I'm not going to be begging Hillary supporters to vote for Obama

[cali]

I'm not going to cajole them or try to placate them. Look, if you can't bring yourself to get over your hurt feelings, or delusions that Obama is no different than McCain, or is scary because he only has 3 years in Federal Gov't, or isn't somehow American enough, then that's where you are. I think it's a dim and murky place, and shockingly egotistical, but there's no point in engaging with folks who are stuck there.

Obama won this fair and square. He planned well and executed his plan well. Hillary fought hard for the nomination. Had she been the nominee, no matter what, I would have voted for her because John McCain in the White House is simply not acceptable. And because I know that Hillary Clinton is no more equivalent to McCain than is Obama.

I believe most people who support Hillary will come to understand how critical it is to take the White House this year, but it's a journey only you can take. And it's not about Obama's supporters on DU or elsewhere.

Edited to change "suck up to" to cajole.

[leftofcool]

1. okay

[DemVet]

2. OK.....quit babbling then.

[cali]

6. Really? That was babbling?

Seemed pretty clear to me. You may not like what I said, but it's the simple truth. Only you can decide how and if to cast your vote. And expecting to be coddled or cajoled, shouldn't factor into that decision. Not saying that's what you expect, but I've seen hundreds of posts about how if Obama supporters aren't nice, Clinton supporters won't vote for him.

[WillyToad]

29. Obama supporters drive people away with their arrogance

Obama supporters want to abandon everyone who isn't instantly in lockstep with them. They need to start living unity and hope and not just talk about it. They need to look within themselves and find some tolerance and ditch their bigotry against anyone in the democratic party who disagrees with them.

[cali]

34. that's an inaccurate generalization.

I have no problem whatsoever with people supporting the candidate of their choice, but once we have a nominee, I think it's petty and self-injurious to not support that nominee.

[ampad]

42. Translation

Obama supporters will not kiss my ass and apologize for those that have hurt my feelings here on the DU. Obama supporters will not say nice things about the Queen they just want to criticize her. Whatever, vote for McCain, I don't kiss real life ass and I'm sure not going to kiss internet ass.

[Eric Condon]

45. And Zellary supporters drive people away with their ignorance

[Cheap_Trick]

54. yeah, because hillary supporters sure aren't arrogant....

:sarcasm:

[Colobo]

26. You sound bitter.

[seaglass]

3. I agree you shouldn't suck up to Hillary supporters, no one

would believe you are sincere anyways.

[dkf]

17. Yeah, if I ever suck up to Hillary supporters I'm lying through my teeth.

lol.

[democrattotheend]

56. cali has been pretty respectful of Clinton supporters

I agree some Obama supporters on this board are assholes (as are some Clinton supporters), but cali has always been a voice of moderation and has posted threads defending Clinton on occasion. So he/she has no need to "suck up" and make amends.

[PoliticalAmazon]

61. Difference between "sucking up" and giving them a chance to recover....

from a very brutal disappointment. It serves no one to further alienate Hillary supporters because we need them to win in November. That is the truth.

[greguganus]

4. K and R! n/t

[irish.lambchop]

5. I do believe that Senator Clinton will encourage her

supporters to vote for Senator Obama; that she will make an attempt to unify the Democratic party. I just think she should start doing that sooner rather than later.

[cali]

7. I think she will too. And I think she'll concede gracefully- I don't

at all believe it's too late for that, and I have no problem whatsoever with Senator Clinton staying in until the last vote is cast and until Obama reaches 2025.

[PoliticalAmazon]

60. I cannot understand where you would get that opnion from....

There is nothing in Clinton's actions during this campaign that has shown that she gives a rat's ass about the Democratic Party or even the country. She has been focused on what she wants, and everyone else be damned.

If she does "encourage" her voters to vote for Obama, it will be obvious that she is only doing it to benefit herself and to try to stop herself from being ostracized from the party because of her tactics during the campaign.

[vi5]

8. Wow...I know it's bad when you reach this point..

You've consistently been THE most concilliatory and gracious and "see both sides" and civil Obama supporter on this entire board. So to see a post finally come about where you get your back up and finally say no more means it must be really delusional on here among Hillary supporters. I reached that point long ago, but you've fought the good fight for as long as I think anyone could.

