Brad Kent: Why I Am A Democrat

It may come as a surprise to some that not so long ago, I was conflicted about which party to support. My father is a Republican — and a great guy! — and although I firmly sided with Al Gore in the 2000 general election, I voted for John McCain in that year's Republican primary. (Please excuse the transgression — I was 19!)

So what decided the issue for me? Working with and for Democrats certainly brought me most of the way home. Congressman Mark Schauer has been a major influence. But more importantly,

I began to see that the Republicans’ rhetoric of “personal responsibility” doesn’t ring true, and our Democratic answer to it has served as my most important moral compass.

As you all know, sometimes people fall on hard times. Whether or not a person is at fault for his or her own predicament, I reject the Republican creed that if society accepts the responsibility of helping the less well off that they will surely become dependent upon it. In fact I know the opposite, that a helping hand — free of judgment — is often just what’s needed for a person to achieve real independence.

Fortunately for us all, this is not only the best policy morally but also economically. When we allow the rich to get richer and the poorest among us to whither, our economy grows more slowly. When opportunities for education and job are realized proportionately, we all benefit from higher productivity. This is the wisdom of the Democratic position: by sharing generously with those in need, we are all enriched.

In the end this is why I am a Democrat. There are people in our country and across the world who need help in order to be the best they can be. I see it as MY “personal responsibility” to offer them a helping hand.

Brad Kent
Chair, 6th Congressional Disrict Democrats
Trustee, KCDP