An Ode to Clinton Supporters and Thoughts on Fence Sitting

grantcart

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Mar-18-08 02:45 PM
Original message

An Ode to Clinton Supporters and Thoughts on Fence Sitting

Dear Clinton Supporter,

I admire your passion and commitment. I do without reservation.

Yes I think that Senator Clinton is now engaged in a campaign that is primarily motivated by her own personal quest for power and that she is not putting the interests of the party at heart.

But you are not. You fight, argue and scream. Sometimes you (like some of us) are rude and overbearing. Sometimes passion will do that - and I love that you are still passionate.

Yes I think that many of the positions that you now defend are ridiculous. But the campaigns we support sometimes put is in untenable positions. You end up having to explain something quite strange that originated with Mark Penn or someone else and it really doesn't represent your honest intellectual preference but like the courageous civil war teenager you will not let your flag hit the ground - good for you. Of course I will take a shot and ridicule but I know that you, like I, would have preferred a fight relying only on our better angels.

In a country that is 95% self absorbed about trivial and material concerns you still care and you still fight and even though you drive me crazy I admire that and prefer you to the 95% that would prefer to be sheep. I will not even urge you to join us in the end. You do not need me to make that decision. In some cases your passion and hurt will make that impossible for some time and for some that will be past the election. I still applaud you.

To the Fence Sitters:

I have noticed four types of fence sitters

1) People who are not excited and not conflicted just waiting for the nominee. Often interesting and refreshing they usually have opinions that don't fit the mold.

2)People who are genuinely conflicted. Additional time will probably not make it any easier and if you feel compelled to enter before it is finally decided that time is now. With Florida and Michigan not re voting if you want to voice an opinion before the end of the fourth quarter then its time to suit up and decide.

3) People who curse both candidates. I am not talking about the person who misses Joe or Bill or John or Dennis, but the one that keeps saying that these two candidates are ruining the party and are on their knees begging for a brokered convention so that someone who was not successful before can now lead us to success - please I would rather have a blow out argument with a rabid Clinton supporter than you.

3) The professorial evaluator. "This campaign deserves a point here and I give this campaign a deduction there". Really. Without this self appointed dean we could not have been able to see a stumble or a slam dunk. Again I would rather be roasted by a Clinton supporter who has caught my enthusiasm running past my brain.

Waiting for a grateful following to ask you to guide us to reconciliation, don't bother, those leaders will be from the vanquished side. Those that have opened themselves up and fought and lost - those are the ones that I respect and at the right time will listen to.

Finally to the Clinton supporter I hope that you will soon be on our side with the same passion you now demonstrate.