Sorry it has been a while since I have thrown anything up for the vultures folks (not that you missed my diatribes), I have been absolutely inundated with school and work and school and work.... I digress.
I started supporting Hillary Clinton because I found her to be the most perfect example of a human being in this race. No, I do not hold her in any sort of light that might wash away her imperfections, but rather a more natural light, with all her scars and lines shown glowingly and gloriously to the world. I saw a mother who raised a beautiful child, I saw a woman who took on the patriarchy and gave hope to my feminism. I saw a woman with the strength to stand up against the acidity of the VRWC and hold her head without even flinching.
A great deal about this campaign has been ugly; it has been rapt with gotcha this and gotcha that- so, so much of it targeted at Hillary Clinton. I still feel a tremendous amount of disgust as I recall some of the more virulent comments and diagnoses, particularly as they came from the so called progressive netroots. I will be forever amazed that any Democrat thought it logical or the right thing to do to question the sincerity of Hillary Clinton's emotions. Forever amazed.
Hillary Clinton has shown me something that I don't think I could ever achieve. She not only possesses the gift of grace, but the greatest amount of humility and perseverance I have ever witnessed in a politician. I cannot imagine facing what this woman has faced. Despite it all, Hillary has risen above and kept on fighting.
So please, my fellow Clinton supporters, rise above. Do not play the game. Do not engage in the gotcha politics. I think Hillary Clinton would expect better of us. We are not the crowd that boos other candidates at rallies (except in PR, apparently...), we are not the crowd that would make political hay out of human tragedy.
I am a Hillary Clinton supporter and I will be until she says otherwise- I will support the nominee of the Democratic party in November, but I will never emulate the half of this party that sometimes makes me ashamed to call myself a Democrat. That's all I have to say about that.
That's right- they matter. They will put Hillary over the top in the popular vote if we give her the help that she needs and if we don't give up on her. She isn't going anywhere and neither should we. This is not over until Puerto Rico sings and every last super delegate has had their say- this last bit happens in August, btw!
Right now, if you include Florida and exclude MI and the undemocratic estimates from caucus states, then Hillary is just behind in the popular vote by slightly over 440,000 votes. That's right, just 440,000 votes out of a total of over 40,000,000 million that we should expect from this primary. That's 1%- just 1%. If we include MI and the undemocratic caucus votes, then her chances are even better of capturing the popular vote total. She won't get to the magic number in pledged delegates alone, but you know what? Neither will Obama.
Hillary's big upcoming wins in KY and WV WILL change the narrative- if only to cast more doubt on Obama's electability. To be quite frank, that's probably the only narrative that SDs are concerned about anymore- it is the electability, stupid.
If the polling out of KY and WV holds, then Hillary can get very close to those 440,000 votes in just those two states alone- we need to GOTV and GOTV in a big way. OR will be closer, SD and MT will be closer and then Hillary will finish it all off with a big win in PR. Remember folks, in politics, a week is a year. The narrative will be Hillary's starting Tuesday and we need to help her out.
We need to start, by not giving up on her. Yes, the odds are against her, but she knows, as do we that she is the best candidate to take on the GOP in the fall and she would be the better POTUS.
So, let's get to work:
Especially when the reaction to deep seeded statement of belief is meant to open rather than close wounds.
Chances are that Obama will win this primary- those are the odds. But no matter how much you want it to be the opposite, those are just odds. Hillary Clinton is still in this race and she is in it to win it, hell, its half the reasoning behind much of the support she has- at least its half the reason I support her.
Throughout this primary, there have been so many accusations against Hillary Clinton, so many that I have lost count and I stopped updating my list a while ago. Hillary Clinton has been called, among other things, a racist, unethical and petty (those are just the generalizations, if you are reading this, you know to what I refer). Now, if you were a Hillary supporter, how would you take this sort of criticism of your candidate? How would you react? What sort of strong opinions would you hold about the media or about the opposition?
