Some weekend conversations I've had re: 08 elections.

[Skidmore]

Well, I just got home from Chicago where we went to visit some family and friends. Long conversations about the state of the nation and the world. Who can lead and can life ever return to pre-* era stability, for want of a better word. Of the people I spoke with some were fairly liberal, some somewhat conservative, and a couple were "centrists." Well, I came away hearing that these urbanites, like those of us in the rural areas, are not happy with the rhetoric and its notable divergence from reality. A take on globalization I hadn't heard before--it will not stop and will serve to equalize the standard of living for all peoples. We should expect to see a decline in living standards for Americans for some time to come and I couldn't get this beloved family member to quite settle on how far down the scale that will be. Well, by the time we worked our way through their anticipated vote in the Illinois primary, of 5 people, I had 4 Obama supporters and 1 Ron Paul supporter. No Hillary supporters. Now I know that all of these people are Dems of various hues and stripes. Three of them told me that if Hillary gets the nomination, in the general they will either participate with the Unity 08 group, write in someone else, or support Ron Paul if he can get traction by that time. Why? Their main concern was the erosion of civil liberties and the war and that both are too important to hand to a DLC candidate. Not even the more conserative participants could find much good to say about the DLC.

Don't jump my case--I'm just relaying the general content of some discussion among a small group of Dems on a weekend away from home.

[MadMaddie]

1. Thanks for the report....

I haven't deceided yet who I am voting for....

But it seems we face the same issue we did with Nadar.....a write in will not win. A write in will only siphon votes from the Democratic party...

This is not a game anymore....we have one more chance to rid the government of the Rethuglican leadership for many years...

I agree Hillary is not ideal but we have to make sure that whomever the Democratic Candidate is that we vote for him/her.

[MissWaverly]

2. here in Maryland there is intense interest in the news

but nobody has committed to a candidate, we discuss the debates and the daily events but nobody has really said,
x is my candidate.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Thanks for the information

I live in Arkansas, and visited with some folks today. One was undecided, the other two were for my candidate, Kucinich. The couple we visited have lived here for years and have been active in politics, but didn't consider voting for Clinton this time around, though they did vote and support Bill.