I want to share with you some feedback I've received from friends and family who plan to vote for Obama in November. As you read these, think long and hard about how Clinton supporters are feeling right now. See this primary season from their perspective. Try to understand why Clinton supporters might be feeling as offended by our side as we've felt by their side.
I have a progressive friend who goes to all of the peace protests and has environmental sit-ins and all the "far left" kind of stuff, but one of his pet issues is illegal immigration (he believes massive immigration is harmful to the environment). He was furious about the "bitter" comment. He said that it was a direct attack on people who want to fix the immigration problem. These are his words:
If he was just saying we were angry it would be one thing -- and it would be true. That's not what he was saying. Obama was showing his contempt for people who are opposed to free trade and of course said that those who want to reform immigration are irrational and racist. Of course he slammed gun owners too.
He can't get off the hook on this one. I'm actually sick and tired of hearing him bash immigration reformists. He did it in that Phoenix rally, and I have heard him do it many other times. In my mind he said it one too many times.
Let's face it, Obama was telling "us" that we are just a bunch of small minded people from little cities. Harumph to that because I'm not from little cities and I don't enjoy hearing him put me down.
Oh, and another thing -- Obama and Clinton are both cowards. Neither of them are willing to visit Hazleton. They are both showing that they are incapable of leading this country. McCain hasn't visited Hazleton either and I doubt he will, but of course he isn't competing there in a primary.
Obama really screwed up this time. The Wright thing probably should have done him in, but this will at least in PA. If Hillary was credible she could kick his ass over this one, but of course all we can say is she was smart enough not to be so elitist.
If the Democrats were smart (and of course they aren't) they would ditch both of these losers for somebody that could beat McCain.
This guy is a lifelong Democrat and an Obama supporter. Ok, so he had a short hiatus in the Green Party, but he's back in the Democratic Party, and he's here to stay. He even supports Obama enough to actually volunteer for the campaign. But the "bitter" comments pissed him off. Royally. I don't see what he saw, but his feelings are legitimate.
This is what one of my relatives said about Obama's bitter comments and Reverend Wright:
Obama said religion is a crutch, that god isn't real, just a crutch for people to cling to. He said religion is like a rag doll or a blanket.
He is not a religious man. How could he say what he said if he didn't feel some of that himself. Some of the people he was talking about are very devout, and he didn't consider any value to that.
His church does not practice the same Christianity as most churches in America. Definitely not white churches.
She didn't see that as racist. She sees Reverend Wright as the one who is racist. Again, I don't see what she sees, and I disagree with her whole heartedly, but her feelings are legitimate.
I talked to a couple of young girls at the local university a couple of months ago, and they were supporting Clinton because they want to see a woman in the white house. They believe that Clinton has the most experience and that this political season was nothing more than the men pushing out a more qualified woman. They see an upstart young man with little experience trumping an older, more experienced woman, and they feel the personal sting of a woman defending one of her own. Again, I don't see what they see -- I believe Obama is the better candidate, but their feelings are legitimate.
A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with a younger couple just starting out. My twenty five year old friend has never voted before and is planning to vote for Obama in November. She did not vote in the primary. Her boyfriend recently finished a stint in the military and grew up in a small, poverty-stricken town. He is an hourly manager for a large retail change and had just come from taking a psychological profiling test, which his companies gives to employees looking to move into salaried management.
There was a question on his exam that asked about "the ivory tower way of thinking," and he didn't know what "ivory tower" meant. I explained it to him, and the conversation immediately turned to Obama. Something clicked with the half dozen or so people at the table: Elitism, Obama. No one prompted it, the transition in conversation happened automatically, naturally.
How many phrases are there to describe "the liberal elite"? California liberals. Elite liberal media. Affluent liberals. Latte liberals. Berkleyites (I'm not even sure how to spell that one). Damn hippies. Old hippy. Socialist. Commie. Bleeding heart. Tax'n'spend liberal. Do-gooder.
Heck, a lot of people think Edwards lost because he was reduced to nothing more than a hair joke. One $400 hair cut, and he was a populist no more.
In some parts of the country, liberal is its own pejorative. Imagine how thrilled Democrats in Idaho must have been to find out this year that other Democrats do exist in their state. I saw one person on the MyBO site (i.e., an Obama supporter) say something to the effect of, "I thought 'Democrat in Idaho' was a mythical creature."
