Reply #102: Because not voting is the same as voting for Bush

[mbali]

How can you blame them for not voting for some establishment Dem they are furious at more than you blame some putative swing voter under the sway of corporate media for not voting for Dean in a putative Bush vs. Dean matchup?

I don't blame the swing voters because, unlike Dean voters, they are not necessarily Democrats and don't believe that a Bush presidency is a bad thing. In other words, they just don't know any better. Dean supporters do.

I blame those Dean supporters who are threatening to sit out the general if they don't get their way because, despite their lectures and claims to be revamping the process, they are demonstrating a naive, childish and selfish view of politics.

I blame them because they supposedly know how bad Bush is and how dangerous he is for the future of this country and, despite this, they are willing to allow him another four years because the Democratic primary voters had the temerity to believe that their hero is not the best candidate to beat him.

I blame them because they fail to realize that, whether they vote or not, one of the two candidates in the general election will be the next president and that their failure to vote is the same as voting for Bush.

I blame them because, like the Naderites who felt they should show Al Gore and the Democrats, their actions will result in the re-selection of a man who is hostile to everything they claim to hold dear.

I blame them because, whatever they think of the non-Dean Democrats, any of them would be a better president than George W.

I blame them because they don't seem to understand why it's important to have a Democratic president, even one they don't like. I blame them because they are either too politically naive or just plain selfish to understand that a Democratic president - whoever he or she is - is needed to stem the tide of right-wing judicial appointments, environmental rollbacks and economic betrayal.

I blame them because they don't seem to know or care that a President Edwards would not give lifetime appointments to anti-civil rights and anti-choice judges who will shape our laws and society for decades to come. I blame them because they don't seem to know or care that a President Lieberman would never have a John Ashcroft as Attorney General. I blame them because they haven't seemed to figure out that a President Gephardt would instruct his solicitor general to try to convince the Supreme Court to outlaw affirmative action. I blame them because they haven't bothered to figure out that a President Kerry would never force through tax cut after tax cut that benefit only the wealthiest Americans.

Yes, I blame them for behaving like silly children who just don't have a clue about politics and what's good for this country but instead whine like spoiled, petulant brats because they didn't get every single thing they wanted in the primary. After all, the point is to beat Bush, not to glorify one particular individual.

At least I thought that was our goal.