A final rant from an eternal Clinton supporter

I like to think that I have led my life with distinction. I was raised by a single mother with little help. We were even on public assistance for a time. I have excelled in school since the very first day and now stand to graduate an esteemed high school with the rank of Salutatorian. I have friends of every race, every religion—and lack thereof, every political ideology, and sexual orientation. Even for love of a few stale jokes, you couldn’t truly believe that I hated someone because they were different from me. I wouldn’t and I can’t. Before this Democratic Primary, I’d never had the honor and the pleasure of being called a racist, a crybaby, or anyone’s psycho ex-girlfriend a la Glenn Close out of “Fatal Attraction.” It’s been a season of firsts.

I turned 18 in November. My first thought? Oh God, I have to vote.I hadn’t listened to the pundits, I didn’t even know who was running. Some Hispanic guy, some black guy, and the former First Lady of the United States; oh, and some other white guys. The only one I recognized was Edwards and my heart did an awful large thump for what could’ve been in 2004. (I hadn’t forgiven John Kerry for conceding Ohio, I still haven’t and he’s invoked my ire ever since.) Yet, it wasn’t John Edwards and his invincible haircut that caught my attention; it was the woman I had never noticed and the history I’d never cared about.

Clinton Cocktail Party: Welcome New Friends!

Wow! We have broken some site records in the past several days. It is so exciting to see new faces. Some of you wound up here out of curiosity. Some of you came here as refugees from other sites. But no matter how you found us, we are always happy to make new friends but also keep the old. We still love Jeralyn, BTD, Taylor and Tom Watson. We just happen to see things differently.

Anyway, some people will call us a “shrieking band of paranoid holdouts” for not instantly transferring our loyalties to Barack Obama. But you and I know better. The problem is that Hillary spoiled us. Yeah, she exceeded all of our expectations. She *still* does. She was tireless, indefatigueable (is that redundant?) brilliant, determined, composed, confident, strong and exceedingly presidential. Her concern for Americans is not limited by their ability to pay. She believes in shared responsibility, social justice, a healthy planet, privacy, wise use of our armed forces. She wants universal healthcare for all Americans, a first class educational system, the greening of America, a strong foreign policy with a vigorous diplomatic effort. All the things we like. America thrives when we all contribute our strengths, knowledge, experience and hard work. Now, that Hillary has stepped aside for Barack Obama to become the party’s nominee, we are holding him to our that high standard that Hillary set. Can he rise to the occasion? We will see. But he will have to earn our votes. He will have to work hard. And he is going to have to become the public servant that we have in Hillary. Well, he can’t win without us so we can afford to be picky.;-)

Welcome to the Clinton Cocktail Party. This party has been a long tradition at The Confluence. This is the time of day when we put our cares and tensions away for the day and relax with our friends. The bar is to the left of the door. Our bartender with flair is Rico, as always. He’s a good guy. I had to talk him off the ledge Saturday but he’s better now. His special cocktail tonight is a Friendly Fire, but you can order anything you like.

Speaking of friends, a year ago today, my BFF and I spent our last day in Paris, mostly in Charles de Gaulle airport. It was a nice trip. Might have been nicer if I weren’t there on business while he wandered the city without me. But we spent a beautiful day at Versailles eating baguette, fromage, jambon and vin rose on the grass and taking in the view. Paris was the setting for tonight’s entertainment, provided by Diana Krall. This uptempo jazzy tune celebrates everything that is good about being with new friends.

Friends don’t let friends use their trigger words at a party so if you feel like you need to take away the keys, please leave them with Florence, our lovely checkroom attendant. The waiters will be circulating soon with some fresh fruit and a selection of fine raw milk cheeses, jambon, cornichons and baguette. Please drink responsibly and tip your wait staff generously, Bon appetit!

Not getting hassled, not getting hustled

(Opinions are my own)

Have you heard? It’s a new day in the Democratic Party. Here’s some people power for you:

the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard — we will not take a dime from Washington lobbyists,” said Obama.

“We are going to change how Washington works. They will not run our party. They will not run our White House. They will not drown out the views of the American people.”

Less than 24 hours later, the NYT cheekily disabuses us of this fairy tale with a report on fundraising for the convention:

Brochures being sent to potential corporate donors by the Denver host committee say that “as a sponsor” of the convention, corporate executives will have access to as many as 232 members of Congress, 51 senators and 28 governors in what is being marketed as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. In addition, the more a company gives — with donations of as much as $1 million being sought — the more “V.I.P. access and other benefits” are offered, according to the brochures.

I hope you enjoyed that brief moment contemplating a federal government free of influence-peddling. Was it good for you?

I’ve been pondering the next installment of getting The PeePul on board with the program, movement-style. Let’s start with a brief review. The first stage of the primary focused on Obama winning the vote of younger, white women. From the brain trust:

What the focus groups his advisers conducted revealed was that Obama’s political career now depends, in some measure, upon a tamer version of this same feeling, on the complicated dynamics of how white women respond to a charismatic black man.

