Seriously. That's the day I am scheduled for open heart surgery to replace a congenitally defective aortic valve. So I probably won't even get the results of the day's events (or at least won't remember them! until several days later -- a real hardship for a political junkie like myself.
To replace the malfunctioning part, the surgeon will stop my heart (and put me on a heart lung machine). When he's done, he'll reboot me. All should be well but just in case it isn't, I want to explain why I voted for Edwards in the Maryland primary.
I've been around a while -- marched on Washington in the 60s, decided to give the democratic convention in Chicago in '68 a miss at the last minute, voted for McGovern and even for Dukakis (yikes!). I've participated in my share of lost causes (equal rights amendment, anyone?) but am generally something of a pragmatist especially as I have grown older and seen more great ideas and ideals shrivel up in our two-party machine system. So why did I stick with Edwards?
David Mizner, over at MyDD, has a bunch of good reasons (though not quite the 10 he announces in his title). Several of them speak to me. His candidacy:
- Keeps pressure on others to articulate progressive positions
- Bucks the mainstream media and chattering classes
- Keeps Edwards' message -- on taxes, unions, trade agreements, the environment -- in circulation in the blogosphere and (in the cracks and crevices) in the MSM
For me, though, the main thing this primary season is to go with my heart and my head, not just with the eventual winner. I'm one of those progressive dems who will enthusiastically support the eventual nominee. I see things to like, and even love, about HRC and BHO. In terms of identity politics, I'm an aging woman (daughter, wife, mother) but I am also a doting auntie to my biracial nephew. I had no trouble welcoming my african-american brother-in-law into my family even when my parents at first could not cope. So in my family's conversations, we get all the identities in there -- even southern white males (which sort of describes my husband who was born in Maryland, which is actually below the Mason-Dixon line).
I don't think identity politics gets us where we want to go. I don't think any campaign has been super pure. I didn't and don't like the way Obama has talked about Reagan and the excesses of the 60s and 70s. I don't like the way Hillary and Bill have behaved lately. BUT in the end, we will have a left-leaning candidate to rally behind.
My big fear is that we're going to become so acrimonious as we winnow out the winner that a lot of people are going to fail to rally behind him or her. And that really would break my heart.