The path to Democratic Party Unity has one track.  It leads to serious party reform to try to undo as much of the Party destruction that has happened the last year as the leadership plowed further and further away from the basic Party values.  And the rest is clear in this open letter to Hillary written by an Independent, just the sort of Independent the Democratic Party needs to attract and have "unity" with. She titled it:

                   On to Denver!!!!

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?

Ben Smith at Politico reports that FL Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has suggested that Congressional supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton should write a joint letter to Senator Obama arm-twisting him to put her on a joint ticket as Vice President. Writes Ben Smith:

Members of Congress who support Clinton are weighing a joint letter to Senator Barack Obama pressing him to put Clinton on the ticket, a congressional aide confirmed.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida has suggested the letter, which would aim to represent the voices of female members of congress and those from swing states and key demographic groups.

This only hours after the Democratic Party nominee emerged, with barely enough time to contemplate the historic threshold that he just crossed.

Tonight, Obama will speak as the nominee. Mark the moment.

Remember that first time as a kid when you had that stupid smile that stretched from ear-to-ear, and made your face feel painfully tight?

Congratulations.

You did it.  You came from out of nowhere to build a tremendous coalition of all colors, all ages, all religions.

And you won.

I'll admit it -- I'm a little sad today.  That dream I've had for the past eight months, the dream of finally, finally hearing those glorious words -- Madame President -- is dead.

I knew this was coming.  I acknowledged, two months ago, that Obama would be the nominee.  I have said, since then, that I will vote for him.  I have condemned those Clinton "supporters" who say they will support McCain.  They do not represent me; they do not represent their candidate.  Clinton has made it clear that she will work to elect a Democrat to the White House in November.  Anyone who claims to be a Clinton supporter must follow her lead and do the same.

It's hard, though.  It's hard to accept that the dream is dead.  It's hard to know this is another lost battle in a seemingly endless war to achieve true gender equality.  We're not there yet; we're far from it.  We have so much work to do.  Women comprise only 16% of Congress.  We have a long, long way to go.

But today is about something else.

It's about a different dream.  An important dream.  The dream of Frederick Douglass; the dream of Harriet Tubman; the dream of Martin Luther King; and yes, the dream of a boy named Barack Obama.

Today, we are one step closer to realizing those dreams.  And for that, I am proud.  Very, very proud.

We still have a long fight ahead.  Miles to go.  There is work to be done within our own party.  This primary season has demonstrated the demons we have, even within the Democratic Party.  

And we have not won the White House yet.  We know the Republicans will not hand it over without a fight.

But we are one battle closer today.

There are some who are still frustrated and angry.  They insist upon laying blame and calling names.  Today, more than any other day, we should ignore them.  They are not part of the solution.  

Congratulations, Senator Obama.  Congratulations to his supporters.

And congratulations, America.

Sorry to have to do such a short diary. I'd intended, and probably still will, write a longer piece on unity and such, but I just found this. And I want anyone, no matter the side, who says they'll stomp their feet and won't vote for the nominee if their candidate doesn't get the nod to look at this.

Look at this EVERY TIME you say that. Then, come back and tell us you still won't vote for the nominee.

This is the sixth in our series of profiles of Barack Obama's most likely vice presidential candidates.  We will be profiling Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell later this evening.  Our previous profiles can be viewed here.

No introduction necessary.  John Edwards has had an overwhelming impact on this primary season, dragging the two top contenders left-ward on everything from health care to labor to poverty awareness.  Without his presence, Obama and Clinton would currently be offering very different platforms.  Given the magnitude of his influence on the primaries, and his continued popularity among party activists, many believe John Edwards would make an excellent addition to an Obama ticket.

There's more below the fold...

We should explain to Russert and Matthews and George and Wolf and Keith and Gloria and David and Alex and Suzanne and Paul and Rachel and Sean and Bill and George and Candy and Tom and Brian and Shepherd and Contessa and Lawrence and Nora and John and Chuck and Ben and Roland and Donna and all of the rest of the people on TV who will be teaching America over the next three days what's happening and what it means! They need to be hearing how we feel about their dismissal of our votes and their misrepresentations about our process (some from Donna Brazile, Howard Dean and Paul Begalia.)  We need to change their ridiculous, stale and uninformed talking heads' talking points.  They reach  some of the voters we need to win. Don't let them turn those voters off with this misinformation campaign. (Their chatter was so out of date last week that nobody even seem to notice the startling data in the exit polls; they just dismissed West Virginians as insignificant, old, undereducated, poor  as though they were dismissable to Democrats and as though that was who the data said were voting! Embarrassing for them and important for the party not to associate with or condone that behavior.

The RULZ of nominations are that as long as there are two or more candidates, the nominee is declared after the official convention vote of the people elligible.

To win, the candidate needs one half, plus one,votes of the delegates credentialled and seated at the convention, cast by secret ballot, reported in live outcry by the state delegation, counted, recorded and confirmed by the Secretary of the Party in the presence of the entire convention delegation. THEN the magic number of majority is applied and the convention knows its' nominee.  If no one reaches the majority, the vote is called on the Second Ballot, and on till somebody reaches the majority vote, counted and confirmed. THEN we have a nominee.
 

For just a wee, brief moment on late Tuesday night early Weds morning this website was over-run with a valuable commodity that has been sorely lacking at this site--a realistic portrait of the state of the Democratic race. Todd and Jerome both posted front page stories that indicated a nuanced sense of the race, that acknowleged that Obama was the presumptive nominee and that had thoughtful analyses about why this was and what to do moving forward.

Since that brief window, we have seen some major regression on this front and a drift back to the land of "she can still pull it off, the race is still fluid" absurdity. How long are you guys going to allow this site to be so far outside the drift of reality based politics. We are counting on you to become leaders in the coming fight against McCain. Please provide us with more of the kinds of reality based blogging you posted ever so briefly this week.

I say this not to be inflammatory but to point out the value in what I am advocating. Todd's post on Tuesday night provoked some of the most thoughtful exchanges between Obama and Clinton supporters that I have seen on line. This kind of "airing the laundry" is exactly what we are all going to need to repair the rifts that have developed.

So, consider this an open plea for well rounded, realistic discussion of the state of the race. Continuing to hype Clinton's chances in the face of all evidence is not serving anybody but the people who are invested in holding their grudges.

Thanks in advance.

Here's the link to Todd's thread Tuesday night and subsequent valuable discussion....http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/5/7/53225/37686#commenttop