This article in the Boston Globe reflects a growing feeling among some loyal democrats.
This from a Clinton Supporter.
I have been thinking for a while that the time has come to send a real clear message from the democratic constituency of the US to the republican party. That message is clear. Rally behind Barack Obama to win this election for the democrats! The issue that is central to this country in this democrat’s view is to get a dem elected in the fall, and that dem is Obama. He raised tens of millions more than Clinton, he’s more popular than Clinton, he’s won twice the states as Clinton, he’s got more pledged delegates than Clinton, and the superdelgates are banding behind him, while they are leaving Clinton’s Camp. The message is clear we need to send an immediate message to the republicans that we will beat them in the fall.
The time is now Pennsylvania and the remaining states - let’s send a message.
Why wouldn’t you make the same argument about the politics of gender, and “send a message” by nominating a woman? :dubious:
The approach the writer advocates is at heart an endorsement of affirmative action - and that is unlikely to win over any voters that it hasn’t already.
For the first time in donkey’s years, no candidate has the nomination sewn up yet on the Democratic side. Republicans have picked their candidate some time ago.
Did you get our message? Did it affect you? Should it have?
Methinks the message you need to send goes to Democrats - “pick a candidate now or risk a brokered convention that Hilary might win”.
Ooohhh, so that’s who the half of Democratic voters who support her have been thinking, to the extent they’ve been thinking at all. I’d been wondering about that. She obviously hasn’t done a damn thing to “make it on her own”. Thanks for clearing that up for us. It all makes sense now.
Yep, just another bashfest in the borning here. Shoulda been obvious from the OP. Carry on.
Absolutely! I got your [republican] message the second Mitt Romney went down. I knew it was going to be McCain and I knew McCain would be hard ot beat because some dems and Indy’s actually like the guy. He’s likable enough and he’s got the whole true grit war hero thing going for him. Exactly why I said we as dems need to rally behind the candidate most likely to beat McCain. I know the polls flip and flop daily about who is ahead who can beat McCain etc…etc… And I think it’s Obama hands down! The media likes star power and good vs evil - sorry to say, but it’s true. Not that Clinton is evil, of course not, but she has done some bone headed things in this campaign. Things that even Clinton supporters look at and are dubious about.
Because I don’t believe she can win, and the air in the media and around thenews outlets is that she can’t win. Even if the air isn’t very thin down here, it’s still there, and it points to Clinton losing the nomination to Obama. So I can only put it the way I did in the OP. No Offense to Clinton supporters at all. But the general theme as of late [last couple weeks] is she’s not going to be able to win it, [not my words]…
I didn’t start this thread as a bash fest. NOT AT ALL. I started this thread because I have been thinking about this very thing for a while, and as I can see from the superdelegates and some clinton supporters, they have been thinking the same thing as well. This is not news, this is simply the time to act. And I’m sorry it’s not Clinton in the hot seat frontrunner position, but she’s not, Obama is. And something needs to be done sooner rather than later.
I didn’t start this to bash Clinton. I started this to state my point.
I know, you should see me at family gatherings. It’s a love hat relationship with my mother’s side. However, my step-mother, retired doctor, devout Clintonite - changed sides a few weeks ago - I wrote a lonr post about it in the fork thread.
That and I’m not used to supporting someone who actually looks like they are going to win it!
So in order to show that we’re beyond racial politics, we should all support the black guy. Then I guess we should have a love-in to support the cause of chastity.
You know as well as I do that it goes beyond that. He’s not going to save the world but I believe he’ll put a positive dent in this country. Why else would I put my efforts to this man?
So long as it stays in the current vein - more focused on both addressing shared values, positive messages about Democrats in general, and some pointed comparisons between themselves and the Republicans - I’ll … can I say it? … agree with Elvis here. Play it out. It’ll be over soon after NC if not before anyway. When mud starts getting slung … then it’s time.
Right now it’s end-game. Each of them have a series of moves to make and if each play those moves as predicted the outcome is ordained. Team Clinton’s ability to hit below the belt is constrained by a clear message from the supers that such will result in them going over to Obama rapidly. Without going negative she is likely to win PA only modestly. Enough to keep her in it until NC/IN after which she gets out with a loss in NC and a virtual tie in IN.
Lord, has the world stopped spinning on its axis? I kind of agree with ElvisL1ves. :eek:
There’s probably no one on this board more enthusiastic about Barack Obama than me. And while I’m thrilled to see that not only are some Hillary supporters coming around to uniting the Democrats around the (obvious to us) eventual winner, but willing to go out on a limb and make a published plea to other Hillary supporters to do the same, I don’t see it as a reason to prematurely end the primary process.
I actually like the fact that so many people in all the remaining states are just as jazzed about participating in their upcoming contests as those of us who got to be in on it from the beginning. The more he spends time campaigning in these states, setting up offices, getting ground support tightened up, the more ready he’ll be to beat McCain in the Fall. And the more people get to hear his message first-hand! This is always good for our candidate.
There’s not that much time left and not that many more contests. The hateful, personal rhetoric seems to have died down considerably, and Barack is back to talking about the issues that separate us from the Republicans. And Hillary continues to cook her own goose on a fairly regular basis now. All that adds up to closer losses where Hillary’s expected to win, and bigger wins where Obama already has the lead, solidifying the decision for superdelegates at the Convention.
I also agree with DSeid, and I’ve noticed that the Clinton camp has dialed back the negativity considerably in the last week or so. Let both Democratic candidates focus their fire on the Republicans and the mess they’ve made of things, and let the chips fall where they may.
I agree with the “play-it-out” folks. The negativity from her side has died down (I think the supers and Dean have been talking to her), more primary time allows Obama to knit together more coattails in upcoming primary states, and Obama himself has said she should stay in as long as she wants. Plus more time in the primary cycle gives her more time to implode…or for Mark Penn or Howard Wolfson to do absolutely braindead stupid things like meeting with the Colombian government on a trade agreement that Clinton herself is against.
I do hope to see fewer remarks in the future misconstruing my persistence in The Fight. I knew you had it in you, too.
Probably? Who are the other contenders?
And for the other one as well - you might have mentioned that. It’s disappointing that the (effective) enfranchisement of the voters of Pennsylvania and Indiana has come at the expense of the disenfranchisement of those in Michigan and Florida, but that’s still fixable even now. But yes, generally, the more people who have a real say, and therefore have a real stake in taking an interest in the election early, the stronger our democracy is. But a discussion about rotating the primary schedule, which I support, is off-topic.
