Letters to the Editor
Brian - Seattle
Published Letters: 265 Editor's Choice: 8
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So? You still have to reach out to them
[Read the article: An early look inside the minds of West Virginia voters]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We are a nation of many towards a common cause - E Pluribus Unum, ("from many, one"), however that includes all of us. The poor, the rich, the uneducated, the educated, the black, brown, white, the gays, and the straights.
What do you want to do? Put the uneducated down? Back them into a corner and insult them? First, what does that get us? How did that help us win in 2000 and 2004? It didn't. Also, the people voting tonight are Democrats - put them down and where do they go? To the Republicans.
You can't expect everyone in the country to be educated to the level that you find acceptable. As a party, we need to reach out to those voters and try to find common ground to get them to come to our side - ignorant of the issues or not.
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Joan is right
[Read the article: Some thoughts about West Virginia ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You can't win without these voters. Just look at 2000 and 2004. We can't write off people in places like West Virginia in the same way we wrote off the "red state, ignorant, religious wackos" in 2000 and 2004.
Sadly, we seem to be falling into this overconfident zone that thinks there is "no way" we can lose in November against McCain, just as we did in 2000 and 2004. How did that turn out? We need a fundamental shift in our party attitude towards all voters.
Lets stop living in the liberal blog bubble and get out and talk to people. Try to find common ground to encourage them to support Obama. From my experience, you will be surprised that people are actually reasonable and more human than some of you are describing them.
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I'm not sure why you respond to people in letters Joan
[Read the article: Some thoughts about West Virginia ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If I've learned anything from reading the internets is that people don't act like people when they can rant behind the safety of a computer screen. That and it's difficult to have a "conversation" through a forum such as this.
I have had issue with some of your posts and recent content that was sort of questionable (Hillary is right on the gas tax, etc) but you are the editor of one of the better sites out there. When you appear on Hardball and such, I respect the way you actually answer the questions the way you see them, unlike many guests. While I sometimes disagree with it, your opinion is genuine.
On this topic, as I said earlier, some Obama supporters need to realize that the voters you put down are not only voters, they are Americans. These are people that live in the same democracy you do. These are the same people that drive the bus, press your shirts, and cook your food. Throw a marshmallow (rock was too harsh) in a crowded room and you have an 80% chance it hits someone without a college degree. That is a fact. The remaining 20% of us (including myself) need to do more reaching out to the rest of the country. We didn't do this in 2000 nor in 2004. I remember in 2004 as I sat with my friends in a bar watching the results wondering, "how could so many people be so stupid?". What I should have been thinking was, "why didn't I try to talk to more of my rural, church-going family about John Kerry?" Isn't it ironic that we are all so "smart" but we can't actually figure out how to win the White House?
Now some here argue that racism, and sexism, etc are all never going away, that you can't change people that have prejudices like that. But if we are so "smart" then why aren't we taking the high road here? Why aren't we acting as the better person? Why is it that we chant "yes we can" along with Obama but won't bother to even try to lift a finger to reach out to that rural West Virginian?
As far as Clinton supporters, you are not free from all this either. Both candidates have fervent supporters but why is it that after growing up in rural Michigan and spending time in the Navy, because I used the GI Bill to earn two degrees and am working on two masters that I am somehow elitist? Why is it that every time I or another Obama supporter wants to speak about Obama, we hear the something like being a "trust-fund having, volvo driving, latte sipping, burkenstock wearing liberal" from some of you? We are both on the same team, why can't we come together and try to understand why we chose a different representative for that team? Why can't we accept that someone might actually differ in that choice and be OK with it?
Following this primary, we all need to not only come together as democrats, but as a country. I'm sure this sounds cliche, but how do we accomplish anything without trying to reach out to one another? The problems we have are real and partisanship in the White House over the past 8 years, in addition to the last 2 years in Congress, has done nothing to solve them. I disagree that we need to set our differences aside; we need to explore our differences and find common ground. If we don't, it won't matter who is in charge of our country.
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I thought this wouldn't matter but...
[Read the article: Edwards announces his support for Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...the timing is really good for Obama and horrible for Clinton. If he was going to make it before June 3rd, this was the time to do it.
I also didn't think it would matter to me much. I know others have said she's done and such, and I largely agree but this, to me now, almost feels like his endorsement represents that proverbial last nail for Hillary.
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Exactly Susan
[Read the article: Bush seems to attack Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The best thing the Republicans can do this year is lose gracefully and distance themselves from the neocons. I guess one could argue that they could repair the party with McCain but so far it doesn't look like he would do anything differently. This kind of crap is more of an indication of this stubborn insistence that they are still "right".
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I just saw the actual speech
[Read the article: Bush seems to attack Obama]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Unbelievable.