Well I feel I have a lot of criticism of Hillary, but would vote for her over Mitt Romney. Even though I don't trust her. Even though she seems out of touch with the base. Even though she's a NAFTA loving neoliberal.
That's my choice. The question I pose here is, "How would you vote if it was Ron Paul with the GOP nomination?" Do you stick to partisanship, or vote for someone who shares more common ground with you philisophically? The more I here this guy slam the Neoconservative cabal, the more it becomes clear that I have way more in common with him. He believes in capitalism instead of corporatism, ending all "free trade agreements", closing our foreign bases, abolishing the federal reserve, killing corporate welfare along with the millitary industrial complex, immediate withdrawl, personal responsibility, I could go on.
So I don't agree with him on universal healthcare. It's still better for my conscience and my country than another corporate socialist like Hillary. So that's my suggestion. But don't worry. The republican leadership and their corporate allies in the media are having him removed from future debates despite the fact that he's won almost every one thus far. And during the straw poll in Iowa, the Diebold voting machines were "recallibrated" after it was apparent he was winning.
I suppose that is the ultimate focus of this diary; my frustration with people's perception of popularity in place of standing tall on their ideals. Honestly, I don't believe the polls that have Clinton ahead. How could even the mainstream idiots in the dem ranks (netroots excluded) who don't follow anything but soundbites vote for a candidate that is so polarizing? And not we have results from republican polls showing Obama with 5% amongst republicans. Surely it's better to view this as the result of a superior message and a superior candidate.
If Ron Paul's success against the neocons has shown anything it's that there's a lot of common sense people in the republican ranks who we as dem reformers need to be reaching out to. Does this mean going against the dem elite and standing up against corporate globalization and corporate socialism? Yes. We can reach out to libertarians and true fiscal conservatives on many issues.
Consider even on this site how far out of touch Markos is with the rank and file. Do a search on stories over the past 3 years for the term "WTO" and you'll find only one article out of the five listed that actually criticize this institution. Now run the search on diaries and you get an entirely new picture.
Anyway, I know how much discussion of ideas like these are despised on this site. I humbly await the stinging whips of your trollratings. Perhaps if I bite down hard and pretend I'm Bruce Willis, I'll look a little cooler while it happens.