Quit The Race Senator! You Can't Win And You're Just Harming The Democratic Party... (Sign The Petition!)

If you agree with the sentiments expressed in this petition - please scroll down and sign at the foot of the page:

We the undersigned state the following:

1) We acknowledge that you have won a few big primary states. Including: New York • New Jersey • Massachusetts • New Mexico • Arizona • California

2) But you're running against a candidate who has won twice as many states, is beating you in delegates and the popular vote.

3) Now you have the temerity to declare that you will not quit the race and if necessary will fight this all the way to the convention.

4) On top of that you have the nerve to try and change the rules of the game so that you can try and grab votes that the party rules say you are not entitled to.

5) This is just DISGUSTING. And a clear sign that you care more about yourself than the Democratic Party you claim to love.

6) For the sake of the party we beg you to stand down now and not take your flailing doomed-to-fail campaign to the convention.

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Sorry - signing of this petition closed on July 10th 1980.

THE FACTS

• In 1980, Senator Edward Kennedy refused to pay any attention to the above points and insisted on taking his presidential campaign all the way to the Democratic Convention.

• He also fought an aggressive battle to have the party rules overturned so that he could attempt to secure votes that had been pledged to his rival - President Jimmy Carter.

• Despite having lost to Carter in states (24-10), popular vote and percentage of vote - Kennedy maintained his campaign through the spring and summer and till over halfway through the actual convention - refusing to concede to Carter until the day before the final vote.

• Only after that point did he give his "the cause endures" valedictory speech that is today hailed as his finest moment.

• Throughout the months of March, April, May, June and the first half of July 1980, senior Democrats including Senators, Representatives, Governors, party elders - and of course media pundits - lambasted Kennedy for what they said was his arrogance and vanity in staying in the race - and told him that by doing so he was "harming the party".

• They begged him to end his campaign.

• Senator Kennedy was steadfast in resisting all these entreaties and consistently invoked his right to stay in the race until the convention.

• He also insisted on his right to challenge party rules in order to try and secure delegates that had already been pledged to his opponent.

• After the 1980 election, Senator Kennedy insisted that Carter's loss to Reagan was NOT a by-product of Kennedy exercising his right to contest the nomination through to the convention but was a result of Carter's weakness as a candidate. A position that Kennedy has maintained over the last 27 years and holds to this day.

• Today Senator Kennedy is one of the most senior and respected members of the Democratic Party. His positions and his experiences are cited by Democrats - especially supporters of Barack Obama - as admirable and exemplary.

• Today Senator Kennedy is a leading supporter of Barack Obama.

'nuff said...

Comments

[gallonjug]

I'm confused. I thought you were a hillary supporter, Mr. British comedy guy. Now, you're saying she should drop out? or are you trying to make some really obscure and ineffective argument that the she shouldn't drop out because kennedy supports obama? what is your point, because you've summed up pretty effectively why clinton has no business being in this race.

[bfc1968]

i tried to sign but it said the petition closed on july 10th????? how could that be since the lead in was dated march 5th........

i definitely agree and as someone who worked in the eugene mccarthy youth corps in 1968,,,, and then was forced to sit idly by throughout the horror of the primaries... ending with bobby being killed in los angeles after winning the primary and ensuring us (the anti-war movement) a candidate who believed in and cared about us... and validated our purpose and resolve.... plus pretty much guaranteed us a winning nominee to carry the white house.... so when an assasins bullet ended that dream... the nightmare continued to chicago... where the mayor daley storm troopers and the super delegates of 1968 instead of rallying behind mc carthy the rightful heir.. now that bobby was gone.... the party establishment offfered us instead hubert humphrey... the hilary clinton of 1968.....

they expected us to fall in line.... forget the scenes of protestors gathering in peaceful protests only to have our heads bashed in by mayor daleys bullies... and so ... while the whole world was watching... just as the whole world is watching us now.....

we were discarded... hubert humphrey became the nominee and the result was 8 years of president nixon.... and thousands more dying in viet nam....

shame on you hilary clinton.. if your obsession with power and ego fulfillment fill you up with the resolve that " hey this is the fun part".... i'll win at any cost basically.... so then what your conscience can live with... is.....

besides being part of the sinking boat.... though mostly bill, monica, ken starr, and ralph nader... not to mention kathleen harris and the corrupt supreme court...... you were still a part of the past that ensured defeat for al gore.... there was absolutely no issue the gop could use against us... except for the one created by bill's lack of ethical committment to the office he held..... shame on you bill...

