I've begun the long and nauseating process of accepting that I might have to vote for Hillary

[Mojambo]

Some background.

I'm an Edwards supporter who came into the one on one battle of Obama and Clinton fairly neutral. I still find them pretty similar on most issues. Hillary is better on Health Care. Obama's better on Social Security. Obama's better on the war. Hillary's better on gay rights. Obama's better on open govt. They're both pretty shitty on trade... etc etc etc.

So for most of this campaign it's been easy for me to sit back and say that whoever gets the nomination gets my vote. And I still feel that way. There's no other reasonable way to go. I believe that.

Unfortunately the Clinton campaign has sunk to some tactics that I find completely abominable. I won't rehash them, but pushing the Wright stuff (no pun intended) is just the latest episode. As the campaign has unfolded I have slowly been pushed further and further into the Obama camp by these tactics despite the fact that I find Senator Clinton's positions only slightly less acceptable than Senator Obama's. I still wouldn't consider myself an Obama partisan, but I'm close.

So what's the point of this post? I think the Wright attacks have worked. I think Obama is damaged by them FAR more than anyone suspects. This week, the last few days, have felt like the Dean take-down on steroids. I think there's a real chance that this will spook the superdelegates into Hillary's camp. It's not right and it pisses me off that the Clinton campaign might be so lushly rewarded for pushing this thing, but I've seen enough of this media to know that they will not let this go. And even if they were inclined to, the Clinton campaign won't. Another week of this? Two? Obama's in a strong position, but if he loses Indiana and NC is closer than it should be...

I need to once again get myself in a position to be able to vote for Senator Clinton, and I didn't think I would have to. Anyone else having similar struggles?

I know Obama partisans might say I'm being too fatalistic, and I really don't even want to consider what Clinton partisans might say, but I just wanted to throw my thoughts out there.

By the way, I've never posted a thread to GD:P before, and if my fears of the responses this thread might get come true I probably won't ever again!

Thanks for listening.

[livetohike]

1. Obama is only damaged if people like you who may have voted for

him think your vote doesn't matter. Is that the case? Are you afraid that he might not win, so therefore you shouldn't back him in a primary election.

In my opinion, if Hillary wins, the Republicans will tear her apart.

[Mojambo]

3. My primary vote is long past

But I do think that the superdelegates may take that position.

I don't think they should, mind you.

[livetohike]

8. Oh, thanks for clearing that up

:hi: I didn't realize you already had your primary.

I will vote for Hillary if she is the nominee, but I think it will be Obama. I think we'll see more SDs come out for him before May 6. It's a question of who will make the better President. I like his temperament and the fact he draws young/new voters to the table.

I was a Kucinich supporter, btw :-).

[movonne]

10. I have decided to write Obama in...I will not vote for her...I thought

a couple of weeks ago that I would vote for her but not now..to me it would be as bad as voting for mc cain..

[leftofcool]

24. Another Dem for McCain

[movonne]

27. did you read the last line...

[nadinbrzezinski]

You are right this is Dean on steroids

I will vote for either, but reality is that the choices we have this year are dire indeed

A fascist (McCain for those asking)

A fascist Light (Hillary and the tactics speak for themselves)

And a corporatist....

This is not the best moment for the US..

And no... I don't expect anything to change after the dem, assuming he\she wins, takes over the white house

The 2006 elections disavowed me of any hope.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. You are right this is Dean on steroids

I will vote for either, but reality is that the choices we have this year are dire indeed

A fascist (McCain for those asking)

A fascist Light (Hillary and the tactics speak for themselves)

And a corporatist....

This is not the best moment for the US..

And no... I don't expect anything to change after the dem, assuming he\she wins, takes over the white house

The 2006 elections disavowed me of any hope.

[PoliticalAmazon]

4. DON'T DO IT! There are alternatives. By voting for her out of fear....

...of a McCain presidency, you will be falling for the DNC fear tactics.

If you don't think she would make a good president, then don't give her your vote of approval.

[Unbowed]

5. Obama will be the nominee.

They're throwing everything at him. Wright is acting like he's been paid off by Fox news or the GOP. No matter, Obama is untouchable. It would take a real scandal to make him unelectable now. He's just got too many delegates in his column.

