Let me start by welcoming both those who are returning to Clemson and all of you freshman that are experiencing the greatness of this campus for the first time. You will love it here, I guarantee it. Even if you don’t have a great time at first, give it some time and this place will become your true home. 

Today, I am not coming to you to talk about Donald Trump or even Hillary Clinton. Today I come to you to talk about a party, the Democratic Party. 

I’m looking for it.

It seems to have gone missing for quite some time and I want it to come back, back to reality, and back to a country that is in dire need of it. What has happened to the Asses? You see there was a time long ago where moderation was acceptable in politics. I heard Senator Feinstein (D-CA) say recently on Face the Nation that “moderation has fallen out of style.” She could not be any more correct. 

I am a Republican from a long line of Democrats. My grandparents on both sides are hardcore blue voters and my dad is a registered Republican who has voted for Obama twice. See, this is where my problem with democrats begins: it is generational. A millennial democrat now is radically different from Democrats of my grandparent’s generation. 

They believe in hard work: my granddad grew up in the mountains of North Alabama where they had to work for everything they had; anything that was caught or killed was eaten, anything that was broken they fixed themselves. They do not line up with this radical left movement amongst Democrats my age. My grandparents are Reagan Democrats. Moderates who believe people who come up with little to nothing need a little help from the government during the hardest of times, but they do not believe in abusing the system. I can get behind Democrats like that, and honestly if there was someone like that running against Trump, they would get my vote.

They have enough common sense to know that socialism is not the answer for a country founded on democracy. Unlike Democrats today, they respect the second amendment and realize that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. My granddad is the one responsible for handing down his passion for hunting and the outdoors to me, and yes he is a Democrat, but he is not a left wing radical. 

Do people who come up with nothing need help from the government? Yes. But are there people who couldn’t pass a drug test and abuse the system? Yes. My whole point is this: what happened to the normal American Democrat? What happened to young people for free speech? Where are democrats that will let the opposing side have a voice? What happened to Democrats who believe in the rights of the unborn? Tim Kaine does but he knows that if he stood up against any abortion laws there is no way he would have had such a successful career, his constituency would not have it. Imagine the ensuing chaos if a Democrat said that we needed to halt immigration until we get a safer and more secure vetting system. 

Therein lies the problem, the vast majority of Democrats today will only vote for a left wing radical. Imagine if CNN gave Tim Kaine an interview and he told them that he would attempt to protect the right to life as the vice president. People like Rachel Maddow would faint. Imagine if another high profile Democrat stood up and said “ yeah, the AR-15 is a sweet shootin’ gun.” Imagine the response from the party that has been driven so far left. The Democratic Party is like one big NASCAR race: it only goes left. 

And don’t get me wrong; this is true on the right as well. Imagine a pro-choice, high tax supporting pro-immigration republican. Guess how many votes they would get? Zero. Just think about the flak that Marco Rubio received during the primary season from Ted Cruz and others in the early debates for his role as a member of the “gang of eight” who wrote the comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill. It was a bipartisan bill, and he took blows for working with democrats like Chuck Schumar and Michael Bennet. At least he worked with the other side of the aisle. 

So let’s take a look at ourselves, and our views. Maybe moderation is hiding there.