I'm in a tailspin

[hangaleft]

Warren’s suspension of her campaign has hit me hard.

I’m 70 yo. I first voted in ‘72, for McGovern.

I was truly excited to vote for McGovern. And, in my 70 years, I’ve only voted for a presidential candidate with true excitement twice — McGovern and Mondale.

That was it.

Until this year. I was truly excited about the prospect of a Warren presidency and was looking forward to, hopefully, having the opportunity to vote for a presidential candidate with true excitement for a third time.

But, it’s not to be.

I’ll vote for Biden. But, I won’t be excited in doing so.

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[tblue37]

1. I cast my first vote for McGovern, too, and really wanted Warren to win.

Please help yourself to the Warren banner in my post!

ON EDIT: I don't see the Warren banner in my post any more. I hope it's just because I am on a small tablet, not that DU has removed it!

Here it is:

[dflprincess]

8. I'm on my laptop and your banner says

if you were to vote in a presidential primary today you would vote for Joe Biden.

[tblue37]

12. I also had a banner with a pic of Liz and a statement that I would vote for her. It was

not one f the DU statements of choice, but something I copied about Liz and posted. I am gonna go get it again!

Here it is!

[CanonRay]

2. We have the same history

and I also thought Warren was the best candidate. I'm 68.

[tblue37]

5. I am 69. My 70th birthday will be August 18 this year.

[madaboutharry]

3. I understand.

I cried when Mayor Pete dropped out. But his humility and dignity in the wake of it reminded me that it isn’t about how I feel. It is about democracy and the future of America. Joe Biden is going to make a good president, he may even be a great one. We can be excite about that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Fair enough. But can you be excited about Trump *not* being the president?

Because that's got me really, really excited.

[DonaldsRump]

7. VO, that is about the most eloquent statement I could imagine

as to why to vote for the D nominee. I was about to post my own thought, but your's says it so well.

This election is not about a revolution...it is only about a return to some semblance of normalcy.

I fully appreciate that we, as a country, have a long way to go, but Velveteen Ocelot has the metric totally correct.

[Hortensis]

43. +1000.

Another hedge against heartache is not to forget what we're supposed to be doing. We're electing our federal government's chief executive, and every four years we repeat.

Our nation actually works quite well when the leaders we choose do their jobs well. So well that when more of us did a better job of choosing for liberal values, competence, and integrity, people came from around the world to study and copy how we did it.

[dflprincess]

6. I hear you.

McGovern was also my first vote (and I'll always be proud of that).

I didn't realize how invested I was in Warren until she dropped out. I'll be 67 this year and, just once before I die, I'd like to vote for a presidential candidate I really believe in again. Someone who is capable of making the kind of change in peoples' lives that FDR made. I believe Warren could have done this and it breaks my heart that she won't get the chance.

I'm so tired of settling. But I'll vote for Biden, but I will also not be excited.


I'm stealing your line:
PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[Funtatlaguy]

9. I wanted Warren too. But, we now must get fully behind Joe.

Too important not to.

[emmaverybo]

10. I am so sorry. It's a kind of grief. I hope in time your disappointment will lessen and a bit of joy

return, maybe in thinking about getting rid of Trump and the bright things Warren can still do, but I understand just won’t be the same. It’s a real blow. She will play a powerful role from here out.

Please be good to you. These are hard times. We are here.

[Skid Rogue]

11. I understand...

It's funny how politics can break your heart. After Hillary, I'm saving my emotions. Biden is great. He'll be a really good president and I've got the bumper sticker to prove it, but I won't be devastated again.

[lordsummerisle]

13. Warren was my candidate as well

and at least I got to vote for her in my primary...

[Thekaspervote]

14. I would like to have see a woman prez...was totally behind HRC

Me, I’m just so much calmer knowing this nasty primary season is almost over. Not kidding myself about the GE. I do think Joe is the right candidate thou.

We must stay focused.

And for all those that dissed Bloomberg he may just save us. For once the Dems have an ace up their sleeve and it isn’t an illegal Russian hack

[Hortensis]

40. Agree. Eye on the prize. And the huge danger.

[blm]

15. Interesting write up on Warren changing the Dem party.

Her WORK, not just talk. Her WORK.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elizabeth-warren-changed-democratic-party-primary_n_5e6140cdc5b601904ea7196f?

[hangaleft]

20. That was a very good read about Warren

Thanks for that!

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[frazzled]

16. I made a vow a number years ago

Never fall in love with a candidate. Like ‘em, support them, but don’t fall in love with them. They’re just people looking for a job. We’re interviewing them, but we don’t really know them. We only know the candidate version of them. And none of them is perfect.

