Civic Duties

[H2O Man]

Hillary Clinton is remaining in the democratic primary until June 3rd’s primaries in Montana and South Dakota. Some Obama supporters on DU suspect that it is an attempt to harm Obama’s campaign, so that she has a chance in 2012; others believe it is in order to get financial support to pay off her enormous campaign debt; and still others believe it is her attempt to get on the ticket in the fall. I think that there is another reason.

I believe that Senator Clinton is staying in order to get as many votes as possible. By harnessing as much support as possible, she strengthens her hand for influencing the democratic party platform at the convention. Those candidates with significant support are able to have a say in the platform. We have seen John Edwards’ ability to get both Clinton and Obama to take a stronger stance on issues involving poverty, for example, even before the convention.

Senator Clinton’s position on issues has obviously gotten a lot of support among the democrats across the country. Her advocating for the issues she feels strongest about is fine. None of us should oppose her attempts to advance these positions. To do this, she has to convince her supporters that she is still trying to secure the nomination.

There are, of course, people associated with her campaign who will continue to say provocative things between now and the end of the first week in June. As long as there aren’t attempts to damage our candidate’s chances in the fall, we should not respond to these things.

Likewise, on DU:GD-P, there may be some people who try to provoke the Obama supporters. It is better to ignore these attempts. It is easy enough to distinguish between attempts to pick fights, and the posts by the more thoughtful Clinton supporters, who recognize that Obama is going to be the nominee. The posts about serious issues that the Clinton supporters want recognized as we approach the convention are valid topics, worthy of our discussing.

The chances are that by the end of the first week in June, Senator Clinton will drop out of the race, and endorse Senator Obama. When she does this, she will be engaged in supporting the democratic ticket. More, she will encourage her supporters to do the same.

We can get a head start on the process of uniting the party. It doesn’t mean that we are all going to be friends; but it does mean we gain by putting the fights to rest.

Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day for democrats. Let’s try to make it a positive experience for everyone who is interested in advocating for the strongest democratic platform at the convention.

Peace,
H2O Man

[countingbluecars]

1. This makes good sense.

K&R

[H2O Man]

2. Thank you.

There are plenty of interesting threads on GD-P about important issues that are of interest to all democrats. We should focus on these.

[K Gardner]

3. I saw this excellent post earlier and decided to wait and see how much response it got here. What

a shame. K&R H2O man.

[H2O Man]

4. Well, that happens sometimes.

If I want to get a lot of "recommends," I know how to do that. And I could post something that could get a lot of responses, and keep the arguments going.

The lack of responses on this type of post actually only serves to convince me that it is more important to keep posting this type of message.

[mmonk]

5. I'm still going to wear my helmet tomorrow.

My hockey one still fits.

[H2O Man]

6. I can borrow

one of my son's headgears and foul cups for the afternoon and evening.

[mmonk]

9. I figure we'll only need them a short time just in case through this Tuesday.

I intend to be *cough* nice (I'll wear a mouth guard to protect from chewing my tongue). We will need unity. I can't go through four more years of watching the courts go solidly against legal precedence and the constitution.

[babylonsister]

7. Our civic duty is to try and be civil? I can try that! Thanks, H20 Man.

I can't wait til this is over, and will also be watching tomorrow with interest.

I'll try and take your advice to heart, but sometimes...:nuke: :hi:

[H2O Man]

19. "Keep your eyes

on the prize" fits well. We are gearing up for the fall elections, and need to put our full concentration on some big victories there. (Then we move on to the real fight!)

[crankychatter]

8. That's encouraging, thanks - but when the ignore function goes down tomorrow, my blood pressure goes

up

[H2O Man]

22. I have never

used the "ignore" feature on DU. There are lots of people that post things I don't think are worth reading, much less responding to. But there are more people who raise important points about the strengths of each candidate.

[KAZ]

10. I hope you're right. Either way, I like your optimism. K&R

And I'm willing to bet that I would agree with many of her platform proposals.

[H2O Man]

23. This is a good

time to be a democrat, so it's easy to feel positive about the opportunities to make progressive changes this fall!

[Lerkfish]

11. from your lips to god's ears...but

I"m not as optimistic as you about unity when it only comes from one direction for some.

[bleever]

12. This has to be very, very hard for her.

She looked so tired today. I share your opinion of her motives at this point, and I actually find myself admiring her more for her ability to go on when the outcome is all but final.