And even still in this post you were fairly gracious and well thought out so....

[CatsDogsBabies]

9. I think that makes sense

Once the primaries are over, and assuming Obama is the Democratic nominee, there should be no special appeal to Clinton supporters, or at least this should be very limited for only a short period after HRC is out of the race. It will make no sense to treat this as a contest between HRC and Obama when it is really a contest between Obama and McCain. People will have a choice: Obama or McCain. It would be irrational to make a choice between these two based on HRC. If a person doesn't like Obama, then he or she may not vote for him, but this should be independent of HRC. Right now as the primaries wind down people are still looking at it as if the choice is between HRC and Obama. Anyone who is a HRC supporter will choose HRC, and this makes sense. But, once the primaries will be over the choice will be completely different. During the GE campaign, Obama should campaign for the support of all who will vote for him.

[Vinca]

10. Maybe diehard Hillary supporters will be able to cast a vote

for the Supreme Court. As Jeffrey Toobin noted, within a year of McCain, abortion rights would be history.

[cali]

11. I hope a lot of this stuff is just heat of the moment but I don't

think the pleas from Obama supporters to Clinton supporters are productive. In fact, I think it's counterproductive. If people are basing their vote on how they perceive Obama supporters on an internet discussion board, I don't think one can effectively reason with them.

[goclark]

27. I agree, there is nothing that anyone could say to me

right now to have me change to Clinton -- nothing.

So I don't get into the begging for votes for him.
It is a personal decision and hopefully they will understand before the election in November.

What I have done since the divisive campaigning started is...

*Visited www.barackobama.com and made even more calls

*Mailed 400 Postcards to the headquarters to be mailed to potential voters in Kentucky and other places (that was really a labor of love and lots of fun.) I also encouraged friends to do postcards. One friend took a bunch of CARDS while she was on vacation and wrote cards while on the airplane and mailed them from the airport to the Campaign Headquarters.


*Purchased $10 OBAMA T -Shirts (from a corner vendor) that I wear all the time - got one for 90 yr. old gomama too. She proudly wears it all over the city.

No one can resist gomama and when they tell her they like her T shirt(it is really classy with 3 images of Obama on the front and Yes.I Can. in big letters on the back) she smiles sweetly and tells them,"Prove it and go donate to www.barackobama.com!"

*Attended the GOTV rally and will be registering voters.

*At www.barackobama.com I joined the BARACK GROUP in my area.
When you join you get emails from other supporters in the group letting you know about upcoming activities.

That's how I found out about the Campaign Post Card Writing Activity and made a new Supporter friend that lives right around the corner.

*I ordered food(from their favorite soul food restaurant)for the Gary Indiana Campaign headquarters the day of the election. That experience warmed my heart. I couldn't do the hard work they were doing but I felt connected to their efforts.

I read about that campaign idea right here at DU. A Daily Kos poster conceived it.
The campaign staff was so grateful.

So ~ We Can't Change Minds That Are Not Ready To Be Changed but we can CHANGE our individual efforts to GOTV for Barack Obama!

[goclark]

63. Important point nt

[1776Forever]

12. It is just as simple as this - We either sink or float in this boat! It has a lot of holes in it

so we either come together as a Party or we go down together! Which is it going to be????

[cali]

15. As I said in another post, I don't think you can reason with people

who are so emotionally trapped. Because it's simply not logical to think that Obama is no different than McCain, or that he's scary or dangerous, or that his online supporters are just so mean that it precludes casting a vote for him.

People need to make their decisions based on some form of reality... or not, but getting sucked in to playing games won't help. I think the vast majority of Hillary's supporters will come around and vote for Obama, and I understand completely how difficult it is to give up on a candidate, and to step out of the cycle of infighting.

