Democrats Unite
The violence of the political dialogue lately has made me understand how desperate the electorate is after nearly eight years of Repugnicans and three stolen elections. I totally understand Obamamania--and I also get the frustration of voters who wanted this to be the year we broke through the glass ceiling for women.
But let's get real. It's time for Democrats to put all personal bias aside and unite behind the things we believe in: a planet we can live on, reproductive choice, workers rights, health care for all, education for poor and middle class students, fair taxes, a Constitution made whole, rescuing America from war profiteers -- if indeed there is still time.
It's already very late. It's too late for quarrels about whether race or gender is more restricting. It's too late for prognostications about a future presidency we won't know until it has unfolded. Remember so-called compassionate conservatism? It turned out to be neither compassionate nor conservative. Why anybody believes election slogans mystifies me. But we do know this: a landslide for Democrats will change the direction of this country. So let's join forces to make it happen--and let's start now.
I don't believe that passionate Hillary supporters will vote for McCain in fits of pique. I sure won't. The truth is that Obama and Clinton are so similar politically that without generational and gender differences they'd be indistinguishable. Perhaps the passion for or against these two Democrats was revved up by how very close they are in vision. Sometimes people need to disagree for the sake of disagreeing.
Obama is right to offer his applause for Hillary's tenacity. He is right to take the high road. I doubt that she will be remembered for taking the low road. In politics as in life, tenacity is all. Where is Chappaquiddick now that Teddy Kennedy has honorably served decade after decade in the Senate?
If Hillary loses the nomination, maybe she can get a life by divorcing Bill. I was always a defender of their curious marriage but having seen him try to sabotage her campaign, I wonder. Maybe she'd get a burst of energy by cutting loose. Imagine her with additional fire -- she could rescue our stalled space program with her own built-in rocket.
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'If Hillary loses the nomination, maybe she can get a life by divorcing Bill. '
The mediocre MRS Clinton has had a more exciting life being married to the charismatic Mr. Clinton. without this merger she would be a third rate lawyer working in traffic court. and incidentally, because you are a writer and words should mean something: she is not just tenacious, she is obsessed.
Thanks, Erica!
Erica Jong --
You write, "Democrats Unite"
I write -- No!
I write, take your two cents and stick them where the sun don't shine.
It's obvious...
Now you know why Republicans win.
how disingenious of you...
Hillary and Bill (and surrogates) - putting the "nasty" in Dynasty since 1992
Not sure that will occur, Erica. It's not only women who are pissed; there are plenty of men too that will not vote for Obama in November. I phone bank and speak to many throughout the states and have realized it's only getting worse for him. Texas had some women stating it, PA had a few, but by Indiana's primary, there was a chorus of, "I won't vote for him."
He might be ahead in the delegate count, but he won't win over some of these folks to translate that into a win come November. Thankfully, we will achieve a high majority in both the house and senate to temper McCain's pick of judges.
So you are willing to have the war continue ad infinitum? This is the problem with not having a draft. Selfish people can just write off all of the men and women fighting and dying, because "Hey, it's not my family".
Or do you think your house and senate majority will be able to end the war too?
And provide health care.
And correct our bad economic policy.
Hell, I guess we don't even need a president. Why should we fight to get Clinton or Obama into office at all? Apparently having McCain in office will be just peachy-keen.
all attributed to hillary playing the victim/gender cards.
thanks for supporting the democratic party hillary!
meileen,
Your post has a lot of assumptions and little fact and should be called on. Some women here and a few men there hardly sounds like a Chorus meileen. And your example of Indiana couldn't be further from the truth. Obama lost Indiana by 14,000 votes. That means that in Indiana Hillary Clinton won by LESS THAN 2 PERCENT. Obama has just as good a chance if not better in Indiana than Clinton ever did. And Obama is polling better than McCain in Pennsylvania too. And he's polling better in Wisconsin and Colorado. Swing States. And more than likely he Can Win hispanic voters in the Southwest too. He is brining in NEW VOTERS to even counter YOU. But your vote for McCain could be against your interest.
And as far as your House and Senate temperment of McCain, it ain't going to happen. Many of these new Democrats that will win in the House and Senate are Casey Democrats or as they say Pro Life Democrats. They will OK moderate Conservative Judges, that will restrict. Women will suffer more than Men, under a McCain administration. An Obama, Democratic President will put a check on their Pro Life stance. McCain sends a conservative judge to the House, they'' find a way to pass him. A democrat won't send one.
Whoa. Seem to have struck a nerve.
Take what I wrote with a grain of salt at OUR own peril. With regard to Indiana, I referred to folks I spoke with, not the numbers you are choosing to use. I had one woman tell me she would not vote for Obama in November, and then went on to say she never votes in the primaries. (Go figure.)
