I remember the day they left me.

I grew up in a very Catholic and very Democratic household. My grandparents were farmers in Michigan. My grandfather had worked for General Motors in Flint and was a proud UAW member haven taken part in the infamous sit down strikes back in the 1930s. We had pictures of Pope Paul and Pope John on our walls along with pictures of President Kennedy and his wife. And that’s how I grew up.

I remember cheering for Hubert Humphrey, listening to President Johnson, and crying for Bobbie Kennedy. The roots of the Democratic party ran deep in my family and consequently were a big part of my own upbringing. I grew up a Democrat, and I stayed in the Democratic party for years as an adult, even voting against President Regan – twice! To me that was the party that represented hope, charity and even dignity and grace.

That all changed for me when Bill Clinton was nominated for the party as the pro-choice candidate. I remember watching the t.v. and thinking to myself that if he would just pick a pro-life VP, I could still vote for the ticket. But of course he didn’t – he picked Al Gore and I remember the party platform was very strong on upholding and supporting “abortion rights.”

This was not my grandpa’s party any more.

But something else has happened in my experience over the last 15 years or so. When I thought of Democrats I thought of the gracious and ladylike Jackie Kennedy, whom I still admire for her views on motherhood.

Democratic women aren’t like that at all any more. Voice a concern or a dissenting word on a liberal blog or web site these days and watch all the creative ad hominems and cussing come about. It’s not a gracious party any more. It’s vicious, angry, loud, scary.

This weekend I have been watching in disbelieving revulsion as the Daily Kos ( a well known liberal Democratic blog) has been doing nonstop smearing and hate mongoring for not only Sarah Palin, the Republican VP candidate, but also her family, particularly Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol. And it didn’t matter that they didn’t have any proof or any witnesses, they openly started the rumor mill and the innuendo and openly called Governor Palin a liar. Today they got caught in their lies (although Bristol Palin had to sacrifice her privacy to do so) but I have yet to seen an apology over on the Daily Kos.

And so for me, the old saying, “You can never go home again” is absolutely true. The Democratic party that my grandparents and my mother were so proud to be a part of does not exist any more. It has become something that they wouldn’t even recognize. Something that I’m sure great Democrats of the past like Truman, Humphrey, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson and even Jackie Kennedy would be ashamed of.

But in case I ever had any doubt that maybe that door was open even a crack, a few hours of reading the Daily Kos erased that notion for good. The old Democratic Party doesn’t exist.

Please browse my eBay items!
Visit my new Amazon Store!