The 20-Year Cycle of Democrat Self-Destruction
True story: it was 1988 and I met my old high school debate partner Derek and my high school friend Steve at a coffee house when we were home from college for the summer. Derek and Steve were die-hard Democrats. I was still a Republican, but starting to have doubts due to my experience in debate. The discussion that afternoon turned to the upcoming election that fall. Steve made a prescient comment: he said, "I don't see how the Republicans can win this election, but I can see how the Democrats can lose it."
And they did.
For some reason, Democrats have a particular talent of sabotaging their own platforms and candidates and give us crap as a reward. In 1968, the Democratic party was at war with itself, and when Kennedy was killed, it allowed Nixon to take over. What happened was that the McCarthy and Kennedy supporters couldn't bring themselves to vote for Humphrey, and he ended up losing in a very close election to Nixon, and we know what happened there. In 1988, the Democratic machine went for the boring and technocratic Dukakis, who was so poorly managed that he actually allowed George H. W. Bush, a true elitist of high upbringing, to look like a man of the people. And they lost.
Now the Democrats have two candidates that are in an exciting campaign. For the media. And the Republicans. For the rest of us, it is pretty clear: Hillary needs to get out. She is damaging the party and the party's chances. I used to wonder why there was this hatred about Hilary that exists in the right-wing. I even got into a fight with my mom (my MOM!) about this very subject over Xmas. Okay, I was wrong. Hilary is going to do whatever she has to do to win, and that sickens me. I've had enough for a couple of months, though I am only writing about it now. Probably because my friend Jim wrote about it before me on his blog, and didn't want to seem to jump on the bandwagon.
I was originally for Chris Dodd, whom I like a lot. Then, I switched to John Edwards, whom has done great work here at UNC and of whose politics I like. Then, I went to Obama. And the pragmatics of the now say to me that Obama is the guy. I've become a big Obama supporter. He's smart. He's cool. He will shake things up, I think. And I think the "scandals" about him have been total bullshit. And have made me turn completely off Hillary. Of course, McCain is not someone I can support due to his posing as a maverick and his true committment to all the mistakes of the Bush administration, but voting for Hillary would be one that I would have to do with gritted teeth. In the North Carolina primary coming up, I will be participating for the first time in the primary (I'm registered as unaffiliated), and I will be voting for Obama. North Carolina allows independents to vote in primaries.
What encourages me about this upcoming election is that people are regeresting to vote like crazy all over the country. That's great for American democracy. What the pundits on TV seem to be ignoring is that polls are suggesting a very close race between dems and repubs for the final election. But the registration numbers have been 2:1 in favor of democrats.
This will be a very, very interesting election.
And they did.
For some reason, Democrats have a particular talent of sabotaging their own platforms and candidates and give us crap as a reward. In 1968, the Democratic party was at war with itself, and when Kennedy was killed, it allowed Nixon to take over. What happened was that the McCarthy and Kennedy supporters couldn't bring themselves to vote for Humphrey, and he ended up losing in a very close election to Nixon, and we know what happened there. In 1988, the Democratic machine went for the boring and technocratic Dukakis, who was so poorly managed that he actually allowed George H. W. Bush, a true elitist of high upbringing, to look like a man of the people. And they lost.
Now the Democrats have two candidates that are in an exciting campaign. For the media. And the Republicans. For the rest of us, it is pretty clear: Hillary needs to get out. She is damaging the party and the party's chances. I used to wonder why there was this hatred about Hilary that exists in the right-wing. I even got into a fight with my mom (my MOM!) about this very subject over Xmas. Okay, I was wrong. Hilary is going to do whatever she has to do to win, and that sickens me. I've had enough for a couple of months, though I am only writing about it now. Probably because my friend Jim wrote about it before me on his blog, and didn't want to seem to jump on the bandwagon.
I was originally for Chris Dodd, whom I like a lot. Then, I switched to John Edwards, whom has done great work here at UNC and of whose politics I like. Then, I went to Obama. And the pragmatics of the now say to me that Obama is the guy. I've become a big Obama supporter. He's smart. He's cool. He will shake things up, I think. And I think the "scandals" about him have been total bullshit. And have made me turn completely off Hillary. Of course, McCain is not someone I can support due to his posing as a maverick and his true committment to all the mistakes of the Bush administration, but voting for Hillary would be one that I would have to do with gritted teeth. In the North Carolina primary coming up, I will be participating for the first time in the primary (I'm registered as unaffiliated), and I will be voting for Obama. North Carolina allows independents to vote in primaries.
What encourages me about this upcoming election is that people are regeresting to vote like crazy all over the country. That's great for American democracy. What the pundits on TV seem to be ignoring is that polls are suggesting a very close race between dems and repubs for the final election. But the registration numbers have been 2:1 in favor of democrats.
This will be a very, very interesting election.
posted by cc at
8:12 PM
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