so if you continue this selfish mission... you will have not only a share in the bush eight years in office to live with.... along with your part in authorizing the war..... and all the deaths and loss of our soul that caused.... but also contribute to ruining the very best opportunity the democrats have to sweep congress and the house as well as the white house in my lifetime.....

you could serve the country so much better by becoming the new harry reid... there must be a part of you ... not the go go goldwater girl. but some part... that can be at least as unselfish as LBJ was in 1968


to pledge not to seek or accept his party's nomination for president.... because he did have enough respect for history to recognize the power of the anti - war movement and did not want all of the good things he accomplished during his presidency in the area of civil rights and social progress... to be overshadowed by having to use force ... and whatever else it took... to negate our message....

take the party's nomination ... then suffer defeat anyway....and have us anti war hippies to blame for his loss..... he did the right thing.... he stood aside... and let history take it's course..

unfortunately for all of us it was not to be... but if you watch the movie bobby and listen to his speech. at the end... not very much has changed .. .unfortunately.... and if hilary continues down this path the horrible results might be the same

hopefully the super delegates.... will have the good sense and ethical motivation to vote for what's best not only for the party... but the country and the planet as well.... if hilary allows herself to exit this while there's still a chance to salvage some sense of victory for a battle well fought but lost....


she would actually get the satisfaction of doing something to help undo the damage done in the past... by the clinton administration with regards to the monica lewinsky debaucle....

the devastating results that caused by having george bush in the white house instead of the rightful winner ... Al Gore..

and also her lapse in judgement with regards to trusting george bush to use force as a last resort instead of the plan... most people who heard the drum beats.. realized exactly what he was planning all along...

be the better person hilary... let the dreamers and idealistic hope mongers win this time... and actually you might actually surprise yourself and enjoy being able to relax a bit and travel the globe with bill in between senate duties and help with world hungar and be a positive ambassador to the world again... instead of a spoiler.... that ends up handing the white house over... again... to the republicans....


please..... think....... not of yourself... but of the generations to come... and the possibility of our country living with a bright and shiny light on the hill again.... relish in the youth... the positive outlook and great expectations.... let the country enjoy being part of the dream instead of always trying to wake up from a nightmare... and stop the madness...

the dark ages are nearly over..... let there be light at the end of the tunnel,.... so what if it seems a bit like the yellow brick road to you... in the end... everyone ended up with what they really needed all the time...

there's no place like hope...... for the future and believing in the dreams of what's possible..... give us a chance to prove you wrong...

[ProudLiberalDan]

No, I don't support either of these two candidates and Hillary shouldn't drop out just because it makes life convenient for the Barack Obama traveling salvation show.

Neither one will have enough delegates and at this point I'm hoping for a brokered convention where an actual progressive like Gore, rather than one of these two overrated DLC-to-the-bone candidates is the nominee.

So, no, I decline to sign.

[itmaybetoolate]

I also hope that Gore will emerge as the candidate who can bring the two camps together - the acrimony grows each day and I fear that neither of the current candidates can successfully bridge the growing rift, which, of course = a McCain presidency. Gore vs. McCain? Gore, hands down!

[AjicNYC]

so just because New York will go democratic anyway. We should not recognize that we voted for Hillary!!

[lgillooly]

Hillary has every right to continue her campaign. It is people like you that will divide the Democratic Party. Let the process go forward and let people vote.

[rebeccaj]

I sign my name to the petition any way:

Rebecca McCullough

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

Oh give me a break. Since when has the NUMBER OF STATES won ever mattered in a general election with an electoral college?

Obama has won in many red states that he nor any other democrat will caryy in November.

I'm willing to admit that either Obama or Hillary will win in NY, CA and MA and those state primaries really don't make any difference.

Are you ready to admit that neither Obama or Hillary will win in Idaho, Alaska, Utah, SC, WY, ND, SD and many of the other red states, so that the results in those primaries also don't make any difference.

What is really important is to find out which candidate polls better against McCain in the states such as OH, PA, NJ, VA, MO, NM, NV, CO, MI and other states that are swing/battleground states. These states culd go either way especially with McCain as the repug nominee.

If you want to talk about suggesting the rules be changed, why not discuss the Obama contention that the super delegates MUST vote for him, even though there is no such rule?

[EspressoAtNoon]

Hillary CAN'T win the majority of the earned delegate votes. The ONLY way she can win is to take it to the convention and try to rewrite the agreed upon rules.

[BenMurphyNYC]

Obama can't win enough pledged delegates to push him over either. weird stuff, right? They both can win prior to the convention with a mix of pledged and super delegates.

