CQ WEEKLY
– VANTAGE POINT
Sept. 14, 2008 – 1:44 p.m.
Clinton Supporters Never Say Die
By Shawn Zeller, CQ Staff
Three months after closing her presidential campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton remains a major factor in the race. The big question is how many of her supporters in the Democratic primaries will transfer their enthusiasm or at least their votes to the party's nominee, Sen. Barack Obama — especially now that Sen. John McCain is running with a woman, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, as No. 2 on the Republican ticket.
Pollster William Arnone, a former Clinton adviser, has found that many of the New York senator's backers are still at risk of defecting to McCain. He surveyed 328 of Clinton's "most fervent" supporters during the week of the GOP convention in St. Paul and found that 77 percent planned to vote for Obama, 11 percent back McCain, and the rest are either undecided or plan to stay home.
Last week, reporters following Clinton on the trail noted how little she criticized Palin, and one group of active Clinton backers even issued a press release defending Palin, saying she had been the victim of media smears because she is a woman.
"The very notion that Sarah Palin should not have accepted this nomination because she is a mother with demanding challenges underscores just how far we have to go," said leaders of the group, called the WomenCount PAC, which was formed in May to rebut calls for Clinton to get out of the race.
Among those the group cited for smearing Palin were liberal radio host Ed Schultz, Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn and CNN correspondent John Roberts.
WomenCount founder Rosemary Camposano, a former Silicon Valley public relations executive, says the PAC isn't planning to campaign for Obama and doesn't even plan to endorse a candidate for president because of the "emotional" nature of the Democratic nominating campaign for many women.
"Our membership is very skewed in how they are going to go," Camposano says. "By far most will remain loyal to the Democratic Party, but a lot of women feel the Democrats abandoned women and women's issues. They are mad enough to abstain, write in Hillary Clinton or vote for McCain."
The group includes a number of female business executives, including Susie Tompkins Buell, founder of the clothing label Esprit; Stacy Mason, a former Washington, D.C., newspaper editor and publisher; and Amy Rao, founder of the tech firm Integrated Archive Systems. And it is supporting a number of Democratic women running for Congress, among them Jeanne Shaheen, the former New Hampshire governor trying to unseat Republican Sen. John E. Sununu .
Camposano says WomenCount's biggest campaign this fall will be titled "Stop the Silence on Sexism." She won't talk about details, but the group is still hopping mad at Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, and at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not doing more to defend Clinton from what Camposano calls "outright bashing." Both party leaders, she said, were "incredibly disloyal."
Meanwhile, another group of Clinton backers, calling themselves Democrats For Principle Before Party, has already bought space for a print ad in the battleground state of Michigan aimed at undermining Obama, and is pledging more to come. "Can the country trust a presidential candidate who is the product of a corrupt process?" asks the ad, which ran in the Lansing State Journal.
Heidi Li Feldman, a Georgetown University Law School professor who co-founded the group, ran ads in major Washington publications, including CQ Today, in advance of the Democrats' Denver convention to pressure party leaders to give Clinton a vote at the convention. Ultimately party leaders acquiesced, but Feldman says Dean and the Obama campaign intimidated Clinton delegates and pressured the New York senator to release her supporters from their obligation to vote for her. The vote was short-circuited when Clinton called for Obama's nomination by acclamation.
Feldman says she is now rallying support to have Clinton elevated to Senate majority leader next year, in place of Harry Reid of Nevada, and to have Dean removed as chairman of the DNC. All the energy the group put into winning Clinton a convention vote "is now going to be channeled into making sure the Democratic Party does not inherit such incompetent leadership as we have had to endure this election season," she says.
Comments
Let's remember that "Hillary supporters" amounted to slightly over half of the voters in the Democratic primary. Careful not to paint them as a fringe group of middle aged white women. Obama has already made that mistake for you.
How do these professional ladies think things usually happen? Once a nominee has been chosen, unity is best. The Clintons spent decades making fun of Howard Dean, they had no right to expect his championship. NONE. I am very offended, that WomenCount has determined that "emotional nature" is reason enough to not participate. There are many women who are also adults, and quite capable of functioning, even on those occasions when we don't get our way. These women are an embarrassment.
I could take this article about the probably true reality of a small percentage Hillary holdouts more seriously had the author bothered to update his research regarding one of his boldface Hillary-supporting names: Susie Tompkins Buell, who publicly announced her support for Barack following the Democratic convention. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susie-tompkins-buell/why-this-hillary-holdout_b_122201.html
I know hundreds of hillary supporters who will NOT vote for barack obama under any circumstances. he is a disgrace and a fraud. this is why mccain is ahead in the polls....and this during a year when obama should be up 17 to 20 points in the national polls. it will be a rude awakening when obama loses.
I am deeply concerned, saddened and disappointed in these women, I am 60, white, female single working woman, I was not a Hillary supporter, but would have donated, supported wholeheartedly and would have been just as outraged by the mudslinging if it were against Hillary, However, I am certain, that had Barack chose her as VP nominee, the same groups who are defending the "wannabe" Hillary, would have a deep unification to destroy Hillary and Bill, that is how much they dislike, even hate them. Have you all forgotten the Clinton years and all the slime, dirt and evil that was brought upon them??? Another point, Would Bill really disclose his financials??? This McCainFlip/PalinFlop ticket has got to be stopped someway, somehow, and soon. The lies they spew have been brought to light, and still they lie, deceive and surely will steal this election. How can any American allow this to happen, Is our electorate really that uninformed, disinterested and worse, so weak as to be led to a place that surely will leave this country morally, ethically bankrupt.
Well, ladies go ahead and vote for these two extremists -McBush and Snow White Pallin, of course just to spite obama. Kiss your a---- goodbye re reproductive rights-say hello to invading more countries to spread our so called brand of democracy and if Palin has her way after blowing in John's ear-going to war as she stated on Gibson's show w Russia. Go ahead and pull the lever for those two and be prepared to sacrifice your intelligence because you've been insulted. Hillary's a tough old broad and she'll get over it probably has and I suggest the same for you-grow up!
It doesn't matter which "Hillary supporters" are professing allegiance to Obama. It doesn't even matter that Hillary is. We own our own votes. We see the corrupted nomination process and outright stealing of delegates to force the DNC selected candidate to win, we observed a year of sexism used against Hillary (as well as the lack of a DNC response), we see a nominee with friends who are terrorists and criminals, we see a nominee with no experience.... I could go on and on. If you truly wanted a democrat to win, you should have voted for Hillary, and stood up to the corruption in the party and in the nomination process. When Obama loses in the fall, it will be YOUR fault, not ours.
hisgirlfriday, Although Susie Tompkins Buell may have annouced support for the Dem nominee that does not mean she will not speak out against what she perceives as incorrect.
I, too, am embarrassed by this WomenCount group. They do not speak for me. There is no way that I can support Palin, either by voting for her or by coming to her defense on "sexist" issues. She should be dealing with those issues herself. The very fact that she was selected by a man to be in a most responsible position while she brings to qualifications or experience is Sexist, in the very basic term. Many other qualified Republican women were bypassed and this one selected simply because of charm factors. All of the claims to sexism that have been made are manufactured and an abuse of the term "sexism". She should never have been "promoted" with such a skimpy and very questionable record. The single thing that seems to qualify her is her anatomy and her ideology. This practice is rampant in private business and offices across the nation. It should not be acceptable practise in choosing a Vice President or President of the USA.
Thank you Heidi Li Feldman; you speak for me and for millions of Americans like me who will not and cannot condone what went on within the Democratic party under the direction of the Obama campaign.
I truly hope that Hillary will be elevated to a leadership position. Not only is she the best presidential candidate of my lifetime, imo, the Democratic party owes her bigtime for helping Obama out. She is the reason this election is even close. If she had not chosen to rally her supporters behind Obama, he would be totally out of contention.
Hillary supporters are still out here in droves, and we will never vote for that fraud Obama. He is a disgrace. Notice how McCain is up in the polls during a year when Obama should at this time be up by 15 to 20% nationally--but he is DOWN. Explanation: hillary voters, we are smart, educated, and we will not vote for a party that ran a fraudulent convention and nominated the likes of obama. You will be hearing us roar soon!
Watch how Senator McCain is pulling ahead in the swing states. As a once proud Democrat that does not make me happy but I know my part will not take the White House until it connects with the reality that it has driven away large numbers of its base.
I'm a Clinton supporter who will not be able to vote for Obama because of Party hijinks this year, including rampant sexism and racism Democratic leaders did nothing to curb. Now that Palin is the race, I will cast my vote for the Republican top of the ticket, and Dems (including Warner for Senate) down the line...
I think people should not be too dismissive of the voters who supported Senator Clinton. She appealed to a broad spectrum of voters. There were a percentage who were independents or Republicans. These voters voted for Clinton, and they could care less about voting for the Democratic Party's nominee.
"hisgirlfriday SEPTEMBER 14, 2008 7:29 PM I could take this article about the probably true reality of a small percentage Hillary holdouts more seriously had the author bothered to update his research regarding one of his boldface Hillary-supporting names: Susie Tompkins Buell," Did you actually even bother to read the article? "Our membership is very skewed in how they are going to go," Camposano says. "By far most will remain loyal to the Democratic Party, but a lot of women feel the Democrats abandoned women and women's issues. They are mad enough to abstain, write in Hillary Clinton or vote for McCain." Ms. Buell may be one who remains loyal to the democratic party but the PAC she helped form and continues to work with is not endorsing any candidate. Try reading for content next time.
So, CC, it was OK for Dean to use his leadership position in the DNC to tout his favored candidate while getting back the Clintons because they didn't treat him very well? And damn what the American voters wanted? And you want to accuse people who refuse to climb onboard the Obama train of being immature? Just another case of the pot calling the kettle black. How very tiresome.
I was infuriated by the outright misogyny exhibited by the media and many Obama supporters during the primary, and I was appalled by the DNC's silence. I am now an independent voter, and being called an "embarrassment" and part of a "small percentage (of) Hillary holdouts" doesn't bother me at all. Howard Dean and Donna Brazile should have thought twice before they told me I wasn't needed by the Democratic Party. They can win this one without me.
I have been a Democrat for 40 years. So has my husband. My 84 year old mother has been one her entire voting age. After what we witnessed the shenanigans Obama and Brazille, Dean etc., pulled this election year, I used to wonder why Democrats always lose. Now I understand. I will be voting MAC/PALIN, to coin Obama's Democrat for a day. I will be Republican for a day. This has nothing to do with being a sore loser. To lose, some one has to champion their opponent. This did not happen. The vote was rigged from the word go and if I could sue that bunch of a-holes I would, because my husband and I could sure use the money we donated toward Hillary not knowing the FIX was in a long time ago. While the American people go hungry, these idiots are playing games with our lives and our country.
Obama is definitely in trouble. The majority of Hillary's NYC supporters I know who campaigned for her are not supporting Obama and most are planning to vote for McCain. No wonder Obama's poll lead was only 8% for NY state in the Siena poll last month. Many of us Hillary NY's will not support a 'Democrat' candidate who refuses to campaign for universal healthcare, played the race card in the primaries, cheated in the caucuses, turned a blind eye to sexism and clearly failed the 3am test during the recent Georgia crisis.
