First things first- This is going to be a long post but I do not want it to go below the fold. Also, this website is not going to go the Daily Kos route. You’ll be free to say whatever you want (within some basic rules of civility, and if you know this place, I mean very basic rules), and there is no editorial direction of this website to begin with, so don’t freak out and claim this website is changing in any meaningful way. This is just my personal opinion, and the commenting policy will remain the same- say what you want, because not only is it just as easier to say “fuck you” to someone than it is to say “shut up” and then block them, but because I like the comment to be a fun place where everyone can be rude to everyone else. I will note that while I disagree on the policy, there is a great deal in that Markos post that I agree with and people should read.
Having said that, I initially thought I would just sit out and wait until November and then support the Democrat, but I think at this point I have seen enough and I have decided that to my surprise I am choosing to support Hillary. I’m not going to go into all the reasons I have problems with her, but I will go into some detail into why I have chosen to support her.
1.) Since the 2008 Obama campaign, I began, through various forums, including fb, twitter, and the wealth of new websites and online journals, to expose myself to a lot more voices that include women and (I hate this term) people of color. I’ve seen and learned a lot of things that I never knew before, and have experienced vicariously what many of them have had happen to them, and it’s changed how I look at things and it has changed how I looked at Hillary.
In my opinion as a white single male with a degree of financial stability, beyond agita and heartburn, I have very little at stake in this election. I’m not going to be drafted, my insurance won’t be lost if ACA is repealed, I won’t have to worry about losing my ability to get pap smears or mammograms or basic health services if PP is closed down, I won’t have to worry about feeding my children, I won’t have to worry about the right to control my body, I won’t have to worry about getting shot in the street for walking while white or be found dead in a jail cell after failing to signal a lane change. These are not and will not be concerns for me, ever.
For women and minorities, these are things they worry about EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
And what I have seen from the women and black people I follow closely, speak with, and respect, is that they are almost to a person supporting Hillary over Bernie, and this has been borne out in the primary elections to date. Hillary is just clobbering Bernie with women and minorities. In one election, one substrata (right word?) substratum of African-American voters chose Hillary over Bernie by something like 95-5. To borrow one of my favorite phrases a pundit uttered years ago, Bernie’s numbers with the African American community are “Alfonsian,” a reference to the utterly reviled Alfons D’Amato.
I don’t want to get into the shameless race-baiting and attacks on Bernie by some of Hillary’s most vocal surrogates on twitter and elsewhere, which has been disgusting in some cases, and I do think that Bernie has not gotten credit for being as good on matters of race as he should be, which is regrettable (as were the remarks by John lewis, I think), but that doesn’t change the basic facts. The people who have the most to lose in this election and who are the absolute bedrock base of this party overwhelmingly support Hillary. When I was an asshole Republican, African Americans and women were overwhelmingly supporting the Democrats then, because they knew what was best for them and the party. I thought otherwise. They were right. I was not. Despite the fact that I was Bernie curious, I think that I should probably shut up and follow the lead of the people who were right all along.
And that’s one reason I am choosing to vote for Hillary in the primary in West Virginia.
2.) While I loathe the Super Delegate idea, the simple fact of the matter is that her peers and the establishment, meaning the people who have worked with her for the past few decades at various levels, are almost unanimously endorsing her. While I will always think there is corruption and closing the ranks at the national level, I also think that when that many people have worked with you in the past and liked what they have seen choose you over someone else, it means something. That tells me that despite what you read in the media and despite all the distortions you read over crap like Benghazi, she actually does make good choices as a leader. These people like her, and want to work with her again.
Remember, on the Republican side, not one Senator wants to work with Cruz, and we say it means something about him. On the Democratic side, the overwhelming number of Senators have chosen to support Hillary. That should also say something to you.
A quick sidepoint- I maintain that having the email server was a stupid idea that caused more trouble while it was worth, but the biggest thing it did for me, a loser with no social life, was give me the opportunity to read a metric ton of Hillary’s emails. And, because, as previously noted, I am a loser with no social life, I did just that. You can too! And you know what shocking news I discovered?
She’s actually really nice with her staff and friends and seems like a pretty cool person to have as your boss.
That monster! What kind of inhuman scum doesn’t know how to get their email set up right on their iPad? Oh, me.
