I’m sorry guys, I don’t really write diaries here, but I am an often reader, sometimes post comments. Not a very active member by any means. But, this whole latest inflammation of tensions between the Bernie and HRC camps have gotten me a little riled up, not least because of the shortsightedness of everyone on BOTH sides of the divide. We’re Democrats, damn it!
Let me first state, I am a Sanders supporter. I embrace his positions on most things. Frankly, if I were to describe my own political views, I would consider myself a “Northern European Centrist,” which of course means I’m a “Liberal Extremist” in American terminology. Not my terminology, but that’s what “they” would call me.
This is what I believe. I believe HRC represents Business As Usual. A Sanders Presidency represents an Opportunity for a course correction. A Republican Presidency represents the end of Modern Industrial Civilization.
Business as usual is better than World War 3.
The biggest threat we all face as a species collectively is Global Warming, but frankly that train has already sailed. That needed to be addressed sometime during Carter’s second term — as he tried to do during his first. Alas. The planet is already dead! It’s too late to save it! All we can do is pick up the pieces, and who we have at the helm in this process matters tremendously. HRC is tremendously better than any Republican, as HRC doesn’t deny basic science or logic. We can at least have faith that decisions requiring some sort of grounding in scientific background will be made based on scientific merit under an HRC presidency.
We need to preserve as much of the industrial system as possible to make it possible to engineer a solution to global warming. Keep as much of it in place to manufacture a transition away from petrochemicals and fossil fuels. This is about keeping industrial and scientific knowledge intact to keep the human race alive to come up with some sort of strategy to keep a critical mass of the human race, and enough biodiversity of other species alive to ensure that we can all survive 6-12 Celsius of warming.
We can’t very well do that if the entire industrial base is destroyed and ransacked, which I can see happening under the Trump and Cruz presidencies. Hold your nose. The very future of the civilization may be at stake in this election.
Not to mention, we elect a Republican, we lose the Supreme Court for more than a generation. That alone is a terrifying prospect when you have the current court filled with the ilk of Scalia, Alito, Thomas, et al. You’d have more of those types on the court. And there goes Roe v Wade, there goes any civil rights progress, for more than a generation.
HRC is not the ideal candidate in my opinion. But, are you people seriously going to sit out the election and let the Republicans hijack the destiny of this country? Let madmen into the White House? We have to stop this, even if the alternative means we have to vote for someone we don’t like.
I don’t like HRC. She’s the consummate insider. The dirty DC politician. But, if she is the person on the ballot in November, I will vote for her, if only to slow the descent into insanity that this country has been on. Bernie would be a lovely shot of much-needed thorazine or haldol (and before you start criticizing the comparison, I have 10mg of zyprexa in me as I type this, so I’m qualified to make it!) into the political system of this country, and restore sanity and calm, especially in our much tarnished international image abroad. HRC will not be able to ride into the White House with as much goodwill, and certainly won’t be able to build bridges to the other side the way Sanders could.
But still… she’s better than “make the sand glow” Cruz or “ban the muslims” Trump! Jeebus! They’d start World War III! That prospect truly terrifies me — the fact that we might ramp up to a real war, that I might no longer enjoy cheap petroleum because of the idiot antics of the Republicans, and of course the fact that they’d leave you to die if you don’t have a productive job and/or wealth. Hillary might leave you to die, too. But at least I’d feel better about my vote. /rantoff