Posted By: Leslie DeVane on Monday, September 01, 2008
I think the ladies at PUMA have hit the nail right on the head. The party leadership aided Hillary's supporters being called everything that these bloggers could lay their hands too by their constant sniping at Hillary for a negative campaign that was tearing the party apart. Maureen Dowd commentaries in the NYTimes constantly derided her supporters as shoulder pad wearing feminists, feminazis, bitter Clintonistas and the worst of all charges racists. I blame the party for the disunity not the candidate. Politics is politics and Obama got off scot free on everything he did during the primaries. I particularly loved how Jessie Jackson Jr got up and praised LBJ at the convention for his help in passing the Civil Rights Bill when they bashed Hillary for the suggestion as racists and demeaning Dr King's legacy. I heard over and over that the party needed the young voters. That they were the future of the party. This party forgot their long time supporters and financial backers from the grassroots. I have voted a straight Democratic ticket since I began voting in 1972 but I will no longer be loyal to a party that would not even count by vote here in Florida until they could give it to Obama. I have made up my mind with what I will do in November. I will teach the party and Obama's faithful that their is a price to pay when the voters are shut out of the process by party leaders in favor of their candidate of choice. I feel that the pledge delegates were used as weapons against Hillary as well and as long as this party uses them to determine the nominee I will not vote for this party again. I may never vote Republican again either but this year my vote is my voice that I will not be pushed around by any party and my vote will be counted this fall and it will not be given to Barack Obama. If he wins this fall it will be without me and I will not vote for his re-election either. This candidate is as invisible to me as I was in the process during the primaries.
Posted By: Beth Somogyi in FL on Monday, September 01, 2008
Yes leslie my sentiments exactly! The Democrats have certainly taken DEMOCRACY out of this election. I am not "bitter", "racist" or "feminazis". Had Obama won by a landslide I might have been able to fall in line-but it was the non-standard rules and tactics of the delegates and the DNC that chose this candidate. Obama received the nomination with the help from delegates that did not even vote with their constituents. My vote is MY vote and it won't be given to a Democrat again until the DNC revisits the rules and provides fair representation to all.
Posted By: Good Life on Monday, September 01, 2008
Did Hillary not know that the election could go beyond "Super Tuesday"? Did Hillary not know there were caucus states? Did Florida and Michigan not know the rules? Do you tell your children their are usually no consequences of breaking rules? Go ahead and break the rules if you don's like them. Should rules be ignored? If you want the rules changed next time, fine, go for it. But everyone knew the rules for 4 years. Do you understand that you are saying that a woman wasn't good enough to play by the rules so we should change the rules to aid the poor, weak, emotional, PMS or hot flashing, female compete with the big mean males? What would you be saying if Hillary won and all of the Obama supporters refused to vote for her because the rules obviously aided her? We are a nation of laws and rules. If you wanted the rules changed why didn't you lobby 4 years ago? Do you understand what the attitude, "My team didn't win so I want to retroactively change the rules" is doing to the woman's movement? Do you understand how this is feeding a stereotype that I've seen women fight for over 40 years? Do you know how you are convincing more and more people that those stereotypes are more than correct? Do you understand what that stereotype will do to the next woman that has a chance?
Pray tell then Good Life, why did the delegates not stay out of the primary until the voters had their say. Those be the rules honey. They had the right to vote during the convention but they just keep jumping on the Obama wagon to stall Hillary's momentum. I am aware as was Hillary was that the votes continued after Super Tuesday and she was trying to run her campaign to the finish line but she had to do so with Dean, Pelosi the DNC and other party leaders screaming that she had to end her campaign. Is that in the rule book. He didn't have enough delegates to win either without the help of the delegates jumping to him. Those are the rules too. I hate to tell you but the rules adding Nevada & SC were not changed four years ago. I only pray that one day people like you vote and your vote is discarded into the trash bin as mine was then maybe you can relate but until that happens I have a right to feel the way that I do and I will use my vote as I choose. I want to be treated fairly and have the candidate that I choose treated fairly and you have to be an Obamanut to feel that this process was fair. Sounds to me like you might be a little worried for Obama and Biden now. Well you folks should have thought about that before you insulted us during the primary season and continue to insult our intelligence now. You can bet the bank on this one. If Obama had won Florida the party would have moved heaven and earth to amend the rules to give him those votes during the primary. He wouldn't have had to wait until the rules committee meeting in June to get them either.
Leslie--The super delegates can declare whenever they want. They are not tied to the end of the primaries. That is the rule. Hillary had super delegates declare for her before the beginning much less the end. Hillary could have saved some money for after Super Tuesday. She did not. That hamstrung the rest of her effort. She could have organized in the caucus states and stopped that long run of Obama wins. She did not. That gave an impression of inevitability to Obama which caused a "bandwagon effect". People jump in line with whoever looks like a winner. Hillary started out with that bandwagon. In the beginning all of the party leaders were telling the others to back off and channeling money to Hillary. That's why she had more "big money" donors. The "bosses" were telling the big money that Hillary would win so put their money on her. The voters and small donors changed that scenario not the leaders. Hillary could have done the math as others did. She did not. She took a chance that a miracle would happen. It did not. Most of my life I lived in a state where my vote didn't count. I still voted for my best interests even though the people around me were voting against their best interests. You certainly have the right to feel however you want and have the right to vote for whoever you want. And the rest of the people have the right to conclude that this is how a woman thinks and acts. Not only in politics but also in life in general.
Good Life, get a life. Do you enjoy going through your life casting judgements on women and how they behave and what others people think of them. Perhaps this is why you do not like Hillary and did not vote for her. Simply because she is an irrational woman. I beg to defer that voting for John McCain is against my best interests or anyone elses. Did you ever hear of checks and balances. If John McCain does win and the Democrats win with the majority they are touting they can dominate the issues and legislation. They can also cut funding of the war in Iraq. Let us just see if they will put up or shut up. They will have the power to override the veto of John McCain. If you think you can guilt people with the lame old think of your country and your fellow Americans you can save yourself the trouble. This country survived 8 years of George Bush and will survive 4 years of Obama or McCain. Don't worry wonder boy is going to win isn't he? He was the best candidate and there is no way he can lose now isn't that right? He is just brilliant. If you don't believe me ask Oprah. Oh that might not satify you either after all she is just another woman. PS: In regards to what some narrow minded sexist thinks I could care less. This will be my last word on the subject genius.
Now if you would have started with a "balance of power" argument no one would question your "why".