[JohnnyLib2]

39. LOL, that deserves an OP.

[nvme]

13. Sounds good in theory

But the reality is your are treating supporters of a candidate who are just as much invested (emotional) as you are to your own candidate. They make up close to half of the democratic base. The satisfaction of having a winner can dull the pain toward your over-inflated ego. We are not going gain only to loose it because a few "principled Idiots". To reject a potential ally and needed supporter just because they intial chose the other side is the greatest form of stupidity. Not is it rejecting Democratic (not republican) voter, but also caller, people to drive Democratic voters to the polls,Funds for the General Election, and pollwatcher. The Arrogance displayed in your statements reflect a highly immature attitude.
A sense of empathy is in order. The Hillary supporters fought viciously because the connected emotionally with Clinton. Had the roles reversed, wouldn't it be nice to have the victorious show magnamity? This is a time when character is earned. If we show respect,(whether due or not)we show them the door is open and their help is welcomed. We do this becausem, they are Americans.

[cali]

18. um, I have never, ever been so invested in a candidate that I wouldn't

vote for the nominee. That's as true this year as any other. So your argument falls utterly flat. Had Hillary won, no matter how she got there, I would have voted for her. I'm not rejecting any potential allies. Had you read more carefully, you surely would have seen that.

[MindMatter]

14. I encourage a little patience. This is not the same as when the other candidates dropped out

Because they ... dropped out.

Hillary, in the continuation of her delusional drive, is jerking her supporters around emotionally. That is truly disgusting on her part. But I do have some sympathy for those who are on the business end of that jerking around.

Ladies, it is time you do what Hillary is apparently incapable of doing. Turn the page. For your own good.

[marions ghost]

51. you make sense

this situation is different from the usual election loss because it's so extended in time. As you say, "Hillary...is jerking her supporters around emotionally." Exactly.

Hillary needs to set the tone now and help her supporters transfer their support to Obama. They should expect that from her if she's the leader they thought she was.

[Window]

16. Good, well-reasoned post Cali.

:kick:

I hope it's accepted in the manner in which it was given.

[H2O Man]

19. In "real" life,

I have numerous relatives and friends who have been supporting Senator Clinton. Not a single one needs anyone to influence their thinking in order to get them to vote for the democratic ticket in the fall.

[hokies4ever]

20. I agree with you but

I don't think it's necessary to rub this in their faces. Not going to do much help. Isn't it possible to not beg Hillary supporters to vote for Obama without actually telling them this?

[cali]

21. I suppose it is, but the demands and the

ridiculous statements of how "Obama is as bad as McCain" or "I could never vote for him" are all over. This is simply a response to those many comments.

[hokies4ever]

23. I feel your pain

I'm fed up with those types of Hillary supporters as well. I think that they're just lashing out since Hillary's campaign is in its last throes. Plus Obama did interrupt her coronation. :rofl: They'll get over it soon enough. Imagine how we would feel if we had the race-baiting panderer-in-chief barely win the nomination through her campaign tactics? We would be pretty pissed too, probably saying the same things that these Hillary supporters are saying.

[Orsino]

22. Attributing their positions to "hurt feelings" or "delusions"...

...is sort of the opposite of begging and sucking up, though, isn't it?

So much hate. :-(

[cali]

24. Look, suck up was a poor choice of words- just as your

use of the word "hate" is a poor choice in your post. My post wasn't hateful. I don't hate Hillary or her supporters. And I'm sorry but it is delusional to think that Obama is just like McCain or worse. And the torrent of attacks on Obama and his supporters and the demands about how if Obama supporters don't do this or that, Hillary supporters won't vote for him, simply isn't reasonable. As I said, people have to work it out for themselves, but choosing not to vote for him because of his supporters is absurd.

[Orsino]

25. You broad-brushed with the word "delusional."

I'm afraid that that will be seen as pretty goddamned hateful by the DUers you maligned.

[cali]

28. Sorry, it's completely delusional to think that Obama is no different

than McCain. And btw, I've said the exact same thing to Obama supporters who say that kind of delusional shit about Hillary. She's not a neocon or a repuke and thinking she'll run as a Lieberman independent is delusional. Sorry you can't deal with the unvarnished truth.

[Marrah_G]

30. Nobody has to beg me

The Dem nominee gets my vote.

Do I think he is the best choice? No.

Do I think he is light-years better then McCain? Absolutely

Has this primary and the behavior it has brought out on both sides taken the wind out of my sails? You bet it has.

[JohnnyLib2]

40. You put my thoughts into words, so I'll second them.

:thumbsup:

[JohnnyLib2]

58. Errors of omission, errors of commission (or is it sins of .....?)

At this point, each and every OP about the supporters we disagree with apparently takes that risk and prompts all kinds of responses.