Obama and the Obama campaign HAS had a free pass on many things, in the mind of the Clinton supporter (yep, most certainly in the mind of this Clinton supporter too). It seems the mission of many Obama supporters as of late is just to rub it in- denying the obvious, such as the insane amount of Hillary hate that has dominated this campaign, for instance.
At this point in time, as an Obama supporter, your goal should be to win over hearts and minds, not to rub in a very fresh and sore wound. If you are unable to bring yourself to do so, then your goal should be to be quite. If you truly believe that Obama has won this thing, then you have nothing to worry about and your silence will serve you far more than your voice at this point in time. If you must use your voice, go on the attack against McCain, this place and many blogs have been quite devoid of McCain and it's about time we get to it (this last bit is for everyone, myself included).
For me, as I have stated before, I will probably never forgive Obama for the race-baiting that his campaign engaged in- actually, I know that I will never personally forgive him for it. However, I have already politically forgiven him. I will most certainly vote for him in November if he is the nominee, I can think of no other alternative. I, like you, and 99.9% of all real Hillary supporters on this site, am a Democrat to the bone. You don't need to worry about convincing me to carry water for your guy if he wins the nomination, it was and should never have been about that.
So, when you are about ready to lambast the Hillary supporters around here with your knowledge and oh so gracious `winning' attitude, please refrain. In the end, no matter who wins the nomination, it will most certainly do more harm than good- if all it does is prolong the infighting.
Here is a list of things you will never change my mind on, so, your efforts are futile:
Obama engaged in race-baiting during this campaign. Hillary Clinton did not.
The media has been extremely biased in Obama's favor, it won't last if Obama gets the nomination (although I would love to be proven wrong on this one. No, NOT BY YOU, but by the media).
Obama tossed queers under a bus and never apologized for it.
Hillary Clinton is not racist, either is Obama for that matter.
I don't buy into the `change and hope' thing, never will. Never needed hope or a desire to change- I have both in spades. THIS IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE A REASON I VOTE FOR OBAMA. So, please, stop telling me to `get hope.'
This race is not over until Hillary Clinton drops out. Neither candidate will meet the magic number with pledge delegates alone. Supers do not vote until the convention. End of story.
Hillary Clinton would be a far better general election candidate than Obama.
Hillary Clinton would be a far better POTUS than Obama.
If Obama is the nominee, I will vote for him- no matter how hard Obama supporters try to change my mind.
Now do I have any faith or remote belief that any Obama supporter will heed this advice? None whatsoever, but like my candidate, I am not afraid to try.
Update [2008-5-11 16:28:26 by linc]: Just sos yous knows, this diary is in no way, shape or form a redaction of my support for Hillary. I have and will be making calls into WV and KY and OR. She is in it to win it and so am I- thems the facts.
This will be short- I am resolved and resolution always leaves me with fewer words.
It is to the floor, if need be. I will not stop supporting Hillary Clinton in her candidacy for POTUS until every last vote is counted and every last state has had its say.
Hillary Clinton will, barring an unusual turn of events, have the popular vote lead when all contests are said and done. This should be what matters to every single person that dares call themselves a Democrat- its about the will of the people, not just the people we want to count.
I do not give a s*** what the corporate, sexist media has to say about this matter.
I do not give a s*** what Obama has to say about it- his undemocratic and arrogant stylings are really getting on my last never, to be completely honest.
I could care this much what John Kerry, the guy that lost the last election, has to say about the matter.
I care about this party, I care about winning in November. I know in my heart of hearts that the only way in which this can be done is if we have a candidate with strength and passion, a candidate that isn't just words and opportunity.
So, I said it and I mean it. Right now, I mean it about 100 bucks:
YOUR CONTRIBUTION RECEIPT:
DATE: May 8, 2008 10:35 PM EDT
NAME: Linc
ADDRESS: A Street in Denver...