And think about it- it kind of makes sense. You all remember Terry McAullife and the rest of the 2008 clown car doing their best Baghdad Bob immitations, and you’ve seen her surrogates willingly, for free, debase themselves in support of her on twitter and elsewhere. She doesn’t have naked pictures of all of them, ffs. Something about her must engender that kind of loyalty and support. Maybe it’s because she’s nice, she’s smart, they trust her, and they would do anything for her because of that? Say what you want, but those are the kind of traits a President and a Presidential candidate will need, especially in this election.
It also says to me that she is going to be better able to work with Congress to get some things done. yes, there will be compromises and the dreaded triangulation. Until Democrats get off their asses and start voting on off year elections, we are going to have to deal with these bible-thumping backwoods hicks and their crony capitalist buddies in Congress. I think Hillary is far more likely to be able to negotiate with them than Sanders.
3.) This isn’t a single issue country, this won’t be a single issue Presidency, and we don’t need a single issue President.
Sweet Flying Spaghetti Monster, I love the fire and passion of Bernie Sanders. I really do. People make fun of him because he is shouty- last night at the debate people were mocking him shouting answers to the Flint residents asking him questions, and asking why is he shouting at her. He isn’t shouting at her, he’s shouting with her, because I guarantee that woman on the stand with two kids with lead poisoning wants to do more than shout at Rick Snyder. When Bernie is shouting about inequality and Wall Street I don’t hear him shouting because my internal monologue when I think about those things is shoutier and louder and angrier. I’m amazed he hasn’t called them mother fuckers yet, because it would have been the second and third words out of my mouth.
But it’s not the only issue we need to think about. Income equality wouldn’t save Sandra Bland. Income equality isn’t going to stop global warming. Income equality isn’t going to end racism. Income equality isn’t going to restore a woman’s right to choose back to Roe v. Wade levels.
And despite my misgivings about Hillary’s hawkishness and past mistakes and overall willingness to intervene militarily or otherwise, I think that on balance, she is better on many of the issues and more likely to maintain and advance the gains of the Obama years. We have to make choices when we are adults, and no one gets their perfect candidate. Even though I would love to have Obama for another eight years, I have real issues with him on some things.
4.) I think Hillary is better positioned to win. People like to point to her negatives, but those are not going to get worse. If anything, especially if the Republicans nominate Cruz or Drumpf the Insult Comic Hairpiece, I bet her negatives improve. This election is going to be a street fight. It is going to be ugly. I think we can throw the old conventional wisdom of negatives and how they play out in elections out the window. Regardless, if anyone’s negatives are going to go down, I think it is going to be Bernie’s. Our media will fuck up things again and never inform their voters that “democratic socialism” is basically all the things even Republican voters like about government, the Republicans will turn him into the lovechild of Stalin, and that will be that.
Combined with her team’s better ground game, experience with the ground rules, and the enthusiastic support of the base of the party (said women and minorities), I think Hillary is better positioned to win, and really, that is all that matters at this point. I guess I am a single issue voter, too:
Also worth mentioning is that I’m not concerned that were he the nominee, Bernie would bring a knife to a gunfight, but I know damned well that team Clinton will bring a automatic shotgun, grenades, mace, stun guns, and everything else they have at their disposal. Again, it’s irritating as hell most of the time, but there is no denying that Hillary has at her side a large armory filled with weapons grade assholes. Exhibit A- Phillipe Reines:
From: Reines, Philippe (Clinton)
Sent: Tue 12/30/2008 12:0S PM
To: Ben Smith
Subject: DOES ANYBODYDo their own reporting anymore?
Page Six is wrong
And now you are because you can’t even bother to email and say “Hey, is this true?”
Unreal
Smith (in response):
I checked opensecrets!
so why’d she return caroline’s money?
Reines:
BECAUSE IT WAS A GENERAL ELECTION CONTRIBUTION YOU MORON
It was returned along with EIGHT THOUSAND other people on 8/28 the day it legally HAD TO
Her primary contribution went nowhere
Jezus
You’re the fourth person today doing a correction (I hope). Daily News is doing one, LA Times doing one.
I mean, come on people
Just google Phillipe+Reines+email if you are as much of a loser as I am and enjoy reading this shit. It’s really awesome.
At any rate, that is the kind of thing we need to win this cycle. I seriously believe this is going to be the ugliest general election in generations, and I want the indefatigable assholes on my side.