I think she does her supporters proud, and will be in a better position to foster unity than if she had quit earlier.

Like the mating of elephants, the merging of the campaigns will take a long time, involve a lot of grunting and screaming, and take place at a very high level.

[eridani]

16. I think that Clinton delegates deserve the courtesy of not being talked out of

--their right to vote for their candidate in the first balloting round. 40 of 60 Kucinich delegates did that in 2004, and then lined up behind the winner. Clinton delegates deserve that as well.

[mopinko]

13. june 3, my baby's birthday.

hope there is more to celebrate than the usual.

seriously, tho, you are right. i have just had to put people that i think are just picking fights on ignore. at first i only put the suspicious newbie types on the list, but i have had to include some long time posters on there, too. i am so resistant to walking past a fight. it was eating up too many hours, and i was just kicking bad threads. i took let it sink to heart, and stared building my list.
as soon as it is over, i will dump the whole thing. i look forward to it. in the meantime, tho, i just have to look the other way for a while. no sense deepening the divisions.

[mopinko]

14. june 3, my baby's birthday. (15th)

hope there is more to celebrate than the usual.

seriously, tho, you are right. i have just had to put people that i think are just picking fights on ignore. at first i only put the suspicious newbie types on the list, but i have had to include some long time posters on there, too. i am so resistant to walking past a fight. it was eating up too many hours, and i was just kicking bad threads. i took let it sink to heart, and stared building my list.
as soon as it is over, i will dump the whole thing. i look forward to it. in the meantime, tho, i just have to look the other way for a while. no sense deepening the divisions.

[eridani]

15. What in her platform would be different from Obama?

I really don't get this. You've just explained why Kucinich stayed in in 2004 long after Kerry was the mathematical winner, though.

[H2O Man]

18. Interesting question.

First, regarding Kucinich. I can, of course, only speculate. But I assume that he was doing something consistent with Gandhi's saying that in matters of conscience, the rule of the majority does not apply. Dennis K was giving voice to the anti-war conscience of democrats. For many progressive democrats, there is a level of frustration with the Congress's willingness to allow the Bush-Cheney administration to pursue a violent, immoral agenda in the Middle East. His candidacy is a good legacy for his taking a position that spoke for many of us.

In regard to Senator Clinton, I suspect that most of us could agree that while the differences between Obama and her health care plans are relatively small, that she believes they are significant. I think that this is a matter of social conscience for her, rather than simply a political tactic. When the democratic platform is decided upon, it should be worded in a manner that allows for her beliefs.

Again, this is also a matter of legacy. It is an area where I believe she differs from President Clinton, who took the Third Way position on social programs. In objective terms, no matter what his intentions may have been, some of his positions on social programs harmed the poor. I say that as a retired psychiatric social worker, who saw the end results.

There are people who question if Senator Clinton actually wants Obama to lose, to provide her another opportunity in 2012. I disagree with this. If Obama were to lose, it would do serious damage to Hillary Clinton's legacy, and would make it impossible for her to become the democratic nominee in 2012.

During the summer, Senator Clinton will work hard to unite the party, and help us win the White House and increase our leads in the Congress. That's an important part of her legacy, too.

[wellstone dem]

17. All I care about is that when it's done---Unite---

[TexasObserver]

20. It is ALL about Hillary.

1. She wants to have a basis for claiming she got more votes than any primary candidate ever has gotten. She will have to use the numbers from Florida and Michigan to get there, and she will have to ignore the populations that caucus states represent, but she still might be able to sneak through with this contorted basis for her claim.

2. She wants to get as many delegates as possible, so that the RECORD shows a fairly close race.

3. She wants to continue getting her massive ego gratification out of it. Nothing has ever fed her ego like this run for president. She is addicted to it.

4. She wants to keep getting money, and she knows the money shuts off the instant she says it is over.

5. She doesn't give a damn about November for the party, and is already planning her next move, probably a run for governor of NY. From there she can run again in 2012 or 2016.

[H2O Man]

21. I certainly

understand why people feel this way. You raise important points. Yet I am fully confident that in a short time, Senator Clinton will make a transition, and that she will work to heal the wounds the party has suffered in the primaries. She has won a lot of votes, and with that comes a great deal of responsibilty. I think that she is up to the task at hand.