If the house and senate can't help us against McCain, then we're screwed. Obama will not win the states that have been historically required to win a general. We can only hope the new swing states his campaign is touting is real. But I have HUGE doubts about that occurring.
Wow...insa
You are really living in a fantasy land. What's to be "pissed" about?
Obama ran a better campaign. Her loss isn't because of outside forces like sexism in the media. Obama was not ordained. He worked for his wins and he resonates with many people. Let go of your bitterness and look at the big picture.
I will never vote for any Republican, ever, at least not for a long time. However, the problem is that certain groups of people who are comfortable with Clinton are simply not with Obama. It's not liberals, it's moderates who, for whatever reason, be it Obama's race or the fact that he's an unseasoned junior politician whose main accomplishment was a speech several years ago, are much more inclined to vote for McCain. Could it be lots of people simply do value experience?
Asking all of Clinton supporters to fall in line when they haven't drunk the Obama kool-aid and when Obama's supporters have displayed levels of ugliness completely contrary to his message of hope and unity is quite a request. Not to mention the millions of us who are aching for a woman president, and are bitter at that hope being dashed by this newbie who many of us recognize as potentially unelectable.
It's one thing for the better candidate to have won, but his supporters have been caught up in some sort of mass cult-like obsession that includes, as every cult does, demonization of the other, in this case Clinton. The level of arrogance vis a vis Obama and hate-filled ignorance about the Clintons is enough to turn off vast numbers of people.
.andc ertain people are uncomfortable with Hilalry's lack of experience. Her inability to win over Republicans and independents, her high negatives and one last important thing, she lost the nomination.
That's Erica's point here. It doesn't matter if you are uncomfortable with the nominee. The nominee has been chosen. Hillary Clinton can not get the nomination without causing serious harm to the party and all but nullifying our chances in November. You don't like Obama as much, we get it. We also don't care. When it's time to come together, (now), we as Democrats rally around the candidate and stop whining that we didn't get who we wanted. I'm settling too. It's Clinton supporters, unable to accept she has lost, who still act like cult members. They cling to myths, pepetuated by the Clinton campaign, of Obama's record. They demean his supporters. When in reality, it is you, who are acting like cult members, unable to accept reality.
Stop, StephenDedalus82.
You sound silly.
The better candidate, who ran the better campaign, won. That's life. Unelectable? Well, I guess we will find out in the fall. You disparage Obama supporters, but it was your candidate who pandered to racism. And your "unelectable" comment adds to that ugliness.
You want a woman president. I want a good one, and hey, kinda cool that a man who comes from a people who were once in chains in America could be the head of the government in America. Had Obama lost a fair fight I'd be right there with you supporting Clinton, who was my choice a year ago. Her words turned me against her.
Don't vote for the man if that is how you really feel. It's America. You have that right to vote for the one you think is best.
But stop being silly.
I do believe in Obama but it isn't about drinking Kool-Aid. Most of what turned me towards Obama is what turned me away from Clinton. As she dug deeper and deeper into the bottom of the American electorate barrel, I no longer felt like she was speaking to me. When I attended her Birthday party in NY and she said that she wanted to end the war on science, talked about health care and progressive tax initiatives, I was completely with her. That was when she was favored to win. That is when she wasn't trying that hard. She keeps trying to "find her voice" because she never thought she needed one. "Her voice" now isn't her voice. Her voice is whatever she needs to say to get any vote she can. The fact that people are voting for her through ignorance, for fear of change and for fear of foreign enemies, does not impress me.
I am assuming that you are smart because you apparently like to read Joyce. Aren't you sick of being talked down to by our government officials?
It isn't a fluke that the more educated are voting for Obama. Cult-following and higher intelligence aren't correlated. Perhaps there is something more? Perhaps we want a leader that gives complex, reasoned, complete answers that have been politically untenable in the past but because they are right, he gives them anyway and trusts us to choose what is right over what is politically safe.
It seems Erica Jong is completely out of her hypocrisy addled mind. Just a few days ago she was attacking Obama and painting him as a weak, inexperienced candidate. How is that supposed to be helpful to the Democratic Party winning in Nov?!?!?!
Now she has the astonishing audacity to suggest that we should all unite behind the issues? Better late than never I suppose, but her hypocrisy is unconscionable.
Many Hillary supporters will choose petty vindictiveness over the issues by voting for McInsane, and they will do it because of the barrage of shameful rhetoric from people such as you, Erica Jong.
While I appreciate your intent, I have to disagree with one thing. I believe just by being the first serious female candidate for the presidency that she has already broken that ceiling. Now women can truly believe - hey, I can do that. It never would have happened without her and just because she isn't going to win doesn't mean the glass is still there.
Unite.
