If I end up choosing to vote for either Clinton or Obama, it sure as

[SeattleGirl]

hell won't be because of the people in GD-P.

I'm still in shock from yesterday, and I may still vote for JRE (I vote on 2/19), but if I do decide to vote for one of the other two candidates, it absolutely will not be based on anything said in that forum. Gad, but don't they realize how ugly and nasty they sound?

I've read the websites of both Clinton and Obama, but I still don't know what to do. I've never been in this situation before, where I honestly cannot just automatically throw my support behind another candidate.

What about the rest of you? Are you still feeling lost, like I am?

[Beaverhausen]

1. I am as conflicted as you

I have serious problems with both of them, so it will have to be voting for the lesser of two evils.

I am now leaning Obama mostly because I think with Hillary as our nominee, the repubs will come out for McCain simply to vote against her. and really, having a dem in the White House is the most important thing now that our guy is out.

But I have very serious doubts Obama will live up to the hype surrounding him.

It's really tough. I'm going to stay out of GD-P for a while. Might go hang in the lounge and check out kitty pics!

:hug:

[Plucketeer]

2. You bet!

<- this guy gets my vote NOW and in November! I have to live with myself after all.

[benny05]

20. absolutely

There is no other candidate.

Kelly from Ohio penned this at JRE's blog today:

http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2008/2/2/83042/13948

"It's strange to realize how little the general public understands about Edwards supporters. As someone said in a recent article, 'People who love John Edwards really love him.' Many of us are still voting for him. From our point of view, all the other candidates are very, very far from him in spirit, in approach, in policy priorities, and in reliability. From our point of view, neither Clinton nor Obama are 'almost as good' as Edwards. From our point of view, we had one candidate who was going to be the advocate of the people, and many who are not. Many of us who identify as progressives don't have a 'second choice'. On top of that, folks don't seem to realize how many Republicans were going to vote for Edwards, who are now going back to the Republican side. Edwards appealed to conventionally 'red' areas-rural areas, small towns-due to both his economic agenda and his own rural, Christian roots. Now those people are lost to the Democratic party. And with our only publicly funded candidate out of the race, true democracy--rule by the people--remains lost to the country.

"In other words: No, Edwards' supporters are not 'up for grabs' by the other Democratic candidates. Instead, we are simply alienated from the Democratic party. And just as Republicans have a hard time winning without considering religious conservatives, Democrats are going to continue to have a hard time winning as long as they continue to alienate the progressive wing of the party."

[AndyA]

3. My primary is next week, and I will vote for John. I don't have any other choice at this point.

Hillary is basically a corporate whore to me, and I do not wish to continue the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton Dynasty.

I also have big issues with Barack. The gay thing, which proves to me he's a hypocrite and a bigot. Had enough of that the last 7 years.

Plus, I think the Rezko scandal will grow legs and walk all over Barack before too much longer. The trial is supposed to start next month. I don't want to chance someone that the GOP machine can condemn in short order, and likely at the last minute, with no chance for recovery. So, Barack seems to have even more baggage at this point than Hillary.

It will be the lesser of two evils for me as well, but I'm sick and disgusted it has to be this way. We did have a choice, but the corporate media took that choice away from us. :(

[Andrea]

12. Me too

I agree with what you say about both Hillary and Barack. I will vote with my heart and my head, for John Edwards. I live in Ohio, land of the eternally inconsequential primary. This year, we vote on March 4th. We typically vote in May.

This is like deja vu all over again for me. I voted for Edwards in the primary in 2004, even though he had withdrawn at that point. He was still on the ballot and I wanted to send a message.

I don't know for sure what I will do in the general yet. I'm hoping that by some twist of fate as yet unseen we end up with a better choice. If it is like it looks like it will be, though, I will probably just vote for our nom who I think will be Hillary. My reasoning will be thus: They will probably be just the same as the Republican candidate, but they have a slight chance of being slightly better in some way. If McCain is the Republican candidate, I will figure if he wins it will be a 100% chance of war with Iran. If the Democratic candidate wins, that probability may go as low as 85%.

Pretty pitiful.


:cry:

[smokey nj]

4. When the nomination is all said and done, the losing candidate can thank Ignored for their loss.

[Silver Gaia]

5. I understand how you feel, SeattleGirl. But there really is no need,

as I see it, to choose to support either of them right now. We can still cast our primary votes in most places for John Edwards, and that is what I fully intend to do with my vote--my VOICE. There simply IS no other option open to me, in all good conscience.

