It's about more than Obama or Clinton

[auburngrad82]

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she's decided that if Clinton isn't the nominee then she's not voting. Her argument is she's waited her whole life to vote for a woman and she's not voting for anyone except a woman this time.

My response is that if the Democratic candidate doesn't win in November the effects on our legal system could be long term and devastating. Women's health issues, ie abortion rights, are just one of the issues at stake. That makes the election about more than electing one woman. This election could have dramatic effects on women for decades to come.

Of the nine Supreme Court Justices, four of them are considered liberal. The youngest of the four is 68 years old (Souter) and the oldest is 88 years old (Stevens). My guess is that at least one of these Justices will retire during the next term. Do you want the President nominating the replacement to be a Democrat or a Republican? Seven of the nine Justices were appointed by Republican Presidents and the average age of the conservative Justices is just over 60 years. The GOP has loaded the Supreme Court with young men who can influence the legal system in our country for many years.

At this time there are four conservatives, four liberals, and one swing vote, moderate conservative Justice Kennedy. If the Democrats win the White House then the Supreme Court has a chance of taking a lean to the left. That's a good thing for most of the issues that we as Democrats care about. But if we, through anger and arrogance, allow McCain to win in November, the Supreme Court could take a swing to the right that could last for many years to come. Most of us saw just how important the Supreme Court can be when they appointed the current pResident in 2000.

Think about some of the issues that could come before the Supreme Court. Abortion rights, Gay rights, drilling in Alaska's protected wilderness, environmental issues, prosecutions of the current administration, etc etc.

You see, to me it's not about electing a woman, although it would be nice if the Democratic Party's candidate could be the first woman elected to the highest office in the country. Neither is it about electing an African American to the Presidency, another historic first that I as a Democrat would be proud of. It's about the future of our legal system, the future of our country, and the future of our kids.

This election is a lot more important than one person.

[TahitiNut]

1. It seems rather simple, to me.

At least it's simple in the abstract - but gets tied up in some very difficult emotional problems in the immediate sense.

One can either believe Hillary 'lost' primarily due to (1) sexism or (2) being the second 'best' candidate.

If someone opts to believe #1, then they're obliged to rationalize the fact that Obama didn't 'lose' due to racism. After all, at least in the most superficial sense one must acknowledge that 'sexism' would account for about 49% of the electorate (males) and 'racism' would account for about 87% of the electorate (non-black). Thus, it seems the potential for the bias-based vote is far larger a problem for Obama. It's difficult (at best) to adopt that posture from any rational and objective viewpoint.

The specious claims that 'reverse' racism is somehow a greater factor than BOTH racism AND 'reverse' sexism is a rather thin facade, imho.

So, I'm obliged to believe #2. At that point, I must CELEBRATE the idea that a woman actually CAN run for the Presidency AND not be denied due to being a woman. For me, that's heartening. While it surely doesn't mean there's NO sexism in our body politic, it at least signals there's a tremendous amount of progress. (Clearly, those whose 'rice bowls' depend on fighting a higher level of perceived sexism would disagree. That, however, is self-interst and not very productive or progressive.)

[Swamp Rat]

6. What's it all about?

:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIY4zwYBfrU&feature=PlayList&p=E9F5A7707BDD12BC&index=5

[TahitiNut]

7. "No matter how many times I'd jump off a tall building, I'd never sprout wings!"

:rofl: :rofl:

"If we had six legs where'd our ass be?"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That's just PRECIOUS!

[Swamp Rat]

9. I knew you'd like it.

Did you watch all the way to the end, past the credits? :evilgrin:

[TahitiNut]

12. Yup. Inventive and a combination of pathetic and endearing (pathdearing?).

Well done, imho. :thumbsup:

I have a slow broadband connection (~756kbs down) so I don't watch many of those. That one was worth it, even being a bit longer than the usual 60-120sec. (I looked, of course, since I respect your taste and judgment. But you knew that.)
:pals:

[me b zola]

2. K&R

[HowHasItComeToThis]

3. WILL THE SUPER-DELEGATES VOTE DEMOCRAT OR

REPUBLICAN LITE??????????????????

[auburngrad82]

10. Will Democrats support the nominee or will they sign away their future

by not voting?

McCain or a Democrat. For me it's not a hard choice. I'll vote for Hillary or Obama. But never for McCain. And I won't waste my vote by not voting.

[nichomachus]

4. The sexism angle is just bogus -- and an insult to the whole party

Yes, there are some people who won't vote for a woman, just as there are some people who won't vote for a black, a gay, a Catholic, a minister or whatever. But that doesn't define the campaign or the entire electorate.

What's important to note in this election is that a lot of people now supporting Obama originally supported Hillary. So -- what happened? Did they turn sexist overnight? Were they bitten by the sexism bug?

My guess is that the campaign gave them a close look at Hillary and they didn't see her as the best candidate in this election.

For the Clintonites to claim that Hillary lost the primary due to sexism is really a slap in the face to the party -- and I don't know if anyone has realized that or not. The Clintons are saying that the Democratic electorate, which has turned out in record numbers, is predominantly sexist. That's pretty insulting to the party they want to lead.

[gateley]

5. When people say stuff like that (on both sides)

I just wonder what they're thinking when they fill up the gas tank, go to the store, hear about the deaths in Iraq, etc.

You are so right - it's about so much more than Obama or Clinton. It's about the survival of our country.

[not_too_L8]

8. What I say to people like that is....

If we do not elect a Democrat the chance of ever electing a women will get smaller

[TexasObserver]

11. When one lets their genitals do their thinking, such things will happen.

Sad, but true.