Erica: thanks for the article but many of us Clinton supporters will be voting for her as a write in onthe November ballot. We just cannot vote for Obama and will never vote for Mcain. Beside, the Obama folks have made it very clear that they don't want and don't need us to win in November.
It's so petty and short sighted to enable McCain because you don't like Obama's supporters. If that is your stance then you are correct, we don't want you around. I've been a Democrat for 3 decades and haven't had my first choice picked as a nominee in all that time. But I would never enable a Republican and I always voted for the nominee.
Why can't you vote for Obama? What, as a democrat, is the impasse? I want to understand.
Let me try, mujumon. I worked hard for Kerry in 2004 (despite growing weary of his lousy campaignin
I want to understand why loving Obama meant trashing Hillary? THAT never made sense to me. I wrote in these pages very early on I could support both. I believe true Democrats will.
My guess is they believe that it is Hillary's turn and that the only reason she isn't winning is because of sexism , which they blame on Obama. And you probably heard Ferraro's examples of Obama's sexism which, simply put, are not sexist either in intent or on their face.
I also want to know why. I feel like I keep asking Clinton supporters this question and not one of them will answer me. Why do you want McCain to replace Supreme Court judges?
I would love to have a unified Dem party. When you write "Obama folks do not want or need" you, it reads like victimhood or self-pity. I don't recall anyone implying or stating that the Obama does not want your vote.
I would really like to hear the basis of your choice, with FACTS please.
What Obama folks?! The people posting in forums like this one? Ohh please, the world does not revolve The Huffington Post or any other online site. We are a very small minority. Most people don't have time to quarrel online; I know it's hard to believe, but there's a whole lot more out there... What you, me, all of us, need to do is put all the online and on-tv bickering aside, draw the line and make up our mind without all this noise.
You should explain what Senator Obama has done to you that you would not vote for him.
Erica Jong -- Unite? The Democratic party? Not likely!
The reason is simple. Mark Shields had it right when he said that Democrats are so inept they can not even organize a two-car parade. As proof -- look at the complete mess the DNC and party leaders made of the campaign that gave us both Clinton and Obama as winners -- but only one could be crowned. Not by the voters but by the super delegates. It doesn't get worse than that.
In addition, it is a major concern that not once did the DNC, party leaders, or influencial political leaders of the Democratic party speak out to stop the relentless demeaning and sexist attacks on Senator Clinton that were a mainstay of some of the MSM and pundits. Again, it doesn't get worse than that.
Excellent. McCain for President. The only logical choice in this election. Screw the poor that won't vote republican!
Dear Erica,
I am a tremendous believer in being the change you want to see in the world. If you want to see unity within the Democratic party, then do it yourself. Move away from Hillary, your preferred candidate, and endorse Obama.
Jong is not going to do that.
Her purpose in this thread is to soften us
up for an Obama-Hillary ticket.
Hillary is running as hard as she can for
VP.
That would essentially sink the Dems
chances because millions of independents
like myself would open a vein before we'd
put Hillary anywhere near the ticket.
She won't be the VP don't worry.
And millions of liberals like me who may vote for a O/C ticket will never vote for O alone - tough choice...
Thank you, Erica. For years, I've said that I'd much rather see Hillary R. Clinton on the Supreme Court bench than in the Oval Office and I still feel that way. Perhaps it will come to pass after all ....
How is Hillary remotely qualified to be on the Supreme Court? She has never served as a judge or as an academic. She's barely practiced any law and that, just routine corporate law.
Why do people keep bringing this up? She's not qualified. Can we take the Supreme Court a bit more seriously please?
Thank you, Erica Jong!
One comment, don't like the implications of 'Obamania'. I think with each successive speech and his focus it is clear he is ready for the gig.
I don't consider myself caught up in anything other than I prefer his candidacy because of what he says and the energy behind it. I feel change, even if an attitude adjustment, goes a long way to solving the problems we have in this country. We need to be more focused and believe we can turn things around.
We have been bullied, abused, treated badly and lied to by one of the most appallingly incompetent administrations in our history. We are a long way from the founders and the leadership that has pulled us through crisis after crisis in our history as a nation.
I greatly admire Hillary's service and what she's fought for. I hope she continues to gain in strength and stature. She has done much to break that glass ceiling and name forever inscribed upon it.
I hope that any disappointed supporter, for whatever reason, will unite and vote Democrat in '08. It is in our best interests to defeat McCain and end the insanity of creating divides among us, the rich and the shrinking middle class and our friends around the globe.
"War is not the answer" and neither is spitefully voting McCain in as Bush Redux # 3
Thanks for coming around Erica.
Well said, Erica. It is time for the party to close ranks and declare that they are going to win together.
Unfortunately, as you can see from many of the posts here, there are still many alleged democrats who are vowing to vote for McCain out of nothign but pure spite.
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