The addition of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket yet again brings into high relief the overt and covert sexism in this country. I have been a Democrat all of my life but was so proud of the Republican women who decided to stand up for Palin immediately after she was named. The Democratic women did not do that for Hillary and neither did the DNC. They all left her to hang out to dry. Then they chose to flagrantly ignore their own rules in order to put their man ahead. This election season goes far beyond a preference for an individual candidate, it goes to integrity, fairness and principle. Democrats who really care about their party need to stand up for the very principles that make us democrats. What most of us can agree on is the need to have a strong and powerful leader in the senate, Hillary Clinton, surrounded by a democratic congress. Regardless of who becomes president, we will then have a strong leader in the senate who can get things done.
I supported Hillary because I strongly felt her to be by far the better candidate. Just because she lost does not mean that I should hand over my vote on a silver platter to the DNC. I now strongly believe that McCain is by far the better candidate and will vote for him. If the DNC wanted my vote, they should have ensured they put forth a better candidate than Obama.
I am a lifelong Democrat voting for McCain. Why? Four reasons: 1. McCain voted NO on Dick Cheney's Energy Bill (Barack voted Yes.) 2. McCain is anti-ethanol subsidies because it drives our food prices up and leads to greenhouse gases. (Barack is backed by ethanol.) 3. McCain kept his promise on public financing because of his commitment to ending lobbyist influence in government. (Barack singed a pledge to participate in public financing and then broke this pledge.) 4. Barack broke his promise on FISA. Go McCain / Palin The reform ticket.
Hillary Supporters for McCain, are NOT a fringe group. They will decide the next PRESIDENT. It isn't just middle-age women, and so what if it was. McCain has character when noone is looking, http://www.slate.com/id/2188545/
I'm another Hillary supporter who will be voting for McCain. I'm sorry, the triple whammy of 1) the shenanigans of the DNC and the democratic leadership during the primary, 2) McCain is closer to the center from the right than Obama is from the left, and 3) I still don't know what Obama has done which puts him where he his. Am I the only HR professional who has spent years teaching the premise of behavioral interviewing is asking "what have you done" versus "what would you do"? Obama can't pass this test. Sorry, my former party, you let me down.
-the emotional nature- of elections for women??? Rosemary Camposano hates herself. This is an unbelievably naive and idiotic remark. Clearly she has bought in to the notion that woman cannot be trusted to vote rationally. She shouldn't be founder of a McDonalds let alone founder of a womens group. She certainly should only speak for herself as she does not have a grasp on reality.
Hello, I voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary and I also voted for her for Senator. I am also a lifelong Democrat. Personally, I feel the DNC pushed an inexperienced Barack Obama out front and stood by while a more qualified candidate, Hillary Clinton, was attacked by his campaign, delegates and the media. Then we were told to get in line and follow along. It turned me off so much that I left the Democratic party this past June and became a Libertarian. I will GLADLY vote for McCain in November. I feel that he actually wants my vote and has worked for it while Barack Obama just expected it and was entitled to it.
I will be voting for McCain/Palin because the media and the democratic party threw Clinton and 18 million of us under the bus. Obama was never vetted in any depth by the media or the democratic party. His past associations with dubious characters combined with his lack of experience makes it impossible for Obama to win. If it had been sexism thrown under the bus instead of us, Clinton would be the nominee. Hillary would have beat McCain hands down.
Thanks Heidi Li. There is no way in hell I would ever vote for the fraud. He was selected way before the primary process ever began. He is completely unqualified to be POTUS. I find it extremely funny that Obama supporters are so fixated on Sarah Palin's experience when Obama'a lack of experience was always seen as a plus. Also, I will never forget how Hillary was trashed on a daily basis and no one stood up for her. IMcCain/Palin 08 and Hillary 2012. Obama is going down and I'm enjoying it.
Don't count us out. We know how the delegate votes were manipulated, and we know about the caucus fraud. We will not accept corruption in this party. We will fight, and we will win. Hillary was speaking to us when she said, "Don't ever stop. Keep going."
Obama is simply not qualified for the position he seeks. Clinton was. Those Clinton supporters shifting their support to McCain/Palin are doing so because they represent the centrist middle ground of this country and will likely accomplish more good than Mr. Obama could ever hope for. It's a question of competence, experience, and an ability to get the job done. It's time to drop this foolish voting based strictly on the party line. These people are not leaving the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has left them.
My family and I are Hillary Clinton supporters. All of us will be casting our votes (12 of us all Dems) against Barack Obama. We will be voting Republican for the first time in our lives. Why? Donna Brazille said Obama did not need our votes. We cannot vote for someone who has not been vetted by the Media. Why is the Media so intent on vetting Palin? Why didn't they do the same for Obama? Rezko, Ayers, Wright, Farraquan, FISA, Nafta, shennigans with the North Carolina vote, caucus fraud, calling the Clinton's racists...no way Obama. We feel he is bad for our country. We will not vote for him. We are tired of the race card being used...whenever anyone questions him. McCain 08.
I voted for Hillary in the primary and was utterly dismayed at how this entire process was conducted by the DNC. You would not reward a child for misbehaving by giving them an ice cream cone. I will not reward the misbehaving by the DNC by giving them my vote for the top of the ticket. The Democratic party needs a serious overhaul and rewarding them in November will insure that overhaul won't occur.
"How can any American allow this to happen, Is our electorate really that uninformed, disinterested and worse, so weak.." I ask the same of you. Clearly you had your eyes closed and your hands clamped over your ears during the primary if you were not aware of the blatant corruption and anti-democratic behavior this electorate was bearing witness to. Your arguments cite Huffpo tabloid talking points about the Clintons - all irrelevant to the election. All to play the progressives against the TRUE progressive candidate, Clinton, in order to install an inexperienced charismatic candidate that could be controlled by the leadership. And if you question that, look up her rating - she's FAR more progressive on most issues than Obama. I've held my nose for this party, staying "loyal" through a decade of failures, both in the presidential elections and the congress. At this point, there is no greater issue or cause at hand than purging the current leadership out of the party to restore it to it's core principles of inclusiveness, fairness, civil liberties, and, above all: One person, One vote. This will also allow new leadership that will also understand that centrist candidates win elections. Nominating the candidate who gamed the red state caucuses for a razor thin delegate lead instead of the candidate who won the moderate vote, the popular vote, all the swing states, the big states and had a 327 electoral map the day she suspended was arrogant and unforgivable. This loss is no ones fault but the party's, the media's and those Democrats that shoved away the most electable candidate to appease their own egos and greed. The same mistake will not be made again, you can take that to the ballot box.
soooo, do i reward the party that allowed blatant misogyny to go unchecked.....against the strongest candidate in the race (who happened to be a female)? orrrrrrrrrrrrr do i reward the party - known historically for ignoring women - that actually put one on the ticket? If I choose the latter - - this country will not only have a female VEEP - but a female PREZ in 2012 -- the only question remaining : will she be CLINTON or PALIN... either way - women win!!!! so you can stick that RvW argument where the sun don't shine!
The majority of Clinton supporters support Barack Obama. The rest are being played for fools by the GOP.
Quote: "There is no way that I can support Palin, either by voting for her or by coming to her defense on "sexist" issues. She should be dealing with those issues herself. The very fact that she was selected by a man to be in a most responsible position while she brings to qualifications or experience is Sexist, in the very basic term. Many other qualified Republican women were bypassed and this one selected simply because of charm factors. All of the claims to sexism that have been made are manufactured and an abuse of the term "sexism". She should never have been "promoted" with such a skimpy and very questionable record. The single thing that seems to qualify her is her anatomy and her ideology. This practice is rampant in private business and offices across the nation. It should not be acceptable practise in choosing a Vice President or President of the USA. " Change the word "Palin" to "Obama", "Republican" to "Democrat", "sexist" to "racist", and "selected by a man" to "selected by the DNC" -- and that is exactly my take on the situation.
There is no reason to be embarrassed by my decision to vote McCain/Palin because I am now an independent. I left the Democratic Party when I learned it did not stand up for the principles it preached.
YO! Did you survey any men? I am a "most fervent" Hillary supporter. And I am voting for McCain. I would never vote for Obama: arrogant little guy who has way too many bad guys around him. Way too many gaps in his resume. Way too many flip-flops. Way too many Greek columns.
I voted for and still support Hillary. The DNC had its chance to be fair and accept every vote that was cast. They chose unwisely to make sure "their" candidate won. No more chances - not only am I voting for McCain I am campaigning for him as a Hillary supporter. I am proud to tell the people I talk to where I stand and why. Maybe someday the DNC will again deserve my vote but that day won't be this November 4th!
40 years of voting Dem for me but no more. Resigned and became Indie. The DNC and Obama told us they didn't need us anymore so what's the problem? Barack Obama is a JOKE. The DNC is an even bigger joke. I know we were supposed to be "wowed" out of our socks at the traveling version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Or as is more apt, "ObamaPaloosa I" becaus IT WAS just as ridiculous as wrestling...) Obama took on the road to Denver but the arm twisitng of delegates and the abbreviated roll call made m a little less than enthusiastic. The McCain camp sat back and waited for Obama to announce his VP (And yes...we all "got" the three a.m. thing...) The minute Obama named Biden (which was the yawn of the century) The McCain camp hit them right between the eyes with Palin and the morons at the Obama campaign and the DNC never saw it coming AND THEY SHOULD HAVE. And by-the-by...I was NOT ever, ever, ever going to vote for an inexperienced, criminally associated, baggage-laden idiot like Obama anyway but McCain made it ever so much nicer for me to pull the Republican lever. Obama is dropping like a rock in the polls, he is now behind in the electoral map (how's that "50" state strategy working out? and Obama listened to Howard Dean...there goes the judgement arguement.) The DNC told many of us to go screw ourselves, well, almost right. We will be screwing them and their pathetic and inappropriate candidate when we vote for McCain/Palin. DNC...you did it to yourselves.
As a Hillary Clinton voter and some one who has never voted for a Republican for president, I'd like to say that I can not vote for Senator Obama under ANY circumstances. I cannot turn the nation over to one more Harvard Legacy that is completely without any real experience! The only reason he came through the primary season was the absolute undemocractic Democratic Primaries. We need to reform this process now! Iowa has done nothing but delivered losers. Caucuses disenfranchise many folks and are subject to manipulation. Until the DNC stops Out ROVING Karl Rove, I'm voting third party at the very least.
The Democratic Party has veered off course this season with its deceptive and divisive behavior. It is no longer the party of the people for the people. The party blatantly disregarded the will of its voters, and resorted to back room tactics to select the nominee. Words do matter and actions do matter. In June, we became independents as our proud country does matter.
This Hillary supporter will vote McCain/Palin. My vote is a protest against Dean and the DNC for subverting democracy and selecting the party's nominee. Furthermore, I believe that Obama is unqualified and without even a shred of integrity, and not fit for the job of president. This is no longer about Hillary, for me. It's about the country's best interest. It's also about justice - something the Democratic Party no longer values.
I second that notion, nobama, noway, nohow.