And super delegates are still coming out for him; three new supers just today.

Obama's lead can't be overcome even if Hillary has a surge, which she won't. Her huge win in PA ended up being 9 points.

My opinion is that she's hoping to damage Obama enough that the Party will talk to him and convince him to put her on the ticket. It's not going to happen, but I think that is what she wants.

[Texas Hill Country]

6. welcome to GDP... and good luck with the flames... the lack of an "observing ego" abounds in here

[anamandujano]

7. Wright's big mouth=Clinton tactics? Well, OOOOOOOOkay!

:eyes:

[msmcghee]

9. If Obama has been damaged by Wright, rest assured . .

. . it's not because the Clinton campaign "pushed" it. You act as if the MSM were not looking for some fireworks to enliven the evening newscast - as if they would otherwise have ignored Wright's NPC talk - where he provided enough fireworks to take us through July 4.

If it whets their appetites now in the leadup to the convention - that means it would probably be a real frenzy leading up to November. Anyone running against him would be derelict to fail to see it as a significant reason for Dem voters not to nominate him - and to be sure that Dem voters and delegates understand that.

Jeez, it's campaigning and fighting for votes. That's what they're supposed to do. Everyone was bitter that Al Gore didn't call for riots in the streets and that Kerry didn't take Ohio to the Supreme Court. Now, we've got a real fighter in the race and everyone's complaining about how mean she is and playing the victim - at least when they're not calling her a racist. Obama fans should get over it. Obama screwed up. He made a serious political error in allowing Wright to be in a position where he could damage him. Now he's paying the price - and better for Dems now than later.

[haymakeragain]

11. Let me help you, imagine right-wing heads exploding all over the country.

Did that help?

[Solomon]

12. Well I hope that when Obama becomes the nominee, that you

will vote for him.

[Mojambo]

17. I will vote for the Democrat

At this point I would greatly prefer it to be Obama.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. I'm sure the more timid elements are very concerned.

[leftstreet]

14. Uh, the average GE voter isn't even watching this M$M crap

They won't really pay attention until this fall.

[msmcghee]

15. They'll be watching in October. n/t

[Mojambo]

16. My concern is less about GE voters and more about superdelegates. n/t

[quakerboy]

39. The supers are still

coming out for Obama. A 50/50 split would favor Obama at this point, but he is getting a majority of those who declare now. So don't be too worried.

[redqueen]

18. So the latest polls show Obama on the rise...

what makes you think WRIGHTAPALOOZA has negatively impacted his campaign?

[Mojambo]

19. They do?

I was unaware. The last polls I read about showed Hillary closing in Indiana and NC.

I would be encouraged to hear of different trends.

[sandiegoboy]

20. Hillary isn't bad

Obama is just better.

[Mojambo]

22. I think there's some truth to that.

Her campaign tactics have not represented her positively though.

In my opinion anyway.

[Cha]

21. Why do people say

"hilary is better on health care"?

I think you're way too Doom & Gloom..you need to buck up..
Obama's going to be the nominee.

[Mojambo]

23. I will do my best to buck up

To be clear, I'm quite disatisfied with both of them on Health Care.

I think her plan can be transitioned into something more acceptable easier than his, but this is policy quibbling that will be worked out in Congress.

[Cha]

25. Thanks, Mojambo..it just

gets a little frustrating for us who know Obama will go all the way to see "surrender" to the tactics of hilary clinton who needs to be held accountable for her actions and words..not given the highest post in the land.

I don't like that hilary's health plan is mandatory.

[Mooney]

26. You won't have to vote for her.

I promise.

[JohnnyLib2]

28. You can do it--just look for the D.

D as in Democrat. K & R

[TexasObserver]

29. Don't worry. She is not going to get the nomination.

So you'll be able to vote for Obama, who is going to win it.

The sad truth is there are a lot of really ignorant people out there, people who have absolutely no idea of what Clinton has done the past 7 years, people who only know what they're hearing said today. Those people respond to Hillary's rhetoric because they are ignorant and easily led around by the nose. They respond to knee jerk stimuli, and Hillary is merely giving them the stimulus that makes them knee jerk. Where racism works, she uses that. Where lying about jobs works, she does that.

