For weeks now we have seen diary after diary about the candidates and many of them consisted of little more than bashing the other supporters choice. Beyond that, in my opinion, this type of diary can reflect badly on the supporters of the candidate that is being promoted.
At this point I feel pretty strongly that we stand a very good chance of winning the White House in 2008. So I am not suggesting that the petty fighting over the candidates are going to cost us the election, but rather that it may very well cost us what most liberal Democrats claim to want.
For my reasons for that statement follow me below.
Hardly a day goes by that we do not have reason to scream and complain about how our values are being betrayed by even many of our own party in Washington, especially with our two leaders in Congress. Even with a Democratic President in the White House can we expect our Congress to all of a sudden become more attentive to what those who elected them want?
I contend that they will not unless we force them to do so. To back up my case I suggest looking at how they have caved on every major issue since taking the majority in both the House and the Senate. Some may argue that it is because they have too thin a majority, but I submit that it is more because they lack the courage and they are too beholden to big business. Otherwise there are too many cases where things could have been blocked or changed since the start of this Congress.
If I am correct then there is not much in the way of great changes coming after Jan 2009 unless we the voters demand it and do what must be done to make sure it happens.
We can not do that if we continue to elect those who follow the DLCers and listen to the advise and political consultants that have shoved us headlong into this mess over the past couple decades. We can no longer afford to keep moving to the right if we expect any real legislation on those biggest issues that we want drastic changes in.
We can not move closer to the right and get the kind of universal health care we want.
We can not move right and get completely out of Iraq and stop the constant push for wars and control over other nations either big or small.
We can not mover further to the right and get true equal rights for all citizens.
We can not move further to the right and get true fair taxes.
We can not move further to the right and truly support the unions and the working class here in America.
In fact almost any progressive or liberal agenda that you wish to name can not be attained by moving further to the right.
While we have a field of Presidential candidates that are each and every one far better than any Republican that has thrown their hat into the ring, we do not have any one candidate that is perfect on every issue which we face. That leaves us with the task of trying to elect the best out of those from our party who are running.
We can not do that on their personality only, nor their past record only, nor can we do that based upon how much money they have raised.
We can not do that based upon catching them in a foot in mouth situation, because given enough time they will all have experienced one or more of these.
We have to make that choice after some very careful consideration of where the candidate has been on these issues in actions bot in public service and in other ways, as well as where their vision hopes to take the countryt over the next four or eight years.
We are in the unique position of have been able to follow all those in the running for a considerable time now and if we truly want the changes we claim we do, we have had time to formulate much of our thinking regarding which one offers us a President who will work to really make the big changes in how things work now and will work the hardest and smartest to bring those gains which we want.
So while you are trashing those who happen to not be the one you support, be sure that you have done your homework well in regards to why they really would not be our best President.
I did not say do your homework well in regards to who has the most money or the biggest organization etc. Rather which one including even among those with the least amount of money, would actually serve the Liberal Democratic party and the nation the best.
that is not as easy as one may think unless you put aside all personal reasons as well as all the so called conventional wisdom reasons fed us by the MSM.
If we elect a Democratic President and we fail to move this nation toward our goals in a huge way over the next eight years, it will be no ones faul but our own. It will be because we failed in doing our homework and we elected the wrong person to lead us.
If that happens we have no one to blame but ourselves and that possibility is very real since there is a big difference in the priorities of those even in our own party who seek the highest office we have.
With only short days left before the first votes which can have a major effect on the choices which we will have, I would hope that we would all step back from the candidate bashing and start doing some real homework.
It may be a little too late, but I certainly think that taking our country back from the Corporations and the Neocon war mongers is worth it.
Happy new Year all and lets work for the best that our country can be in the years to come.