I voted for and contributed to Sen. Clinton during the primaries, however, I have no intention of voting for Sen. Obama. Without the assistance of a complicit media and Democratic leadership, I suspect he never would have won the nomination (even his supporters should recognize that voters began to have serious doubts about him during the primaries). As an Independent, I've always based my voting decisions on the merits of each individual candidate rather than party platform. I tend to vote Democratic, however, in this particular situation I believe that Sen. Obama does not yet have the depth of knowledge or experience required to take on the challenges facing the next president. I also have not seen any evidence of his ability to create change based on his record, and I fear that his media cheerleaders have failed to adequately vet him. I decided to vote for McCain prior to the announcement of Governor Palin as his running mate, and although she may not have as much experience as I would prefer, she has a demonstrated track record of challenging the status quo and creating change. I've contributed to McCain's campaign, and may even contribute to the Republican Party to help off set the fund raising advantage maintained by the Obama campaign.
There is a big opposite between Senator Clinton and Barack Obama...Senator Clinton has integrety and was seeking to become president to promote programs that she believed better society. Barack Obama has no integrity. He wants to be president because he is a massive ego maniac. I have no problem voting for Senator McCain. As for Roe V. Wade...the President appoints the justice...without the consent of congress and the senate (equal in power to the executive branch) the appointee cannot be confirmed. Of course at the rate Brazille and Dean and Pelosi are running the party, the dems probably won't gain massive control of the house and senate now either.
I would have voted for Barney the purple dinosaur had the Republicans had him on their ticket.I am not voting FOR McCain/Palin,but AGAINST Obama/Biden. My vote will no longer be held hostage by the Democratic party in lieu of Rowe V. Wade and Supreme Court appointments. This year,I vote country before party,and will from now on.We were thrown away by our own party,of which I have been a voting member of for 22 years.The voter and caucus fraud that the Obama campaign participated in was disgusting.I witnessed it first hand,as did countless people I know personally.For any woman to call herself a "Good Democrat" and still vote for this fraud is a an American travesty. Had Obama been vetted as seriously as Sarah Palin is being,we would not be having this discussion and the nominees would be Clinton/Biden,as they should be. I am sick of being told I am angry,bitter,uneducated and that there are tens of thousand of votes to replace mine.Good luck with that.Youngsters register and stay home on election day.
Lets put it this way.. they not only didn't count my vote, they took my and my wife's votes for Hillary and gave it to Obama in Michigan. And then, they didn't even count my in-laws votes for Hillary in Florida. NOW.. why should vote for a candidate like Obama and any member of the Undemocratic Party that didn't want my vote in the primaries, but now EXPECTS it in the general. I don't think so, every one in my family, staunch democrats for over 5 decades are voting all republican, top of the ticket as well as down ticket. My wife really like Palin, and so do I , and I trust Mccain. We are Hillary dems voting for McPalin!
The operative word in this article is RNC. The 11% for McCain and supposely was for Clinton before are liers. Most likely, Rush's listeners. If you are for Clinton, there is no way you are for Palin. Very different views on all issues. Also, if Mc/P are elected, there will no longer be a chance for Clinton whether they did a good job with the country or otherwise. If good, Mc/P would continue for 8 years, if bad, no one would vote for a woman any more. So, do not be fool. Those who said they were for Clinton and now for Palin are closet republicans.
I will be supporting the McCain/Palin ticket in November. I have been voting for the Democrats for as long as I can remember and I have never seen so much corruption as what I witness in this year's Primary. The Democratic Party has become a Party I no longer want to support.
We have been trying to get Obaman & DNC to listen, those 18 millions voters are not WORTHLESS! You knew exactly what was going to happen and why. You just can't trap 18 million people in a box and toss us in the river. You don't penalize voters as you did in Fla. & Mich. You don't make backroom deals, and you don't have a roll call from a hotel room. You did not treat Sen. Clinton honorably nor fairly, when you disregarded her, and pushed her out, you pushed me out too! Now I am going out of my way to distanst myself from the democratic party!
Hmmm... lets see.. why as a lifelong dem, now a new independent won't I vote for Obama? Well, he has only 143 days experience in the Senate before running. And running for the job of a president does not make you qualified for the job. Two, while Obama has been running for president for 2 years, Palin has been running the state of Alaska for 2 years, quite successfully I think. So, someone who just talks about change, or someone who makes positive changes? My now indepedent vote goes to a republican for the first time in my life -- Mccain/Palin.
I'm voting for democracy, integrity, and reform this election which means McCain/Palin get my vote. Obama cheated in the Primary so what will he do as POTUS?
My vote in the general election will be my line in the sand. It will be for McCain/Palin - only the second time in my life that I've not supported the Dem candidate. The first was Gerald Ford, so take that as a measure of my anger, disappointment, disgust, and disillusionment. This year, the scales have been ripped from my eyes, ever so painfully - and finally. Either the Dem leadership comes to its sense, or they can permanently write me off.
I am a Hillary supporter voting for Obama. Sure, I was disappointed when Hillary didn't get the nomination, but I didn't lose my mind. There is no way I'd vote for a warmonger with anger issues who is so determined to win that he'd choose someone clearly unqualified to run as a distraction from the real issues--the economy, health care, Iraq, education, etc. Plus, she's a right-wing lunatic. And let's talk about sexism. If the governor of Alaska had had the exact same qualifications but been a man named Samuel Palin instead of a woman named Sarah Palin, would he have been picked? Of course not!
In The Know September 14, 2008 9:31 PM The majority of Clinton supporters support Barack Obama. The rest are being played for fools by the GOP. ********** Just wait until Obama loses in November, then the final 70% of Hillary Democrats and the rest of the Obamacrats will realize they were played for fools by the Obama campaign and the DNC.
"...especially now that Sen. John McCain is running with a woman, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, as No. 2 on the Republican ticket." I think many Senator Clinton supporters had made their decision to back McCain or stay home in the General Election well before Senator McCain announced Governor Palin as his VP pick. A large exodus from the Democratic party probably occurred on or around May 31st, soon after the RBC and DNC made it clear that they had every intention of pushing the weaker, thin-resumed candidate. Governor Palin wasn't, for the most part, a deciding factor for many to support Senator McCain. However, the sexist attacks against her candidacy did manage to bring in a few more supporters. We may be some fringe group (though I highly doubt it), but the fact of the matter is our votes are a simple lesson in cause and effect. Cause: You throw your principles out the window (or under the bus) and Effect: You don't win the election. The Democratic Party is really good at one thing: LOSING. That will be quite some "fringe" group if Senator Obama can't win in a year that should have been a "gimme" for Democrats. McCain/Palin 2008!!!
Lori September 14, 2008 10:26 PM: I suppose you thought Geraldine Ferraro was a racist when she made this statement: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." Now do I get to call you a sexist for making your dumb comment?
I am a 34 yr male. frankly, I'm not sure why you guys make it seem like we, hillary dems, are all old white women. I am not old, I am not white, and I am not a woman. I did not think Obama was qualified, which is why my choices were only Hillary or Mccain. Frankly, Mccain is one of the few repubs I like. And then I saw how he Undemocratic Party was trying to cramp Obama down our throats. Well, I won't be drinking the kool-aid being cramped down! I will not support a candidate with a resume the size of postage stamp. I have my family's security to think about. I never thought I would be voting for a repub, but this year, I want to teach the UnDNC a lesson, I am voting for republican from the top of the ticket to the bottom. thank you.
I wouldn't vote for Ovomit if I was paid a million dollars. Not only is he vastly unqualified for the job, but I cannot begin to fathom his wife as the First Lady of this country. As someone said above, I am not voting for McCain/Palin, but against Obama/Biden.
I am a Hillary supporter who will NOT vote for Obama. I find it interesting that everyone ridiculed us, told us to "get over it". The best one was, everyone saying we had nowhere to go. Another one was that we just numbered in the 100s. Now all of a sudden people are realizing that we are more than a few 100, we do matter, we do have somewhere to go. Out of this chaos some really good & principled people stepped forward. Heidi Li & Marc Ruben have spoken to our concerns. It would do those who demean us to have a talk with Heidi Li & get an understanding of what we really want. Democrats we are, puppets we are not.
During the primary Hilary was ridiculed and her supporters were demeaned, called angry, bitter and old. Her supporters were even told that their was a new coalition and they were no longer needed in the party. The ultimate insult was the May 31 RBC meeting when Obama was awarded delegates he din't even earn. After the Primary the Dems told Hillary's supporters to get over it, while McCains camp reached out to them. Now people are suprised when some supporters won't jump on the unity train! This swing state voter will vote for McCain-Palin
Well, let's see if this posts. I could never vote for an inexperienced, corrupt politican that comes to us "The Chicago Way". The Dem Convention was the biggest sham that's occurred in modern history. Do the Dems hate the Clintons that much that they've thrown the Party away. Thank you Dean, Brazile, Pelosi, Obama, DNC and DP. After 30 years as a Dem, I'll be registering as an Independent come November 5th and will vote McCain/Palin on November 4th--Country First!
Obama supporters who insist that Hillary voters who don't support Obama must be 'racists,' 'stupid,' or 'closet' Republicans JUST DON'T GET IT. I have been a dyed-in-the-wool Liberal Democrat since I first started voting in 1976. I have Never voted Republican and always thought that Any Democrat is better than Any Republican....I was wrong. While the fact that Hillary Clinton is female (and so am I) certainly didn't hurt as I like a lot of middle-aged women have spent our entire lives patiently waiting for a woman to make it to the top of the ticket. My biggest problem with Obama is not that he's black (he could be purple), or that he's Liberal l- so am I. It's that he has No Experience and put his ego in front of party and country. Obama is The weakest Democratic Candidate the Party has ever put forth - I Won't Vote For A Someone Just Because He's A Democrat and plenty of other Democrats won't vote for him "Just Because," either. We already have an empty suit in the white house; we don't need another one.
The stronger, better prepared, more intelligent candidate was and is Hillary Clinton and she had my support from the very first rumors she intended to run. Now it will have to be the war hero with 20 years in the military and 20 years in Congress and the far better first executive style decision -- choosing the better running mate as far as I am concerned. Why the DNC, Howard Dean, Donna Brazille and the other members of the RBC felt the need to allow Obama to do what no Democrat has done in history-- block 1.8 million people from voting just so they could unfailry shove this inexperienced person into the position as nominee is beyond me. This was unfair and I don't reward bad behavior. In fact, "punishing" Howard Dean like he and the media argued that VOTERS needed to be "puniished" is going to be a pleasure. Frankly, the same media was intent on helping John McCain win because they are Democrats as I was before this year's shenanigans. Why did the D.C. media favor McCain? He's a centrist who's been known for reaching across the aisle. In other words, he appeals to some of Hillary Clinton's voters like myself. Hillary Clinton should be the Democratic nominee, she got more votes than the other guy and that should be the measure. Now, it's McCain for me. I have to vote for the better prepared person whose associations I like, who pays women in his office fairly, who is a centrist, who has experience, and who didn't cheat and steal my vote to get his nomination. And the more the media softballs and helps Obama and "vets" Palin and her 17 year old daughter and attacks the maverick the more I feel great about my decision. John McCain/Sarah Palin 2008
I am another Hillary supporter who is not only voting for McCain I am campaigning for him and have donated money to him. I will not vote for the DNC selected Obama because he is just not ready to be President he seems so immature to me. The DNC cannot just silence 18 million people and then expect people to vote for them.
The Democratic Party has lost my vote. For the first time in 34 years I will be voting Republican. It is not a comfortable decision. However, I refuse to reward the DNC for their total disregard of the voters they are supposed to represent. Ignoring voter fraud, silence in the face of atrocious sexism, stealing legal delegates from one candidate to give to their prefered candidate, and a corrupt and rigged convention.... even one of these reasons would be reason enough but the fact that all occured within the Party who claims to be moral, fair, and just.... the Party of the "people" is inexcusable. The Democratic Party is now a party of criminals and thugs. They do not deserve my trust or my vote. I may not agree with John McCain on many issues but he has more integrity in his little finger than the entire fraud-pack of Pelosi, Dean, Brazille, Reid, and Obama. Criminals all.
was a dedicated Hillary supporter during the primary season. After the final Democratic primaries in June, I was so disgusted by the failure of the Democratic leadership to actively denounce the sexism wielded at Hillary throughout the campaign (notably by the media, the pro-Obama rank-and-file, by some of Obama's closest associates, like Father Pfleger, and in subtler ways by the Obama campaign itself) that I decided to resign after 36 years as a loyal Democrat, and reregistered as an Independent. My fervent wish right up until he time of the convention was that there would be an 11th hour change of heart on the part of the superdelegates, and that Hillary would become the nominee. Obviously that didn't happen. I was angered by the sham roll-call that in no way reflected the strength of Hillary's candidacy, and by Obama's selection of Biden, and was all set to vote Republican or stay home in November, until Hillary gave her speech. Her thought-provoking question ("Were you in it just for me?") stopped me dead in my tracks, and long story short, I came out of the convention resolved to support the Democratic ticket. That is, until Sen. McCain named Palin as his running mate. The blatant sexism now directed at her by the media and so-called progressive rank-and-file Democrats was something to behold. hadn't they learned ANYTHING? Apparently not. Apparently sexism was once again politically correct, as long as it was being directed at a woman with despised ideological differences. IAfter listening to a week's worth of santimonious statements, not from the religious right but from the leftist wing of the Democratic party and the media, arguing about Palin's reproductive history, parenting skills, and ability to juggle work and raising a family, I'd had enough. All of my barely healing outrage over the blatant misogyny we witnessed during the primary season came roaring back. Arrogant and oblivious to the end, the Obama team stood by saying little and watched as the Republicans steped up ad defended their candidate. Call it manipulative, call it politics, call it whatever you want: it worked. I think Palin's mounting support comes largely from the right wing of the Republican party, but I do think there is a significant percentage of Independents and Democrats drawn the Republican ticket -- not because they "just want to vote for a vagina" (which seems to have become a perfectly OK statement to make), nor because Palin represents their views, but because they are sick and tored of the unbridled, unacknowledged and unapologetic sexism evident in the Democratic rank-and-file, and cannot support a ticket that no longer represents the views and needs of women around the country. I think, in the long run, more harm would have been done to the cause of women's rights by electing Obama and in doing so seeming to endorse all of the sexism evident throughout the campaign, than by electing a Republican President with a Democratic congress to keep him in check. And yes, there is some element of revenge, I suppose. I find myself wanting to wipe that cocksure smile of smug satisfaction off the faces of all those rank-and-file Democarts who were demanding so imperiously, back in April, for Hillary to "JUST.GET.OUT." She did, and now see what a mess you've gotten us into. Now THAT'S hubris, Charlie Gibson.
Hilarious. Most of you are just Republican trolls. The rest are absolutely nuts. I was a Hillary supporter and delegate through the caucus, preciscely because she IS a more liberal candidate than Obama. But the reality is that her campaign leadership failed to account for the caucus states, lost in Iowa, and could never climb back out of its hole. I'm a bit worried the same thing is happening now. As for the alleged mysogany of Obama, what did Obama do? The media is one thing, but I've never seen one link, one clip, one comment that shows any mysogany by Barack. He couldn't pick Hillary for VP, because Bill was unwilling to shut up. Any former Hillary supporter who would vote for McCain/Palin simply because Palin is a woman, or because of remaining spite about Hilllary's not securing the nomination is simply not rational. Palin will set us back years, if not decades. McCain doesn't support the Equal Pay Act! The whole debate is pointless - people who truly support Hillary and what she believes and stands for will vote for Barack.
I'm a Heidi Li Feldman fan. I read her blog first when I'm feeling political (which is not every day). She's plainly a very insightful, very earnest intelligent commentator. The Democrats For Principle Before Party group she co-founded is bound to raise compelling questions, a laudable effort. About Obama, I just don't trust him. Character trumps issues. I'll most likely sit out this vote, one way or another.
To In the Know: You should change your name because obviously you are not.
I am a Democrat who supported Sen. Clinton in the primaries. I will be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket in November. There are many like me. All the screaming insults and name calling will not change this simple fact. It appears it's your turn, Bots, to "get over it!"
This must be where all the Hilllary supporters/don't care about Democratic issues hang out. Seems like no matter what the truth, you only want to vote against Obama or whoever beat Hillary. Do you think any of the issues Hillary has dedicated her life to working - health care for instance- will really be advanced by John McCain's Republican Party? Do you really think the game was rigged when Hillary started the campaign as the clear front-runner, running on the Clinton name, her own national recognition, fund-raisers with deep pockets, and an overwhelming lead in the superdelegates? Is it really Barack's fault he planned well for the caucuses, or that when it became apparent that the math wasn't on Hillary's side, most Democrat leaders wanted to end the divisive infighting? Is that what a rigged, mysogionistic DNC looks like? Personally I'll take Obama's positions, judgment and lack of deep washington experience over an experienced Cheney, or confused McCain who voted 90% of the time with Bush. As for Palin - clearly she was only picked because she's a woman, is very conservative (fire up the base), and gives a great speech. Unlike Obama, the Palin phenomenon is starting to wilt under the pressure almost immediately. And I don't give a hoot about her teenage daughter. How about lying, for starters. She was definitely for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it. She looked into banning books at the town library, then fired the head library after she decided she didn't like her (after a public outcry, she was forced to rehire her). She loves earmarks (15 mil on a hockey rink for a town of 8,000), though somehow has managed to claim the title of the anti-earmark reformer. She thinks shooting wolves from a plane is great fun. Whats the point to nature if you can't hunt it, right? You'd think any of the pro-choice Hillary holdouts would be bothered by her favor of a total ban on abortion. Unlike members of the Senate, she's had no experience with international issues (nice to have while we're a war), and knows little of the national issues facing the rest of the country. But she is a woman, and can read a good script someone wrote for her. I guess that's good enough. I just wonder how many people so truly concerned with Obama supposed inadequacies are really looking for an excuse to not vote for him. Is lack of experience really worse than lack of judgment? After over a year of digging, is Obama knowing a few bad eggs the worst you can come up with? (And by the way, all he did was know them. No sneaky business deals. He sat in the pews and heard an overheated pastor speak. He spent an evening at a neighbors house, who'd been involved in a group over 40 yrs ago. The Bushes have Saudi dictators for pals, and have been happy to support their blood money instead of weaning us off of oil). Palin's record has nothing to do with her associates and everything to do with her. McCain's gun-ho war attitude, his general agreement with this disaster of a Republican administration in theory should matter. But if all the comments I've seen so far are an indication, they probably don't. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. Go show 'em, Hillary supporters.
Is anyone still fooled by this. A whole lot of McCain supporters passing themselves of as Hillary supporters to stir trouble. I can't believe anyone is still buying this.
I have voted democrat all my life, but this year I will vote McCain/Palin without any reservation. It infuriates me how women rant about the loss of reproductive rights with McCain, but they have obviously done absolutely no research into Obama at all. There seems to be no concern at all about Obama's PROVEN association with the likes of Ayers or Resko. No concern over the state of the slums in his Chicago district. No concern over how Hillary was cheated at his hand. No concern over him voting present over 100 times. No concern over the fact that he sat in Wright's church for 20 years. I could go on and on. No vetting, no research...who cares? Why is Obama given such a free pass? I am so perplexed. I believe McCain to be a good man who will reach across the aisle. Sarah Palin, like me is a career mom. I like her, although I don't agree with her or McCain on everything. Hillary was my first choice, but now McCain/Palin is my choice. I can't imagine voting for Obama.
I would hope that women who supported Hillary and all Democrats would stick together and vote Obama into the White House. You do remember her speech at the convention? The Obama/Biden ticket is what we have whatever your feelings about the Obama - Hillary primary. What we are voting for are Democratic principles. Of all elections, this one will count in terms of the direction our country is heading. If you can rise above your disappointment and support Obama, then in 2012 we can decide whether to replace him with HIllary if she still wants it. I cannot imagine the alternative under a McCain/Palin ticket. Please keep your eyes on the issues this year. For your children, for your country and for our planet.
The Clinton's represent everything that is wrong with the Democratic party. Even if we lose this election I will not be saddened to see their reign of terror end. These are the people that made the Democratic party the party of right of center moderates. The Clinton's are the choice of the upper middle class racist, ignorant white elites. Good riddance to the Clinton's. Good riddance to their supporters.
I'm not sure what to be more disturbed by, the fact that the media is so in the tank for McCain that they keep recycling these stories enough to make them self-fulfilling prophecies, or the fact that some otherwise intelligent voters, especially women voters, are apparently so stuck in the identity politics of the '90's that they are unwilling to accept the reality that Obama won because of his energy, freshness, and trustwothiness on the Iraq war, still the number one issue to many Dem loyalists. After 8 years of Bush, people are starving for change, and Hillary Clinton represents a change of party but for many not the break from the past people are craving. Love her or not, Hillary Clinton lost a major part of the Democratic base because she helped authorize an unjust and immoral war of aggression, and some voters who love nevertheless her saw her as a divisive figure who would rally the Republican base and be harder to get into the White House than Obama. Sure, there was some sexist media coverage, just like there was some racist media coverage against Obama, but that's not why she lost. Before abandoning the Dems, please remember you're playing into the hands of Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Jerry Falwell. Please don't think by sinking Obama this year you can get Hillary Clinton in 4 years, because if so I'm afraid I'll be trying to persuade bitter Obama supporters not to abandon the Dems, and again the Republicans will win because they are better at overcoming divisions. Unfortunately, our planet and the human race can't tolerate Democrats being divided--we have a moral responsibility as Americans to make intelligent choices because we live in an age of perpetually increasing complexity with literally billions of our fellow humans dependent on our presidential choice. Please don't focus narrowly---the survival of the human race may depend on this choice. Please also consider which candidate would do more for women. Think about the composition of the Supreme Court and the implications for Roe vs. Wade.