Cali, I get what you are saying. It does not apply to every Clinton supporter, including me. You seem to understand that.

I did not want Bush to be elected in 2000 and have been ever more sure about that perception.

I do not want McCain elected in 2008, don't want to watch what he might do in the White House.

On we go. :dem:

[BeyondGeography]

31. People often grow to hate the candidate who beats their own

Then the vast majority of them get over it.

In the meantime, they say say, "this time, it's different!" We're in the meantime now...

[Avalux]

32. After I tried to convince them, I tend to agree with you.

My post the other day explaining why they should vote for Obama was met with post after post of "no thanks, I'll stay at home". If making sure a Democrat becomes president instead of a Republican who will continue Bush's policies and has promised perpetual war aren't good enough reasons, then nothing will sway them.

[lumberjack_jeff]

37. The outreach is important.

What was done over a period of three months can't be undone in one conversation.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[DS1]

35. Right on

Vote Dem or go fuck yourself. It's that simple.

[lumberjack_jeff]

36. If for no other reason than you're too busy causing the problem.

With all due respect, your posts are a significant part of the reason that right now you're talking to a diminishingly small number of Hillary's supporters. A good argument can be made that this is also a root cause of the site's fundraising challenges. You are in the top 10 of posters who have been the most consistently vitriolic, hyperbolic and nasty toward Clinton's supporters.

The rest of us are trying to pick up the pieces. If the best you can do is not cause more harm, then that'll have to do.

[cali]

41. oh, please. try not being so hyperbolic.

I've defended Hillary plenty on this board. I don't post threads gratuitouly bashing her or Bill or Hillary supporters in general. Yes, I've reacted to some Hillary supporters with disgust or anger, but you're hardly entirely innocent yourself. And the OP is in response to the demands and threats of Hillary supporters here.

[lumberjack_jeff]

47. No, I'm not entirely innocent either.

But I don't think any worthwhile goals are served by authoring a post which translates to "Outreach? Fuck that!"

[DearAbby]

38. I with you on that

:thumbsup:

[FrenchieCat]

43. Cali, you speak for me......

cause I ain't kissing no ass.

This is about politics and policies.

It certainly isn't about anything else.

[RichardRay]

44. Not necessary to suck up or cajole, but...

it's also not productive to rub salt in the wounds.

You know the old saying about what to do if you can't say anything nice...

[Joe the Revelator]

46. I agree with Cali and Frenchie....we'd be stupid to allow ourselves to be held hostage

by people who think that voting for McCain is the next logical step to console their hurt feelings.

[book_worm]

48. Makes sense to me.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

49. I understand their feeling of disappointment

I have no problem with showing some empathy. Especially if they were actively working with the Clinton campaign. You put a great deal of your time and your belief behind a movement and you're going to feel a great loss if it doesn't come to fruition. I've been in their shoes many times in the past. It hurts.

I doubt many Clinton supporters actually believe Obama is no different than McCain. That's one of those sensational BS lines people toss around without actually buying what they're selling to be hurtful. For the tiny percentage who may believe such foolishness I have no idea what to say to them.

[WinkyDink]

50. Who asked you? And try "they", instead of addressing "you".

[cali]

52. Nobody needs to be asked to express their opinion here

and there have been many threats and demands from Hillary supporters here.

[Meshuga]

55. Probably no one

But I am glad there is a thread addressing this here in GDP. Thanks for bringing it up, cali! I totally agree with the OP.

[not_too_L8]

53. Thanks cali, ....Go Democrats!!!...... K&R

[JuniperLea]

57. I don't see anyone begging them at all

What I'm seeing is a continuation of the daily evisceration of Clinton's supporters. Instead of begging, I'm seeing the status quo with added snark about how stupid they are to hang on or even mention how poorly they've been treated here.

The beatings will continue until moral improves... brilliant.

[democrattotheend]

59. I will! I'm not too proud to beg!

I want Obama to win in November, and if that means begging Clinton's supporters to help us then I'm not too proud to do it.

Pretty please, with a cherry on top?

[BlooInBloo]

62. If they can't do what's right without being begged, then fuck them.