redblueamerica.com

I am a great believer in the democratic process, but am quick losing my faith with the Democratic Party.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not about to jump into the McCain camp, nor am I going to be one of those disenchanted Democrats who will just choose not to vote.

No matter who wins the nomination, I am going to wholeheartedly support their candidacy. This election means way too much. A McCain presidency would:

* Imbalance the Supreme Court for the next 40 years

* Leave us in Iraq for the next 50 years

* Put our country into the kind of deficit that would take 25 years to recover from

That’s a whole lot of impact from a four-year term.

That’s why I feel so strongly that the only way to defeat McCain is to start engaging him in battle immediately.

So long as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama clash on a daily basis, both candidates suffer and McCain is the beneficiary.

That’s why I’m hoping and praying that Hillary drops out of the race following Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary. Though Hillary is likely to win in Pennsylvania, the margin will be so small as to not make any significant change in Obama’s delegate lead.

By withdrawing from the race on Wednesday (or even Tuesday night), Hillary can re-establish herself as a major figure in the Democratic Party and undo much of the damage this campaign has done to her political reputation. By taking the high road and making the right choice, Hillary can become part of the solution and not be the heart of the problem.

Sadly, this isn’t about to happen. Hillary is in this until the bitter end and the end will be bitter indeed.

Hillary’s vicious and unfounded attacks on Obama have done little to help her csampaign, but has provided fodder for the McCain campaign. This week, she turned her ire to Moveon.org. Moveone.org has done more to help the Democratic Party’s chances in 2008 than any other single organization.

It had done a brilliant job of mobilizing previously disaffected voters and has gotten them involved in the democratic process.

Until recently, Hillary was a big fan of Moveon.org:

“You’ve been refusing to back down when any of us who are in political leadership are not living up to the standards that we should set for ourselves… I think you have helped to change the face of American politics for the better… both online, and in the corridors of power.”

After Moveon.org endorsed Obama, her tune changed. The great grassroots revolution Hillary so admired, doesn’t please her so much when that revolution has chosen Obama as its leader:

“[T]hey are very driven by their view of our positions, and it’s primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don’t agree with them. They know I don’t agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me.”

Organizations like Moveon.org are the salvation of the Democratic Party and of democracy in general. Bush won the last two elections because young people didn’t vote. Moveon.org has given that generation a sense of belonging to the political process. It has convinced young people that they can really make a difference.

The one thing it hasn’t been able to do is convince Hillary that the time has come to move on.

www.blogezine.com