Angela · That’s A Good Democrat

July 8th, 2008

It has taken some time, over a month in fact, to fully embrace Sen. Obama as the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee. Truth be told, after Sen. Clinton’s speech in Washington, D.C. on June 7 proclaiming her support for Sen. Obama, I was ready to write her name in the ballot in Nov. Only if Sen. Obama needed my vote that badly would I reluctantly cast my support to him. But, the thought of voting for McCain never crossed my mind. I even flirted with the idea of joining some groups that have formed since Sen. Clinton dissolved her campaign for President-independent groups that are petitioning to get her name on the ballot. One thing that has led me to support Sen. Obama is the fact I am well versed on his solutions to our country’s problems after scrutinizing them against Sen. Clinton’s for months and months. I waited and waited for Sen. Obama to make the fatal error that never came and I know he’s running a great campaign. And I know he is the polar opposite of Sen. McCain. Everyone in my life knows how much I wanted Sen. Clinton to be the nominee and how hard I worked to get her elected. After telling a friend recently that I was “ready” to support Sen. Obama, she responded, “that’s a good Democrat.” I was proud to hear her say that, as I am a good Democrat. So what are all these other people called who once supported Sen. Clinton and now support Sen. McCain? What are they?

Radial feminists. Racists. Or are they claiming the high road and chalking their stances up to the experience factor? These are all explanations for why a person would utterly, completely shift their political support from one extreme to another. The more I listen to McCain’s rhetoric, the more it amazes me that anybody in their right mind who supported Sen. Clinton would back his solutions. For example, he continues to use the words “victory” and “surrender” in regard to Iraq. He is delusional that there is something to win in the whole operation. His healthcare solutions are inadequate at best and alienate the most venerable in society. Of course, one could argue that is the motes operandi for Republican solutions in general. Which leads me to his economic policy-a continuance of the current tax policies that aren’t helping anyone except the ultra rich. So did Clinton supporters really support her healthcare reform? Did they really understand her urgency to punish the oil companies for their continued oppression? As a lucky Ohioan, I’ve been privileged to hear McCain TV ads incessantly. His predictable scare tactics of continually using words like “security” and “accountability” are exactly the path Democrats expected-an attempt to undermine Sen. Obama’s policies and make him appear soft on issues. My personal favorite is the commercial that says, “(McCain) sounded the alarm on global warming 5 years ago.” I certainly hope this isn’t a successful courtship of Clinton supporters to make them believe McCain discovered global warming and actually will do something about it. These superficial sound bites are not enough to dim the obvious differences in Sen. Clinton’s and Sen. McCain’s energy policies.

So if it’s not the platform of McCain, then why McCain? In recent weeks, some female Clinton supporters who are still reluctant to back Obama have cited the media and unfair coverage as a major source of frustration and resentment. If that is the reason for not supporting Obama, I urge everyone to just think about Barack himself. He’s been nothing but cordial and civil to Sen. Clinton. He ran a tough, fair campaign against her. There were staff in both campaigns that in the heat of the moment, may have took things too far or said things they now regret. But, we’re all good Democrats, right?

To the people who don’t want to vote for Sen. Obama because he’s African-American-my first inclination is to say that there might not be anything anyone can say to sway your opinion. But, think about the Democratic party. Sen. Clinton and her husband want the same things Sen. Obama wants-to make our lives better, sparing no one in the process. They have worked hard to represent the working class and leave no one behind. Listen to President Bush and Sen. McCain. They are completely out of touch with the the current economic situation. The media says President Bush had a good month in June. Did you have a good month? Voting for President Bush led to our present state of the Union. Please don’t make the same mistake with Sen. McCain.�

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1 Comment »

One Response to “That’s A Good Democrat”

  1. John Turnbull Says:
    July 9th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Maybe it’s that some people value character or how decisions are reached rather than the specific policies they promote during an election. I think all three (Obama, Clinton and McCain) have some pretty dumb ideas, and part of the question is to what degree are they willing to make an unpopular but needed decision.