My third and last OP today: If Edwards goes ahead and endorses Clinton...

[Bucky]

I say, good on ya, Senator. Clinton pitched her case to Edwards and then Obama pitched his case to Edwards. If Clinton prevails in the "Edwards Primary," I congratulate her. She's fighting a tough smart campaign and it doesn't bother me one bit that a fellow Democrat decides to support my candidate's opponent.

This is still America. And we here in DU are still part of the Democratic Party. We pick our sides, we fight like hell for our choices, we win or we lose, and then we come together when its over.

I read in another thread today I read an Edwards supporter saying he feared Edwards had sold out or cut a deal. In politics, there is nothing wrong with cutting a deal. The very purpose of a nominating convention is cutting deals. Edwards, like Clinton and Obama, is a politician. If he can't cut a deal, he sucks at his job. John Edwards does not suck at his job.

Another poster in a recent thread this evening accused Edwards of being a hell of an actor if he can endorse Clinton. If Edwards is just an actor, then a lot of his supporters are chumps for falling for his routine. But I saw Edwards and he's a different man than he was in 2004. It's not an act; it's a mission that he's fought for and done well at for his whole life. If, in his judgment, Clinton is who he prefers, then the credit is to them both.

We live in an age of dumbed down politics; and you and I meet here tonight in a medium that promotes responsibility-free rhetoric. Any old mook with a keyboard can pop his nose in here and vent his angriest, ugliest, most irresponsible, antisocial impulses on a discussion board and it appears equal to the posting of the most engaged and thoughtful political activist. Not surprisingly, a good number of the postings end up making the place feel like a pissing contest.

The anger you see being vented is not anger at you and it's not anger at Clinton or Obama, either. It's projection; it's anger at society, at personal woes, and mostly it's anger we should all feel at an ultimately unjust world. And behind that anger is fear... it's the fear we all feel that our democracy is slipping away from us, that our country--and therefor we its citizens--have the blood of countless Iraqis on our hands, that our world is being altered by callous bastards, that the opportunities our parents' generation left us will not be available to our kids because of the damage Bush and his corporate masters are doing to our economy. We have so much to be afraid off.

DU, and free speech in general, can help us vent that anger. So all the Clinton bashing and Obama bashing posts don't bother me. I know what they are. They are the heat and light of Hope trying to kick its way out of the shell of Fear that restrains it. If someone's gotta call my candidate shallow and disingenuous, I don't mind. Come November, she'll do what's right. If someone's gotta call Clinton a corporatist, I don't mind, cause she'll do what's right too. It's okay that we argue now; arguing is what citizens do when they care.

That's democracy for ya. I don't mind that either. In my heart, I know that once we've wrung out our shirt tails and toweled off our hair, 99% of us will leave this pissing contest and go vote for the Democratic nominee in November. Yes, even the silly folks who say they can't vote for the other candidate will do different in meatspace than they say in cyberspace. Because in the end, Barack Obama really is a candidate with experience and Hillary Clinton really is a candidate of change and hope.

I have my preferences, but all the Democrats who voted for someone else are not idiots. Voting isn't even the bottom line in our way of life. Democracy is only about 30% voting for the right person and 70% lobbying them and bitching at them till they do the right thing. I'm convinced anyone who our party nominates will be someone we'll have a decent chance at talking to. After eight years of wilful idiocy, how can things not get better?

Bucky Rea
Houston Texas

[LisaM]

1. My family are all Edwards turned Clinton

We would welcome the endorsement.

[MadBadger]

2. And here I always thought you were a fellow badger.

[Bucky]

4. I'm a teacher. I only "badger" teenagers.

[griffi94]

7. you must be in wisconsin

i lived in madison for a few months in the early 90s.....at the end of state street...in the union building is a bar i think it's called the ratskellar locals called it the rat...this was the year wisconsin beat ucla in the rose bowl....the badgers were on a real roll that year and i was playing a set at the rat....having just got to town i asked a couple of locals what would be a good thing to say to introduce myself to the crowd....they told me to just mention the badgers.....i walk out in front of the crowd....introduced myself....and being new to wisconsin....said....how about those beavers....beavers..badgers...nutria...they're all just big rodents to me...

[MadBadger]

8. As long as you didnt say gophers.

[griffi94]

9. hahaha

no the beavers thing got a laugh....a gophers thing would have gotten me killed.......all minnesota girls have sue for their middle names....lol....are you still in madison

[stevenleser]

15. "But if I kill all the golfers, they will lock me up and throw the key away"

[hfojvt]

22. that woulda just been funny

it's not like the Gophers are a threat on the football field any more than they are in the forest.

[bigtree]

3. great sentiment

thanks for expressing it

[eleny]

5. Howard Zinn even referred to a Kerry presidency as a little ledge to stand on

Something from the 2004 way back machine since it was during his Air America interview with Garofolo.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

6. Peace be with you all.

Well said.

[goodgd_yall]

10. Beautiful post

Did anyone ever tell you that you sound like Woody Guthrie? I was seeing Woody in my mind's eye as I was reading your OP.

Or Preacher Casey (played by John Carradine) in "The Grapes of Wrath."

[Bucky]

11. Wow....

You're making me blush. I love Guthrie... I make my AP US history kids listen to him when we study the Depression.

He was no handwringer, that's for sure. We got too many handwringers on DU these days. I just want a few of them to appreciate the gifts we have in these amazing leaders.

