I'm not afraid to say it: If Dean doesn't get the nomination,

[Darth_Ole]

I hope he goes 3rd Party.

I'm tired of the way our party if shifting and if Kerry or someone else is nominated, there won't be a real opponent to Bush this November.

Yeah, I can hear everybody now, saying "Nader cost Gore the election." No, Nader didn't. Gore ran a bad campaign and had Florida stolen from him.

Bush is the worst president we've ever had. But I'm tired of voting AGAINST people. I want to vote FOR someone for a change. I'm tired of Democrats being the lesser of two evils. I'm tired of not voting my conscience.

Dean's said he wouldn't run 3rd party, and it is unlikely. But he owes it to his supporters, the voters, and to this Democratic Party to stay in the game right until November.

[Dookus]

1. He's not god...

he's a politician, just like all the others. If you think Bush would be better than another Dem nominee, then just vote for Bush.

Dean won't a) get the nomination or b) run 3rd party. So it looks like you'll be voting republican.

[stickdog]

12. There are plenty of other options. One can even write in "God"

if one so chooses.

[Atlant]

51. One can write in "God", but *THAT* vote will be tossed out.

So far as is known, the Supreme Being of the Christian Faith
(or of any of the commonly-accepted faiths, for that matter)
is not a native-born American, although most gods are at least
35 years old.

So unless you're voting for someone who meets the criteria
and has legally changed their name to "God", your write-in
vote for "God" would probably be discarded.

Atlant

[corporatewhore]

18. Nope kucinich is ;)

[Eric J in MN]

2. John Kerry would do plenty of things to vote FOR.

Kerry would make the tax system more progressive.

Lower the budget deficit.

Nominate Supreme Court justices who consider civil liberties.

[still_one]

3. Even if Dean doesn't get the nomination

He won't vote against the Democrats.

[polpilot]

50. Did someone say 'democrats'? Where? Where? Oh..............You mean

pro-war democrats?

Dean '04...

[tobius]

4. Third post of

this idea that I know of today. go ...dean... yay...

[Bucky]

5. 3rd post like this? Should I be suspicious of this sort of thing?

It sounds pretty suspect for so many "non-transferables" to pop up at once. Some might be legit, but that many smells of freeperism to me. (Note that I'm sincerely not accusing anyone).

[WilliamPitt]

6. WWHD?

What Would Howard Do?

Howard would vote for the nominee.

Period.

[w4rma]

10. Yup. I will be supporting the Democratic nominee. <period> (n/t)

[Eloriel]

32. So?

Howard ain't my boss.

Nor my father.

Nor does he own my vote.

[MercutioATC]

48. Thanks for that, Will.

You're right. That's what he would do. It's a little tiring hearing people dredge up this 3rd party thing over and over.

BTW, congrats on your new (well, not so new now) job.

[MaddogTerp]

66. To: William Pitt

Why don't you take your religious right-wing fundamentalist BS over to bornagain.com?

I can vote for Howie to be president. Howie can vote for whoever he wants. If Howie runs 3rd party (which I hope he does), I will vote for him. If he doesn't (and is not the dem nominee), I can, and likely will, write him in.

Just because he might not (MIGHT) vote for himself does not mean that I can't vote for him, nor does it mean that he can specify for whom I should vote. I'd rather vote for him than vote for the nominee, if that means Kerry.

Despite the best efforts of the fundies on the right-wing and the ABB-you-MUST-commit-to-vote-for-Kerry-Kookz here on the right-wing of DU, this is STILL a FREE country, and freedom means that I can vote however I choose.

Keep your hands off my ballot!

Howie rulz!

[DjTj]

69. I'm just imagining the crazy red-faced rant...

...Howard Dean is going to go on when Dean write-ins cost the Democrats the election.

It's funny in a very bad way.

[creativelcro]

70. I'm voting Dean. The underground no-kerry movement

has now over 1000 members, just in the Boston area... Wait and see...