When it comes to the GE, I will, with tired and discouraged spirit, cast my vote for whichever of them is the nominee. The alternative, especially if it is McCain and Huckabee, is just too frightening. I see a militaristic theocracy with that combination, and it scares the bejeezus out of me far more than anything Obama or Hillary might represent. But my vote will not be cast with any enthusiasm. It will just, once again, be me casting my vote for the proverbial lesser of two evils.

I am getting old. And tired. I held such hope in my youth that we could effect real and lasting change for the positive in my lifetime. I don't see that now. I fear for the world my daughter will inherit. I will do, as I always have, the best I can to try to make that world a good one, but at this point, I am so very, very discoruaged and beaten down. Hope is not a word I can embrace any more. And for me, someone who has always been a "glass half-ful" sort of person, that's saying a lot. Maybe I'll find my center and bounce back eventually. I don't know. But to answer your question... yes, I am feeling incredibly LOST right now.

[SeattleGirl]

7. That's what I'm going to do too, Joolz

Edwards for me in the primary. As saracat said, he can still add delegates right now, and I'm happy to help him do it!

[Silver Gaia]

10. Thanks for the reply, SeattleGirl.

Sometimes I feel like I say things and no one reads them. But I know that's just my depression talking to me right now.

On another note... some high strangeness you might be interested in... immediately after I posted this, I heard a loud "BLAM!" Something fell to the floor over by some of the bookshelves. Probably a cat knocked something off, I thought. I asked my husband, who is sitting closer to those bookshelves than I am, "What was that?" He got up to investigate and said, "Um, it was Earth in the Balance. That's weird. No cats in sight, either. It's like it just jumped off the shelf." So... Al Gore's book leaps off the shelf right when I post about my fears about the world I'm leaving my daughter? Dunno WHAT to make of that, but it sure has me spooked. Good omen? Bad omen? Coincidence?

[Andrea]

13. whoa

Sounds like some kind of message.

[MzNov]

18. I've been feeling like a ping pong ball lately

I know we're going to have 2 choices. One day I look at one candidate and say Yes, the next day I look at the other candidate and say Yes.

It really helps tho to think of the positive traits of each one. There have been several good Presidents, including FDR, who people did not like as candidates!

We've been thru 8 years of hell, we're almost there. Only a Republican could finalize the destruction of our democracy.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. I know what you mean

I've decided on Obama for a few reasons, among them being that I think he has a much better chance of winning the election than Clinton has and of being an acceptable president afterwards. But I have no enthusiasm. I feel very distanced from the whole thing.

I certainly won't not vote. I saw what happened when alienated progressives did that in 1968 and 1980, and to an extent in 2000, and the results were horrible for the country. I'd far rather have Obama or Clinton than any of the Republicans. Nonetheless, my decision is rational and unemotional, and I'm just not excited about it.

[Yael]

8. Hey sis

My primary is in April. I will be casting my vote for John regardless. I am happy with the rest of the party choosing the candidate -- neither of them do a thing for me, so I have to vote my heart this time.

Have a great weekend!

:hug:

[Seabiscuit]

9. We are voting JE next week in the primary. Do what you think is right for you. nt

[SeattleGirl]

14. I'm voting for Edwards in my caucus

Washington has a caucus and a primary, but the delegates are determined by caucus, so I'm going with Edwards.

BTW, Edwards, Biden, Dodd, and Kucinich are all still on the ballot and caucus eligible here. I like that.

[Seabiscuit]

16. We really don't have to choose between Hillary and Barack...

Just vote for Edwards in the primary/caucus, let history take its course, and vote for the nominee next November.

[waiting for hope]

11. Here's a response I posted on Kos

last night - okay, I'm lazy, didn't want to type it twice. ;)

I feel like school has been let out (28+ / 0-)
and we all know were are never going back. I'm deathly afraid I'm going to end up like one of those old-timers, sitting in front of my computer, watching the Jeff/Jackson Dinner speech he gave over and over - spittle drooling down my chin and swearing at the world for what might have been.

Thank you, I needed this.

I AM AN EDWARDS DEMOCRAT

by waiting for hope on Thu Jan 31, 2008 at 09:34:44 PM EST


and I don't have a second choice, don't think I need one.

[Greylyn58]

15. I'm like you SG. I'm torn and have no choice

One thing is certain, I will vote for John in May when the NC primaries occur. Nothing will change my mind about that.