[LAJonathan]

I think the fact that Peter Paul's lawsuit in the LA Superior court is set to drop in OCTOBER, right before the General, that should be enough. If you want your candidates entire family to testify in a civil fraud case AGAINST THEM one month before the general, then go ahead. You know the result of that action. This Rezko BS doesn't hold a candle to what is about to take place regarding this civil suit.

[BenMurphyNYC]

On second read - I think this funny - not an outrage. wow. I think? If you don't get to "'nuff said..." it is easy to read out of context.

[BenMurphyNYC]

This is an outrage! Let the process continue and the votes be counted.

[antaeus]

CLINTON-OBAMA 2008!

[JimR]

Clinton can definitely still win the nomination. But she'll have to tear the party apart to do it.

She doesn't appear to have a problem with that, however.

[JakeEasy]

Why does it look like 75% of the posters to this article either didn't read or didn't get it.

Either way, it is a telling reason why the Democrats can't get anything done.

[JoDeeVa]

HuffPost's Pick

Ditto! It's fun to read the comments of those who don't get the intent of the post. Kind of epitomizes the state and dilemma of the Democrats, eh? Martin Lewis' commentaries tend to challenge one to think outside the obvious. Unless you are willing to have an open mind about the possibilities of what can happen at the convention, in historical context, you don't get why this race should continue..especially if neither has a winning mandate with the numbers.

And, regardless of how you come down on this post, it would seem that most don't understand the role of the SUPERDELEGATES at that point. Popular vote and delegate counts in the primaries may not be reflective of what it will take to nominate a winning candidate. It's the GE, people and who can mount those electoral college numbers of the BIG states, not the number of states that make the difference. A quick check of those numbers in relation to the states each has won, respectively, shows Clinton ahead on that count! Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are a lot closer now and most likely may remain so, than Carter/ Kennedy were when they went into the convention! Still, I often wonder what would have happened had Kennedy succeeded in his challenge and gone on to challenge Reagan? In hindsight, it would seem that he had a better chance at winning than did Carter...ah, if only there had been SUPERDELEGATES then. At least we can thank Reagan for something.("eew, can't believe I'd ever thank him for anything"..she said, with great disdain.)

[nellie]

I don't agree. I think the results of yesterday's primaries show that the fight is still on. And as an Obama supporter, I think Barack needs to take his losses as a lesson. Lying works. Cheating works. Negative campaigning works. And this is just what he'll face if he gets the nomination. He needs to find a strategy FAST to combat these kinds of deceitful tactics. It's not enough to stand for a new kind of politics. You have to show that the new kind of politics is strong enough to beat down the old kind of politics.

[tbone99]

That's right and he hasn't even been exposed to the Repug machine yet! That was just a very light work out for the real thing.

[Marrob]

Martin Lewis, I think the reason Obama can't seal the deal and knock Hillary out is becoase a huge portion of the democratis base is unsure about his willingness to fight. So, take this article and take a long walk off a short bridge.

[JUSTME]

Actually, I think the reason Obama was unable to seal the deal last night is because a huge chunk of the Democratic base is overtly racist. Didn't five out of six white Ohioans admit that race was a big factor in their decision to vote for Hillary? Ohioans: undereducated, old, racist, and standing on their last leg. Yeah, I want THEM to decide what direction to take the country in.

Fuck Hillary. You can't even tell what side of her mouth she's talking out of any more. She hasn't told the truth in more years than she's been on the planet.

[frustratedinohio]

You have got to be kidding.

She has won the states that need to be won to win the election and she has done that on less funding, less endorsements and pitifully critical media coverage. If she were to drop out of the race she would be turning her back on a huge number of supporters who want her to become the next president. In fact, it's a very close race.

What does democracy look like in your world?

[efranklin]

What does democracy look like in my world? To me it looks like voters devoting their valuable time and energy to get out to polls and caucuses. Many more have done this in support of Barack Obama than for Hillary Clinton. Even the Clinton campaign has acknowledged that they need an elite class of party elders to go behind closed-doors to pull strings on their behalf. Is that what democracy looks like in your world?

[StephenDedalus82]

Democracy means not requiring the sacrifice of valuable time and energy for voting so that people other than financially secure party activists have a voice.

[JimR]

I guess in your world, it looks like sleazy tactics out of the Rove playbook.

[LeftRight]

Okay, let's be serious about the news coverage. I don't know what news networks YOU'RE watching, but the ones that I see are actually pretty fair to her. I'm not saying that there's not a slight bias, since his missteps seem to be covered less than hers, but they aren't coming out against her, and they are reporting way more about her positive points!