Denver, CO 80218
AMOUNT: $100.00
That was Jimmy Carter when asked whether or not he would, as a Super Delegate, support the candidate he voted for in Georgia's primary. His comment speaks volumes about the current state of the race; whether genuine or not, Carter summed up what is currently happening in the Democratic Primary race. Call it buyers' remorse, call it disenchantment, call it whatever you please, but it is obvious that the media, the punditry, and the voters are swiftly changing their minds.
We are starting to see the effects of this shift taking place, just as a reminder:
Now I know that Obama's campaign is drip drip dripping their endorsements out to make it seem like there is some sort of momentum behind his campaign- but its just a strategy- it is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. If Obama had the Super Delegates at this point, this race would be over. Supers are waiting for something.
Generally, I prefer to delve into some sort of introspective dialog of Linc past and present, but I will spare you today.
Instead I will beseech:
Write to your Super Delegates, your congress critters, your party leaders. Politely implore them to support Senator Clinton. You know the key points and you know, taking direction from Hillary, how to be gracious. We need a sustained campaign of contact with every. Single. Super. Delegate.Yes, include those that currently support Senator Obama. The theme is electability- we need... no we MUST win in November and Obama just isn't going to do it for us. In simpler terms, it's the electability, stupid.
Write to them- convince them that we need a candidate who will win in November. Jimmy Carter said it best- its `unless I change my mind'. Well, let's help our Supers out.
I will be writing to the Colorado Supers that have endorsed Obama or haven't endorsed at all. I will keep everyone updated on the dialog.
And since I have finally figured out how to post video in diaries (thank you Nobama, I think...), here is Easley's new ad for Hillary in NC! Its good.
You know that feeling you get, while watching a particularly awkward moment in a particularly enthralling film; a film where your willing suspension of disbelief is on max and you have developed a real understanding of the characters? You sort of cringe and pretend not to watch- feeling absolutely embarrassed for the character being destroyed emotionally by their foe.
Well, that's how I felt about Bill O'Reilly after watching Hillary completely destroy him with every word, at every turn. I know, I can't believe that I am writing this either. Hillary was absolutely amazing- so amazing that I actually had a touch, a very, very brief touch, of empathy for Bill O'Reilly. I know, I am probably going to regret writing this at some point ;) To state the absolute obvious, he deserves everything he got.
Aside from my own embarrassing empathy for O'Reilly, Hillary had some amazing points and a couple perfect lines that I think deserve further exploration- and a second laugh!
The tax code: for pete's sake BO, you sound like a complete and utterly selfish pig- thank you Hillary for pointing it out so succinctly to BO's audience! After BO had gone on ad nauseam about how Hillary was going to steal his money, she quite succinctly let him have it.
Concerning a return to the tax rates of the 1990s, she puts him in his place:
As I recall, you did pretty well in the 90s.
Ouch BO, ouch. To the point- it pretty much shut him up save some of his usual mumblings and harrumphs.
The harrumphing continued for a bit, something like this:
BO: that's socialism!
HC: Umm... was Teddy Rosevelt a socialitist then?
BO: Yes, yes I think he was! Indeed, Teddy Rosevelt was a commie!
Oh boy...
But then she said something very important- concerning the historical context of taxation in the United States. After BO had gone on for far too long about the wonders of the economy in the 60s and 70s, Hillary let him have it- with a bit of comparative example:
Well then, why don't we go back to what we had in the 50s and 60s then...[which was, btw, well above 50% for the top earners]
That's Hillary, always thinking ahead and looking towards the future. During this entire exchange Hillary wasn't speaking to BO, she was speaking to those Faux News viewers that are considering our ticket this fall. She wasn't worried about this primary; she was running for the end goal- appealing to those folks that appreciate our history and think it made or makes sense. This is why she is going to be the next POTUS- this is why we need her at the top of our ticket- she wants to win and she knows how to do it and she knows who do speak to about getting there.
And of course, she has given me something else to giggle about for the next week- it was a beauty- sarcasm ripe:
BO: Are you surprised that Fox news has been fair to you [than the other guys]?