Even given all of this, even given our own resentment of the pejorative label of the word liberal, most of us have an image in our mind of "the enlightened liberal". You know what I'm talking about. The liberal who knows what's good for you. The liberal who wants to save you from yourself. The liberal who wants to take what you've earned and spread it around for everybody to share. Yeah, that (mythical) person.
If you've read this far, how are you feeling right about now? Are you feeling resentful? A little picked on?
Hillary supporters have been called racist, elitist, old timers, deluded, establishment, old, uneducated, poor, uninformed, low info, ignorant... oh the list goes on. They see Obama supporters (Kossacks) looking down their noses at them. Whether you do it or not, whether you mean to or not, that's how they feel. As Keith Olberman would say, true or not, they see it.
We saw an opportunity to change the face of American politics. They saw an opportunity to finally put someone in office who would really fight for us. We're not that different. We want a fighter, too. They want a change agent, too. We want the same policies (mostly). We just saw different ways of reaching the same goals.
We saw many of the Clinton attacks on our candidate as racist or race baiting. We saw many of the Clinton attacks as crossing a line that ought not be crossed by a fellow Democrat. But just like we didn't see what they saw, they didn't see what we saw. Should it have been clear to them? Sometimes I think it should have been -- but I also know that what we didn't see, they thought should have been clear to us.
Our fellow Democrats who support Clinton didn't see what we saw. They saw a person who was just fighting for all of us, someone who was willing to do what it takes to get ordinary people back at the top of the agenda in Washington, DC. That's not what I saw in Hillary, but their perspective is not less legitimate than our perspective. We saw stubbornness, they saw strength.
We should agree to disagree on Hillary's tactics. In short, we should let it go -- both sides. I think wmtriallawyer is also correct that we should not swing the pendulum too far in the other direction -- being gracious does not mean we should capitulate. We do not have to bow to demands for monetary payoffs, veep considerations, and the like. We also should not stand idly by while Clinton makes her final (and maybe even most desperate) attacks on Obama. We should recognize the difference between campaigning against Clinton and attacking Clinton supporters.
I don't think that Hillary's supporters are racist. I don't think that many of them are the low info voters that the media makes them out to be. I think they've been around the political system, and they have given up on what they see as a softer approach. They're cynical, and they want a fighter, not a negotiator. Instead of beating them down and kicking them out of our tent (thus making them more cynical), let's open our arms and bring them into our tent.
Are all Clinton supporters good or good for the Democratic Party? Of course not. But not all Obama supporters are good or good for the Democratic Party either.
Obama supporters, don't let some bad Clinton apples turn you against all Clinton supporters. And Clinton supporters, don't let some bad Obama apples turn you against all Obama supporters. Most of us are good people who the same shared goals. And don't forget that even good Democrats might say some bad things in the heat of the primary (I know I've been guilty).
We know that the divisions are deep. Feelings have hardened. But we also have more in common than we have differences. Let us focus on our common goals and dreams for our country and the world. Let's focus on what our country will lose if John McCain becomes our president.
Obama supporters, if we cannot forgive the Clintons for the wrongs we perceive from them, let's try to set the Clintons aside for now. Focus on the race at hand -- the general election. Focus on our fellow democrats who share our dreams, our goals, our wishes for the future of our country and the world.
Have empathy. Remember how we would be feeling if Obama, the person we believe is the last best chance at getting this country back on track, had lost the nomination. That's exactly how many Clinton supporters are feeling right now. And for every grievance we feel, there is a grievance felt by Clinton supporters. True or not, we feel it. True or not, they feel it.
Obama supporters, I would like to ask you to post a positive comment today -- here or somewhere else, it doesn't matter -- post a comment that either says one nice thing about Clinton's supporters (do not just say that they're tenacious) or describes one goal that both sides have in common (don't just say defeating McCain). Be substantive. We truly are all on the same team.
Clinton supporters, I hope you'll keep an open mind about us, too. We'd really like to hear from you. I do hope that the divisions between us can be over, if not today, soon. Tell us what you believe it will take to heal the divides. I don't know how well your requests will be received, but I think it's time for us to start the discussion.
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