Thursday, June 5, 2008

Painful Primary

I think SuzanneW says it best over at HRC:

I am 44 years old, and was never much interested in politics. So, you know, when all this primary stuff started a year ago, I really didn’t have much interest in any of the candidates specifically, only “let’s get anyone else in there other than Bush”. But, I started watching the debates and reading up on all the candidates. In a perfect, ideal world, we wouldn’t be voting for a person because of their “Party” and friends, we would be voting for that individual who has a track record of crossing those very lines and trying to get the important things we all want in life: health, wealth, harmony and happiness, regardless of, gasp, party affiliation. Quite quickly, I realized Senator Clinton was head and shoulders above Obama and the others, on every issue, on judgment, character and certainly experience. She frankly blew me away with her command of the issues. I found myself picking the person that has a track record of what I am looking for. That person is Senator Clinton. She has worked hard and diligently for all Americans, and spent years (35) building strong relationships because she has a passionate vision of what America can be. She became MY candidate. “Hill-R-We”, became my mantra.

When I read that the "party leaders were tired" of the Clinton campaign bringing up the FL & MI votes for the past few weeks, I thought: well, E-X-C-U-S-E ME! I am tired of not having a say in a Presidential election, I am tired of not having my vote count, I am tired of no insurance, I am tired of little business in a struggling economy, and I am REALLY tired of some out-of-touch, well-paid, Washington fatcats deciding they know more than their constituents! The straw that broke this voter’s back was the way the DNC mishandled the FL and MI votes. That is NOT democracy, NOT the values of the Democratic Party and certainly NOT my values! The media has mounted the most biased, blatant one-sided campaign for Obama that frankly reeks of more than just voter suppression. What happened to journalistic integrity? What happened to objective reporting and let the voters decide? The misogynistic, gender bias that exists in this country is deplorable (from pundits, party leaders, the media) and if Senator Clinton gives in to the DNC and “follows the lead” they want her to take with Obama even after she is winning the popular vote, it would send a message that it is Ok to trash talk a leading woman politician, to belittle her accomplishments as if she were “just someone’s wife”, and this would send a message to every man out there to pile it on, to ignore and expect every woman to “get in line” like a good girl, for the betterment of society. Even if that very woman is the most accomplished candidate out there, or the most qualified professional for the job. What kind of message is that to send to our mothers, sisters, daughters, and sons?

This primary race has revealed a very flawed, twisted system and I for one will happily go back to my long-term Independent status soon, if Senator Clinton is not the nominee. I would love nothing more than for Hillary to run as an Independent candidate with 18+ million supporters strong. The Democratic Party is gone in my eyes. They have turned their back on the voters, on Senator Clinton, and on all that is good in this country. Manipulating the media, the voters, and the very “democratic” process itself has exposed our system as nothing better than any other country with flawed elections, tampering and propaganda. Shame on America, Shame on the Democrats.



18.000,000 of us don't seem to matter....

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Admitting the Inevitable

Hillary may be the change we have been looking for.....but unfortunately an equally-talented black man is running against her with 92% of the African American vote and almost 100% of the under 35 behind him. My heart is broken that I may not see a woman in the white house in my lifetime.

What a terrible crossroads - two historic candidates, with tremendous support. I love Hillary, I met her and she is so dynamic and charismatic it is overwhelming. And yet she still has the time to look into your eyes and make you feel as if no one else in the room existed. I know in my soul she is THE ONE. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama has even more supporters. None of us are bad people, no matter what some of these gutless, faceless bloggers write. Unless Obama gets hit by a bus, he will be the nominee, no matter how many mathematical permutation hoops we jump through. Granted, the media has a lot to do with painting a picture of him as the new Messiah.

The writing is on the wall -- we must have an Obama-Clinton ticket in the fall. I don't care if they or their supporters hate each other. Lots of us have to work with people we don't like. They'll get over it, a la Kennedy and Johnson, et al. Their platforms are also identical, and just think of what our party could achieve with these strong candidates.

It's time to stop the harmful rhetoric, and focus on the real satan in the campaign, Mr. World War III himself, John "Teflon" McCain.