She'll be a bad memory in three months, that crazy old lady who wouldn't go home.

[backscatter712]

30. OBAMA WILL WIN!!!

He's got the math. He's got within spitting distance of 1627 pledged delegates, and watching Olbermann today, it looks like the superdelegates are about to endorse him en-masse. The drip-drip-drip of endorsements he's been getting has been accelerating.

Me, I think it'll be all over on May 20th, after Oregon and Kentucky, when he gets that 1,627 pledged delegate. Assuming that the aftermath of N. Carolina and Indiana doesn't bring Clinton to drop out earlier.

[malik flavors]

31. Just vote for the candidate you prefer. They both have plenty of baggage.

Reverend Wright will probably be old news by November. We haven't even been talking about Hillary's problems, so atleast Obama's flaws are getting out there early. Hillary could have the library donor list blow up in her face during the general election.

[Neshanic]

32. The gig is up. Obama is going to get nomination. It's a done deal.

So no worries as you watch the wonderfull republican attack ads.

[natrat]

33. i woudnt vote for that sleazebag freak if you paid me

[cd3dem]

34. it was predictable.. no one knew anything about Obama...

his followers were more about not liking Hillary than anything... I think if you stop hating Hillary and listen to the good things she has to offer and look at what she has accomplished, you will move forward...

we had the best years in America during the Clinton years, a good economy and we were reducing the deficit... how is that a bad future to look forward to.

this Clinton supporter welcomes it! Woman have been stuck voting for men they were not thrilled about for years... it is time for a woman president and to end sexism and the ceiling that keeps women from moving forward!

[tnlefty]

35. Sucks, doesn't it?

I supported Kucinich, Edwards was my second choice and the 2 left standing were always at the bottom of my list. The tactics by the Clinton camp are making it very difficult for me as I don't think that horrendous behavior should be rewarded, but I have 3 sons and McSame just isn't an option. If she's the nominee I may take a razor blade to the polls with me so that I can use it after I vote - kidding - but it will feel that bad. No happiness, no joy, just job done.

[crimsonblue]

36. Personally, I think the argument about healthcare is a non-sequiter.

As we all know, Hillary supports mandates and Obama does not. However, since legislation is made in Congress, I will go ahead and guarantee that Obama will not veto a universal healthcare plan that includes mandates. He just won't. So that ends the argument, for me anyway.

[Mojambo]

37. Yeah. I feel similarly

The makeup of Congress will have FAR more to do with what kind of health care system we get than whether Hillary or Obama is the one to sign it.

[AZBlue]

38. No one needs to get into a position to be able to vote for Clinton.

Sorry, but she won't be the nominee.

[gateley]

40. I feel like you do, Mojambo.

Today I was discouraged by the the same concerns you express, and felt I had to DO something. I exercised my option to Vote Early today for Obama (my 'real' primary is next week).

Unlike those who are so confident, all along I've been saying "I'll believe it when I see it." Yes, the numbers add up, yes, Obama has incredible support (but so does Hillary - we're just about split down the middle at the moment), but this campaign has been all over the place so I'm not taking anything for granted.

I realized today that I would feel depressed if I had to vote for Hillary in the GE. But thinking it through, I came to the belief that if she does become the nom, I'm sure getting into the GE brouhaha would turn my focus from hot having my candidate be the nom, toward fighting against the Reps.

All I can say is, Go M's!

[Mojambo]

41. Thanks.

I feel better after reading some of the responses. Perhaps Obama can rise above this and perhaps it'll make him an even stronger candidate.

I can get it done either way in the GE. I just wish it hadn't played out like this.

M's got clobbered by Cleveland tonight. Maybe it's just a bad day all around...

[gateley]

42. But it hasn't all played out yet --

It's been so unpredictable thus far, I cant help but think we've got a lot more surprises -- back and forth -- in store for us.

Yeah, too bad about the M's. I think I like the new manager, though (from what I can tell down here in NC). :hi:

[Butch350]

43. You Don't Have to Do Anything...

it's a decision.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

44. That's the most beautiful story I ever heard.

[FlyingSquirrel]

45. Go Mariners!

And Gobama too. Yes, too fatalistic but it's understandable in the current political climate.