How To Avoid Destroying Ourselves Before November

[trynotto_giveuphope]

Look,

After tonight's results, it's pretty obvious that this thing is going to go all the way to June. At that point, and only then, with all the votes counted, will we see the party elders and superdelegates break for the candidate with the most popular votes and pledged delegates. This might involve do-overs in Michigan and Florida, but that can be worked out in a fair way. This thing won't go to the convention, but it won't end until the last primary, either.

In the meantime, this campaign can go one of two ways: ugly or united.

We have a very big choice to make. All of us. Together.

With McCain having definitively wrapped up the Repug nomination tonight, an internal fight amongst Democrats won't do any of us any good--not the candidates and not we, the people. Hillary's kitchen sink strategy has worked enough so that she can see this thing through until the last votes are counted three months from now. Obama has won enough delegates that, he, too, can stay in until June. A lot of us True Blues are angry, hurt, and scared at what's about to happen, no matter who we're supporting, but IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

What we need now is some real UNITY. Take a deep breath and say it again: UNITY. If we play our cards right, in fact, we can turn this nightmarish situation into the biggest advantage we've ever had.

My proposal is simply this: our two candidates MUST IMMEDIATELY stop campaigning against each other and they BOTH need to start campaigning against McCain. Hit him from both sides. Each acting as the presumptive nominee, they must, in essence, ignore each other to focus on November. We'll have two strong candidates campaigning simultaneously against one. Let's steamroll those 'pugs. They won't know what hit 'em.

Not only will this serve to weaken McCain and the Republicans, but whichever of our two candidates does a better job of campaigning against McCain will prove to be the better general election candidate and will win our nomination. It will pull us together and put us ALL in a better position.

If we keep attacking each other, we are doomed to lose. Period. No matter who you support. No matter who our nominee turns out to be.

There will be more debates (sigh) and we can nitpick each others' nearly identical platforms there, in that forum. Fine. So be it. But leave it there at the debate table. Out on the campaign trail, the mantra must be: MCCAIN MCCAIN MCCAIN (i.e. BUSH BUSH BUSH).

Enough Hillary mocking Obama and Obama mocking Hillary. Enough red phones and cries of racism and misogyny. That's over. It's done. We, the Democratic voters, did a pretty darn good job of picking our favorites before this thing turned nasty and if we go back to being civil, we'll still be able to thoughtfully pick our favorites just the same.

It's time for the Clinton team and the Obama team to sit down with each other and have a real discussion about the future of the party and the direction this campaign is going to go. If they do it right, BOTH campaigns will benefit. Just think: McCain will have to defend himself against BOTH sides, round the clock. He'll have to respond to Obama in the morning and Clinton in the afternoon while Bill chimes in around dinner time and those cute little Obama girls smile and wave to the crowds just before they trot off to bed. At McCain's age, he won't have the energy to keep up. And surrogates like W and Romney aren't going to do him much good. Oh, and that Veep who drunkenly shot a guy in the face isn't gonna do him any favors, either.

Seriously. It's time for Hillary and Barack to calm down and essentially ignore each other from now until June, except for those couple hours during the (much more civil) debates we'll have occasionally between now and then.

Sure, let them go after each other one last time right before the pivotal Florida and Michigan re-do's in June. But until then, let's blast the Republicans like they've never been blasted before. A two-front assault. Let our better candidate prevail, in a positive Democratic light, while throwing the kitchen sink at the Repugs, instead of at each other.

It's our only hope. Not only will it do wonders for our party's unity and our country, it'll do wonders for our mental health. Otherwise, we're doomed. It's time for the healing to begin.

Sincerely,
Trying Not To Give Up Hope

PS: And please don't reply to this message with a "Yeah, but this-candidate-or-that-candidate won't *ever* do this". At this point, NEITHER will. But it's not about them. It's about us. If we show some TEAMWORK here on DU, maybe our candidates might get a glimpse of our newfound civility and follow *our* lead. It's worth a shot, anyway.

[elleng]

1. THANK YOU,

trynotto.

I was thinking,earlier, about writing what it would be like if Dems threw it away again, but your suggestions are MUCH MUCH more satisfactory.

I would like to add that not only must the 'heads,' O and H, modify their approaches; they must ASSURE that their organizations do the same.

But maybe most difficult, they must persuade that their grass and netrooters start behaving like grownups again, for the sake of all of us.

Please.

[acrosstheuniverse]

3. I'm voting for Mccain before I vote for Hillary

I'm sorry it has to be this way. My entire democratic family will be doing the same if she is nominated.

I can't imagine what the effect of that will have on the Democrat's chances at regaining the Congress. Their approval rating is already below the republican congress members. Sigh.

[tblue]

5. I have heard so many people say that. I hope you won't actually do that. But this scares me so.

[quantass]

2. But, Hillary wont stop her NEGATIVES....You expect Barack to sit by and take it again?

He is going to have to get negative for the 1st time to counter her negatives to be able to compete now...its inevitably going to get ugly...and divide the party...

[anonymous171]

4. She can't win without negatives.

Her campaign knows this.

[RiverStone]

9. Sadly - your probably right

Unity -sounds fantastic and in an ideal world...

But Obama lost last night because he got complacent.

Hillary attacked him with a fear mongering ad - she attacked him in a backhanded way on 60 minutes - and she called in to question that McCain has more experience than him.

His mistake was focusing too much on McCain; whereas he should of kept his focus on Hillary this past week.

I don't ever diss Hillary supporters, so I won't go negative there - but Obama MUST come out with both arms swinging tomorrow - and his target should be 100% Hillary.

[elleng]

6. I'm very sorry AND DISAPPOINTED

that reason hasn't prevailed. even on this small group.

[Beregond2]

7. Unity

Nice advice, but it won't happen. Hillary has learned that the only way she can win is by being nasty, so she won't stop now. And Obama will have to start responding in kind, or be written off as a wimp. It is all going to be ugly and destructive to the party, but once Hillary let Penn talk her into embracing the Dark Side, this became inevitable. Personally, I intend to tune-out until June.

[Bobbieo]

8. Please note that all the negativity is coming new posters -

Where are they coming from and why are they posting here?

[melody]

11. I'm an old poster and I'm even more negative than they are

Hillary has killed us dead in the water.

[Ravy]

10. My guess is that popular vote will favor Clinton at the end, and

pledged delegates favor Obama.


Superdelegates will have a tough decision.