OK, Beeyotches, You've Made Up My Mind For Me

The BBQ Pit
1

I have realized something, thanks to this board.

I considered supporting and voting for Senator Obama, even though I disagree with him on most major issues and agree with Senator McCain on most of those same issues.

Why did I toy with this idea?

As I explained in a number of threads, it was because I was impressed – hell, blown away, more like it – by Senator Obama’s approach to campaigning. He had talked the talk, like every candidate does, about making it about the issues, but he was doing the nearly unprecedented walking the walk as well. He was keeping to the high road, even in the face of negative forays by his opponents (both Senators Clinton and McCain). I thought to myself, “If Obama can win doing this, it could transform how people in this country view campaigning!” That alone, I figured, was an issue, and it was fast becoming my ‘single issue’ and I was leaning towards being a single-issue voter.

The past few days and the Palin hysteria here (and in the larger blogosphere) have convinced me that I was an idiot to imagine such a thing. Despite Senator Obama’s calls (and actions!) to avoid such things, I see that the left has no intention of heeding this particular call to arms from their candidate. I see, further, the idea that the lesson of an Obama win will be that clean honest campaigning works would never be drawn.

So that settles it. Given that my only reason to support Obama is revealed now as a ridiculously naive pipe dream, it’s over.

I’m voting McCain, you beeyotches! Thanks for making me see the light.

And when he wins, I am going to crow for a week. You think I crowed after 2000? I remember that, and I remember 2004 too, when you pussies whined about how shocked and hurt you were and begged me stop rubbing your pathetic faces in your loss. That will be a walk in the park compared to what’s coming up. I’ll fucking buy ad time on this board to crow about a McCain victory.

Yeah, I was a fool to think it could be any other way. I see that now. Thanks.

2

So, let me get this straight.

You’re not voting for Obama because you don’t like some of his supporters not practicing ‘clean politics’?

Further, you’re then taking your vote to the party of Fox News?

Wow. Stunning integrity.

3

Lemme see if I got this right.

Obama runs a clean campaign, so you consider voting for him.

McCain runs a dirty campaign, as per usual

Obama’s unofficial supporters attack McCain and Palin, just like McCain’s supporters attack Obama

You decide that “clean” campaigns don’t work and now support McCain.
You’re right, clean campaigns don’t work, and you’re the reason why.

4

Tell me if you really do this - I will log out from the SDMB just to see it.

Welcome back to reality.

Regards,
Shodan

5

So you would actually consider changing their vote based on what anonymous posters write on a message board? Because people are mean? Are you giving McCain/Palin a pity vote or what?

6

I don’t believe this makes sense.

You started a thread a while ago in GD talking about how (in general) the SDMB community is perhaps out of touch with reality - that a person perusing GD would not come to a correct idea of what American thinks about the candidates and their standing so far. That the SDMB community is not a valid yardstick by which to judge what the general population of the U.S. thinks.

And yet, here, you seem to be judging your thoughts on what effect calls for and use of clean campaigning will have at the very least partially on the posters of this board. That their reactions and views *are *a valid yardstick by which to judge all.

Surely it could only be one or the other?

7

Horseshit.

And fuck you.

Love,
VT

8

Not that you care, but this pretty much kills any respect I might have had for you.

I like and respect honest conservatives. Anti-liberals like, you, Shodan, Starving Artist, and the rest who are concerned more with pissing off liberals than attending to your own beliefs are useless wastes of space. Yes, the same applies to anti-conservatives, but I’ve yet to see a fence-sitter who was ‘swayed’ to vote for Obama because a ‘conservative’ was mean to them.

9

Oh, and you forgot to go with the usual “anyone who questions Palin’s qualifications is a sexist pig” line.

10

Read carefully, please.

Consider the election as a balance scale.

On on side, heaped together, are the issues – Iraq, economy, appointment of Supreme Court justices, social policy – that appear in every campaign. With few exceptions, all these tilt the arrow of the scale sharply towards McCain.

The ONLY reason I considered voting for Obama was the idea that by his example, campaigning would be transformed. That was one LARGE block on the other side of the balance scale, and it caused the scale to tip pretty well even.

Now the large block is removed, since I see it’s false.

I’m left with the traditional reasons to support a candidate: agreement with the candidate on major policy issues. I see now that no matter who I support, assassination politics will continue, so that possibility is removed from consideration.

11

Didn’t Obama himself say that he would fire anyone working for his campaign caught trying to use this in any way?

Personally, I think the whole issue of her daughter should NOT be off limits.

Normally, I’d say family issues and personal issues overall should stay out of politics. It’s no one’s damn business. But this incident highlights the problems with her abstinence only sex education stance and her stance on help for teenage mothers. Totally relevant, IMHO in this case.

12

Suck my fat one.

If you could read, you’d see that I’m doing precisely what you say: attending to my beliefs, voting for the candidate that best represents my interests.

The pissing off of liberals, in general, is not a goal of mine.

The pissing off of self-righteous pricks here, on SDMB, has become a dear and pleasant goal.

13

But, yet, how can you expect any clean campaigner to immediately change the face of American politics? We’re not talking about Obama himself, nor his campaign, nor even prominent members of his party - we’re talking random yakkos on the Internet. Surely you must realize that if that was your expectation, you never really seriously considered Obama, because such a thing is impossible.

14

Doesn’t it matter to you at all that the assassination politics continued because of McCain?

15

No, it doesn’t.

Do you claim that teenage pregnancy in cases where full and complete sex education, as opposed to abstinence education, is unheard of? No? Then you cannot say that this pregnancy occurred because of abstinence teaching.

Nor is her stance on help for teenage mothers relevant. She doesn’t think the government should help them, and she’s not requesting government help for her daughter.

Are you suggesting we form public policy by anecdote?

16

Cite?

17

Clearly this is a deeply held principle for you. May your shining example light the way.

18

. . . but she’s not being swiftboated. She really is a crazy bitch . . .

19

No, it’s not just random yakkos on the Internet. These stories have been carried by MSNBC and CNN.

I had hoped that Senator Obama’s example would make those on his side, at least, give it a try. And THEN I hoped that an Obama win would make the GOP say, “Shit, that neagtive stuff we kept doing really cost us. We need to take a page from that book.”

Now I see that was a stupid idea. And because it was such a stupid idea, I guess I agree with you: I never really seriously considered Obama. I mean, I DID, in my heart, but my heart failed to consider the realities of the world.

20

Yup. There we go.