Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Why Hillary Just Lost My Support



Call me a flip-flopper. It's been that sort of election season. In a president, I want a leader. Somebody who will go in and fight for what is right. I think I have been given definitive proof that Hillary is not that leader.

Once again, the Harry Reid-led Senate capitulated to George W. Bush in a disgraceful manner. The Senate, with substantial Democratic support, passed a bill that would give the president even more sweeping power to spy on Americans. Even worse, they have voted to grant immunity to telecom companies who obviously broke the law. Hey if they didn't, this would not be an issue.

Senator Barack Obama came back from campaigning to cast a 'no' vote. Senator Clinton, did not take the time to even vote. I guess she thought she wouldn't have to fight charges that the GOP will inevitably throw around...that anybody who voted no would be labelled soft on terror.

Give me a break.

I am so tired of the cowardice of the Democratic leadership. The continued caving in to the empty threats of the GOP instead of standing up for what is right. If the telecoms are granted retroactive immunity it will mean one thing...there is no rule of law in America if the one in power makes the claim that national security is at stake. Hey, why have laws at all? What hypocrisy!

Adding fuel to my decision to turn from Hillary was some powerful oratory I heard on my way home tonight. I was listening to the Thom Hartman show on Air America, and heard Obama speaking out strongly against both lobbyists and NAFTA.

Okay, maybe he's not all just touchy-feely as I thought. Maybe he does have the cojones to bring about a new era in government.

I just wish all of this had happened before the New York primary.

Hillary, you lost me. I will support you over any Republican candidate. But I do not think you deserve the nomination.

As for your efforts to seat the delegates in Florida and Michigan, you just can't do that. You can't change the rules midway through the game. I tend to feel the same about the superdelegate scenario as well. But I do think that after this election, the entire superdelegate concept needs to be disbanded.

It makes the Democrats look like Republicans.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Why This Edwards Supporter Voted For Hillary



Okay, I have to admit, I never thought in a million years that, when it came time for the New York primary I would cast my vote for Senator Hillary Clinton, but I did.

This isn't necessarily a good thing for Clinton. Everybody I have supported thus far has fallen by the wayside. Early on I wanted Feingold or Gore. No dice. I then rallied behind Kucinich and Dodd. See ya. Finally, right after I prepare to go gung-ho for Edwards he drops out BEFORE super Tuesday!

What's a progressive to do?

It wasn't so much that Clinton won my vote, but Senator Barack Obama lost it.

The first nail in the coffin was the Obama references to Ronald Reagan, while in the same conversation, lumping Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton together.

If you missed his comments, get them here.

After the resultant uproar, Obama disingenuously claimed that he wasn't really praising President Reagan. When one listens to that clip it is obvious that this is exactly what he was doing. And he was doing it because Obama sees himself as the great uniter.

Unfortunately, I do not feel that the GOP is going to feel like playing along.

In Senator Obama, I see a man who, if elected President, would probably not investigate the past crimes of the Bush administration, because he only seems to be thinking in a forward direction. However, if the sins of the past are not addressed and corrected, they will only be repeated.

I want somebody in the White House who realizes that we can still be unified while correcting the errors of the past 8 years. I am not so sure that Ms. Clinton would be especially good at it herself, but I think she understands better the gravity of the destruction that has been done to our government.

More than that, I cannot stand the hypocrisy of the mass media. And I need only one example to prove my point.

Michelle Obama, when asked if she would work to support Hillary Clinton, if she were the candidate, said, On the February 4th edition of Good Morning America, "I'd have to think about that. I'd have to think about that, her policies, her approach, her tone." Listen for yourself.

Can you imagine the media uproar that would have occurred had Hillary's spouse given such a lukewarm response about supporting Obama?? But Obama has been annointed by the mass media. He is their more compelling story. So we get treated to the daily demonizing of Hillary and the beatification of Barack.

Hey, I cannot stand the DLC, Hillary's wing of the party.

However, I do think that Clinton is vetted and tough and she probably will handle herself well against the typical vicious attacks that will most certainly come from the GOP.

The Democrats do not win elections by being nice. It didn't work for Kerry, or Gore (who won, but chose to let the steal go unchallenged), or Dukakis, or Carter (in his re-election bid). My fear is that Obama will, in his effort to project an upbeat 'unity' message, not fight back.

His inexcusable praise of Reagan signalled that for me. How he can even remotely praise a man and claim that he gave people hope, after all the people he allowed to be slaughtered in Central America, is obscene. And let's not forget the lasting damage that 'reaganomics' did to our country's fiscal health.

The media made its choice. Obama the saint, versus McCain the maverick hero.

Well, the media be damned. I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore.

Hence...my vote for Clinton. I was one person who was not especially enthusiastic about my vote. I will support whoever the nominee turns out to be, but this upcoming election hardly has me energized.