To the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party
August 25, 2008 by tha-kid
Monday, August 25, 2008
Dear Proud Members of the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party;
Today is the start of the 2008 session of the Democratic Party of the United States of America. It is a proud day and a new day. A proud day because for sixteen months we worked together to back a candidate with a lifetime of experience in building a strong economy, balancing a federal budget, expanding health care for all Americans, leveling the tax system so that it is equal and balanced for all Americans, and the candidate with the best plan for bringing our troops home from Iraq. In June that historic run for the White House came to an end with more than 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling that for too long have prevented women from being who they want to be and doing what they want to do. However our dream for a stronger, better, more united America has only taken on a new life. With this proud day is also a day for sadness. Why? Because some disgruntled backers of our candidate have taken our hard work and hijacked for a cause of their own and to support a candidate who is the polar opposite on almost every issue we’ve advocated for over these sixteen months. We can not and must not let this happen.
Many of us still harbor great wounds in our heart for Hillary Clinton’s lost in the primary for the nomination of the Democratic Party for the President of the United States. We believed in her heart. We supported her vision. We saw her abilities. Now it is incumbent upon us to abide by the process and remain loyal to our candidate. One way to show that loyalty is to honor her wishes and support Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States.
Some of our friends have become disillusioned with the process and that is fine. However what is important and not to be an oversight is the issues that brought us to support Ms. Clinton. On issue after issue Barack Obama is more inline with Hillary Clinton than John McCain. So when America is the defining question you are asking yourself in the choice of who to vote for, what is best for her, who can serve her well, that is Obama well before McCain by far.
To my friends who have allowed their genuine anger to cause an un-genuine cloud over their eyes I want to share a message with you. The Clinton campaign, the Clinton movement, the Clinton message is not yours to sell to the opposition. It is unacceptable for you to take the hard work of hundreds of thousands of Clinton aids, staffers, volunteers, and supporters and make it your own mantra. It is even more unbelievable and in fact in tolerable for you to hand our beliefs and our work to a party that has spent billions of dollars in 1992, 1996, 2000. 2004, and even 2008 to topple the great legacy that both Bill and Hillary built up. Let us not get the record wrong or confused here.
· In 1993 when then-First Lady Hillary Clinton went to the mat to fight for universal healthcare before it was popular John McCain stood with his Republican colleges in terming it Hillarycare, running Harry and Louise aids to blast it in the media, and led to its defeat.
· In 1995 when the new GOP majority was working at undoing the Clinton domestic agenda with their spending plan and it led to a government shutdown John McCain stood with the GOP and against Bill Clinton as he fought against a 32 billion dollar cut to the working poor, squeezes $270 billion from Medicare through 2002 by raising premiums for beneficiaries, and trimming payments to providers. This was in addition to their other proposed cuts to education, Medicaid, welfare, the Department of Agriculture, and even the environment.
· Where was John McCain in the 1998 when the outgoing defeated GOP House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton? I’ll tell you voting with the Senate GOP to remove him from office.
Listening to the McCain camp today you’d think he was a different man. He is not. That straight talk express lost all its wheels in January when the American public realized it had a lot of unstraight policy positions that remind you of George W. Bush.
Those disaffected Clinton supporters are within their right to support John McCain. They are not within their rights to use our message of a new day and better America to do it.
Tha-Kid JK
tha-kid@revkitchen.com
My father commented that, on this issue, the press is trying to scrape together a story out of absolutely nothing. Everyone at that Democratic Convention is going to vote for Barack Obama, not John McCain as part of a Hillary protest vote.
Well, you may have supported Clinton, but I supported Mike Gravel for President. I believed in his morality and his intellect. I saw his abilities. I saw his great vision for a more democratic America. I’m somewhat unhappy that he lost the Libertarian nomination for President. But I am not encumbered by any kind of blind, unthinking party loyalty to the Libertarians—or any kind of unthinking loyalty at all. A Hillary supporter on television tonight said that Hillary was his leader and that he and other followers were going to follow her, whatever she said, and do whatever she wanted them to do. I am opposed to blind followers. I am opposed to blind loyalty. It creates trouble when people don’t think for themselves. It creates trouble when they do. Just as long as trouble is going to come either way, I would rather think for myself.
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Look. If Hillary lost fair and square, I would be enthusiastically supporting Obama. The reason why I am not, is because of the DNC literally rooting for Obama, and throwing Clinton under the bus. How come just yesterday the DNC bylaws committee voted to seat all of MI and FL’s delegates, and in May refused? Because in May if they would have awarded full voting rights to MI and FL, Clinton would win the nomination. And the democrats desperately need election reform. We have to stop these kindergarten games of “everybody gets some delegates, even if you lose”.
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If people feel like they do not want to vote for Obama because they really wanted Hillary, then they should at least vote for someone who they believe in and agree with on policies. If you agree with Hillary’s ideas, then I am pretty sure McCain is not the man for you. If you are not going to vote for Obama, at least vote for someone who isn’t going to ban abortion, gay marriage, etc.
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I never said I wouldn’t support Obama, but not as enthusiastically as I did for Clinton.
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