5.) I know this is going to piss people off, and I know some of you are going to scream ageism, but watching Bernie last night, he just seemed old and tired and wearing down. I was initially leaning Bernie at the beginning of this primary (because of course I was), and every time I look at him he just looks less energetic and a little more beat down. His response latency seems to be increasing as he collects his thoughts, and last night I saw him lashing out angrily about “your Wall Street friends,” and those are just not things that can happen in the general.
I’m not trying to be ageist- I don’t think people his age can’t or shouldn’t be President, it’s just that as I have watched this primary election go on, Clinton seems to be getting stronger and more confident and more ready for the election, while I feel the opposite is true about Sanders. In my mind’s eye, she looks younger to me than she did at the beginning of this primary. Clinton seems to really becoming a happy warrior, despite all the heaps of bullshit the Republicans have thrown at her.
Maybe you don’t see it that way. But I do. I look at Hillary these days and think there is no doubt she could serve eight years right now, while some days I wonder if Bernie is going to make it to November. The Vice President is a backup plan for when things go horribly wrong, not a plan. Again, I’m sorry if my elders think I am bashing them by stating this, but I’m really not trying to- Bernie has more energy on a bad day than I do on a great day, but he just is really starting to look worn down. The contrast for me last night was palpable.
I’m sure there are more reasons I could offer up, but that is where I am now. I’m not going to debase myself and go all pro-Hillary and make up bullshit about Bernie like I have seen, because I have to sleep at night and because I think there are enough reasons to support her without having to trash Bernie. Plus, I want to keep my powder dry for whatever viscous green sputum Cthulhu coughs up from his sulfurous chest to run as the Republican. But for right now, I think Hillary is the best choice and I think it is time to get in the game personally. This would be so much easier if one of them just sucked.
Have at it in the comments.
different-church-lady
Anyone else find it rather ironic that a lot of the people who think Clinton should be disqualified for the presidency because she had classified documents on her server when she was Secretary of State are the same people who think Edward Snowden is a hero for taking classified documents and giving them to reporters?
Mary
I love this and agree with everything you’ve written. Thank you.
Lee
I agree that what makes the decision much more difficult is that they are both solid candidates.
Hopefully the rest of the comments will be a bit more lively ;)
SiubhanDuinne
A bunch of years ago — and this may be apocryphal, although I would really like it to be true — some very progressive, liberal, northern university decided to put out rows of recycling bins in every classroom building and residence hallow campus. The bins were labelled Plastic, Glass, Newsprint, White Paper, and Paper of Color.
Tractarian
This is the best thing I have ever read.
LAO
Thank you.
different-church-lady
When an honest, temperate person claws their way through all the bullshit, then yes, Clinton v. Sanders is not an easy choice. In a fantasy world we’d be able to graft the best of each of them into one candidate.
Then again, in a fantasy world we wouldn’t have all this bullshit to claw through.
maryQ
I had stopped reading Balloon Juice for a while. Not because of any disagreements or anything, I just got out of my blog reading habits. And the past week or so I have been back here and have realized how much I miss this community. You are intelligent people of integrity, and you manage to be entertaining much of the time. Thank you for this. I am full of love for this place today.
greennotGreen
What John said.
tom
+1000.
Thank you, John.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
I was forced by work to be out of town on caucus night. My family split 2 B and 2 H. I do not know which way I would have gone I was fighting in my mind the whole week before I found out I had to be gone. There are things I like about each and things I don’t like about each. You stole the joke I was going with, the ‘single issue’ joke. I don’t care if it is Martin O’Malley I will work for, donate to, talk up and vote for whomever the Dems nominate because there is simply no choice – but also because the 2 we have left are not bad.
BTW – this is one of the best posts you have put up in a long time JC. I was beginning to worry about your mental state, was afraid you may have been having issues with, honestly, being sober. This was a great post, well thought out, clear and cogent, thanks!
Jade
John, you were always for Hillary. You just needed a push to come out of the closet. You have always been respectful to people that feel differently.
WereBear
Well played, sir!
David
Very well said John, and I agree completely. To add one thing: from a very practical perspective, I think Bernie actually stands a better shot of getting his policies passed if he stays in the Senate and works from that angle! We’re all so used to talking about the Presidents policies that we sometimes forget, the actual laws are written by and in Congress, not the White House. So let’s keep Bernie (and Elizabeth Warren) in the Senate where they can work on getting things done.