I am embarassed by the women that WILL vote for Obama. They are in love with someone who has personally, as well as, through his campaign staff and surrogates, made blatant sexist comments about a serious contender for the presidency. Not acceptable. I have always supported the canddate that received the nomination - but I've never seen a candidate be so disrespectful as Obama. I never supported a cheater either I live in Michigan. Obama cheated there. They ran radio ads, made calls and sent out emails, telling people to vote uncommitted if they supported him. According to the rules he was not allowed to campaign whatsoever. I've never supported an experienced candidate - for any position. John McCain is nothing like George Bush and it is sad that my party is smearing an honorable man and comparing him to a low life. I believe in loyalty. Obama has shown none. He demands to be something he has no qualification for. I have ten times more years of community organizing than him - guess i should run for president too. The office of the presidency is way too important to give to someone with so little to give.
Sarah Palin terrifies me. Her extreme views will destroy our democracy and challenge the Constitution. Her lack of foreign policy knowledge and diplomacy could lead towards another war. She is more Bush than McCain and people need to really think about what she could do to harm our country and the world with her extreme views. I am a white female and I say that so people will not think I am being a sexist. I worry about the future of my grandchildren and know that Sarah Palin will set their right's back decades. She rode on the coat-tails of many strong women who proceeded her and now she will throw away all that they have fought for and she will use it for personal political gain and become more of the old boys, old Washington crowd with an added extreme view detrimental to Democracy. We must all work double hard to see that Obama wins because if not we could become under the Palin rule.
Let me preface my comment by admitting that I left the "Democratic" Party after they nominated Kerry in 2004. I began to see then, what some are only beginning to see now. The "Democratic" party has lost its soul. It has lost its way in a most extreme way. I never thought I'd vote Republican in my life. That was when I was young and naive, like many Obama supporters now. I was/am a Hillary supporter. I will write her in, Vote Nader, or perhaps vote McCain/Palin. In my state, daffy duck would win running on the democratic ticket so my vote will be pretty useless so I can use it however I want. Imagine that. Using your vote to just express you own belief system as opposed to feeling you have to help a "party" "win" something. We have gotten too used to playing this two party game where one side has to win and one side has to lose. Do you want to know why I will NEVER vote for Obama? Look at all the constant hypocrasy of his campaign. He wouldn't choose Hillary as VP because she's the old washington and would contradict his new, clean up washington look. So who does he pick instead? BIDEN???? Oh yes, Hillary is so much more old, stuck in the mud washington than Biden.. GIVE ME A BREAK. That's just one recent example. Answer this question. Say you own a billion dollar company. Do you hire someone who has been with the company working in the mailroom for a year or two? Or do you go with someone who knows their way around and has made connections with people within and without the company? THAT, my dear "democrats" is the question you're answering when you choose to vote for Obama in November. Don't kid yourselves into thinking your answering another question. This is a group of people who have completely forgotton, conveniently enough, the relatively peaceful and prosperous 90's. Oh wait, we can't give Hillary any credit for that but we can hold her responsible for anything that went wrong in the 90's eh? HYPOCRASY! Am I saying that Republicans are all that great? Of course not. But wouldn't it be nice if either major party could actually find a candidate that would bring this country together instead of focusing on trying to "win" an election with all the arrogance that can be mustered? That's another word describing the Obama campaign.. arrogant. The man can't talk properly without a teleprompter.. helllooooooo. I am so disappointed this year I can't even begin to express it, though some Obama supporters will argue I just have expressed it. If you think this even begins to touch the surface of how deeply wounded I am by what happened this year, then you really truly do not comprehend many Hillary supporters, of whom I am proudly one. Because you do not wish to understand us, you never will understand us. One last thing, YOU made the choice to nominate Obama, YOU live with that decision now. Don't blame ME if McCain gets elected and all hell breaks lose and we're all forced into pregnancies and half of us die in childbirth yadda yadda yadda.. YOU presented that reality to us with your vote for Obama. Perhaps next time you should consider reality in your decision making process and pick a candidate who can WIN and also make the differences you seek.
The DEm Party has proven itself a farce. A corrupt farce at that. Let me tell you what is obscene: as a faithful Party member for over 30 years, I wrote delegates asking them to reconsider support for Clinton (my choice) based on her record against the onion-skin thin resume of obama. What I got back from non other than Brazile was an attack that I was a racist and a sexist. As a woman--and a person of color--I found Brazile's remarks ignorant and ironic. I suppose anyone who does not kiss the hem of the chosen-one's garmnets is racist. Well, I won't let him operate on my appendix, either. Does THAT make me racist? A sexist? I am voting Republican for the first time ever because my vote COUNTS with that party. HRC received a lion's share of the op votes and the RBC saw to it that their golden-child was selected instead. SHAME.
THIS IS ABSURD!! If someone is willing to vote for the MAC/PALIN ticket because their candidate did not get the bid, they were never voting for this candidate based on the issues anyway. I was a Hillary supporter at the beginning, but am now firmly behind Obama. Finally, Hillary supporters forget that Obama was an extreme underdog and Hillary was the "party's" choice from the beginning. She had all the Democratic machine behind her. All the Union support. Now that she has LOST, everyone seems to say that she was mistreated. She basically under estimated the competition and thought the Democratic nomination was in the bag.
Hillary is responsible for the travesty of this situation. She should have come clean in telling her supporters that Obama played by the rules established by the party and won fair and square. It is absurd that some of you accuse him of cheating. He is a constitutional law professor, he plays by the rules and respects the constitution. That is how he won. Stop being crazy. This whole country will suffer from a mcCain/Palin ticket. We can't afford this! Didn't you listen to all the speeches in the democratic Convention? Is everybody lying when they say Obama should become president? You guys have lost your marbles and are behaving like 2 year olds throwing a temper tantrum. Snap out of it, be a patriot and vote for the honest guy. Mccain and Palin are only telling lies to the people and you are being gullible because of your hatred. You are being played. You want more wars? Zero health insurance? No economic plan? No relief for the middle class? Think again!
Wow. There are an awful lot of conservatives whistling past delusional graveyards; two weeks ago polls didn't count -- but now all this cultish, nervous exhuberance. Sort of like two weeks ago McCain was an experienced candidate but now he's a change-addicted maverick (oh, so what if he can't differentiate himself FACTUALLY from the 90% support over the last 8 years for the country-crippling Chimp/DICK agenda!) America can't afford a flip-flopping, faux-apostatic, Republik-Party-cog-minted-in-corruption (Keating 5? Paging Keating 5!) president with an astonishingly unqualified, cynically-pandered vice presidential choice. IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID! And McCain has no distinguishable difference -- well, outside of being a maverick and chasing the lobbyists (who run his campaign, who have infested the fabric of his presidential image...) out of D.C. Obama's tax cuts are factually analyzed as favorably out-performing McCain's by pretty much every fact-checking organization one can name: bottom line, if you make more than $200,000 you will not receive the same preferential treatment that has been extended to you under the Chimp/DICK treasury theft. More than 85% of Americans will receive SUBSTANTIALLY more in tax rebates under President Obama. Meltdown Monday is upon us -- the Republik Party has -- in 7 1/2 short years -- turned a robust federal surplus into a crushingly strapping deficit of roughly HALF OF ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. Spin it any way you want, Fundy/conservative/jingoistic/paternalistic myrmidons and cultish devotees of Republik Party identification -- the bottom line is that IT IS A FACT AND IT HAPPENED UNDER THE MOST MISERABLY FAILED PRESIDENCY IN HISTORY. McCain? Hide those wallets.
30 + years and Dem and I will be voting for McCain/Palin. Never in my life have I seen a Party railroaded like the Democratic Party has just been. I've been insulted and castigated because I dared support the best Democratic candidate we've had in the longest time, and believe me, I still support her and will continue to support her. No way will I unify behind a hijacked party who has forced their candidate down our throats and ran roughshod over half it's members, strong-arming them and belittling them to get behind their chosen Messiah. I cannot wait to get rid of Dean, Pelosi and Brazile, and to send obama packing. Let him go back to Illinois and finally do something for his constituency that he has neglected for so long. With friends like Wright, Ayers, Pflieger, Odinga, Rezko and Auchi, there is no way obama will get my vote. While we're at it, let's force the media to be fair and unbiased in their reporting. They are a disgrace to their profession.
Calling all Hillary supporters: Please, listen to me, I beg of you. Print out my plea, take it with you to the ballot box in November, and read it at least once before casting your vote. My name is Kate, and I'm a former Hillary supporter from Ohio who was just as upset about the ill-treatment of our candidate. I was disappointed to see Barack Obama win the nomination. But I'm also a twenty-something girl from Ohio whose deeply concerned about the future debt my generation will be saddled with. I'm also a rape victim who cannot believe the Republican platform that, had my assailant impregnated me, I should be forced to carry his child. Perhaps even prosecuted if I chose not to. And I'm also a woman with a job and health insurance, and yet I can't afford to buy the pills I need for a long-term illness I have, because my for-profit insurance company has decided it's "nonessential." I'm also a summa cum laude graduate from an excellent university with countless internships and qualifications, and yet it took me weeks to find a job in today's failing economy. These are just a few of the reasons I'm voting for Barack Obama in November. I know his background doesn't match Hillary's pedigreed one, nor has his time matched hers in the Senate. I know it was an ugly primary race between them and they said many things to each other I'm certain they now regret. But I know they still stand for the same things. I also know that I and others like me are "the little guy." From what I've seen in the eight years I've been a legal voter, the Republican party has not once stuck their necks out for the little guy. Abraham Lincoln would be ashamed. The Democrats, on the other hand, have gone to the mat countless times for "the little guy" in recent years ... for women's rights, for gay rights, for civil rights. They are the ones with the track record. I may be dissatisfied with this year's Democratic party, but I am not going to throw away my country's one chance for healing from the damage wrought on our economy and our civil liberties for nearly a decade. I am not going to throw away my vote on someone from the other party who claims he is a maverick (and hasn't acted like one in years) and promises "change I can trust" with absolutely no evidence to warrant my trust. Please listen. Please think about what I've said, won't you? I'm on the edge of tears here ... you may teach the Democrats a lesson they deserve, but you'll be teaching the Republicans a lesson, too -- one they have NOT deserved. You'll teach them that they can lie to us, lead us into an unjust war, ignore a woman's right to equal pay, destroy the middle class and drive the poor even deeper into poverty, impoverish young voters' futures, and still get their way. Please, don't let our country continue down this path. If McCain wins this year, he'll win the next election, so that's eight more years lost for "the little guy." This is more than just an election. This is my future. This is your future. This is our future. Please, for our sake, don't give McCain what he hasn't earned. Earnestly, Kate Watson P.S. And for what it's worth, I've been watching Obama like a hawk for the past year and a half, and I've never seen him personally make a sexist remark, toward Hillary or otherwise. In my humble opinion, calling a reporter "sweetie" and saying Hillary was "likable enough" does not make the case for sexism. Call the DNC sexist if you really wish to, but please don't jump to the conclusion that the Obama campaign has somehow directed the ills of the party.
I changed to party to be a Republican, I am so proud to be on McCain's side now. I would never comeback to the DNC party after the ugly devil way they treated Hillary.
