We have two candidates in the Democratic Primaries.

[MineralMan]

Some of us support one of them, while others support the other. Both candidates have been supporting Democratic issues for a long time. They have somewhat different plans if elected as President, but there is much they share.

As a lifelong Democrat, I'll be more than pleased to vote for whomever becomes our nominee.

I think we should be pointing out the differences, but with the recognition that we're talking about two Democratic candidates, not opponents of our Party.

Thanks for reading.

[NurseJackie]

1. Very logical, thoughtful and realistic. How could ANY intelligent person be against this?

[marions ghost]

2. I'm "intelligent"

by any standard, and I'm against Hillary for President. Now HOW could that happen?

I guess I'm standing with teh stupid? Doesn't feel like that......... Feels like being with the smart AND wise....

[MineralMan]

4. That's fine, but enough people may not agree with you

to nominate a different Democrat for President. What then? I recognize that my choice is not always the one I will be able to vote for in any given November. So, I vote for the Democrat, because that leads to a better outcome than the alternative.

Right now, we're in the process of selecting a Democratic nominee. I've played my part in that. Now, I'm ready to help the eventual nominee beat the Republican in November. As I said, I'll be happy to support either Democratic candidate at that time.

It's the only decision that makes any sense to me.

[marions ghost]

7. Good for you

-- I responded to the post putting out the idea that "intelligent" people don't vote for Bernie. I mean how could they NOT love Hillary and all she stands for? They must not be reasonable, rational people like all Clinton fans.



Your comments on that statement?

[MineralMan]

11. I would never say such a thing. There are intelligent people

supporting both candidates.

[MineralMan]

3. In an imperfect world, getting close is the best we can do.

We have two political parties. That's it. I prefer the Democratic Party, despite its failure to be 100% representative of my own viewpoints. In any given election, the Democrat will be the preferred choice for me. I've seen both parties in power. That's why I prefer Democrats to be in the majority in all branches of government, local, state and federal.

When the General Election comes around, I have a binary choice to make. It's an easy one, I think.

[Lizzie Poppet]

10. Easy: for some of us, it's not "our" party.

I'm not a Democrat.* I'm an independent progressive. The party branding is meaningless to me. I'm here (and I almost always vote Democrat) because I share values with the majority of posters here, Democrats and fellow independents alike. When the Democrat in a given race is someone largely in agreement with those values, I'm happy to vote for them. Sometimes there's a candidate in those races that's closer to my views (usually Green Party), but the Democrat is close enough, and will have more actual influence, as a member of one of the major parties.

But while Hillary Clinton and I certainly share values (to the degree I can determine what her real values are, which is part of the problem), we also have areas of disagreement. Huge, gaping, probably-irreconcilable gaps of disagreement... Without any "support the crest" (if I might use a soccer metaphor) motivation, I have more reason to vote against her than for her. Simply put and for a host of reasons I don't see a need to rehash here, I don't think she'd make a good president.

So yeah, I've been flip-flopping, but have finally decided to vote for Hillary if my state ends up in play (about as likely as Donald Trump pausing a campaign rally to permit Muslim prayers). There is the SCOTUS to think about, and I'm not confident of reclaiming the Senate to prevent "Justice Cruz" (*shudder*). But I'll probably never stop resenting the lost opportunity of a "prefect storm" situation for putting a progressive in the Oval Office.

* Well, okay, technically I am right now: I switched registration to vote in our primary in May.

[Joe the Revelator]

5. The John Madden of political commentary.

[Wilms]

6. Let me get this straight. Are you trying to tell me...

1. We have two candidates in the Democratic Primaries.
2. Some of us support one of them, while others support the other.
3. Both candidates have been supporting Democratic issues for a long time.
4. They have somewhat different plans if elected as President, but there is much they share.

Is that what you are saying. Why, oh why, did you not let us in on this sooner???

I realize that as one of the few adults in the room, you won't always share everything with the children you speak down to. But you COULD have pointed out those facts sooner.

[Dem2]

8. There will be nothing dignified about this!

You've already been called to the mat for being patronizing, how dare you ask for a little civility.

[dubyadiprecession]

9. We have one democrat..

and one socialist.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. When did Democrats start praising the Reagans for being AIDS activists? That's what makes this

cycle confusing. Hillary keeps sounding like a Republican from the 90's. I despised those Republicans.