Of course you don't remember McGovern. Why? Because he didn't get elected.
The old lady will try one last time...
We took over the Democratic Party in 1972. Yup. A bunch of us lefty, radical, we've-had-enough-of-having-our-rights-trampled-and-enough-of-your-effing-war people took over the party.
We got our candidate. Left the whole party trembling so hard that eventually they came up with Super Delegates so we couldn't do it again.
We got McGovern. We got our pure candidate. We put our hearts and souls into campaigning for him.
We got creamed. Nixon won by an unprecedented landslide because the rest of the country couldn't stomach our leftwing purity and ideals.
So once again, and for the VERY LAST TIME, I'm asking you to wake up and smell the coffee. You want ANYTHING to be changed, you have to have a candidate who can effectively draw votes from a broad segment, and who has the savvy to know how to finagle the corridors of power.
Sorry, Obama's no saint, but he's not running for Pope. He's already said he's going to reach out to Repugs and Indies and find ways to compromise. He's ALREADY SAID HE WILL CRIMINALLY INVESTIGATE AND IF POSSIBLE PROSECUTE all the things you're so upset about.
What more do you want? We fell on our swords in 1972. It didn't make things any better. It took the courts to make things better, and this time we don't have the votes on the Supreme Court.
But I guess nothing less than total immolation will satisfy you. So write Obama, tell him to fall on his sword so you can feel ideologically superior, and then get ready for McSame.
Oh, and you might ask some of the people who are screaming that lawsuits are the only way we can protect our rights if they happen to be trial lawyers, because too many of them sound like it. They can't stand the thought of this gravy train being snatched away.
Or maybe you just like being insurgents, because insurgents well never be responsible for anything. They can just keep bitching until death do us part. And criticism is so easy. So much easier than actually getting involved in the ugly sausage-making business where you have to watch your back and your step with every breath you take.
Oh, I know there are sensible people here, and thank God for them. It's always a joy to find them. But then the insurgents show up, screaming "The whole pie NOW or nothing."
Me, I'm going to get back to working FOR Obama. I've been down this road before and I know where it leads.
EDIT A confession. I'm an old woman and I get crotchety at times, but this morning I woke up at 4 AM with a fever, aching from head to foot. By five I knew there was no way even Tylenol would help me sleep, so I came to my desk and turned on the Internet.
You'd think, wouldn't you, that with a half-dozen or more daily news feeds from around the world, I could have preoccupied myself with something. Instead I cam to Kos.
Well, a couple of comments on another few threads, and my usually longer fuse proved to be very short indeed this morning.
But the point of this is to say: Thanks to all the Kossacks who took time to comment here. I've learned a lot, I've enjoyed the discussion, and whether we agree or not, your opinions are welcome.
Now I think I'll hike my cranky self off to someplace more comfy. If it exists. The Tylenol still isn't helping.