Hillary Will Get the Nomination - Democratic Underground

alcibiades_mystery

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Fri Jan-11-08 11:48 AM
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Hillary Will Get the Nomination

I came into the past week on DU essentially undecided, and not particularly caring who won the Dem nod. All the viable candidates (indeed, all the candidates) are far to the right of my own positions, but this is something I had to get used to through my 20's (when I refused to vote at all), and that I've come to terms with. I vote for the Democrat to avoid disaster and catastrophe. But I've never identified with either the person or the policies of Democratic candidates. And I lean Obama. I would like to see him win, I think, but if Senator Clinton wins, I will be just as satisfied.

And at this point, it's a simple numbers game at this point: the Clinton/Democratic machine is well entrenched, and has the ability to run a 50 state campaign. Obama's effort will be valiant, but it will be essentially over by this time next month. I should qualify: I do not mean "machine" in a bad way. Having deeply organized political entities is not wrong or bad. It is what it is. At this point, it is near impossible to overcome.

I know that the Hillary Clinton supporters on this board consider themselves and their candidate the victims of vicious attacks, and that is, in my view, largely accurate. The childish defense of "You should have seen them last year" wouldn't pass muster in your average kindergarten; that adults should invoke such nonsense is the height of absurdity. Some of the Clinton supporters, however, are also purveyors of vicious and incredible smears. There is certainly call to examine Obama's record with respect to LGBT issues, but many of the charges have been dishonest and beyond all measure. They've been unjust. The issue of "style v. substance" is also a legitimate concern. There, too, some Clinton supporters on this board have been so overboard as to become ridiculous, and often far worse than ridiculous, given the grisly and disabling history of the "style v. substance" charge in America. There has been out-and-out racism, as well, however much supporters have cried "political correctness" and "you're reading into it too much" as your standard right wing defenses against unconscionable behavior. It's heart-breaking.

And I don't agree that the vicious attacks from either side are "just politics." No. They are a loss of ethical compass, a complete lack of self-awareness and basic human decency. If that's "politics," you can have it. I don't presume that I can return anybody to decency. If I get any responses at all to this, I suspect fully half will consist of defending the need for such indecency, or various justifications already aired ad nauseam on these boards. But we are going to have to figure out what to do with the results.

What I have seen here from both sides has often pushed me to frustration and anger, even disgust. Where I manifested that, I apologize. The self-righteous and utterly convinced blindness on all sides is, at the end, terrifying. And a sad spectacle. And so now I know that the arguments put forth by the Clinton side will win the day, but it feels dirty as hell, and I've lost respect for many DU posters as a result of their behavior. Clinton will win, but there will be a stink on it, at least for me. I know. I'm insignificant. You don't need to tell me.

But at some point, we're going to have to figure out what to do with that stink. It may be too strong for air-freshener.