I really liked Pete Buttigieg very much, and would liked to have had the chance to vote for him. But I was realistic, even when he won Iowa and came within an inch of winning in New Hampshire. I wasn’t desolate when he withdrew, because I didn’t let myself fall in love with him. I was proud of the sensible, selfless, and eloquent way he withdrew so that another could carry on the fight.

I assure you that by the time of the convention, you’ll get fired up.

[Skid Rogue]

17. +1000 Thank you. Well said. nt

[Stonepounder]

26. I loved Pete and wanted to be able to vote for him.

But was realistic, knowing that by the time I got to vote he would almost certainly be out of the running. And sure enough. Then I thought Warren. And then oops. Now it's Biden. He's a little more centrist than this old liberal would like and a little to old, but I think (hope?) that if he can rally the country and help us take back the Senate as well as becoming President, he will at least be remembered and the man who helped save our country and that may be his greatest asset.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. Well said. Thank you!

We are interviewing people for a job, not dating them with the possibility of marrying them. Falling in love with a politician guarantees that your heart will be broken eventually (and we get enough of that IRL so who needs it?). Be disappointed, then look for someone else to fill the job.

[hangaleft]

18. A follow up post in response to a couple of points made in the above posts

First of all, it goes without saying that getting Trump out of the White House is crucial. Our democracy hangs in the balance. We’ve all endured some hard times. I, myself, came of age during the ‘60s. Those were tumultuous times.

As challenging as it was to live through the ‘60s, the essence of our country, its very existence as a democracy, was never threatened. Not like it is now. I said that I’m in a tailspin. And I am. But our country is literally in a death spiral. And if Trump is re-elected, we are all but certain to complete our descent into a fascist autocracy.

Trump must be defeated. He’s a fascist, racist dictator. His defeat is of paramount importance.

Secondly, Warren’s withdrawal has been hard because I’ve wanted her to run since she proposed the CFPB. She fought tooth and nail for the creation and realization of that agency. It’s that kind of tenacious protection of the “little guy” that made her a genuine hero to me. And it’s that kind of tenacity that she would have brought to the presidency that I’m most bereft about losing.

This was it for me. My last hurrah. I doubt I’ll feel the same excitement about another presidential candidate. I’m 70 and I had to wait 36 years for Liz. I doubt I’ll be around for the next one.

For now, let’s get the orange menace and his lackeys out of Washington and salvage what we can of our democracy.

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[Blue_true]

19. That happens in life. Think about the future and you will be ok.

I am an optimist. We will have a female President during my lifetime.

[Pachamama]

21. By the time you are 75 there will be a Female President....

Meanwhile - be excited when you cast your vote for Biden that Trump will no longer be President....

And I am certain he will have a female running mate who will be that future President.

I know how you feel - I was Kamala Harris all the way and was really bummed out and depressed when she dropped out.

But I got over it after about a week, adopted Biden and with each passing day, love him as the candidate more and more.

[HarlanPepper]

23. You have a right to mourn

22. You have a right to feel however you feel
No need to explain. I’m not a woman but I am married to one who feels defeated about women attaining positions of power in this country, specifically the presidency.

That’s why I’m hopeful he picks a woman as a running mate and they win and then we have a woman as Vice President. Yes, I know that is incrementalism but it would be something a lot of people would welcome if it were to come to reality.

America is frustrating at times. As a party we nominated a woman in 2016, and the most powerful Democratic politician in the country from a practical standpoint is Nancy Pelosi. But we haven’t been able to get over the next hump quite yet for so many reasons you are no doubt familiar with as a woman.

I do console myself on one hand in that Democrats have done a lot better at making sure women have a significant place within the party unlike the Labour in the UK which is chock full of misogyny. Even after the last election disaster and even though in the history of the party Labour has never had a woman as its leader, it is poised to select another male as its leader. It really is quite disgraceful. Even the Tories had Thatcher.

Still a lot of work to do.

[Dem2theMax]

24. I felt sad when a candidate I really liked didn't make it.

But this year? As long as it's not drumpf, I'll be dancing on the table tops.

In the long run, that's what matters. So hold on to that.

Hold on to the fact that a Democrat has to win this. And know that when you put your check in the box next to the person with the D after their name, that you have done your part in helping to save America.

[grantcart]

25. Both McGovern and Mondale won only one state

Rather telling that you were not excited about voting for President Obama.

I don't think that people realise just how much they reveal about themselves in post sometimes

Mondale and McGovern's landslide losses gave Republicans down ticket wins that lasted in the House and Senate for decades.

Not excited by President Obama? That is really appalling

[hangaleft]

27. Obama was a great orator

And a groundbreaking trailblazer. As good a human being as you’ll ever find.