It astonishes me that the so-called pundits and experts can't believe Hillary supporters would choose McCain over Obama. Character and competence are more fundamental than the "issues." Obama has no track record of achievement, has reneged on almost every core issue of his campaign, and has permitted his surrogates to corrupt of the voting process more outrageously than I would have believed possible in the USA. These reasons are only the beginning; but they are sufficient. The only reason I can think of that the media would not be able to understand the voters' preference for character and competence is that they think us incapable of voting for any other reason than our personal and immediate gratification. And I guess that's not so surprising. The liberal elite have always looked on the rest of us with thinly disguised contempt.
I'm sorry, but what kind of feminist or supporter of equality for women would ever *dream* of voting for Sarah Palin, who opposes abortion - even for women who are the victims of rape? Please look at the big picture, and don't give us four more years of the same.
Though a life long democrat, I had always planned to move to McCain had Clinton not prevailed as the nominee. Why would I vote for an inexperienced, untested candidate like Obama? With Hillary, Democrats finally had a clear shot to finally win the presidency, but the DNC felt otherwise. When McCain chose Palin, I was 'over the moon' with joy - It took McCain to show Hillary and her supporters the respect that we all deserve. I'm no longer a reluctant supporter but an energized one. My entire extended family plans to vote Republican this year. Most of us were FDR Democrats - Party first. No longer however.
A perfect example of sexism is in this post.... laksa September 14, 2008 10:09 PM Also, if Mc/P are elected, there will no longer be a chance for Clinton whether they did a good job with the country or otherwise. If good, Mc/P would continue for 8 years, if bad, no one would vote for a woman any more. ********************************************************** If your logic was used, then we should have all woman candidates this year since Bush has been such a disappoinment. Why are you currently voting for a man???? I have been a life long dem. Never voted red but after the corruption displayed by the DNC, Kerry, Dean, Pelosi, Kennedy etc. I'm voting for McCain/Palin. We shall see what happens 11/4 and if the Dems loose they have sewn their own oats.
I am a Hillary supporter who is voting for McCain, as well. I saw the disgusting display's of sexism by the DNC and MSM, along with the unjust cries of racism by the Obama camp. We have an unqualified candidate in Obama who flips on just about everything he says! During the primaries, even though he couldn't get to that magic number either everyone was calling for her to drop out and unify even though in the end the final tally for popular vote was... 17,857,446 HRC to 17, 584,649 BHO! Now even though she clearly had more votes he somehow managed to gain more delegates... not many... only 17... 1730.5 HRC to 1747.5 BHO. Despite this essential tie, everyone in a power position demanded that he be annointed and did not even allow for a TRUE nomination and roll call at the convention! I am outraged because a candidate with the experience as Senator Clinton should have been respected and treated in a fair and democratic manner! In response to this horrific display of inequality, my vote will go towards McCain... my party has turned its back on me and Mac is a man of honor and integrity with a record down the middle. The choice was easy and with Palin on the ticket it is absolutely NOT a step back for women! The issues are important but human dignity is an even greater cause... until women are truly respected and treated equal then THAT alone will be my issue!
"The very notion that Sarah Palin should not have accepted this nomination because she is a mother with demanding challenges underscores just how far we have to go," said leaders of the group, called the WomenCount PAC..." Sarah Palin shouldn't have accepted this nomination because she is unqualified, and as a result she has engaged in outright lies and ridiculous statements: she says she was against the bridge to nowhere (not true), she was in Iraq (reports say that's not true), her close proximity to Russia provides international experience (what??), the war in Iraq is doing "God's task" (really?), climate change might be occurring naturally and not brought on by human actions (so much for science, again). The list goes on. Sexism has no place in the criticism of Palin. Her record, words and actions speak loud enough. The notion that anyone who supported Mrs. Clinton and her ideals would even consider voting for McCain just goes to show they are more interested in serving their own agenda than advancing Mrs. Clinton's (and Democratic) policies. BTW, if some people want to replace Reid with Hillary (which is one of the best suggestions I have heard, he needs to go, and Hillary would be an excellent choice), we must work together to keep the majority. Otherwise, its a mute point. Go ahead and keep spending time and money on Democrat-bashing advertisements. Real productive.
Grow up People! Whe your team loses, you don't take your ball and just head home. There are way too many important issues that remain. Think Supreme Court appointments and Roe V. Wade!! Can anyone that supported Hillary really feel comfortable about voting for McCain and Palin, knowing where their political fanaticism would lead to in judicial appointments?! Get past those injured feelings and think about the future, including your daughters and sons and how they will be impacted by a McCain-Palin administration. Do you really want them serving in another long, drawn-out war or wars for some bogus reason? I see these young people coming back with their physical and emotional issues. Think about the future!!
I am a middle-aged white woman currently unemployed with an abiding love of our great country. John McCain has proved that he will say anything to get alected. He has prooved that he lacks good judgment by the hasty and incomplete process used to select Palin over many more qualified individuals in his party. I can only assume the intent was to appease the Republican base (you know, the folks who gave us the Iraq War, the Terry Schivo circus, the Clinton witch hunt of the 1990s and the government shut down, too? you know, the folks who gave us Suupreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scolia, who gave us Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich and Paul Wolfowitz--the ones who want to overturn Roe v. Wade, teach creationism in schools and build a wall around our country's southern border while allowing international corporations and foreign governments to buy up our infrastructure--remember them?). Two or possibly three Supreme Court appointments will be made in the next four years. These are serious times with serious issues for Americans. We do need to put Country First--ahead of personal slights and political vendettas. I urge dissatisfied Clinton supporters to heed Sen. Clinton's admonishment to support Sen. Obama in his bid to become President. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.
Heidi Li Feldman is very naive if she thinks she can get Howard Dean's resignation. Clearly she has no idea who she's dealing with and is underestimating him.
I fully agree with Heidi Feldman-this election was a total sham. Dean, Pelosi and Brazile need to go-they countenanced deliberate gerrymandering of Congressional districts, and refused to investigate caucus and absentee ballot cheating. Furthermore, I am ashamed that a Democratic Presidential nominee should belittle his opponents, with catch phrases such as 'lipstick on a pig', 'Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor', 'cannot use email', 'smelly old fish'. Whatever happened to issues? What we have left is Pork.
I understand that Clinton supporters are upset by the primary, but do you really want to vote for a ticket that is lying to you? Palin says she admires Clinton, but when Hillary complained of sexism on the part of the media, not Obama, Palin said she was a whiner and that she did nothing for women in politics. They have video of her saying that. Now she is playing the sexism card. Please, please look at McCain's voting record. Look at his health care plan. he has NO plan for the uninsured in this country. Are you going to throw away all your principles to teach the DNC a lesson? Don't you feel betrayed by all the lies coming from the McCain campaign? I do. He is no maverick and experience didn't help Bush or Cheney make good decisions for this country.
It sure is a good thing that women aren't emotional creatures whose inability to think logically makes them incapable of seeing the bigger picture and how their short-sighted emotional decisions can have a profound impact on it. That's a horrible, ignorant stereotype. And, I'm glad organizations like WomenCount won't be perpetuating such stupidity by choosing not to supprt the candidate most likely to help their cause, and possibly even supporting the candidate most likely to hurt it simply because there is a woman on that ticket, just because the candidate they originally favored lost fair and square in the primary. Yeah. I sure am glad women aren't like that at all.
My eyes have been opened. I was for Hillary but willing to vote for Obama if he had won fairly. After he was selected (and i am an African American woman) i will vote for McCain. I was already going to vote for McCain now that Palin is on the ticket, it's that much easier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obama is sexist and arrogant for no good reason. Should have waited 8 years to gain some experience. Go Pumas (CoPumas). Hillary 2012!
My profession is biomedical research. I've been at it for over 25 years, so I am well-accustomed to looking at a subject under a microscope and doing extensive and intensive testing of my subject before making a judgment. I am trained to make determinations based on verifiable evidence so that even scientific papers must pass the reproducibility test before acceptance. So when this campaign started last year, I made a point of looking at the credentials of each candidate before making my choice. I found Hillary Clinton to be the candidate who most closely represented what I wanted in a President. By that same scientific method I found Barack Obama was not who he purported to be as a candidate. His resume did not pass the scrutiny required and his credentials did not match his claims. While I do not agree with all the positions taken by the Republican ticket, I am confident that John McCain is an authentic candidate who has not concealed who he is and who respects who I am as a Democrat. I did not choose a candidate on the basis of emotions and I will not be voting that way in November. Should the DNC continue to believe otherwise about those Democrats who will vote principle over party, then they will have at least four more years to consider their folly.
Anyone who watched the roll call vote and claims to be a Democrat, should if they believe in Democracy, either stay home, vote third party or vote McCain/Palin, you would have witnessed voter suppression and voter intimidation. It was rank and in the public view for all to see.
My guts were burning over Hillary's loss, and how it happened, but it makes no sense for women to vote for McCain-Palin out of spite or protest. You want to change the Democratic party and its treatment of women? Good. Do it. But voting for the party that wants to overturn Roe-v-Wade and offers NOTHING to improve the lives of women in its platform is frightening. Palin is owned by the right wing, and what has the right wing EVER done for women? McCain does not support for equal pay for equal work. You want to stand on principle? You vote for that ticket and you are saying you agree with their principles. And you help no one. I agree with holding Obama's feet to the fire, and I think he's feeling it, but on election day don't burn the rest of us in the process.
Although I am a life-long, registered Democrat...I was a Reagan Democrat, now a Palin Democrat. The DNC and RBC behaved so dishonorably that I cannot vote for their selectees. Note to Obama supporters, please keep insulting PUMA members. You are only helping the cause. These comments sound like a roll call...so far, McCain/Palin are far ahead. Swing State for McCain/Palin 2008!
Hillary voter for McCain! I want Hillary to run in 2012. I was never for Obama.
Barack Obama would have won the nomination even if the DNC had not given Barack Obama 4 or Michigan's delegates. I wish they had not simply so people would stop moaning about how unfair it was. In all truth (to open up the debate again since it appears to still be simmering under the surface) Michigan and Florida had a chance to be one of the early states, they did not act on this opportunity. They pushed up their primary after the fact. It was not just the Republicans in the state legislature it was also Democrats who voted to move it up in violation of the rules. Nobody said anything about the states losing their voice in the nominating contest until it was politically helpful to Hilary. If she was so upset about people having thier votes count there were months before they voted to stand up and say something. Did she? NO, not a single word of protest! If they had full voting rights the delgate count would have been CLOSER, but she would not have been pushed over the top to win the nomination, Barack still would have gotten it. He was elected. The comments saying that Hilary is owed a higher position in the democratic party because of her help/support is BS. Any true democrat that beleives in the platform of the party would help/support the nominee of the party. She is doing what is expected and yes what is true to what she believes. To think she should do otherwise is ludicrous. Yes, she should get a nice place in his adminstration (unless she doesn't want it) because of what she has done for her country to improve the people's lives, end of story. She is a powerful woman with a husband that led our country to prosper. The media and bloggers may have made sexist remarks but I never heard a single sexist thing come out of Barack Obama's mouth. The media would have pounced on such an occurance, and so would any person with a camera phone. The supporters who trust him would have felt disillusioned, and turned their backs in disgust. His policies should be enough to show his respect for women and women's issues. When he talks about his mother, grandmother, sister, daughters, colleagues and friends it should be apparent the type of character he has and his opinion and admiration for women and our struggles.
