My first political hero was George McGovern. I was 15 when he lost to Nixon. I cried myself to sleep Election Night, got up the next morning and put my McGovern button safely away. (Before you all go thinking I am just another white wine/brie/Volvo/East Coast namby pamby liberal; I am not. I come from a long line of Detroit autoworkers, farmers, carpenters, and small businessmen. Even did a tour of duty on Mr. Ford's assembly line myself.)
There are many similarities between the Obama campaign and the McGovern campaign:
- The wars
- The new young voters
- The grassroots organization
- The grassroots fundraising
- The energy and the sense of hope
I also liked Hubert Humphrey, one of the founding fathers of Midwestern liberalism. But I never forgave him for destroying McGovern. Like Clinton he was overwhelmed by a grassroots campaign and had no real chance to win the nomination after losing the California primary - and its winner-take-all delegates. That is unless he changed the rules in midstream and/or got his insider pals to pull a fast one. (They tried, but failed)
Then the fight was over the Illinois and California delegations. Humphrey tried to change the rules that had elected them and unseat their McGovern delegates. Worse. Hubert and his pals launched a smear campaign against McGovern that crippled him for good. All because Hubert wanted so desperately to be President, no matter what damage he caused to the party. Or to a fellow Democrat, liberal, and friend.
This is all described in "The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party" by Bruce Miroff.
Besides that election we lost, for a generation, our liberal bearings and our ability to energize, mobilize, and organize a grassroots campaign. It took us years to get this back. Paul Wellstone, Paul Tsongas, Howard Dean, the netroots, and now more passionate progressive Democrats have worked hard to bring us back. We can seize this moment, keep the Party moving down the road to a future of passion and hope, grassroots and netroots.
Everybody knew what the rules were for Michigan and Florida, everybody agreed to live by the rules. Everybody except Hubert Clinton.
The Clintons, then, stood with McGovern and the grassroots, as did many people who ended up in the Clinton White House. For them to do the same thing to Obama that Hubert did to McGovern is makes it even more disgusting. The same big money. big media, big consultant corporate politics crap they fought against in '72 is now their politics. Corporate crap. Egotistical crap.
You lost, you're done. The rules will not change, you can make no deal. We will not let you Hubert this election. Grace and dignity on the way out, take your ego with you. Please.
I like Hillary. I liked Hubert. But I loved George McGovern and I love Barack Obama. We can get back what we lost.