[For PaisAn]

7. Idea...

I think Dean, Clark, Kucinich & Sharpton and supporters should start a 3rd party. Let's call it the Reclamation Party!

Main Entry: rec·la·ma·tion
Pronunciation: "re-kl&-'mA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: French réclamation, from Latin reclamation-, reclamatio, from reclamare
Date: 1633
: the act or process of reclaiming: as a : REFORMATION, REHABILITATION b : restoration to use : RECOVERY


Main Entry: re·claim
Pronunciation: ri-'klAm
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English reclamen, from Middle French reclamer to call back, from Latin reclamare to cry out against, from re- + clamare to cry out —more at CLAIM
Date: 14th century
1 a : to recall from wrong or improper conduct : REFORM b : TAME, SUBDUE
2 a : to rescue from an undesirable state b : to make available for human use by changing natural conditions <reclaim swampland>
3 : to obtain from a waste product or by-product : RECOVER
4 a : to demand or obtain the return of b : to regain possession of
synonym see RESCUE
- re·claim·able /-'klA-m&-b&l/ adjective

[Nederland]

71. Bad Idea

Such a Party would get what, 25% of the vote, max?

[BruinAlum]

8. Why go to all that trouble? Just register your vote directly for Bush

[zoeyfong]

42. If i don't vote for bush, isn't that a vote for kerry? I won't even have

to go to the polls. Now Dean, Clark, and Kucinich make me *want* to go to the polls.

[polpilot]

52. Yeah, I believe not voting for Bush might even be 'two' votes for Kerry.

No, just one.

Dean '04...A candidate one can be proud of

[Samantha]

9. Congratulations on stepping out and declaring you can think for your

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.*

[juajen]

36. Get real

If Clark were ahead, you would be saying the same thing about Clark. As a matter of fact, a lot of people posited that opinion about Clark. I'm sure Howard Dean would be the first person to encourage his supporters to vote for the dem nominee. If not, he is not the person I thought he was.

Even though I have never supported him, I would have been glad to vote for him if he won the nomination and he certainly has earned my admiration for the campaign he has run. It behooves all of his supporters to dignify his run by standing up for the party of which he is a member.

There is no perfect candidate, and if you thought Dr. Dean was, well, everyone does not agree with you. We have major diversity in this party and it's good. Try spreading your loyalty wings a little and embrace the party, not the man.

[polpilot]

54. The party should not be embraced and is in need of a major overhaul.

Having a pro-war demo candidate is absurd in the max.

Dean '04...

[Samantha]

72. Here's a dose of reality back at you

I am not a Dean proponent. I don't support any of the current candidates. Who I vote for, or whether I abstain, remains to be seen.

While there is no such thing as a perfect candidate, granted, Dean does come closer to it than the current leading DLC contender. In that regard, and with respect to your suggestion to "spread my loyalty wings and embrace the party," why would any thinking person do that --to develop a mob mentality.

I watched this party, acting from the DLC, Stop Gore, and listened to its pronouncement in The Washington Post that if Dean continued to move ahead in the polls, party leaders would stop him. Stop him they did, for the benefit of one of their own. And you think I am just going to ignore this and vote for a candidate who is not that far removed from the positions of George Bush? No way.

[polpilot]

53. Right.Too many sheeple herded by the pro-war DLC Kerry cheerleaders.

Dean '04...

[MaddogTerp]

67. Exactly!

Howie Rulz!

[seaglass]

11. And if Bush gets elected you won't be complaining about

him right?

[polpilot]

55. '6 of one and 5.95 of the other'. Where's the magnifying glass??

Dean '04...

[seaglass]

58. Just keeping track of those who will have ZERO

credibility if Bush is elected, I will laugh at their complaints.

[Edge]

13. Go ahead...waste your vote...

then you'll suffer, as well as the rest of us, with another four years of Bush. YOU owe it as a Democrat to VOTE Democrat. If you don't vote for a Democrat come this November, you'll be voting for Bush. It's true. It's damn true.

This is a time that we all need to stick together.