HC: I wouldn't expect anything less than a fair and balanced coverage of my campaign.
We need to push Hillary's April fundraising over the top. If you have donated before, you already know that Hillary is asking us to pony up a few bucks so that new donors can be matched.
I pledged 50 today, and if I can get 10 people to pony up at least five bucks each, I will pledge another 50. I know not a whole lot, but I am not made of money ;)
Here is the letter from Hillary's campaign:
After being outspent and counted out, we are on the path to victory thanks to the voters of Pennsylvania and your steadfast support. Now as we approach the end of April and an important deadline, you and I have the chance to do something remarkable together.
Every day, I see the effects that your support has on our campaign. When I visit one of our offices in the field and see a full phone bank buzzing with activity, I know you make it possible. When I review our latest ads, I know you are putting our message on the air. And when I celebrate a victory like the one we had in Pennsylvania, I know we are celebrating together.
We can keep celebrating victories all the way through November. Our next step on the road to the nomination is a big show of strength when we report our April fundraising numbers. Because of your incredible efforts last week, we are in position to make sure every voter has the right to be heard in this race.
I have a special favor to ask you. With all this momentum, we want to engage as many people as possible and today, encourage more people to give to this campaign -- because we can't win without the support of you and hundreds of thousands like you.
So we are asking our most active supporters -- including you -- to match a single online contribution from someone who has not made a contribution before. Your gift will encourage someone to make a commitment to contribute to the campaign, which means that any gift you make before the midnight Wednesday deadline will go twice as far toward helping us win.
This is going to be big. Because you're matching the gift of a new contributor, your $25 gift is worth $50. Your $50 gift is worth $100. There's never been a better time to jump in and help move our campaign forward.
Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do, at least for me. I hold a grudge, but I also only hold a grudge for those things that a truly hurtful. For me, that means saying/promoting things about my character that are absolutely not true. What irks me more is when those saying as much, know their allegations to be false.
I have been supporting my girl Hillary, in a `hardcore' sense since about the first week of January or so. She has always been a strong woman in my mind, but the grace and dignity with which she has weathered this campaign... it is amazing.
It was about then that race-baiting allegations began to fly- from everywhere and everyone, based on nothing by slight association and Hillary's audacity to speak honestly about the shared purpose of MLK and LBJ, their will and their dreams. The conspiracy theorists were out in force- my personal favorite, was the early march climax, where bloggers were posting wonderful things such as:
I cannot even begin to describe the disgust that I felt when I saw as much coming from the progressive blogosphere, especially because I knew that every single blogger or pundit with any brains at all, knew it not to be true.
Ask yourselves:
What candidate, running in THIS Democratic Primary, would serve to benefit from race-baiting against their opponent?
Any good political analyst, a great many bloggers included, would certainly know the answer to the above question. They would know that it would be political suicide for Hillary Clinton, in THIS campaign, in THIS age, in THIS environment to race-bait the best black political candidate this country has ever seen on the national stage.
We know the outcome- it certainly wasn't Hillary Clinton who benefited. With Hillary Clinton's campaign effectively labeled as a race-baiting one, Obama solidified his support amongst the uber PC liberal crowd and siphoned off any semblance of support amongst African Americans that Clinton had up unto the moment. Obama benefited.
When I was just a wee little boy, my father used to always tell me, especially when I would make something up to get out of trouble, that you could always find the answer by finding the shortest distance between two points. It also happens to be the quickest way to get somewhere. The concept is simple and it has stuck with me.
I think what bothers me the most about this whole disgusting affair, is the cynical exploitation of a patent lie. Not just by the Obama campaign and its surrogates, but by the so called progressives- particularly here on the tubes, that I am certain know better. It is disappointing.
I imagine that when this is all spun out and we have our nominee (obviously Clinton at this point), Hillary will be forgiving and bring us all back together. It will probably be one of the hardest forgivings that she has ever had to give, but she will do it for the party and the country.
As for me? I am still thinking about it.... I will probably get there, sometime before the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.
