Reply #9: Congratulations on stepping out and declaring you can think for your [View All]

[Samantha]

political self. If every Dem insisted on the right to do this, the DLC wouldn't be in a position to exclude certain candidates and give us a slate of "their" guys from which to choose.

They publicly asked Gore not to run. They publicly stated that while they do not choose the Democratic candidate, they have a lot of influence over who that candidate will be. The Washington Post printed an article about the "party leaders" saying they were alarmed about Dean's rise in the polls, and if it continued to happen, they would do something to stop him.

It's only through the party elite manipulating us into thinking we must tow the party line and vote for whomever is the candidate that this conduct is ultimately encouraged and continues from election to election. Stop it now by thinking for yourself and arriving at the best decision for you about whom you want to vote. Vote for someone who best represents your interests. After all, if you wanted to develop a mob mentality you could just go right on over to the Repubs and fit right in.

And don't ever let anyone tell you that if Kerry is the nominee and you don't vote for him, you vote for Bush.*