Letters to the Editor
snoman
Published Letters: 191 Editor's Choice: 3
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I think it is a mix
[Read the article: Who wants to be a Democrat?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think both Obama an Hillary have caused some registered Republicans to switch parties, at least this year. They both had some help with that by W. and the slate of candidates that the Republicans rolled out last year.
I also think that some Republicans are voting for Obama because they think he will be weaker against McCain, while some Republicans are voting for Hillary for that same reason. Some may just like the idea of stretching out the contest.
Ring wing pundits have been pretty consistant about thinking Hillary is the weaker candidate, but they were also pretty consistant in telling Republicans not to vote for McCain. So I question how much influence they have.
While I am biased, I do think Barack has been getting more of the sincere Republican converts. Barack had a pretty solid advantage of Republicans voting for him in the contests leading up through Super Tuesday. During that time those Republicans had to choose between voting for which Democrat they wanted to see in November or which Republican they wanted to see in November. They had more to gain by voting for their favorite Republican than the Democrat they thought would lose.
That said, rules are rules. If Republicans want to play spoiler they are free to do so if the state's rules allow it.
If both candidates want to ensure that their independant and Republican supporters can vote for them in the upcoming primaries they should feel free to do so as long as they don't break any rules. As far as I know, there isn't a minimum time as Pennsylvanian has to be a Democrat before registering as a Democrat.
If either campaign wants to make the argument to the remaining superdelegates that another candidate is being propped up by Ditto-head they are free to do that too. Superdelegates are allowed to use their own judgement and either campaign can present their side of the case to affect that judgement.
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"old uncle" not "crazy uncle"
[Read the article: Who wants to be a Democrat?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This whole issue of Obama's pastor is interesting. It really shows the disconnect in the American experience when a pastor can make those statements in the South Side of Chicago and get "amens" while people in the suburbs can't understand why an African American would distrust their government and their country. Edward's "Two Americas" is really a low ball estimate.
What shouldn't be surprising is a clergy member using "hate" speech.
Hillary Clinton's spiritual advisor Billy Graham was recorded chewing the fat with Richard Nixon about the jews having a stranglehold on the media. He also said that he thought AIDS was a judgement from God.
The there is McCain supporter John Hagee and McCain's "spiritual guide" Rev. Rod Parsly who called Islam a false religon based on deception. Of course you almost have to give McCain a mulligan considering the "religous" folk conservatives attract.
All religon is based on the premise that everyone else is wrong and requires the creation of an "us" vs "them" mentality which inevitably results in the denegration and dehumanization of "them". All US presidential candidates have to belong to some sort of religon, Christian really but I think a Muslim would still beat an Atheist here. Therefore, all presidential candidates are going to be connected with clergy that use hate speech.
It is the annoying Catch-22 of US politics. Most people haven't noticed since it has always been directed at minorities (Jews, Muslims, Gays, Blacks, Catholics) that they think that it is a new practice when it is directed at white people.
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Odog you haven't been paying attention
[Read the article: Who wants to be a Democrat?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama repudiated his pastor's comments last year. His recent statement isn't a shift, it is a reiteration. Also it isn't a rejection of the man or his church. A person can disagree with another person's specific statements without throwing the person under the bus.
You only think it is a politically expediant stance because you are uninformed about the candidate and because you can't understand how a person could associate with people they sometimes disagree with.
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So now we are punishing candidates for being candid?
[Read the article: Who wants to be a Democrat?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Rezko is all they got and it doesn't seem a) that bad, b)like it was a learning experience. Obama hasn't been dealing with big donors in his presidential campaign, which should show how he has learned from his mistakes.
Hillary still surrounds herself with $250000 donors (Hillraisers) which continue to be a source of scanals. We don't know what favors they expect of a future President Clinton. Even further, we don't know who has donated to the Clinton library. Since we don't know who, we can't know what favors they expect. However, the brief glimpses we have seen so far indicate that donations can get Mark Rich a pardon and a Canadian businessman access to Khazakstan uranium. It would put her health plan under a different light if we were to find out that health insurance and drug companies were giving millions to her campaign. At sixty years old and with 35 year of experience her contining fund raising habits aren't due to naivity, she know exactly what is exected of her by her donors and she will deliver. Better hope your expectations of a Clinton presidency match Rupert Murdoch's expectations of a Clinton persidency.
Hillary has so many scandals just relating to her time in the Senate. Then there are the Hill/Bill scandals.
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You really don't get "it"
[Read the article: Who wants to be a Democrat?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"That the CIA (code word for White People) created the Aids virus to elimate the black race.
God "Damn" America
We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians"
That you can't fathom why these statements are not controversial in the African American community shows how much you don't get thier experiences. If you think I'm kidding about the reaction from the AA community try spending time in a barber shop south of Cominsky park. You will be surprised to find that hundreds of years of slavery and decades of Jim Crow creates a deep seeded distrust of the government that doesn't get brushed off after only a few generations.