I'm sick of seeing Dean supporters always whining that they won't vote because Dean won't get the nomination. Dean doesn't look like he'll get the nomination. Kerry's too far ahead for that.

Dean supporters need to get a clue and vote for a Democrat or else we'll see Bush for another four years.

[Eloriel]

33. Oh, no no no. Not until Kerry has at least 50% plus does he have

this locked up.

And he's a long way from that right now. Frontrunner? Yes. Winner? No. Not yet.

[zoeyfong]

46. I'm not worried about 4 more years of Bush. I'm used to losing by now.

We keep hearing these threats about, 'wait till bush gets re-elected, then you'll be sorry.' What these people don't get is that those of us thinking about not voting/voting third party have absolutely hit rock bottom in terms of our disgust with and hope for the democratic party (and by extension, America). Something has got to change, and the only thing politicians understand is winning and losing. *I* was furious with Nader voters in 2000, because i still had hope that the democratic party could continue its slow rebound after the congressional losses of 1994; we had the presidency and had a good chance of winning it again. Now that's all gone. We lost the presidency to a coup d'etat in 2000 (even after al gore chose *joe lieberman* as his runningmate), with barely a whimper being put up by congressional dems, and in 2002 the next to final straw came, with the dem rollover to support bush's insane, criminal war, followed by further congressional losses! Now the absolute last straw appears to be falling into place - we seem to be on the verge of choosing a war crimes collaborater to be our nominee for president. That is it. It can not possibly get any worse, and if it does, it will be at least as much the fault of the feckless dems who have brought us to this place as it is of those who don't vote for Kerry.

[polpilot]

57. My brother's a huge Bush supporter and said he'd have no problem with

Kerry as the president. I, too, am used to losing and the Bush-like demos of the last 15 years have been, overall, a pathetic lot. A Kerry presidency would be akin to Bush with a conservative fiscal policy and a lot of meaningless anti-conservative rhetoric. And Kerry has said he'll involve Jim Baker. How SICK is that?

Dean '04...

[Samantha]

75. It is Dems like Kerry who helped bring us to this place

Kerry stepped down the stairs, looked into a CNN camera following the vote of the Electoral College in 2000, and said, "no, I wasn't asked to sign the petition of the Congressional Black Caucus, but I would not have signed had I been asked." He was referencing the fact the Congressional Black Caucus needed the signature of ONE SENATOR to present its petition challenging the slate of electors from Florida in the vote of the electoral college. Why didn't Kerry protest the election debacle and assist the Congressional Black Caucus in lodging a protest? Because he was planning to run in 2004. Beating an incumbent Bush* was much easier for Kerry than running against an incumbent Gore. So Kerry being Kerry looked after his best interests as opposed to ours and simply remained silent during the theft of the Presidency.

So when you are looking for people upon whom to assess the blame for this Country being in the state it is in, don't blame the people who today hold Kerry partially responsible. Bush* might have stolen the election, but politicans like Kerry who remained silent enabled him to do so. And if my vote was not important enough for Kerry to protect in 2000, he should not ask for it at this time.

Additionally, Kerry was part of that DLC coterie who worked under the surface to discourage Al Gore from running. Gore had the best chance of defeating Bush* in 2004 -- but did that matter to Kerry? No. What mattered to Kerry was Kerry.

Vote for Kerry? I don't think so. I am looking for someone who represents MY interests, not his own.

[Woodstock]

14. How absurd - 4 more years of Bush?

No thanks. I'm voting for the Democratic candidate. And so is Dean.

[Rowdyboy]

15. Adios

[Darth_Ole]

16. Wasting your vote?

Since when is voting your mind wasting your vote?

The notion that bringing new ideas into a sorry system is harmful would appall the founding fathers.

The founding fathers would also be appalled by Bush, but voting is a basic freedom, and voting the way you think shouldn't be frowned on.
The individual mind is the most sacred thing that's ever existed. And the individual mind's ability to think for itself is even more sacred. We have to vote for the candidate we agree with.

Anything less and you risk having NO parties in a few decades.

