We come from three generations of steelworkers. Bethlehem Steel. You may have heard of it. It will soon be a casino. Our grandfather cast his first vote for FDR in 1932. Our dad shook JFK's hand and wished him luck in 1960. In November, there has never been another option but the name at the top of the ticket. Not this time.
We've read and heard all the bullshit about how excited, unified and supportive Democrats will be regardless of the nominee. How the stakes are too high, the positions so indistinguishable that Obama voters will put aside their grievances and rally to the cause. Forget it.
Let's get one thing straight...all we expect from Obama is all you can truly hope from any president, that he or she will do less evil. That's it. And no, our refusal to vote for Hillary has nothing to do with her being a woman. She happens to be a woman who is not worth voting for. A shocking concept to those Gloria Steinems of the land who discern only sisterhood between Margaret Thatcher, Helen Keller, Eva Braun, Rosa Parks and Paris Hilton.
And from a purely political perspective, it would be an act of transcendent madness for the Democrats to nominate her. As if in 1932, despite having a charismatic leader in their midst, the smoke filled room went for Edith Bolling Galt Wilson so she could defend The League Of Nations.
The bottom line, despite Hillary's phantom 35 years of experience, is that the Clintons can never be vetted. They are always knee deep in shit. It may be shit that will surface after the convention, when and if her tax returns are ever released. It may be shit lying dormant in sealed White House records. It may be shit from how they are financing her campaign right now. It may be shit from the myriad shady deals Bill has cut as a former president. But it is there.
And when she is the nominee and the shit surfaces what then? If she's president and Bill decides he misses spewing his seed in the Oval Office sink, what then? Why then all the forces of progressivism must rally. We must link arms with Lanny Davis and Ann Lewis and fight the Clintons battles yet again. No thanks.
You don't have to read Kevin Phillips to know that the '90s were not such halcyon days. They were an opportunity squandered. They were fleeting DLC accomplishments in triangulated sand, blown to the four winds by a punk from Texas who actually stood behind his demented convictions.
For whatever their personal psychodrama, the Clintons need to return to the White House. To achieve power they will fight dirty, and to the political death. But we don't need them.
Yes the Republicans will attack Obama. He will counterpunch and the rest of us will go to the mattresses. But at least with Obama there's a chance the fight will be worth it.
Somewhere deep down, this country has to know that it deserves better than Bushes and Clintons. And if it doesn't, then count us in the Green Party column come November.