I voted for Hillary in my state's caucus, and I will likely be voting for McCain/Palin in November. I'm a college student. I am not a bitter, ignorant, racist, old dried-up feminist cat-lady, and I believe that these generalizations and accusations (which have actually been leveled at me online) do NOTHING to help "unify" the Democratic party. I believe that Hillary Clinton was treated badly by the party and the media, there was definite corruption in the caucuses, the Convention was all for show, and I believe that her supporters have every right to be upset. Both sides are guilty of hostility, name calling, and other such crap. But if you call Clinton supporters sore losers, you might also call the Obama supporters sore winners. I'm not a one-issue voter, either. Roe v. Wade is not my only concern, and I'm tired of people using it in an attempt to influence my vote. A lot of these Hillary supporters - who are males and females of all races and ages - are basing their choice on MANY issues. No candidate is perfect. But when I honestly study the history, the policies, and the character of all the candidates, I do prefer McCain / Palin. And that is the only reason. Speaking for myself, this is not a revenge vote. It's a vote for the candidate that I have the most faith in, and that's my right - just as all Americans have the right to own their votes.
What exactly were all these PUMA's reasons to vote for Hillary in the first place? I don't get it, people should have voted based on agreeing with policy choices, and confidence that the person would move the country in the direction they through their position on the issues. It should not be about the symbolic meaning and it is sexist to vote based on gender (whichever way that would lead you). Did these PUMA's not know she was a DEMOCRAT with a democratic stance on various issues? What do they think the Republican party going to do for them? They will be glad to have the vote but in the end they are not going to listen to the voices of voices with dissenting viewpoints. From everything I've seen at town halls McCain does not listen to differing viewpoints very well, and he is definitely unapologetic about it. When he has the chance he will weasel his way around to sound more positive, but it's obvious he is shutting down on citizens who just want him to acknowledge their viewpoint/situation. As citizens, we've put up with this for much longer than should be tolerated. It seems the PUMA's have no wish for progress, when the chance is right in front of them they want to say "thanks, but no thanks" McCain will exploit this rift for all it's worth and then leave your ideas in the cold.
For all the supposed "Hillary Supporters" who cannot vote for Barrack, keep this in mind: Hillary will never win, not now, not in 2012, not in 2016 without the Black vote. If you sabbotage Barrack's chance, we will never forgive you...ever.
I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton and will be voting for McCain and Palin. Absolutely no one will convince me to vote for Obama. Even if Hillary was VP, I would not vote for Obama. He is unqualified, has little respect for women, and has less experience than Palin. I also can no longer support the Democratic Party which has cheated Hillary out of this nomination. They stabbed her in the back and never backed her even though she is their best candidate and even though she has always supported the Party
I cannot NOT agree with all of the sentiments expressed about the primary campaign and the DNC treatment of Hillary, the most qualified candidate of all parties concerned. I cannot admit that I did not share all of your sentiments about for whom I would vote, and be damned with it! However, I must say that, as events unfolded, I have determined that my revenge and my anger and my feelings, as deep as they are and still remain, can reconcile what I have seen and heard of this Republican ticket and Republican Party. I simply cannot mortgage my country or push it over the edge because of my feelings and my resentment. I need only to spend time with my 10 yr old grandaughter to know that I owe it to her to rise above my feelings, legitimate as they may be, and do what is right for all women and for this country. If you vote Republican, you must know that you are voting for a woman who is to the right of G W Bush, who shares his rigid ideology, who shares his lack of knowledge and experience, who makes a mockery of "women crashing the glass ceiling". Make no mistake about it, chances of her becoming President are high. If we have a history after 4 years of McCain/Palin, is this the woman you can feel proud of in the history books? I believe the DNC has more than learned their lesson. They martyred a perfectly qualified woman and now must contend with her antithesis, who poses a serious threat to their victory. Just who is it that "harmed the party"? Hillary Rodham Clinton is NOT chopped liver. There are many, many ways in which this smart and talented, professional woman can serve, in capacities wherein she can make a significant difference in our lives and in the lives of people around the world. I cannot dishonor HER by promoting a candidate who does not come close to who Hillary is and what she has worked for all of her life and what she can still work for. I will vote Democratic. It was not even an option for me until I was "softened" a bit by Biden; then, convinced after the DNC convention; then absolutely committed by the Palin pick; and now, after listening to and watching the McCain/Palin campaign, I am firm in my resolve. It is hard enough to have a lightweight promoted to your supervisor in the workplace; it is a disaster to have her or him in charge of your country.
The fact that people are posting Palin UNtruths depicts the Obama style campaign. The rink in Wasilla was NOT an earmark it was financed by a bond that the citizens VOTED for. The big diatribes over her record show that you are just repeating the same talking points. Obama is unlikable, inexperienced and ultra LEFT.He has unsavory associations. Everyone conveniently forgets the remark about Granny over there under the bus.."a typical white woman". Obama is no Hillary. Not politically or intellectually. I'm not in the least bit worried about Roe when every single other serious issue hangs in the balance with Obama. Not some made up junk about book banning.
I see by the comments that people are still not "getting it". We Formercrats are not voting McCain/Palin out of bitterness, revenge, racism, hard feelings, or any of the other lame excuses people have tried to foist on us. What part of "FRAUD" don't you people understand? We are not talking about "hijinx and shenanigans". We are talking about a campaign that broke the law, committting felonies being investigated in at least half a dozen states. The Obama campaign has intimidated, threatened and coerced in order to achieve what is recognized around the world as an illegitimate campaign. Anyone foolish enough to think that an amoral candidate will miraculously morph into a man of principle once in office does not deserve the vote. As for Obama "never uttering a sexist remark" I charge that you have not been listening to your candidate. Did you not hear him talk about when Hillary is "periodically feeling down" or hear the song he had playing after he won Iowa: "I Got 99 Problems but the Bitch ain't One of Them"? I could go on, but I'm pretty sure you've stopped reading by now anyway since it reveals the real Obama. And Charles... I know several wonderful people of color who are not fooled by BO and who will not be voting for him in November. And before you go making anymore veiled threats, at least know how to spell your candidate's name: Barack not Barrack.
All you Obama people on here, especially the AA's that threaten not to vote for Hillary if Obama loses. It will not be Hillary's fault, nor will it be her supporters fault if he loses. Have you checked out his record,(he doesn't have one) you have no actual idea of what went on in the caucuses, you have no idea of the deal that was cut during the break of the RBC committee meeting, you have no actual idea of what went on with the roll call vote at the convention, you are listening to the media and believing everything they say about the annointed one, and yes he was annointed. You had to have actually been involved in the process, not just out here blogging. As an elected officer of the Democratic Party, I assure you that there were things that went on, that if you were really a true Democrat you would be outraged over too. This is not a matter of the Democratic Candidate, this is a matter of retaking the REAL Democratic party back. These people in control of our party now, are not the Democrats who really stood for the rights of all Americans, they are just out for themselves and control of our country. This beyond Hillary Clinton, we have passed that stage, now we are fighting for actual Democracy. Barack Obama, tried to cut a deal while he was in Iraq on his grand tour, maybe you should check out the New York Post today. You will see he tried to sabotage the ending of the Iraq war, so he could take credit. This man is a danger to our country.
Hillary Clinton WON the Popular Vote. Hillary Clinton WON the Electoral Vote. Barack Obama had more Pledged Delegates, Obama received his Pledged Delegate lead in the Caucus Voting states, 53% of the Caucus Vote was an Estimate by the Democat Party ... I am a Former lifelong democrat, Voting for John McCain.
Why is it hard to believe that Democractic women don't want more of the same? Obama, like Bush, received a coronation, without deference to the voters' wishes. Obama, like Bush, was chosen by party bigwigs and bankrolled by the wealthy friends of powerful and wealthy associates. Obama, like Bush, has no foreign policy experience or experience in national office. Obama, like Bush, needed to rig the process (General for Bush, Primary for Obama) in order to win. Like Bush, Obama never apologizes and never, ever admits he is wrong. Obama, like Bush, has the arrogance to be dangerous. Like Bush, he is out of touch with the everyday lives of ordinary people and can never represent us realistically. Obama, like Bush, is only interested in advancing his own interests. If McCain's slogan is "Country First," then Obama's must be, "Ego Before Country."
People are still missing the point. Those of us who supported HIllary supported her because we had faith in what she said based on what she has already done. We supported Hillary because we trusted her to be what we have always seen her to be. She has been in the public eye for over 35 years, we know her. We have followed her career, we admired and respected her for the work she did in children's education, children's health care, work for the equality of not just women, but all races and ethnic groups. We voted for Hillary because she inspired us, she moved us, she spoke to us, not down at us. Obama doesn't measure up to that standard. We don't have faith in him, we don't trust him, we don't believe in him. He has no record to back up anything that he says. Hillary did. John McCain does. All your attempts to paint McCain with George Bush's brush won't stick. His reputation precedes him. For Jaimie up above, you want examples of Obama's sexism? Ok, here you go. His "you're likeable enough" comment, his Annie Oakley and her six shooters' comment. His "periodically feeling blue" comment, His middle finger salute after the Ohio loss, his brushing HIllary off his shoulders and shoes like she was nothing more than dirt after the Pennsylvania loss, His snub of her at the State of the Union address in January. You may find a way to excuse his actions, I won't. And for Charles who posted that you will be sure the black community punishes Hillary's supporters if your man doesn't win, let me remind you that Bill and Hillary Clinton were advocating for people of color while your man was still in elementary school. They have done more with their economic policies, their reform of Affirmative Action, their educational reform policies with the expansion of Head Start, with CHIP's, their inclusion in their administration and than any other President since Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This election by your standards is not about anything except race. You can't tell me one single thing your candidate has ever done, because he hasn't done anything. He hasn't been in office long enough to do anything. He hasn't worked for or stood for anything. If you are voting for Obama because he is black and for no other reason, then you are the racist here. Not those of us who refuse to vote for a man with no record, no experience, no anything to offer this country except empty rhetoric based on David Axlerods well written speeches. We at least have reasons why we won't support him, all you can give as a reason to support him is the fact he is a black man. That is not a good enough reason for me to support him for the leader of the free world, and the next commander in chief. We are fighting two wars, our economy is in the toilet, and I for one want someone in the White House who at least knows how the government runs, and knows how to fight a war. I want a steady hand, not empty rhetoric.
It's worth it to me to ensure that the DNC learns that it's not o.k. to ordain somebody despite the wishes of the majority of the party. I'm voting McCain this year, like millions of other Hillary supporters. I can't vote for that arrogant, racist, sexist Obama.