Hannah
My donation was easy to do. Impressive.
SiubhanDuinne
The singular is “substratum.”
JMG
Dear John: Honest as you always are and eloquent as you sometimes can be. I already had a primary vote in Mass. and I picked Clinton for much the reasons you did. Don’t overthink it, IMO she’d be a better President than Sanders, whose ideas and positions are much closer to mine in theory.
goblue72
No problem with the position. Disagree in part – and the conclusion – but can certainly see how you arrived at yours and respect that. So bravo.
But I’m sure it won’t stop the passive-aggressive hippie punching and paranoids obsessed over phantom Berniebros. Oh look – there’s a hippie puncher in the first comment.
different-church-lady
This website doesn’t need to go the Daily Kos route. Because you don’t have it set up to reward bullshit like Kos does in the first place.
Kos has it set up so it’s a 28″ foot dumpster, and then every once in a while he realizes he’s gotta empty the thing. Same pattern over and over again.
ethan erickson
haha you just thought of all that this week?? ok. whatever it takes. welcome to the grownups’ table!
Baud
I’ve lost Cole.
NotMax
Singular would be substratum.
different-church-lady
@goblue72: So you don’t find it ironic then?
Iowa Old Lady
Thanks for sharing your thoughtful decision process, John.
Punchy
With a lead up like that, you had me convinced you were going to 1) quit the blog, 2) gay marry your roommate, or 3) move to Kansas.
War &Peace-esque blog post just to support the Hills? Weak shock-fu
different-church-lady
@Punchy: It’s quite clear Cole would gay marry one of the pets first.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@Baud:
YOU?!?! Imagine how bad John Wolfe Jr. feels about now after all the years he has put in trying to get the nom! You have many good years ahead to try, consider this a trial run.
It should be JW jr’s turn! he finished second to Obama in ’12!!
Southern Beale
Good move, John. I have a lot of problems with Hillary, but I have even more problems with Bernie. One point that really doesn’t get raised is that Bernie just basically talks the same spiel about rich v poor, but he hasn’t done shit in 40+ years in public office. That bothers me. I really have no patience for rigid ideologues anymore, and according to this report, Sanders is the most partisan member of the US Senate — even MORE partisan than Ted Cruz.
We’ve had 8 years of partisan intransigence from the Republican Congress. I sure as hell don’t see voting for a Democratic president who’s going to give us more of the same.
cokane
The race is pretty much over anyways Cole, losing Massachussetts was the deathblow.
TaMara (BHF)
This is a great post. Well thought out and reasoned. I expect the the comments to turn into Lord of the Flies in the mid-100s. Until then, I say this: I will vote for whomever can make sure the Republicans (or facsimile there of) get nowhere near the Oval Office, unless expressly invited by a Democratic president.
Mary
@different-church-lady: I always laugh when I venture over there and see all the hand-wringing about how the “community” has never been so fractured. People seem to have very short memories.
Felanius Kootea
I had told my husband weeks ago that I’d vote for Bernie in the primaries and Hillary in the general (obviously because I didn’t think he would win the Democratic primary but I valued the fact that he would keep pushing her to the left). I think I might stick to that strategy but really appreciate following your reasoning.
Mai.naem.mobile
John you forgot to link to Tbogg’s ’08 post about unicorns,magic fairies and pink and purple candied jelly bellies for everybody.
Cacti
One of the things I appreciate about BJ vs. other lefty blogs is that it doesn’t censor the comment section, even after a nominee is chosen.
May it ever be thus.
Trentrunner
Her?
Her.
raven
@Southern Beale: Lot’s of people missing you earlier.
cokane
@different-church-lady: Uh, no. Most of the Clinton haters on the email thing are Republicans and thus pretty pro surveillance state (as least as long as a black isnt prez)
S. holland
@Mary: I too love this…and thank you!
Iowa Old Lady
@different-church-lady: Marrying Rosie wouldn’t even count as gay.
different-church-lady
@cokane: I am perhaps guilty of paying too much attention to the more… “vigorous”, shall we say, rantings coming from my own side.
Sasha
All things being equal, Clinton is a fox and Sanders a hedgehog.
