There are a number of comments and diaries (both here and at other blogs) that have prompted this diary.
But the biggest reason is that there are a handful of extremists on both sides of the Dem battle that have taken over the conversation. A handful of people who, for whatever reason, feel it is okay to smear our two Dem candidates.
I have gone on record here already as saying I voted for Obama in the CA primary. This came after a great deal of personal debate. I was planning to vote for Hillary until a couple of days before our primary (and honestly, at this point, I forget what the catalyst was for making the switch). My wife voted for Hillary. And guess what? We don't hate one another. I don't attack her for voting for the corporatist triangulator. She doesn't attack me for voting for the empty suit.
And why not?
Because neither candidate is guilty as charged. And because my wife and I more concerned with the big picture than in scoring points.
It's only the extremists who hand their very existence on tearing down the other candidate.
There are millions of voters around the country who don't spend their hours on the blogs trying to smear the opposition. They are too busy trying to work two jobs, pay their gas bill, get their kids ready for school, do their laundry, find the cheapest way to get to work, pay their pet's vet bills, or just get six hours of sleep before they have to lather, rinse and repeat again the next morning.
It is those people that I care about.
The reason why? I. Am. A. Democrat.
I don't care about the poster who wants to smear Obama because of his pastor.
The reason why? I. Am. A Democrat.
I don't care about the poster who wants to smear Clinton because her husband.
The reason why? I. Am. A Democrat.
I don't care about the "liberal" blog owner who wants to post Karl Rove's words without comment in order to attack another candidate, or the "liberal" blog owner who wants to post vile, racist innuendo about the opposing candidate, of the "liberal" pundit who wants to pressure one candidate into ending the primary process before all states have had their say.
The reason why? I. Am. A. Democrat.
So... what do I care about?
I care about the families who have been torn apart by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - the men and women who have come home with mental or physical wounds and those who have had to bury loved ones.
I care about the Katrina survivors who are still suffering from the hateful HUD practices and the incompetence of far too many FEMA officials.
I care about the family and friends of Nataline Sarkisyan and all of the others who have been damaged by the reprehensible healthcare system in these United Sates of America.
I care about the families who are cracking under the pressue of this country's economic woes - from the mortgage crisis to the price of gas.
I care about the candidates that are running states races because of Howard Dean's Fifty State Strategy and I want to see them be swept into office in order to finally affect some change in this country.
I care about the composition of the Supreme Court and worry that my daughters my have their reproductive freedoms challenged if the Dem extremists stay home in November and enable John McCain to stack the SCOTUS with justices that repeal Roe v Wade.
I care about these people because...
I. Am. A. Democrat.
I worry that John McCain - a man who doesn't recognize the difference between Shi'a and Sunni, and doesn't understand that condoms DO prevent AIDS - will continues Goerge W. Bush's sloganistic War on Terrorism and his sectarian War on Science.
I will vote for the Democratic candidate in November.
And I will not call for the race to end until all remaining states have had their chance to vote in this primary.
The reason why? I. Am. A. Democrat.
And I will not be part of a smear campaign directed at Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
I will focus my efforts and my anger at John W. McCain.
The reason why? I. Am. A. Democrat.