A Real-Life Soap Opera About the Suffragettes Senator Clinton and Governor Palin are proof that women can and do diverge on important issues. Even on the question of whether women should vote! Most people are totally in the dark about HOW the suffragettes won votes for women, and what life was REALLY like for women before they did. Suffragettes were opposed by many women who were what was known as 'anti.' The most influential 'anti' lived in the White House. First Lady Edith Wilson was a Washington widow who married President Wilson in 1915, after the death of his pro-suffrage wife. I'd like to share a women's history learning opportunity... "The Privilege of Voting" is a new free e-mail series that follows eight great women from 1912 - 1920 to reveal ALL that happened to set the stage for women to win the vote. It's a real-life soap opera about the suffragettes! And it's ALL true! Powerful suffragettes Alice Paul and Emmeline Pankhurst are featured, along with TWO gorgeous presidential mistresses, First Lady Edith Wilson, Edith Wharton, Isadora Duncan and Alice Roosevelt. There are tons of heartache on the rocky road to the ballot box, but in the end, women WIN! Thanks to the success of the suffragettes, women have voices and choices! Exciting, sequential episodes are great to read on coffeebreaks, or anytime. Subscribe free at www.CoffeebreakReaders.com/subscribe.html
There has been a lot of talk over the last several months about who is a real Democrat and who is not, who is a patriot and who is not. Anyone who allows their party to get away with violating its own charter and sunshine laws as the DNC did on May 31, 2008, gives tacit approval to rampant caucus fraud, which is now very well documented, and subverts its own democratic procedures at its convention by intimidating delegates, preventing them from meeting, and holding rigged votes behind closed doors to my mind is neither. In 1801 Jefferson told Benjamin Waring: The will of the people... is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. We are already a society that has quietly accepted the suspension of habeas corpus, and warrantless wire tapping. Now were are supposed to accept the subversion of our right to franchise? Now we are supposed to accept that political institutions can reject democratic procedure in order to advance their preferred candidates and let the will of the people be damned? NO! We are drawing a line in the sand; this far and no further! We must hold the Democratic Party responsible for what it has done in order to reclaim it. This is America, not Russia. We are bound by our Constitution, and the natural law of human decency, to protect and defend our rights when faced with a body that designs to deprive us of them, as is the President and the Congress. They have abdicated that responsibility. We have not, and we will not apologize for it.
Replying to Charles M. Johnson's comment. I am an African American, I am not nor will I ever vote for Obama. The Black community has squandered all of our I.O.Us in the Democratic Party on this fraud. Hillary Clinton, if you care to take a hard look at her numbers, got them with less than 20% of the Black vote. The ethnic make up of this country is changing dailey & the Black community is shrinking in size & influence. It would do well for those still stuck in the sixties to realize that. We need to spend our political capital much more wisely than we are doing now. Here is my question to Mr. Johnson...What has Obama EVER done for his own community. If you can't answer off the top of your head that means he's done nothing. He doesn't deserve the level of support he has received from the Black community. Cast not your pearls before swine, that's what it says in the bible, you should heed that advice.
These Obamabots smeared Hillary the same way they are trying to smear Palin now I will never support or vote for the Fraud Nobama keep up the good work they are driving people to MCcain/Palin. And I will never forgive Obama and his bots this one is for you Charles M Johnson who cares if you never forgive LOL the fraud will never get my vote. MCcain/Palin 08
Have some of you people been under a rock for the past year and just slithered out this past June? Have you not seen the tapes or heard about the caucus fraud in every state that held caucuses by the Obama team? Have you not heard that thousands of votes in NC had only HIS name checked and no other? Dead people registered to vote? I could go on and on...Obama is the complete opposite of everything he claims to be. He is a dirty politician trying to come across as the one who will bring change and hope to Washington. Give me a break, the only thing he'll bring to Washington is more corruption, Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Father Pfledger, etc., etc., etc. He is such a flip flopper who knows what he stands for?
I am a middle aged white woman. I would have happily voted for Hillary, and now I will happily vote for Obama. Contrary to what many here believe, the democratic primary was pretty much over after super Tuesday - Obama had too many votes for Hillary to catch up without something very unusual happening. I am distressed that some think voting for a ticket whose policies have been horrible (charge victims for rape kits) is a fit "punishment for the DNC". You'll be punishing this country, and its people, including all women. McCain and Palin are courting Hillary voters now, but look at their record - it stinks.
Of course Charles is correct, Hillary's chances of becoming president were ruined the moment that Howard Dean and the corrupt DNC decided to rig the process. Her choice was to be submarined by party hacks gracefully or go down with a fight. The Charles M. Johnson's of the world will ensure she never becomes president. The larger question is not whether or not Blacks will support Hillary, ever, or whether I should ignore a rigged and corrupt process, but whether or not the democratic party will be at all viable for the next Decade. For the moment the Republicans seem willing to move towards the center. My advice: Go ahead and submarine Hillary's career and let's see how well that works for you. There is suffcient discord that I could very well see a third party emerging. If that happens the Democrats will certainly not win elections.
As Ac Clinton supporter, all I see is Barack Obama using the same under-handed politics of ridicule that he used against Clinton. To say that Obama "won" the nomination is a joke to the majority of us. The DNC hand-pciked him, and demanded that she leave the race -- EVEN AS SHE WAS WINNING BATTLE GROUND STATES. Serioulsy, does it get any stupider? In addition, the Democrats appear to forgot that they won the 2006 elections to much celebration by Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately for Barack Obama, Pelosi and Reid have been miserable failures as leaders. Here's what a Clinton supporter who is voting for John McCain looks like: I like divided government. I trust Hillary Clinton. I don't trust Barack Obama. I like John McCain. I like Sarah Palin. I hate the DNC.
Wow, I don't believe that all of the Clinton Supporters who are writing these blogs are just republicans pretending to be Clinton supporters. I do think that many of them are being blinded by their anger and the people at PUMA who actually tell them not too listen to other people. I do have one question, though. There is no question that Hilary worked a great campaign, and netted a historic number of votes. She is a well-accomplished senator, former first lady, and a solid advocate for Democratic causes. Given that you still support her, why would vote for someone so against her values? Why would prefer to have Palin possibly get the opportunity to have the historic achivement of becoming the first woman in the role of President should MCcain not make it through his terms? I am certain that Hilary does not want you to vote for McCain, she has said so forcefully and gracefully. If you want to send a message, why not write in Hilary's name? If she gets enough votes in this election, and there truly are as many of you as you think, that should give her the incentive to run as an independent in 2012, no matter who wins this election.
soooo, the way I see it now is do I vote for the guy who has a questionable record of sidling up to the religious right over the last 4 years so he could get the GOP nomination, or the guy who has spent the last 6 months sidling up to the religious right to get the white house? looks like more of the same from either side of coin.
The women I know vote on issues. If Hillary could not beat the Democratic machine how would she do against Carl Rove and his buddies?...........These women must be Rush Republicans.
I think Susie Buell Tompkins is angry because she was set to get an appointment and status as one of Hillary's top fundraisers. The anger towards the Obama/Biden campaign is absurd. The primaries are over, let's get past the vindictiveness and talk about ISSUES important to all the other people in the country: Economy, Roe v Wade, international diplomacy, education, health care, civil rights, WARS...
I just cannot allow myself to vote this Republican Ticket for so many reasons. All of them have to do with the kind of government I can expect from McCain/Palin and the face that she is so unqualified and inexperienced and uninformed. I understand she will go on her first "field trip" to the UN soon so she can say she has "met world leaders". There is nothing so important and worth so much that I would place this country in the hands of these two people and this party, yet again. And by the way, the sports complex in Wasilla was NOT built with earmarks, correct. She built it with bonds and it put the city into $26 million debt which has not been cleared yet. The city was without debt when she took office as mayor. It is not bringing in enough revenue to pay for itself yet. The earmarks for the infamous Bridge were used to build roads, she kept the money, so she did not really say, "Thanks, but, no thanks", she kept the money. One wonders why on earth they keep repeating things about alleged "reform", bringing it up themselves, when the truth is out there, documented by Alaskans, for all to see and hear. If they are crooked and deceitful as the Dems and Obama, according to you, I would still rather have Obama/Biden governing this country.
Thank You Heidi F. For telling the World our true feelings -MILLIONS of us who STILL Support HILLARY and WANT OBAMA GONE!!! The TOP BOYS in the DNC. and BIG MEDIA MALE BLOWHARDS -are the DEVIL"S DEMONS! They as much as beat, raped and humiliated Hillary Clinton day after day for months! They did it with smiles on their faces- it was as if they were participating in a Non-Stop Football game of the Century!- With Lust, drool and Enthusiastic play by play commentary!! But do these same men realize that the abuse the so passionately doled out to Hillary was felt just as equally and as painfully to Us- Hillary's Millions + +female Supporters! The events of the Primaries -blatent ,gender bias- the degradation - the jokes- lies- mocking- hatred , female bashing , antics and actions demonstrated by THESE MEN AND others like DONNA BRAZILLE are beyond Disgust and aprehension! It was and Is Unforgiveable! And- No one- No ONE!! did a single thing to stop it!!! Dean, Kerry, Edwards, Obama, Chris Matthews, Wolfe, Anderson, etc. etc. All of you have now or someday will have, in your lives daughters of your own! How can you look these young women in the eyes , after the way you publically professed your dis regard and dis-respect for Women?? We had the opportunity to get the U.S back on track- Make ourselves -Safe- Prosperous- And respected once again Globally! Until these BIG HOt SHOTS decided it was their duty to put Women back in their rightful place- Next to the muck and filth stuck to the bottom of their shoes! McCain is not the best choice but he is "My choice" now as well as so many others here! Obama can go to hell with the rest of his Tough Guy supporter Buddies!
It's because of the corruption and fraud perpetrated by the Democratic Party that I will happily vote for McCain. Palin is icing on the cake. I can't support a party that has forgotten what it stands for. If the Party is ever rehabilitated, I will return. Until then, sayanara.
It is my assessment that it is bitterness which is primary in women voters switching to McCain/Palin. Bitter decisions often lean to being wrong. I wish the McCain/Palin supporters would think about the country and base their decisions on love of country, not love of Hillary. As far as the McCain/Palin ticket please check FactCheck.org and you may learn that McCain has run a campaign filled with falacies. Thank you.
I agree with everything jdona said. I'll add that, this election season, much of the press has been shockingly anti-women-in-power. It is contemptible, and Obama stood by smiling silently at what this did for him, lucky him. I'm currently reading Hillary's autobio. She describes how she gave a speech around the time of her father's prolonged death, a speech about the important things in life -- sounds like the very kind of speech Obama gives now -- but the press had the opposite judgment they give Obama. The New York Times put her on the cover of their magazine sneering "Saint Hillary."
Charles M. Johnson: As a AA women, I am sickened by your comments; How dare you, or anyone else threaten someone because they won't vote for Obama. It is people like you, who are making more and more people turn against him. Do you really want him to win, simply because you say if White's don't vote for him, Blacks won't ever again vote for HRC. Grow-up, this is bigger than you or me. I am a HRC supporter, who will never vote for a Party, that has taken it upon themselves to pick a candidate for me. Had Obama, had more experience, not as many shady friends as he has, I would have been real proud to vote for him. I sat in Black churches, since I was a child, and never heard the things he heard, and let his children hear. You should be ashamed of yourself for making remarks like you make, you are the reason he will never get elected.
TJW; Since you know so much about earmarks, how about telling us what Joe Biden, did with 119 million dollars, he got in earmarks this year alone?
Obama is a disgrace to this country he attended a church for 20 years that spews hate toward this country and will destroy the constitution I can't see why any one would support him
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