[Rowdyboy]

22. I think you were talking to Edge....

since I never said you were wasting your vote. I wouldn't waste my time trying to convince you as you obviously already have made up your mind.

Thats why I said, merely....Adios

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. I salute your principles

I disagree with them and believe they will not lead to a favorable result, but you are entitled to say this and act on it.

Nevermind that there are more liberals than conservatives in America. Nevermind that we are being led by a right wing group with a TAKE NO PRISONERS approach. Nevermind that there really isn't any difference between your approach and theirs.

I'm totally fucking exasperated by the attempts at extortion and coersion by candidate supporters who threaten to hold all America hostage until they get their way.

I hope Dean goes third party too. IF he doesn't, I guarantee the very next block of Dean hating voters will come from his very own ranks. That's what he gets by firing up an angry crowd and being ill prepared to contain their anger. If Dean drops, supports the eventual Dem candidate or God forbids lands on the ticket as VP, he will find out that his most virulent supporters have turned on him in a New York minute with all the venom of a meat hungry Doberman.

Tough luck, Howie....it's the law of unintended consequences.

[Sushi-Lover]

23. Umm that sounds like a pretty emotional interpretation

of Dean supporters. Even people who are feeling right now like going third party aren't necessarily angry and full of venom. Probably they are just getting emotional and giving in to a burst of irrational idealism. In fact, these people feel just as strongly about the state of the country as you do. When they take a moment and step back they will realize that ideas of forming a third party or going independent before November are just wishes and not realistic given the importance of ousting GW.
I've seen Dean speak in public and he wasn't firing up an angry crowd. Mostly people laughed and cheered, the 'red meat' was fun and the 'firing up' was all about changing our country for the better and getting rid of GW.
I know that your statements aren't totally rational, but as a Dean supporter your characterization of this imaginary angry mob and Howard Dean as it's instigator are offensive. I'm sure that all of the candidates have their share of er 'virulent supporters' .. there are jerks and crazies everywhere. I really hope that if some crazy people actually 'turned' on Howard Dean like 'meat hungry Dobermans' you wouldn't think of it as tough luck, but more as undeserved tragedy.

[Eloriel]

34. Do you have a crystal ball or something?

'Cause I don't think that's what would happen with Dean supporters at all.

And maybe our kind of "extortion" as you put it is preferable to the kind of "extortion" that insists someone else -- someone who does NOT have my best interests at heart -- namely, the DNC/DLC thinks it is somehow entitled to my vote just because.

I'll say to you what I've said repeatedly on DU: if someone wants my vote, that person needs to earn it, not force themselves on me as a member of a captive audience and expect my vote as a matter of course.

So, if you've got a candidate you want me to vote for IF Dean doesn't get the nomination, better spread the word to that candidate.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

38. I don't have a crystal ball, I have a rearview mirror

Dean ripped a page out of Nader's playbook with his slams on Kerry and Clark and is now creating the same result.

There is nothing my candidate could say to persuade people who are convinced he is SKull and Bones, PNAC (nevermind that he's never gotten a dime of AIPIC money as far back as I could see in their records) or that he's "one of them."

That's the problem with dealing with the world of innuendo.

[DemBones DemBones]

45. A rearview mirror and the ability to

recognize what's in it! I, too, can recognize self-indulgence when I see it.
Not a pretty picture.

[Sam Lowry]

19. Fair Enough

I'm not being snide here, but if your goal is to push the Democratic Party to the left, and you are willing to re-elect Bush to achieve this goal, then g'head. It's not worth it to me, but who am I to argue if it's worth it to you?

[Eloriel]

35. Actually, I don't think that's the goal -- pushing the party Leftward

Dean's not that liberal, remember?

It's about CHANGING America, changing the party, changing politics, not just changing presidents.

[dkf]

43. For me its about getting rid of corruption

I'm sick of this country being bought and paid for. I will hard a very very hard time voting for anyone who will sell us down the river.