But, sorry, his politics didn’t excite me.

Sorry if that doesn’t meet with your approval. Not that I need your fucking approval. Or anybody else’s.

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[BeyondGeography]

31. Did you really write that?

C’mon.

[hangaleft]

42. Yeah. They really said that.

C’mon, get with the program.

It’s telling that I wasn’t excited about voting for Barack Obama. You know what they’re suggesting. And you know that they’re right.

So, I’m not gonna deny it. They’ve got me dead to rights.

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[BeyondGeography]

50. I fell hard for Warren too

Always wanted her to run. As someone at Netroots Nation said last summer, I think she would throw herself under a bus for us. She’s the rare politician with that level of knowledge who would. Smarts, soul, diligence and passion. She has it all.

[Laffy Kat]

28. I know, hangaleft, I know.

Yesterday I saw an article or was it a post(?), written by a female Warren supporter which stated something to the effect of: "Let me grieve this loss" and it hit home. I do feel like I'm grieving. I am about to turn 63 and I'm beginning to come to the realization that I may not see a woman president in my lifetime. It hurts.

[Squinch]

29. None of us can afford to demand excitement this year. Joe isn't my first choice either, but he's

the least objectionable to the largest number of Democrats and Independents, and even some never-trumpers.

That's exactly what we need.

Rev yourself up with the prospect of sending Filthy Donnie packing.

[beachbumbob]

30. so how did you take the outcome of the 1972 election? You got your "man" as the nominee

how enjoyable was the outcome?

[cwydro]

32. You weren't excited about Hillary?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

36. I've never considered excitement to be a requirement.

I've voted for a lot of people who didn't excite me but my vote counted just as much as the excited people's votes. Right now I am focusing my excitement on unseating Trump.

[cwydro]

46. I agree for the most part, but I was excited to vote for the first black man and for the first woman

Since the OP said they had been excited in the past about candidates, I found it curious that he or she didn’t feel the same about either of those two.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

47. I was excited to vote for Obama

but I also know that my vote would have counted the same even if I hadn't been excited.

[cwydro]

48. True dat.

Can’t argue there lol.

I’ve never been one to swoon over a candidate as so many do, so I understand your point.

[hangaleft]

51. I'm an issues driven voter

I don’t vote for or against a candidate based on gender, race, age, religion or sexual orientation, nor do I get excited about a candidate based on any of the foregoing.

My excitement was solely because I’m a died-in-the-wool die-hard liberal. And genuine hard-left leaning liberal candidates for president who would do the kinds of things I want to see done have been few and far between.

And that is why I enthusiastically voted for McGovern, Mondale and would have enthusiastically voted for Warren if given the chance. In every other election my vote was as much a vote against the Republican candidate as much as it was a vote for the Democrat.

I have nothing further to say on the subject.

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[cwydro]

52. Fair enough.

I was saddened to see Warren leave the race too.

[DCofVA]

34. I was eighteen when I voted for Jimmy Carter.

I was excited about that. I was also excited about voting for Obama but, neither one compared to my enthusiasm for Elizabeth Warren.
Bernie will be a good President. At least I know I won’t have to fight him constantly to keep him from selling us out in a futile attempt to placate the Republicans. I have much less faith in Biden, in that regards. Regardless, either one will be a vast improvement to Trump. Both will fill their cabinets with competent adults (the polar opposite of the current cluster fuck).
The hardest part is going to be getting one of them in the Whitehouse. Since last Tuesday, I’ve been feeling much less confident about a Democratic win this November.

[MineralMan]

35. You weren't excited about Barack Obama?

Really?

Well, here's something to think about. It looks like, this year, the options are going to be Biden and Trump. That get's me very excited to vote for Biden.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. Excitement about a candidate is nice but it's not necessary.

Excitement about getting rid of Trump is what's driving me this time.

[MineralMan]

39. I agree completely.

That should be driving all Democrats and anyone else on the left side of the political spectrum.

Defeating Donald Trump should be Priority One in November.

[Peacetrain]

38. You caught that too!.. I had to reread it twice..

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. Here's more to be excited about - If Trump is gone, so are these miscreants:

[hangaleft]

44. What a motley crew

PREFERRED CANDIDATE — ELIZABETH WARREN

[aikoaiko]

45. I was with Warren, too. And have now selected Bernie.

Even if Bernie is not going to win the primary outright or in a brokered convention, the more delegates he has the more of Elizabeth’s Warren’s ideas will be represented in the platform as Bernie negotiates st the end.

[NCProgressive]

49. Amazing that you were not excited about Barack Obama

In 2008, I was a Hillary supporter at first but then Obama grew on me to the point he started giving me goosebumps.

I was exited to vote for Obama. Both times.