Having said that, the vitriol being spewed since John bowed out is just appalling. The grown-up truly has left the building and the children are running rampant.

The supporters of both Clinton and Obama do neither any favors with their behavior. I knew once John was gone that the others would really begin to rip each other apart and they have.

To quote Albert Einstein: Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

We are well and truly screwed. :cry:

[MzNov]

17. JE will endorse someone after Super Tuesday.

Perhaps that will make it a bit easier for you. He does want us to go on, as he stated in his Thank You letter to all of us supporters. there's a great chance whoever he endorses is thinking of making him a member of his/her administration. Let's all wait to see what JE does and you are right, not be swayed by any DU threads or false prophets. You will know when the time comes.

[Lugnut]

19. I'm so torn.

Right now my plan is to write in John in the primary. I can't think of any reason on this earth why I'd want to vote for Hillary. I don't like her and I don't trust her. Barack doesn't impress me much but I don't dislike him. If I had an alternate choice I wouldn't vote for either of them. It's way too early in the race to be stuck with this no-win situation.

x(

[bobbolink]

21. Yeah, it's ugly, but as *I* was told.... "If you're that weak as to be scared away by

something posted on a forum by someone else, then it's better you don't vote."

Now, isn't THAT just the sentiment of the Democratic party that we NEED?!

:nuke:

[SeattleGirl]

23. "be scared away..." WTF?

Who says we aren't going to vote? Okay, maybe some people aren't, but it's not because they are "scared away"; it's for other reasons, and I respect those reasons.

As for the rest of us, maybe we just don't want a bunch of poisonous swill poured down our throats.

[Silver Gaia]

25. What she said:

"...maybe we just don't want a bunch of poisonous swill poured down our throats."

[Silver Gaia]

22. Well, I'm just posting to say, yes, I 'm still feeling set adrift out here.

The bottom line for me is: my candidate is out of the race. I no longer have a candidate. I had hope. I cared. I felt great passion, and dared to dream. But it's gone now. Taken.

As I've said, I'll vote for John Edwards in the primary, and I'll "hold my nose" and vote for the Democratic nominee in the GE. That's as far as I can go.

I don't really CARE any more WHO wins the Democratic nomination. It's a hollow victory devoid of meaning for me now. I don't know why I've even participated in any discussions about Hillary vs. Obama--or how evil/corrupt/take-your-pick either of them are--if I am not going to support either of them anyway. What's the point of that? I'm tired of all the bickering. I just can't expend my energy in that direction at this time. If I were able to, in good conscience, choose to support either of them as fully as I did John, I might feel differently. But as much as I wish it could be so, such is not the case. It would be an exercise in futility for me, and nothing more.

The best thing I can see to do, at this point, is go back to where I was a few months ago. Just stop being distracted by all the hoopla, all the smoke and mirrors, and focus my attention back where it belongs: onto the Bush administration and their shenanigans. It was a worthy cause to fight for John, and therefore, by my reckoning, for ALL of us, but that cause has been taken from me. I suspect much wrongdoing involved in that decision--not on his part, of course, but that his hand was forced. I do not believe that he did this willingly. To that end, I will keep my eyes and ears open. But the fact is that it IS what it IS, and as much as I'd like to, I can't change it. I used to believe we could, but I no longer have any hope of that. I've been disappointed far too many times now to have any real hope left. But while I'm out here reading arguments about the finer distinctions between candidates I don't even like to begin with, Bushco continues to rape and pillage my country. They aren't gone YET. My attention has been focused elsewhere, and not on the REAL enemy, for too long now.

I am angry. I am sad. I am disillusioned. I am weary. My hope has been shattered one time too many. I am wary. My faith is gone, and I no longer trust. And this I feel most strongly and desperately: All is not as it seems.

[pamela]

24. Still feeling lost here. n/t

[SeattleGirl]

26. That picture of JRE is so freaking cool! n/t

[raincity_calling]

27. You Don't need to decide now

You live in Seattle, so do I. I contacted the State Party Chair. Since Edwards campaign is "suspended" only, we can vote for him in the caucus and he will receive delegates.

Get your friends together and vote for Edwards. Contact your Kucinich and Richardson friends, ask them to join us, or if they can't do that, vote in a block as "uncommitted" and get delegates that way so Progressives retain a voice and power over the mainstream celebrity candidates.