How hard is it to understand that I, along with many others, will not vote for Obama?

[illusionofjoy]

When I registered as a Democrat nearly a decade ago, my mother said that I had only done it to annoy her (she is - or was - a registered republican). I don't know if I said or thought it (I don't recall being smacked, so it was probably a thought), but my retort was, "no - that's merely frosting." In 1998, when I turned 18 and mailed in my voter registration for St. Lawrence County in Northern New York, Bill Clinton was in his second term. I barely remember Ronald Reagan - he's more of a symbol to me than anything else - but I did remember the Bush I years and how upset I was over the Gulf War. Most of my political "experience" was via what I had read in history textbooks, but what stuck with me was this: throughout history, good things happened when Democrats and progressives were in office (i.e.: Franklin Roosevelt) while bad things happened when republicans and conservatives were in office (i.e.: Richard Nixon).

It wasn't until college that I would dig deeper into the dirt that is American politics. Despite being older and far more cynical, time and study only solidified that the Democratic Party was the one which most closely aligned with my own personal viewpoints of how a government should function.

...until recently anyhow.

Donald Fowler, a former DNC chair and DNC member-at-large and Alice Germond, the Secretary of the DNC have written a "strongly worded" letter for all of us "dead-enders" who won't support the presumptive democratic nominee. Some excepts and my replies:

I supported Hillary Clinton and am proud and pleased that I did. But she lost. Barack Obama won. It's over.

It's not over until the convention, if you want to get technical about it. Barack Obama does not have the necessary number of pledged delegates to clinch the nomination - he can not win until he does. Furthermore, Hillary Clinton tallied higher in the popular vote, which to me, sounds like a definitive win (or what should have been), but this little detail has been ignored via skulduggery from the party leadership.

I must confess a bit of fatigue and irritation with people who continue to carp, complain, and criticize the results of the primary and lay down conditions for their support.

If you think you're tired and irritated now, just wait until November. You and you ilk keep telling me to "get over it." Now...I've heard that somewhere before...oh, right - I heard it 2000 when Al Gore won the popular vote but was robbed of the Presidency by the Electoral College and the Supreme Court. I'm still not "over" that after eight years, so what makes anyone think I'll "get over" Barack Obama being handed the democratic nomination on a silver platter? And, to think, we didn't even need any republicans to fuck us over this time!

It's time to WIN for Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, America, and our future. We have an unparalleled opportunity. I hope we will all do everything we can to seize the moment.

As far as I'm concerned, a WIN for Barack Obama will be a loss for the Democratic Party, America and the future. The man has made it obvious that he has no principles, aside from his own over-inflated sense of self-entitlement. His FISA vote was a punch to the gut for anyone who upholds the Constitution. There is no way to tell what he will do, who he will pander to, or to whom he will find himself beholden if he gets into the White House.

For some reason, party "leaders" have been propping this guy up and pushing for his nomination despite the fact that he is woefully inexperienced and has nary a principle to stand on. They have been so desperate to force Obama on the members of the party that they have broken rules, disenfranchised voters and shown complete and utter disregard for a candidate who has not only been loyal to the party for decades, but who had the best chance of winning the big prize.

Even before the primary had concluded, Barack Obama's national numbers were shaky at best. Now, his numbers are slipping, effectively tying with John McCain within the margin or error in every single poll. The more the party leaders tried to cram Obama down our throats, the more people resisted - and now, Obama finds himself in the unenviable position of haemorrhaging members from his own base (see the aforementioned FISA vote).

The question right now is this: can the Democratic Party be saved? Or, to be even more cynical, should it be saved? Ever since Bill Clinton left office, it seems that the party has been on a self-destruct mission. John Kerry did not immediately crush to lies and propaganda of the "swift boaters" - result: a second term for George Bush. The Democrats achieved a majority in Congress and the Senate in 2006 with a mandate to end the war in Iraq and hold George Bush accountable; instead, Pelosi took impeachment off the table - result: overall approval ratings in the House are lower than that of George Bush! And now, the democratic leadership forces an inexperienced, arrogant, flip-flopper on us when voters clearly wanted the other candidate. The result: John McCain will be the next president.

I think that the Democratic Party needs a thorough house-cleaning. Obviously the current leadership has failed. The party can be saved if those of us registered stand up and just say "no deal" to what has transpired. While our only weapons are our votes and our voices, the votes are what they desperately desire - and if they have shown themselves undeserving of our votes, we can give our votes to others or withhold them entirely (either way, I highly discourage anyone from staying home on election day - go out and make a statement).

Barack Obama had a chance to win this thing fair and square - and he actually still does. Rumour has it that while Hillary Clinton's name will be on the ballot at the convention, she will not actually have her name put in for the nomination. This is a fine distinction: if her name is merely on the ballot, but not in for the nomination when the roll is called, then all of her pledged delegates are effectively voting "present." Remember, she suspended, not conceded, which means that her pledged delegates still have to vote for her at the convention - but if they suspend the rules for Barack Obama (yet again) this won't even matter.

The super delegates will decide the nomination, if given the chance. The risk of doing it by the book is that Barack Obama might actually - gasp - lose. However, it would make a great and positive impression if he were to set his ego aside for once and risk losing or even winning fairly. I'm not holding my breath though.

PARTY UNITY MY ASS!