed tonight after I've absorbed this "dead fish" of a health care compromise. I mostly dislike it because there is no competition in this bill and little to no cost cutting. The fact that we didn't even start with single-payer (Medicare for all) as our initial bargaining chip is Obama's fault in my opinion and is partly why we lost this fight. I am ashamed that the Democrats couldn't get a public option let alone medicare for all. I think many of you know that I've been a proud liberal for a long time. I'm only 34 years old but I've voted Democrat since my first election for Bill Clinton. I worked my heart out for Obama and sent in countless dollars to his campaign and other campaigns to elect Democrats. I have never been able to donate much but I've been doing this for the Democrats for years. I am proud of the great history of the Democratic Party but this is no longer the party of FDR and LBJ.

So, it is with a bittersweet, heavy heart that I announce to you that this is one liberal who is turning in his Democratic Party membership card. I'm one of those young people who is disillusioned with the current American political mechanisms. As I ponder things I realize that I've never known a Congress as it use to be for many older Democrats. I'm a child of the 80's -- a "latch key kid" and a Gen Xer refugee. It has made me cynical about our political system and conclude that Congress was a failure and corrupt. However, up until this year I saw it mostly in the Republicans but now I realize that the Democrats in Congress are just as in bed with corporate interests as the Republicans. There are some really great Democrats left in Congress but they are rare and often sidelined (i.e. Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich). It disgusts me too as a historian who takes great pride in our history. Our system is officially broken and the time to build something new is upon us and perhaps this is the great calling of our generation.

If you're tired of carrying water for the Democratic Party only to see them spit back in your face each time they are elected then join in my exodus to the Green Party. I'm done but I'll still be here fighting the good fight for Liberals everywhere. The Political Junkie is here to stay and Handsome B. Wonderful will never abandon the post of true, American liberalism. It's just that no longer will I be an official Democrat. I will continue to support them when they stand for traditional liberal values but when they stray I will bring hell down upon them harder than Great Thor's Hammer. So be it.

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