It’s a matter of decency, stupid!

If the liberal party cannot watch its barbed tongue, the party can never recover the votes of centrists.

The tongue of some hard-line Democratic Party (DP) members has gone too far. They have shown disrespect for not just old, young, and women voters but also the entire voting population. While explaining a proposal to change the electoral map, Rep. Huh Young said that people need not understand the complex system of assigning proportional seats for the legislature. “Voters do not come to poll stations with a full understanding of the system,” he said.

The comment underscores a reckless disregard for the intelligence of the voters. It is nothing but a confession of the elitism that lawmakers have over the people. The proportional representation system, which is central to the Election Act, has become muddled out of political interests. Apart from election experts, few can understand it. The fact that the lawmaker also admitted to the complexity only proves the provision in the law must be fixed.

The jibe at the Yoon Suk Yeol administration by former DP lawmaker Choi Kang-wook — who said, “Even on the ‘Animal Farm’ story, bitches have not roamed around so much” — cannot be pardoned by any means. He might have just targeted the first lady, but it nevertheless reflects his contempt for women. Choi had lost his seat after being found guilty of issuing a false internship certificate for the son of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk. He was also suspended from his party membership for six months for a sexually abusive comment toward one of his women assistants. Obviously, he had not learned any lessons from the past.

Despite outcries against his repulsive comment, Choi wrote “It’s Democracy, stupid!” on Facebook. Even the DP leadership has given up. DP leader Lee Jae-myung vowed to take “strong actions with no tolerance,” and the party’s secretary general Cho Jeong-sik said he had given a “stern warning” to him. After no easing in the controversy, the DP decided to suspend Choi for another six months. The women’s division of the party belatedly demanded Choi make a “sincere apology” out of the fear that an upset by women voters this time could affect the April election.

The DP has been dropping a barrage of remarks and behaviors disrespectful of the people, from the demeaning comments toward older adults by its former innovation committee chair Kim Eun-kyung to a banner disparaging youths. From the track record, the problem cannot be attributed to just a few controversial members. Actually, the entire party has become blinded by immediate political gains and lost its identity of defending liberal values for common people, the middle class and women’s rights. The suspension of Choi cannot win back public confidence. If the liberal party cannot watch its barbed tongue, the party can never recover the votes of centrists.