Hedgehogs are great, but the presidency isn’t where they best serve.
andy
The way I see it the next decade or so is going to be like a marathon. Whichever Democrat becomes President (hopefully) will have the job of preserving any gains made, and building the party, and start flipping some of those statehouses before the next census. There’s nothing inspiring or flashy about that- if anything the sausage grinding will look even worse then it did during the first couple years of the Obama Administration. If Bernie got in, those purists who say they have his back now will leave him twisting in the wind just like the did Obama. I do like Bernie- I just don’t think he can win, and he’s too brittle to hold his own against whichever asshole gets the nod from the GOP (and then another 4-8 years trying to govern with assholes holding the House for at least the next 4 years). Judging by the almost desperate tone of the Bernie people on Twitter and Facebook, they know it too, in their guts.
Amir Khalid
“Substrata” is the plural. The singular is substratum.
I would add another reason for preferring Hillary: I reckon she’s a lot better prepared than Bernie for what the presidency requires in executive and diplomatic ability.
jl
@Baud: My understanding is that Cole abstains from all mind altering drugs, and doesn’t live on junk food anymore. I don’t think he is a smoker, and doesn’t gamble. We could go on.
What has the Baud! 2016! campaign ever offered those people, odd and eccentric as they may be.
Anyway, reasonable arguments and decision from Cole on who to vote for in the primary.
I could grouse that Cole is jumping on the HRC bandwagon after her long shot campaign is finally getting some traction, but I won’t do that.
And Baud! 2016! not even mentioned. That is cold, very cold.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I have a lot of concerns about her foreign policy, but a lot more about the Supreme Court, health care and the environment, in no particular order.
I only look at a few twitter sites, so I’ve missed most the drama generated by David Brock and Peter Daou, maybe others, but somebody needs to call a summit of Clinton supporters and explain to certain dumbfucks that they’re not helping. As I’ve said before, I nominate Begala to lead that conference call.
different-church-lady
@Iowa Old Lady: Dogs are people too.
Felanius Kootea
I’d placed this in the nearly dead thread below but think it’s better here. I’ve mentioned before that I held on to my Green Card for 13 years before naturalizing. I didn’t have Donald Trump as a motivating force but a second term of George W. Bush plus some hostile-leaning conversations in France with people who thought I was a citizen were motivation enough.
More Latinos Seek Citizenship to Vote Against Trump
Joy in FL
I love this blog and the stuff we read and write about. Thanks, John Cole for BJ.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@Southern Beale:
I assume 8 more years of partisan intransigence unless we flip the House and Senate. That is just the best we can get for now (lets hope the GOP finally collapses under its own evil bullshit). If Jesus and Mohammad ran as a team and appointed Vishnu, Buddha and Ghia to the cabinet the GOP would still block everything proposed and try to set fire to the world, it is who they have become.
different-church-lady
@jl:
Still too early to be thinking about the VP slot.
zzyzx
This is the second time I’ve seen you change your mind about something (the first being the great change of opinion) and both times you’ve done in a way that would lead people to respect you more. Good job showing your work.
John Cole
I don’t do anything but coffee. Don’t eat junk food because I have never really liked it. Do eat very dark chocolate. I do gamble- I play the Powerball and sometimes throw 20 bucks in a slot machine.
SiubhanDuinne
John, you probably didn’t watch earlier this evening, but there was a Town Hall with Bernie and Hillary on Fox (yes, Fox). Bernie was very focused and energetic, and I really enjoyed watching him answer questions, especially from the audience. But Bret Bauer or whatever the host’s name was asked him (paraphrasing) “By what right are people entitled to health care?” and Bernie’s answer without missing a beat was “Because they are fucking human beings.” (Well, okay, he didn’t actually say “fucking” but you could tell he was thinking it.)
The Town Hall is being rebroadcast tonight on Fox at 11:00 p.m. EST if you want to see what they’re like when they’re not interrupting each other or shaking their fingers in each other’s faces :-)
Hillary was also very impressive and presidential. Truly, although I decided several weeks ago to support HRC (and voted for her in the Super Tuesday primary), I would be proud to work my ass off for either of these candidates and vote for either of them in November.
Southern Beale
@Schlemazel (parmesan rancor):
You know, despite the Republicans’ best efforts, Obama has actually been able to accomplish a helluva lot. Because he’s a compromiser. Bernie … not so much. I see Hillary in the same mold as Obama in terms of compromising and negotiating. Bernie will just keep waiting for his revolution that never happens.
different-church-lady
@zzyzx:
Excellent job, in fact, and indeed.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@different-church-lady:
According to a couple of the wingnuts I work with animal/human marriage is just around the comer because the people who passed that want to destroy America and the concept of “consent” is beyond the wingnut
Baud
@jl:
It’s the silence that cuts deepest of all.
