We Need Unity
June 1, 2008 by Jeff Pritchard
After the recent Rules and Bylaws meeting in Washington D.C. It is all but inevitable that Barack Obama will be the Democratic Nominee for President.
This nominating process has been unlike anyother with the tension within the Democratic party. Even on our very own Think Youth podcast we had tempers flaring. There has been Jeremiah Wright, and there has been “Bosnia sniper fire”. There have been very divisive ads put forth . As an Obama supporter, I will admit that both campaigns have been just as guilty of this behavior, and it has done nothing but hurt the party.
However, with the endless media coverage of these spats, and with the constant bickering of campaign surrogates it is easy to forget how great aspects of this primary have been for the Democrats. We have had record turnout in almost every state that has voted. We have launched a woman and a black man to the forefront of the American Political discussion. Last but not least: With a united Democratic Party, we WILL beat John McCain in the fall.
I can feel the Clinton supporters pain. I’ve seen how passionate every Clinton supporter has been about Hillary, and I understand completely how terrible it is for your candidate to come up short. If the situation between the two candidates was reversed, I’m sure I would feel the same way that the Clinton supporters feel right now. However, I am calling on the Clinton supporters to get behind our nominee for 2008. I understand that there are hard feelings from this primary battle, however, I think we can both agree that a Democrat in 2008 is much better than John “100 Years in Iraq” McCain. I sincerly believe that there is still a bright political future for Hillary Clinton. This has been a well fought Primary Battle on both sides. Barack has shown his massive appeal to younger voters and African-Americans, and Hillary has shown an unprecedented knack for bringing out enthusisam in woman and blue-collar voters. If we bring these two coalitions together, we will be an unbeatable force in the fall, and will change the political landscape of the United States for the next 50 years. We as Democrats need to come together. We need Unity.
Well said Jeff.
To be honest, when I was first asked by my friends if I would rather vote for John McCain or Hillary Clinton, I said I would have to think about it, but very soon after that, I started reading all the blog postings that came out saying how McCain has changed. If this McCain was still the man he was in 2000, and not the man he is today, I would respectfully disagree with Clinton supports who decided to vote for McCain instead of Obama. But in 2008, McCain is very different. I won’t go into the details, but the best example is probably the way he used to revile Jerry Falwell and his type, but now McCain is speaking at Liberty University and courting John Hagee’s supporting.
Hopefully, we can heal the wounds of the primary season and unite as democrats.
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We do need unity. But with pain, comes healing and the Clinton supporters need to heal. As a large Clinton supporter i am deeply hurt by the loss of the nomination. I need to heal, at times i find my self very bitter. But, with time i do believe i will come behind our nominee and do all i can do to make sure we do win in November. I see many Clinton supporters so depressed and angry that Mrs. Clinton won’t win that they are willing to leave the party. The best way to unify our party is to put both candidates on the ticket. Obama-Clinton. How could they loose?
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Lets see what happens in PR , MT, AND SD. Then we will see what happens at the convention. Barack Obama is not ready to be president , And Bob Barr and Hillary Clinton are. I do not a person who was just a state Senator 4 years ago to run the free world , you must understand that when you Obama supporters call us Clinton supporters stupid not to go for the nominee. And let me say this now. I am more comfortable with John McCain being president then Barack Obama.
Note: That was not any kind of endorsement for McCain.
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As a good Democrat, learning from the history of the 2000 election, I plan on supporting the candidate with the most popular votes. And now that the DNC has included forms of the MI and FL delegations, there is no longer any dispute as to whether or not those popular votes should be counted.
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Really, a nice speech, Mr. Pritchard. You convey your points well.
Of course, I’m an Independent, so I have more trouble relating to it than others, but I’m sure that it would fly very well with the Democrats. In general, I react coldly towards “party unity” sentiments because I don’t like political parties and the blind partisanship that results from them. I never wish to be a good Democrat or a good Republican or a good Green or a good Libertarian, or a “good” of anything else, because I’m afraid that party loyalty would cause independent thinking to suffer.
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Koko,
I didn’t call Clinton supporters stupid.
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Jeff,
You said, “If we bring these two coalitions together, we will be an unbeatable force in the fall.” Are you endorsing an Obama-Clinton unity ticket?
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I sure hope he is. I am because it is the only way to unify the Democratic party.
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I never said YOU called us stupid. But many Obama supporters do.
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“Jeff,
You said, “If we bring these two coalitions together, we will be an unbeatable force in the fall.” Are you endorsing an Obama-Clinton unity ticket?”
Yes, I am. I think that this would be the ultimate way to bring together a party after such a long battle.
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Oh good, that little picture next to my comment is showing up now. That’s me.
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