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Monday, August 25, 2008

A CAUTION FOR DISGRUNTLED CLINTON SUPPORTERS

Cross Posted from The Duke of Madness...

For Obama supporters, it is easy to dismiss the disenchantment of Clinton supporters as sore losers. However, such an approach is conducive to making a bad situation worse.

Hillary Clinton, love her or hate her, is the first truly serious candidate for the presidency who happens to be a female. It is not too much of a stretch to realize that while women as a whole have escaped the Stepford Wife existence expected of them not that long ago, there is more to attain. Sen. Clinton embodies that for a lot of women.

I think.

I say that because I am not a woman. But, I realize that while at this time enthusiastic about an Obama/Biden ticket, ignoring the deep-felt emotions of fellow humans is not the best way to proceed. Obama doesn't need to salve the feelings of Sen. Clinton so much as he does those of her followers. They deserve more than just "you lost!"

What DOES disturb me the greatest though, is the notion that a large number of Clinton supporters yearn to vote for John McCain this November. If it's to teach Sen. Obama a lesson, it might be considered a case of cutting off one's nose to spite their face.

A friend once remarked to me that Hillary Clinton is the smartest woman in the world. I sharply disagreed, saying that my daughter was the smartest person in the world. So I'm biased.....sue me. Or, it may be one of my two sisters. Or maybe it might have been my mother. I know it isn't my wife because she showed the poor judgment of marrying ME.

But seriously, I mention the above because I'm one of those men who grew up and have lived with a great deal of love and respect for women. My parents fought a lot...imagine George W. Bush and Ralph Nader trapped together in a life raft. That's nothing compared to the fireworks that went on between my mother and father.

It wasn't until the age of six or seven that I learned that "son of a bitch" wasn't one word. I learned lots of words growing up...mostly from the Old Man....and what gaps there were in my vocabulary were quickly filled by two drill instructors at Lackland Air Force Base.

Yet even as one as profane as myself has limits. There are certain words that go outside the bounds of what I consider acceptable. And that's really saying something.

So it came as a bit of a shock to learn that John McCain addressed his wife as a "stupid c***" in front of witnesses. To say it in the privacy of one of their homes would be bad enough, but to let loose such an epithet in public is beyond comprehension.

THAT is what ANY woman contemplating voting for John McCain should consider. It was not a faxu pas; it was a revealing statement of what this man thinks of women. And so what if he'd had a long day...is life in the White House not tiring?

Before pulling the voting lever this November for John McCain, I ask you to consider what your vote means. It would be an endorsement of someone who holds women in contempt. That means my wife, my daughter, my mother, and my sisters. Not to mention all the other women in my life (doctors, lawyers, nurses, waitresses). Not a one of them deserve the "c" word. Even in jest, because there is nothing to joke about here.

It's NOT a small point. It's the only point as far as this voter is concerned.

Women and men are very different. They are also very equal. Anyone who does not grasp that by adulthood hasn't really grown in their hearts or minds.

John McCain should know better. And so should you.

Duke of Madness

*****Gun Toting Liberal has kindly linked to this post... Thank you GTL!

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

For Obama supporters, it is easy to dismiss the disenchantment of Clinton supporters as sore losers. However, such an approach is conducive to making a bad situation worse.

You said it.

Here's my position; I speak for myself only, but I suspect many other PUMAs feel similarly. Like most of the swing voters who will decide the election, I don't have a particularly strong party identification. Late last year, I looked at the eight major Presidential candidates (three Democrats and five Republicans), and concluded that Hillary Clinton was the best candidate for the job. (She appeals to a lot of people like me who are open to voting for either party, as was seen in the primaries in the Midwestern and Appalachian swing states -- that's part of why she would have been a stronger general-election candidate than Obama.)

The candidate I favored didn't make it into the final round. Fine. I don't have a dog in this fight any more. I'm very unenthused (to put it kindly) with either Obama or McCain -- I have serious problems with both of them. I lean toward McCain as the lesser of two evils. But I'm open to persuasion.

However, insults, sneers, and lectures about what I "should" do are not persuasive, and they cut no ice with me at all. Such tactics are very effective ways of driving people away.

The sheer obnoxiousness and viciousness of so many of Obama's followers are part of why most polls show the a steady increase in the number of Clinton supporters who won't vote for Obama, or who even plan to vote for McCain.

Whenever I explain this, I get pro-Obama responses along the lines of "If you feel that way, then you are stupid and shortsighted", or the "cutting off your nose to spite your face" meme -- which just illustrates my point.

Many have even told us that, in effect, if we won't just shut up and absorb all the insults and do as we're told, we should get out of the party -- "get out, we don't need you".

Fine. If the Obama Democrats don't want our votes, I'm sure McCain does.

I'm not making any arguments for the PUMA position here. I don't need to. I'm not the one who's trying to convince anyone else to do anything. The Obama and McCain campaigns need to convince me and people like me. So far only one camp is making a real effort to do that. The other is actively trying to drive us away.

The behavior of Obama's followers is a substantial part of why he's going to lose in November.

5:16 AM  
Blogger Papamoka said...

As an Obama supporter Infidel, I would value your vote and appreciate it for Obama. I think it is very wrong to insult people that are just not enthused about this election and either of the candidates.

From my perspective, my original candidate was Joe Biden simply because of his foreign relations expertise. My wife loved Hillary Clinton, and many a discussion about her between us ended with a "Yes dear." from me. When you get down to it, if you like any candidate it is in my opinion a gut feeling that you just run with. It would be ludicrous to think that anyone could sway anyone elses gut feeling.

6:05 AM  

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