[LosinIt]

20. New York would never go to Bush, so I can vote my conscience

and not feel guilty. That's cheating isn't it. How does one do a write-in when we use the old click-the-lever and pull the big handle kind of voting?

[sleipnir]

21. Don't be so sure....

You never know what tricks the Pugs are going to pull. Why not pump millions into challenging NY and CA, thus causing the Dems to fight for states that are usually gimmies. I think that NY is going to be a battleground, but Upstate (north of Westchester, of course) is going to be a fight. But I'm confident we can organize enough Dems down here to fight for our side to off-set Upstate irregularities.

[LosinIt]

24. I talked to some friends from Jefferson & St.Lawrence Co. in NY

and was so surprised to hear how much they despise the pResident. One of the guys is a big Nascar beer drinking guy who I thought would be a Repub, probably even a Rush fan. I was heartened to hear him have so many good talking points on why we need to get rid of the imposter. He said that he had been listening to a talk radio station out of Canada, Ottawa I think, and had learned so much that you can't find out via the US media.

[sleipnir]

28. Good to hear!

I was in (far) Upstate for part of the summer, and damn was I glad for Canadian TV and radio! The truth comes across borders, thank goodness! I hope we can rid * out of the WH with the help of Upstate, that'd be great!!!

[woofless]

39. Hey, where does that guy get his Nascar beer?

I'd like to try some.

[TheDonkey]

25. Dean is not that stupid

He wants bush out for the good of the nation. Going 3rd party will split his base.

Dean has a lot more oppurtunities helping out the next administration (and a better country) if he goes with any of the top-tier Democratic canidates.

[ButterflyBlood]

26. you know who's happy with you and who isn't?

Karl Rove is happy with you.

Dean isn't.

[John_H]

27. Dean needs to send another email calling on a few of his supporters

to get a grip.

If anyone thinks Howard Dean wants his supporters to stay home or vote third party they're walking proof that some Dean supporters know a thing about the guy they support.

He's a dem through and through.

[demolition angel]

29. If Dean doesn't get the nomination...

I will be very disappointed in my fellow Democrats, bandwagoning on a candidate whose foreign policy judgment is very suspect and has no proven ability to deliver a balanced budget.

I may be an 'oddity' at DU, but the reason Dean captured my attention was his call for a balanced budget. I can not tell you how proud I was of him when, at the Black and Brown Debate, he was asked about a middle class tax cut... and he said, no, not until the budget is balanced...

However, I would not vote for Dean as 3rd party candidate, nor would I vote for *. I'd hold my nose and push the touch screen for Kerry (and cross my fingers that it would actually register a vote for Kerry), praying that he doesn't screw up the country even more.

[ermoore]

30. here, here

I hate to say, but Dean isn't going to get the nomination. And you're right. If Dean doesn't get it, then I'm not voting for the Dem. nominee (Kucinich isn't even in the ballpark).

[Nashyra]

31. Why can't we start a viable 3rd party

after the election. The Dean, Clark, Kucinich people can start by supporting 3rd party candidates in local elections and get support from these nationaly known courageous men. That's how we start a 3rd party, not by letting a horrible outrageous evil tyrant stay in the WH tp make a point.

[polpilot]

60. WE need a NEW 3rd party: The Decent Party!

Dean '04...The Decent Party

[britpopper]

37. Please, please...

Everybody stop the arguing--point is, back your Dem candidate strongly now , but when the cards fall and only one is left standing, we must all join together and back that candidate, whoever it may be, I can't fathom that anybody with half a brain could say that Kerry, Clark, Edwards, Dean, Kucinich would not be a better president than George W. Heck, most 4-year olds could do a better job than the commander in thief. Let's stop the squibbling this fall and back the Dem nominee with full force.

[aldian159]

40. Gore had FL stolen, sure.

But something like 100,000 people voted for Nader in that state. Gore lose by 537 votes. If the 100,000 starry-eyed neophytes didn't vote Nader, if only TEN PERCENT voted Gore, he'd win FL by 9,463 votes.

