My Two Cents

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Now that we have a nominee , anybody on this board who unfairly criticizes or disrespects Senators Clinton or Obama is a Republican paid disruptor and should be treated as such.

I am DemocratSinceBirth and I paid for this message.

[parasim]

1. I largely agree with you, but remember...

"unfairly" and "disrespects" are subjective terms.

[Honeycombe8]

2. Ditto. Disrespect for either is unacceptable. But criticism is not disrespect. nt

[BeyondGeography]

3. Cheers, to one of Hillary's best supporters on this board

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. I Will Be Totally Honest About My Evolution In Thought

I could never vote for a Republican. In March I was committed to leaving the presidential ballot blank...I then moved in May to voting , unenthusiastically, for Barack Obama...After Hillary's speech I am at neutral because I realize how far right McSame is...

But the notion that there are disaffected Hillary supporters who are indeed Democrats who will vote for McSame is not an urban myth... I know several of them and am trying to dissuade them by highlighting McSame's position on choice, SS, taxes, and universal health care...

In 80, John Anderson got 7% of the vote running as a slightly left of center reformist...Many of those voters were disaffected Kennedy voters...Reagan would still have won but by not as large a margin....

[BeyondGeography]

5. I voted for Anderson...swore I would never throw my vote away again

After one year of Reagan, and watching Jimmy Carter start his post-presidency out by building homes for homeless people, did I feel like an ass.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Wow

I was going to PM you but since you made a public confession so can I... I started voting in 1978...My only vote for a candidate other than a Democrat was for John Anderson in 1980. I was in such a pique Ted Kennedy lost the nomination I hated Jimmy Carter for beating him. I can imagine how much more in a pique I would have been if there was an internet where I could go to see Ted Kennedy slammed by Carter supporters to fuel my anger...

Also, whether it was Carter's fault or circumstances, the U S was in a bad place in 1980...Kind of where it is now...

God bless Ted Kennedy but he really didn't do much to dissuade his supporters from voting for Anderson...If you remember Ted Kennedy actually met with John Anderson and there was talk, however far fetched, of a Anderson-Kennedy ticket or a Kennedy endorsement of Anderson...John Anderson wasn't a bad candidate and he had a visionary and bold program which included a fifty cent gas tax which at that time would have been a good idea...He also beat Ronald Reagan in their presidential debate...And he was a real maverick not a faux one like McSame...

I was in grad school during the beginning of the Reagan era or error...My buddy and I used to joke about having a bumper sticker made that said "Don't blame me. I voted for Anderson."

[BeyondGeography]

7. That was my first presidential election

I was a college student at the time and, as you doubtless recall, Anderson was a big hit with students and certain intellectuals. Looking back, it was a vanity vote on my part; I can't remember a single issue that motivated me other than I was crushed that Teddy lost and Anderson struck me as the most thoughtful candidate in the race. Carter seemed hopeless to me; doomed and overwhelmed. I didn't think he had a chance so I "exercised my independence," and helped Reagan's "mandate" in the process.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. Yes, Anderson Was A Campus And Elite Favorite

I remember when he refused to endorse Reagan in a debate and Reagan said " are you going to endorse Teddy Kennedy over me?"...

In Florida it was a safe vote because FL wasn't particularly close...

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. and I approve this message