I am just trying to find a new political home because the Democratic party does not want voters like me. Every party has a purges and I think that is where the Democratic party is now. It is pretty lame that Obama supporters have called people who did not vote for him racists, hillbillies, ignorant, old, uneducated, bitter (that was from Sen. Obama himself), and other vicious things, but now they want those people to join in some coalition to elect Sen. Obama. I am still trying understand why Obama supporters would all of a sudden want to join hands with people whom they consider to be bigots. I know I would not want to be affiliated with people whom I believe to be bigots.

I think Clinton supporters, who have been denounced by the party elders and leaders, should take their votes elsewhere. They should form their own party or fan out to parties who welcome them and their points of view. I am not trying to punish Sen. Obama by refusing to support him. I never had any intention to vote for him, so I am not depriving him of something he ever had. I was, and still am, annoyed by the self-righteousness of Sen. Obama (his messiah complex reminds me of George Bush and it disturbs me greatly) and those who love him. But that is not why I would never vote for him. I was going to support the Democratic nominee if Sen. Obama were not said nominee. He is the nominee, so I am not supporting the Democratic party. I am also not going to vote for or contribute money to anyone who supports Obama.

I am estranged from every elected official I have voted for because they will all be supporting Obama, I would imagine. Indeed, I have two friends who were elected to Congress in 2006 and I have told them that I will not donate a cent to their campaigns because they support Sen. Obama. I will not lend out my home for fund raisers either. It is nothing personal; their politics are contrary to my own and I will not throw my hard earned money behind them. Obama supporters who accuse Clinton supporters of being vindictive whiners because they do not get behind Obama are just being lame. Support your guy and be done with it. Let me have my vote and my say in the electoral process and act on my interests as I see fit.

I have to find new people to support. It will be a good political exercise for me to more thoroughly investigate the people to whom I give my money and votes, rather than just supporting them because of party affiliation. I am done choosing between the lesser of two evils and I think our country would be better for it if we all did that. In the end, though, we allow every citizen over 18 who does not have a felony conviction, to vote in elections. Saying that people should not vote for someone out of vindictiveness or whatever, is the equivalent of imposing a literacy test or a poll tax. As obnoxious as it is for someone to refuse to vote for Obama because he is black, I find it equally offensive, perhaps more so, for people to vote for him because he is. But I do not have a right to say why someone should vote for the candidate of his/her choice. The nation has suffered when voters have been bullied physically or emotionally and it needs to stop. I see a lot of that going on on the left and I am troubled by it. I certainly do not want to be party to it.

I understand Obama supporters raising the threat that McCain represents to reproductive rights and his desire to continue the police operation in Iraq. Well, if the Democrats in Congress did their jobs and refused to elevate to the Supreme Court anyone who had a shoddy history when it came to reproductive rights, then that would not be much of an issue.

Concerning Iraq, if the Democrats want the occupation to end, all they have to do is defund the war. Both Senators Clinton and Obama, while outwardly calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, have voted to continue the runaway spending Bush requests. Should McCain become president, he could not make his 100 year vision a reality.

Not everything hinges on the executive branch. Sen. Obama would do well to get to know the institution of which he is only nominally a member. I think having a grasp on the institutional power of Congress and the pressures on members of congress and the pressures they can bring to bear would be helpful to a potential President Obama. His holier-than-thou act will only play well with salivating audiences. When it is time to get down to the hard work of governing, he is going to have to work with other government officials who do take money from lobbyists and who do not kiss his feet. One day, the people who lined up to support him because he represents a "change" in how business is done in Washington, will come to collect on their favors in a Washingtonesque fashion.

I would have higher hopes for his presidency if he had spent more time being a Senator rather than being a presidential candidate who has a seat in the Senate. I do not think that dealing with Congress and acknowledging the concerns of members of Congress and their constituents should be dismissed out of hand as "typical Washington insider behavior." People elect people whom they believe will represent and advocate for their interests. I love how everyone running for president denounces Washington but spends countless hours and money trying to get a house on Pennsylvania Avenue.