[zoeyfong]

41. I agree completely - dems must start thinking long term.

It's ironic that the ABB crowd is so adamant about replacing bush, but they don't seem to be concerned about the quality of his replacement. remember repugs chose bush in 2000 because they wanted ABC (anybody but clinton), and they thought bush was the most electable. Well, they got their win, and i doubt anyone other than the aristocracy is better off now than they were 4 years ago. Now if they had chosen john mccain, i think the vote would have come out about the same, but john mccain would have been a lot better president. Right now Kerry is Bush, and Dean (especially) and Clark and Kucinich are John McCain. It is time for democrats not to make the same mistake repubs made in 2000. It is time to vote *for* a candidate because he/she is the best, not just *against* the repubs. the future of our party (and the country) is at stake, and i think that a kerry victory in 2004 would be a phyrric? victory.

[polpilot]

62. Agree. It's embarrassing to have a pro-war nominee. Repukes are

laughing at the demo party and they can honestly say that they, at least, are proud of their pro-war, conservative candidate Bush.

Dean '04...

[ThirdWheelLegend]

44. Third parties offer an alternative, do they not?

For all of Dean's rhetoric and the amazing campaign behind him, Dean is still pretty much a centrist and differs very little in policy from Kerry, etc.

They will keep NAFTA?
They will not cut the military budget?
They will keep the Insurance profit in health care?
They will not repeal the Patriot Act?
They will keep troops in Iraq?
They state support for Civil unions and not full gay marriage rights?

Honestly, third parties are about having a different choice. Usually third parties evolve from views NOT being represented. Which of Dean's views are not represented by the current Democratic party? And if any, are they enough to require a third party?


:shrug:

TWL

[JCMach1]

47. Sorry, there are some things bigger than the individual...

If you truly believe what he says about changing the party, you wouldn't even be raising the issue of going third party.

It should be a moot point.

Remember what Reagan managed to do for the R. party after 1976.

[kodi]

49. voting isn't therapy. its chosing between available alternatives

what i see is that you dont like the alternatives while dismissing that you yourself have a responsibility for what alternatives are presented to you.

so its always somebody else's fault, not yours, right?

maybe if you had worked harder perhaps what you really wanted would be one of the alternatives.

maybe if you had spent all your waking hours working for what you wanted, disregarding family and friends for your cause you would have gotten howard dean enough delegates to win the nomination.

but you did not sacrifice that much for your beliefs, did you?

so, you did not give it all you had for your causes, and now you complain that you lost the game because bad people beat you.

if you want to talk the talk of an ideologue, you have to walk the walk of one and that means personal sacrifice.

doing anything less and bitching about the results later is adolescent.

[Monte Carlo]

56. And if Dean doesn't win the nomination and then endorses the one who does?

What then? Dean is a Democrat, and if he has any intelligence at all, he will stay a Democrat because it is the right thing to do. This is going to be a tough and vital election year, and the last thing we need to do is split the vote, and I think Dean would be the first to tell you that.

[oasis]

59. If Dean goes third party he'd be a loser, a liar and a traitor.

[polpilot]

63. Absurd. America was founded by mutiny and rebellion. 'Revolution' is

the proper word. Dean is anti-DLC. anti-Bush-lite and his ideas are opposed by the pro-war, pro-establishment DLC leadership. A litle eye opening is in order to counter the 'sheeple speak'. The party is in disarray and has lost its moorings.

Dean '04...

[oasis]

65. The threat to the Supreme Court is real. The BostonTea Party's irrelevant.

[DianeK]

61. i am with you...

i don't believe the polls and i don't trust the primary results...to hell with all of them, dean gets my vote whether or not i have to write it in myself. the whole damn system is as corrupt as it can be and i will not be manipulated by it...if that is what we have come to then we deserve bush and all the other corrupt so-called leaders in our midst but they will get no help from me

[southerngirlwriter]

64. I'm not afraid to say this:

If Dean goes third party and splits the Dem base, assuring * a second term, then the blood of everyone who will die in a second * term (four more wars) will be on Dean's head, as well as on yours. I couldn't live with myself. Hope you can.