[Yael]

12. K&R

[billyoc]

13. I agree. Likewise if Sen. Clinton wins the nomination.

Even if super delegates are used to overturn the pledged delegates, much as I dislike the DLC and all their works, that's the system we have in place, if I don't like it, I can work to change it, but I'm not going to whine about it.

[Bucky]

absolutely. and... GO UNION!!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

30. Oh fuck, all you have to do is say "John McCain" and I'm onboard. nt.

[varelse]

14. Damned good post

Here's my favorite part, too:

"Democracy is only about 30% voting for the right person and 70% lobbying them and bitching at them till they do the right thing"

Sometimes you're not even given the chance to vote for the "right" person (for you), but you can still vote for the "best available" person... and then, win or lose, the real work of democracy begins :)

[autorank]

16. He'll endorse who he thinks will win. It's all part of his act, ...

... which is what he's been up to from the start.

Kucinich wouldn't sign the Texas loyalty oath because it might have forced him to support someone who supported the war (the oath demands anyone running in the TX primary pledge to support the Dem nominee for president).

Edwards left his grand and glorious neo-populist campaign by saying, he'd support the whoever wins the nomination.

I'm calling bull shit on him. He was a shill from the start... co sponsor of the Iraq war resolution, yea on the Patriot Act and 2001 Bankruptcy Bill. Give me a break. This makes perfect sense.

[Bucky]

18. So Edwards is all opportunistic with no values or standards at all, right?

Horsefeathers. Edwards is a pol, but you're calling millions of Democrats complete dupes if you think his reluctance to endorse Obama is only about boosting his own career.

[Inspired]

17. I appreciate your comments.

John Edwards will do what is right based on a lot more information on these candidates than we have access to. I am hoping he will endorse Obama but if he endorses Clinton, I will take a second look at her.

[Cha]

19. That's a very nice, well

written OP, Bucky, but that's not the way I feel at all. I believed Edwards when he said he had, in essence, changed and went about promoting his populace message, especially for poverty and apologizing for his YEA vote on the IWR and said it was Wrong. My issue is the bloody, deadly war ON Iraq and hilary's a part of that ..I don't care what lip service she's saying now.

If Edwards comes out and throws his support behind the potemkin village candidate then all that he said was for naught in my book.

I just came back online after an RR so I know why the speculation of why he would consider hilary..but since you're writing your thoughts on "what if"..I'll do a "what if", too.

[Auntie Bush]

21. So why is Hillary responsible for that and no one else that voted the same way?

"My issue is the bloody, deadly war ON Iraq and hilary's a part of that ..I don't care what lip service she's saying now."

She's the only one you hate when they were all equally responsible? Is that fair? Just because she didn't apologize is the same words as you want? She did apologize in her own words...not yours... You know full well ALL the Dems are sorry for that vote...and no one is less responsible that the other.

Obama doesn't deserve kudos because he didn't hear the same intelligence report, he didn't have to be accused of being soft on terrorism if he voted no. Not one of those who voted yes would have ever even had the opportunity to be running now if they had voted no. Don't you remember how Kerry was being crucified for one of his anti war votes? He didn't dare not vote yes.

Frankly I believe that if Obama had been there he would have voted yes too. He doesn't get a free pass from me. Hillary shouldn't get all the blame and hatred and none of the others...besides her vote was actually a drop in the bucket. Let's be fair and rational...not bias. Also remember she didn't vote to go to war...she voted to give the lying son of a bush* the authority he needed to get the inspectors back into Iraq. Bush betrayed the congress and our country by not going back to the UN. He's the evil one! Save your anger for the one who deserve it...not a fellow Democrat.

[Oskie]

29. But Obama campaigned for gung-ho pro-war Lieberman in '06!

Back when he wasn't in the Senate he spoke out agains the IW but once he got in the Senate when he had something to low, he went out and campaigned for Bush buddy pro-war Lieberman. Don't you remember back in 2001-2003...even I, a lifelong yellow dog Democrat, believed Colin Powell when he said Saddam had WMD. It took a while to learn that Bush et al was lying to everyone and cherry picking the intel. But by 2006...it was damn clear wasn't it. So why'd Obama campaign for pro-war Joe?

[andym]

20. Projection

I think you hit the nail on the head. Some posters here seem to project their anger at one of the candidates. I'm wondering how they would behave if they were alone in a room with them.

[LostinVA]

23. Excellent OP

I wish some of the Obama (and Hillary) supporters would take a lesson from you.

[hfojvt]

24. that's just you though

I still feel that if Edwards endorses Clinton, then I am sorry that I every supported him.

So I still feel that he won't.

[Cha]

27. At least you're consistant

with the way Edwards presented himself..I'm hoping he really did change. I would like to keep believing that.

[Beacool]

25. Well, count me as the 1% who will not vote for Obama.

It was a difficult decision, but if Hillary doesn't win the nomination I'm staying home this November. I have voted for Democratic candidates in the past who I knew weren't ideal, but I thought that they would be better than the Republican choice. This time around I don't care anymore. We deserve the leaders that we get.

[thevoiceofreason]

26. Bucky - I didn't know you were a Houstonian!

Have you signed up to be an Obama precinct captain? Act fast, slots are running out! Seriously, come down to the HQ. It's fun as hell.

[Johnny__Motown]

28. Anything that helps Lobbyists get a return on their investment is a bad thing for all of us

I can only assume Sen. Edwards knows that too.