From my perspective I joined thirty nine years ago, a party I believed in and so gave my loyalty, It was the party of The New Deal, The Great Society and at the time I joined also the party of civil liberty, equal rights and a war against poverty. I saw clearly in 2016 that what it had devolved into was nothing like the party I joined. The question of my loyalty then became murky. My thoughts and vision since have grown clear, "what was, no longer is", and if such ever exists again it likely will not become manifest or reborn anew in the party I once joined so long ago.

Until such a party exists again (if ever) my loyalty now only belongs to my class. Bernie Sanders is rare remnant of the party I joined that died, replaced by a bundle of metastasized greed clusters, a blob of corruption and amorality that stands before us pretending unconvincingly to be our allies, these exclusive servants of the highest bidders. I still support Sanders (Ironically an Independent) that ran for President as, and caucuses with, Democrats only for practical reasons which should be apparent to all as he works within a binary system.

This often lone voice in the political wilderness of perpetual greed and corruption, an independent "Democratic Socialist" still shares this loyalty to my class that the Democrats have long since abandoned, a temporary condition it would appear caused by the infusion for a time of a bit of Socialism (now being filtered out to prepare the host for the vampires of unfettered Capitalism) which supplied lifesaving hope and resources, now being drained, to the struggling masses by FDR, a man who also tamed for a time the carnivore that hunts itself into extinction, when left unchecked, called Capitalism, with strict regulations that this beast requires lest it consumes all including itself in the end.

I support Sanders every way possible. He may have decided to continue to work from within the Democratic caucus. Yet that is his choice, not the only choice, nor one I necessarily agree with, but a choice he has earned with years of service to a class forgotten and forsaken by both parties.

So many in the Democratic party leadership and the party faithful voters have grown complacent and comfortable, unfortunately this place of comfort has made them cold to an unfortunate reality that is daily life for a great many people.

They make many assumptions from ivory towers of middle class or wealth with little awareness it would seem of those that are lower middle class (quickly falling into poverty even though they work harder with multiple McJobs than they did before lower middle class meant poverty). Most Democrats including (especially) Hillary Clinton have helped shape this reality and are dead to me.

As to the poor – they seem completely oblivious to them and convince themselves that welfare reform didn’t harm anybody, I know Hill and Bill believe this, but it did and does to this day I assure you. It was not a "pragmatic" solution to a “welfare queen” problem handled well because a Democrat helped to all but destroy it. It will not be a brave pragmatic solution to “The sponges on society”, the disabled and retired as they will likely label SS beneficiaries, and those receiving food assistance when they collude yet again with Republicans to begin to shred these last vestiges of the New Deal and Great Society.

They cause the poor to become poorer still while so many in the party applaud the politicians responsible. Their applause and support are what make them just as responsible as their political idols.

They think this is a game, or a sport with my team and their team, not realizing or caring that the ball that is tossed around in this sport is a child that only gets to eat at school and will soon lose that food, or the ball is an elderly widow or widower that can only afford to take their medicine every other day (if at all) or maybe will freeze to death in a small flat during a winter they could not pay their gas bill (this happens ALREADY where I live). Or a mentally or physically disabled person expected to somehow work 60 hours a week to survive, not caring that what’s expected of them is impossible.

There are many other balls tossed around for their sport and amusement, too many to list them all here, some are dead or dying, some are living under a tarp in a vacant lot hoping the cops don’t roust them, steal their blankets and food, or the suburban teenagers don’t decide to "slum it" and amuse themselves by assaulting them while laughing and taunting the “bum” for cell phone footage. Some of these comfortable people give advice to the poor, the disabled, the elderly. a while ago in a discussion on a board I was told by a financially comfortable Democrat That the party doesn't talk about the poor because "the poor in fact do ok, besides, they don't vote" and they talk instead about the middle class because all others below that are as invisible to them as ants on the sidewalk. One of these Conservative posters once even suggested dumpster diving as a viable and reasonable option. Some here from a popular non KOS site may remember that even though it was some time ago.

Too many of these comfortable "Democratic champions" applaud policies and politicians that make all these problems worse, they need to get it through their heads, many are dying and more will die of poverty, this is no game and the poor aren’t doing OK, they are doing worse all the time with less help available all the time.

It is not serious, pragmatic, or brave to cause more people to suffer and die in poverty because it is referred to flippantly as “eating peas” or “being adult”. It is not pragmatic even when the ones shipping away the jobs or destroying welfare “feel your pain”. It never was bravery, but cowardice. It is not balanced when an increasing number of people fall into poverty and die while others become wealthier at an exponential rate.

The punditry, politicians, and comfortable may think it is a fun sport full of serious brave adults that make hard decisions.

Cowards all really, making easy decisions, easy because their decisions don’t harm them, but rather the poor they barely acknowledge exist for the profit of the wealthy.

Sometimes they even have the gall to pat themselves on the back and reassure each other “the poor in fact do OK”.

I feel very sincerely about these class and poverty issues, I give my loyalty completely to the forgotten, struggling and increasingly poor working classes that birthed me. You decide if that makes me disloyal to any party or any group that has all but forgotten us save for expected donations for Pyrrhic election victories, because I will fight tooth and nail against any one of them or any elected official, no matter the party, that is harmful to my class, in other words harmful to most of America.

For these reasons and others, my loyalties now lie only with Bernie Sanders (The goals he has sought for decades), politicians that share his views, and the revolution that is necessary if we are to fight and win against overwhelming odds, a fight I take on for my class, the very survival of countless people, and for a better future to leave behind for our younger generations.

It is not about parties anymore, for they have become false choices serving an elite at our expense, perhaps we can form a party that cares for us, perhaps not, but I know one thing. It is about individuals now, individuals in each and every slot in each and every election.

Are they on my side and those of my peers or not? That is how I shall vote. Parties are not people, nor are corporations. people are those being crushed beneath the heels of those that serve the elite that are killing us all softly, slowly, and efficiently; the poor grow in number every day, the disabled have less help every day. But one thing is certain, we are but canaries in a poison mine, first to fall, as shall most in the end – unless you help not only the forgotten, but yourselves in the process. Be forewarned that even the comfortable among you will soon be among us as the elite complete their vision, often with the help of the comfortable that prefer to think we do not exist because we are invisible to most, until that is, they join our ranks as more do every day at an alarming rate.

Yes, let's all talk about the middle class and nothing lower, they are still a visible if endangered species of class, and after all, as a "sage" once remarked, the homeless don't vote.