Enter Obama Girl, remember her? She was shaking her booty on the A-train and extending her hand to male co-workers across races with her promise of ‘Baracking all night long.’ Her dowdy friend, a Hillary supporter, let her hair down and took off her glasses by video’s end. We learned nothing of this constituency except of their susceptibility to peer pressure.

Next, the ‘problem’ of older, black women. Think of the archetype, Esther Rolle in Good Times, the strong black woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders while she ponders a difficult decision. Each and every article was the same. We learned nothing of political priorities save the almost daily exposure to the furrowed brows of the “large number of undecideds.” One polite testimonial per candidate would be proffered with alarming regularity by suitable representatives, who were otherwise inscrutable.

The older black woman disappeared on the eve of the South Carolina primary, never to be heard from again. She was interesting until she made her decision.

Finally, phase three. The butterfly nets are out for the last holdouts from the movement: the Clinton supporters, an oddly incalcitrant bunch. Not responsive to treatment. Difficult to manage.

We see where this is going; what, with multiple references to dead-enders in the Wall Street Journal and The New Republic, no less. Let’s be clear: dead-enders are older, white women who didn’t embrace Obama. A partisan opines:

Even as a fervent Obama supporter, I identify with some of the frustration and the anger that older, white, liberal women feel at the failure of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

I know, I know. Some of you are going to cry out that you’re not older; that you’re not white; or that you’re not women. I don’t care, and neither do those who are planning the intervention. Tough luck, you’re boxed in, so you might as well own it, along with your sisters who fit the mold, as Rev Wright would say. While a more accurate label might be people who don’t buy into the fairy tales of the new and improved DNC, we are now in phase three, which I dub: Charming Miss Havisham.

It’s a natural extension to the already Dickensian bitter and clinging. Miss Havisham in Great Expectations is a spurned old maid, a shut-in, wallowing in self-pity after humiliation and full of vengeance. Incalcitrant she is, denying good doctors access to assist with the healing.

I expect a full assault on the bat-shit crazy dead-enders, picking at the scabs of our discontent until we plead, nay beg, for permission to re-enter proper society, an event to be heralded by a Speech! Speech!

Not getting hassled, not getting hustled. And you?

“If 795 of my collegues decide this election, I will quit the Democratic Party.”

Those are the words of superdelegate and Party honcho, Donna Brazile.

On February 11, 2008, a few days after Super Tuesday, Donna Brazile gave an interview to National Public Radio. You can listen to the whole thing here. I have transcribed the relevant portions of this interview below.

Monday: Obama Pod People

We last few remnants of the “shrieking band of paranoid holdouts” are now under attack. Remember the NYTimes article from just a few days ago where Claire McCaskill said that the Obama camp would wait a respectful few days so we could get over it and then they would launch another assault? Well, it looks like it’s here.

In the past day, The Confluence, Corrente, Reclusive Leftist, Anglachel and others have seen a number of pod people showing up in the comments. They *say* they are regulars but for some reason, they speak the language of the converted. Ahh, conversion diaries. It takes me back to my DKos days, even before the primary season began. There was no better way to make the recommended list than to claim you were a recovering Republican or Iraq War enthusiast. Well, who doesn’t want to belong? It gives the listener a sense of security. The new person is like US! Love bombing follows, group identities are formed. It even happens here to a certain extent.

But this is forced. It comes from some external source. It takes on our identities but it is not one of us. There’s no emotion. It’s empty.

What is the point exactly? It’s not like we can’t identify these imposters pretty quickly. We know how to read an IP address. Yes, believe it or not, Obamaphiles, there are a few of us Clintonistas who have the nollij. We can reed and rite and doo rithmatik too. It’s amazing how good special ed is these days.

But why go the psychological warfare route? It seems like the lazy way out. Is it more effective to make us feel overwhelmed, helpless in the face of an insurmountable wave of Obamaphilia, to condition us to learned helplessness? “Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated” Why not try to win us over with the force of the policy proposals, committments to our causes, understanding and acknowledgment of the principles we hold dear? Is that just too hard or is it because you don’t want to?

But here’s an even better question? Why bother at all? We’re just little asteroids floating along in the blogoverse, our carbon footprints barely noticeable amidst all of the bigger and more numerous pieces of space debris. The amount of attention now dedicated to bringing us into compliance seems inversely proportional to our importance.

Or is it?

Maybe you guys need us after all.

One more thing: Anglachel has posted several parts of a series this past weekend that are really worth your attention. Check out, The Frontlines of Democracy, Bittersweet Acceptance and Partisan. Highly recommended. Other interesting posts: The Ghost of Violet Socks poses a question in Through the Looking Glass. Why is Obama’s nomination more historic that Hillary’s? (BTW, Violet could use some filthy lucre to keep the server gods appeased. If you have a few bucks, you might want to visit her PayPal link) Lambert at Corrente likens the political system to a pimple in The Village is a Sack of Pus Waiting to Burst. Such an evocative title.