Steve in the ATL
I made this exact point to a hippy friend yesterday. I told that I love Bernie, and might have voted for him if we had a Democratic congress, but we need Hillary to deal with the obstructionists.
He replied, “Whatever, man,” fired up a jay, and went to his chakra cleansing class. Ok, this paragraph is an embellishment.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@John Cole:
You lascivious reprobate you!
Kansi
I love you John Cole! Totally righteous!
kc
It wouldn’t have stopped her from getting arrested by an asshole cop, but it would have allowed her to make bail. She was stuck in jail because neither she nor her family members could afford the bail.
Nothing in Hillary Clinton’s history, background, or current policy proposals suggests HRC will do anything to change that.
DemJayhawks
@Punchy: Hey, Kansas is a nice place. We just happen to have a surplus of assholes.
Amir Khalid
@goblue72:
Not everyone who supports Edward Snowden is a hippie. And not everyone who doesn’t is motivated by animus against hippies — there are legitimate legal issues around his actions, and it’s not clear to this foreigner that he didn’t break the law. So you can’t call everyone who doesn’t support him a hippie-puncher.
different-church-lady
@Southern Beale:
I don’t think we know this for a fact. Campaign rhetoric is frequently mismatched with actual governance. Sanders has that seemingly contradictory reputation as “King of the Amendments”, so he knows how to work things, rather than just stonewalling.
But one thing is for certain: the moment he made his first compromise, the shrieks of BETRAYAL from his revolutionary army would deafen people on Mars.
Villago Delenda Est
Stop making sense, John Cole!
Technocrat
Well, damn.
As a black man, I have to fight racism. it’s not noble for me to do so, anymore than it’s noble for me to eat breakfast. It’s survival. It’s baked into my life. For that reason, I deeply admire the advocacy of liberal white men and women. You really don’t have to be bothered with this shit. You fight it by choice, from a place of altruism and morality. I admire that.
That being said, and speaking for myself, I don’t want anyone to abdicate their agency on our behalf. We all need to come together in a spirit of cooperation, not subordination, because resentment lies on that road.
I support Shillary, so of course I’m glad to have you support her – if that’s what you want. But do it for you. You deserve the right to choose as much as I do. Even if Bernie gets elected, he’d figure it out, because his heart is in the right place.
I’m gonna get my “black” license revoked for this, Cole. Don’t make it in vain!
Iowa Old Lady
@different-church-lady: This is true. I miss having a dog.
Mai.naem.mobile
I watch Finding Your Roots fairly regularly. I really don’t mean to go Godwins law this quick in this thread and I don’t mean to sound hyperbolic. It seems like so many of the Jewish people on FYR have a relative who stayed in Europe in the 30s/40s because they had a good career/business and they didn’t think Hitler was going to be that bad. These people inevitably ended up in the camps. I don’t know if Trump is some facsimile of Hitler and I don’t want to find out either. I’ll vote for Hils,the Bern or even Mr.Metric System.
Frank Wilhoit
“…I won’t^H^H^H^H^H have to worry about getting shot in the street for walking while white^H^H^H^H^Hliberal…” TIFIFY
“…This isn’t a single issue country…” Yes, it is. The single issue is equality before the law. Without that, nothing else matters. Absolutely nothing else matters at all. As long as business, or prosecutors/law enforcement, or churches, or rich people, or crazy people, believe and act like they are above the law, no one is safe. (And do not attempt to draw my attention to any particular class of victims, because your subtext in doing so is that I, unlike them, am safe; whereas I. AM. NOT. SAFE. )
kc
@different-church-lady:
Who, for instance?
Applejinx
Love ya, John, and I can’t be in the least mad. This:
is worthy of great respect.
I just watched Mark Blyth and the former Minister of Finance in Greece talk about the economic state of the world and many things in it, and one topic that came up was the mess we’re in. They are of the opinion that the USA is, quote, ungovernable.