[Stuckinthebush]

68. Dean is not that conceited

He cares about the country and that the Democrats regain control. He won't run third party, he will fight like hell to get the eventual nominee elected.

I will too.

[Habibi]

73. No. Absolutely not.

ABB this year. ABB only. No foolin'. Howard knows that. Even if he drops out, he'll still have this country's best interests at heart.

Damn, I love that guy.

[GreenInNC]

74. AFTER the election

check us out: www.gpus.org

[FeelinGarfunkelly]

76. A simple response from a simple folk

I am 20 years old (#21 is on Prez Day!). I was too young to vote in the 2000 election, even though I probably knew more and cared more about the results than half of the people who did vote. I volunteered for the Gore campaign making phone calls--my first campaign experience--because I truly believed that George W. Bush's election would not just hurt the economy, but because it would disrupt the flow of things in this country. Like many people on this board I remember exactly where I was on November 2, 2000 and the days following, where I had to watch a dim-witted, blood-curdling, smirking, obnoxious cowboy and his snide supporters (not to mention the nasty remarks I received at school for being such a staunch Democrat) celebrate a "victory". On 9/11, in an almost selfish reaction, my first thought was "Oh shit. This is going to give the next election to Bush."

But things have changed since then. We're in a war drummed up by what is obviously false intelligence. I didn't want this war, but we're in it now and need to get out as soon as we can. We've spilt a big glass of milk and need to stop crying about it and clean it up.

Things have changed politically, too. We currently have 7 (6 after tomorrow when Clark drops) very qualified people running for office, and all of them would be better than the alternative. Someone mentioned that Dems need to look further into the future. If I look at the future through the lens of four more years of George W. Bush & Co., I see a world I don't want to see. A supposedly free nation in which women's right to choose is gone. A "free" nation in which gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people's civil rights are severely threatened. A world where the poor keep getting poorer while the rich live off tax cuts and the suffering of the poverty-stricken, not to mention the middle class. Folks, four more years of George W. Bush is EIGHT years too long.

The real opponent uniting us is Bush. We are temporarily divided on our personal biases towards the individual candidates. We've had some laughs with great one-liners, we might have even had some tears as some of our guys (and girl) dropped out. WHEN this primary season is OVER, we should all unite in this front against the Republicans. Each candidates has made a difference in this campaign--Howard Dean & the internet fund-raising is just amazing. $700,000 in about 24 hours?!? That's something to pay attention to. Love him or hate him, John Edwards has definite stumping power and energy, and is the nice-guy candidate--he brought us the pragmatic and positive voice that has been missing from so many campaigns. A four-star general who is "drafted" into running months after everyone else--seemed like a perfect match against Bush for a little while. Dennis Kucinich is perhaps the most honest candidate, and has great ideas. If he's not appointed to a Cabinet position or something the nominee is just nuts. Dick Gephardt, in his monotone delivery, said what all of us probably believe: George W. Bush is a miserable failure. I can't say enough about Al Sharpton. His hosting of SNL was one of the best episodes in a long while. His delivery and one-liners are spectacular, but in the end, sadly, he almost makes himself into the joke. John Kerry is a respectable Senator, and had the oomph in the beginning, got lost in the Dean phase, and then reappeared in Iowa after Gep & Dean beat each other down. Yes, I have some doubts about him, as I do about all of the candidates--surely we all can admit that our chosen candidate is not perfect. But our lack of perfection is a helluva lot better than the GOP's lack of respect for the American people and George W. Bush's lack of anything that would qualify him to be the POTUS.

I guess what I'm trying to say in this post is that even if your guy doesn't win the nomination, don't take it personally. There are bigger, better battles to fight and WIN--like on November 2, 2004. I don't want to have that date ingrained in my mind, and I don't want to feel that ugly feeling of powerlessness that I had in 2000. So please, vote Democrat in 2004. If not for the party, then do it for the children.