Letters to the Editor
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@ KateTex
I suspect I am somewhere around your age. I grew up in the 1960's when I saw blacks and whites marching together for civil rights. I saw the democratic party, young and old, rich and poor, black and white, male and female, working together to maybe, someday, create a better world. I am not a liberal. I am a moderate. Definitions are fuzzy. I won't go into detail here. But if there is no longer room in the democratic party for people like me, we had better get used to republican rule for the foreseeable future.
In 1972 I was a paid staffer on the McGovern campaign. I didn't support all of his positions. I think even back then he was a bit too left for my tastes. But I remember listening to an ultra left wing radio station one day and the people there were saying how they didn't think it mattered whether McGovern or Nixon were elected. They were both scum. That's the day I decided to work for McGovern. My colleagues were idealists. McGovern represented the new politics. He put together a strong grass roots organization based heavily on the discontent with the Viet Nam war. He had wrested the nomination away from the party regulars. He was going to change the world. He lost 49 states. I have some stories from that campaign that would curl your hair. The dirty tricks that my colleagues, liberal democrats, resorted to changed my view of politics forever.
Ideals are wonderful things. The McGovern campaign was born of ideals. But of course, as I learned to my sorrow (I was so young), the people with all of those ideals did not live them. I haven't been much involved in politics since then. I read a lot. I write some. I vote democratic. And I watch as the democratic party sabotages itself year after year, election after election. I thought we had a real shot this year. All the polls and pundits said this was going to be a democratic year. And here we are, doing it again.
I see a few sane voices here being drowned out by those who claim they represent purity but demonstrate that they are the opposite. I see the democratic party tearing itself apart. The democratic obsession with perceived purity without pragmatism has led to these insane delegate selection rules. Proportional assignment of delegates is "fairer" for the loser, and don't worry about a close race, it will never happen. Super delegates are there to protect the party, but they are politicians who will do what is expedient and in their best interests, not the party or the country. There's an interesting article by a political scientist, not particularly partisan that I can tell, who describes how skewed the democratic primary process really is. It's a little technical in parts but it's sort of an eye-opener.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2008/03/are_the_chickens_coming_home_t.html
I am tired. I am depressed. This thread has devolved into the worst of the worst. 36 years after McGovern and the race hatred, the ageism, the misogyny, the just plain vile, thoughtless, incendiary flaming. We have made no progess in 36 years. I'm rambling a bit because I feel so frustrated and I know this is just going to incite even more vitriol. I mainly wanted to post to say thank you to you and the few others who have provided thoughtful commentary. Maybe sanity will return. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning.