Hillary Not VP -- No Time to Quit Pressuring the DNC
Hillary will be the keynote speaker at the DNC which means she is not the VP pick and this is Obama's way of throwing a bone to her supporters and neutralizing the efforts to pressure him to pick her as VP. It's interesting that the keynote speech given by Obama in 2004 was the true beginning of his political ambitions and that is where he is placing Hillary -- back to the beginning. Certainly it is an honor to be keynote speaker, but it is an unfortunate compromise. I hope we can push the DNC to include Hillary's agenda, especially health care, which is sorely lacking in Obama's platform. I think the only reason Hillary has been tossed this bone is because of the continuous pressure placed on the DNC by the PUMA groups following the suspension of her campaign. Don't kid ourselves that she would have any influence or weight in the DNC process if all of us 18 million voters had turned over and followed her "request" to support Obama. If the dozens of PUMA groups do not continue pressuring the DNC, Hillary and her agenda will be placed on the back burner and women once again will play the very-well-rehearsed role of "supporters" rather than "leaders."
It is so clear to me how the Dems could have had a very solid 16 years in the white house with Hillary 2008-2016 and Obama 2016-2020. With Obama in the white house, we can look forward to another one-term failure and the Republicans taking over in 2012. This is going to be a very difficult 4 years with the economy performing so badly, and I am certain Obama will be a huge disappointment.
How about a bet? If Obama wins in November, guess which party will nominate a woman for the presidency in 2012? -- it won't be the Democrats.
I wrote an article for the HuffPost as a citizen journalist. My assignment was to attend one of the "Listening" sessions organized by Obama's campaign. The meetings were intended for citizens to provide suggestions for the Dem platform. I didn't see any Hillary delegates there, but they may have been at other sessions. The session I attended was blatantly an Obama fundraiser event and the "suggestions" that were being promoted supported Obama's current platform. Health care was mentioned in such a vague way as to say, "No matter what you do, we support your health care plan." When is all this "Change" going to happen? A "committee" of Obama supporters will "review" all suggestions and make the final submission, which I am sure will not include anything at all about condemning government spying on private citizens.
This is really not a good time to blindly support the DNC. Hillary is a voice for a lot of people and, without that voice, we are just a more liberal wing of the Republican party, as Obama has so clearly demonstrated to all of us over the past several weeks.
If you can go to Denver in August to join the demonstrations, please go. If you are a delegate, please hold out for Hillary. I have heard people say it is a waste of time. Gosh, I can't imagine a better use of anyone's time than to stand up for what's right rather than lay down in defeat for what is wrong.
Pass it on. Hillary should be included in the nomination and not just as a symbolic measure, but in the balloting and as a nominee. We should expect the DNC to do the right thing, and we should do the right thing as individuals.