I fear they’re right, and would rather not go for a corrupt and centrist Third Way pol who will still not be able to govern but would be able to do anything negative she saw fit regarding our decline: I can hope at least she’d bring some racial justice and justice for women. I can’t tell you I think Bernie would do any better, I just really don’t believe Hillary has a chance in hell at doing anything worth doing, and the difference is all the stuff berniacs really hate is the stuff she WOULD get to do.
I too don’t really give a fuck about emails. Just because you have fault doesn’t mean there aren’t people looking to beat it into the ground and then jump up and down upon it and set it on fire afterwards.
I wish some of those freaks bullshitting on and on about emails and Vince Whoever, genuinely cared about payday lenders and the debacle of ‘free trade’, but generally they’re on the opposite side and are no help at all. So they’ll be demonizing Hillary about stuff I don’t care about, but collaborating on all the things I feel are most unforgivable.
Fuck it, maybe we deserve another world war.
Villago Delenda Est
@Baud: Have you looked under a pile of dogs? He might be there!
different-church-lady
@Steve in the ATL:
Wow, and I’m the hippie puncher here?
JMS
My 85 year old dad thinks Bernie looks too old to be president so it’s not just you. He (my dad) keeps saying, “What is he? 80? Better pick a good VP”
Betty Cracker
Well said, John. I’ve been on the fence myself and learning slightly Hillary because IMO she’s more electable — plus, if I’m honest, I think it’s about goddamned time a woman got the job; that’s not everything, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t important to me.
Anyway, I especially appreciate what you said about how your making your choice doesn’t mean you’re going to start trashing Sanders. There’s entirely too damn much of that going on, IMO. They are both fine candidates, and I’ll be proud to donate money to, register voters for, enter data for, canvass and vote for either one in the general.
Amir Khalid
@Iowa Old Lady:
If John Cole wanted to gay-marry one of his pets, it would have to be either Steve or Thurston.
Just One More Canuck
Thank you for the very thoughtful post John. It’s posts like these that bring people here (that and the pet pictures)
PhoenixRising
Well said. You speak for me in all respects except 1). I and mine are the base of the Democratic Party and we made a call about coalition: better off everyone in the tent pissing out.
Davebo
@Felanius Kootea:
I’ve got friends who’ve been here over 15 years on green cards and have no intention of either becoming a citizen or ever moving back home.
I don’t understand it but I can respect it.
Good post John. Well articulated and perfectly reasonable. What have you done with John Cole!!!???
different-church-lady
@kc: Check the GOS as of the moment.
Roger Moore
@JMG:
This is about where I am. I think Bernie is a bit closer to my positions on the issues, but I don’t think either of them is going to be able to get most, or even much, of what they want. Anything they do get is going to be the result of a long grind and a bunch of compromises, and I have more confidence in Hillary to do that part of the job than Bernie.
TaMara (BHF)
@SiubhanDuinne:
I had to laugh the other day when the whole FBI immunity deal came up and people were so excited to get Hillary in front of the FBI to testify after that – THIS was going to be her undoing.
They seem to have forgotten her Benghazi testimony. But sure, this is it, this will be the moment that brings her down. I can’t decide if they’re just delusional and believe this crap or say it because they got nothing else.
Mr. Twister
@Technocrat: Great comment !
jo6pac
I remember when they were king and queen of Calif. the beginning of the end for the state. Austerity was the answer to every question.
http://mockpaperscissors.com/2016/03/06/rip-nancy-reagan/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/07/the-cult-of-the-reagans/
I don’t need another
Mike in NC
Looking forward to the open primary in NC on March 15. Might cast a write-in vote for JEB!, that sad sorry loser.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@Southern Beale:
I am in the camp with those who feel he compromised too much but I know what you are saying. It is true he might not have gotten as much if he had not compromised but we will never know. I know he got zero Republican votes on ACA (for example) after giving way every alternative to the GOP plan. It makes me wonder if he could have gotten fewer votes with some improvements to the bill. He has done a great job given the situation and I am not really complaining, just hoping for even better (requiring more Dems in the House & Senate) in the future.
Eric U.
@cokane: the average republican is capable of having totally opposite opinions about an issue depending on who it involves. The fact that every SoS since email was invented has had their own server, in addition to just about everybody in the GWBush administration, doesn’t phase them a bit when saying that Hillary is going to jail for emails. And plenty of people that know exactly how something unclassified might be considered classified later are aghast at what she did, even though it was perfectly legal
Robert Paehlke
I lean to Hillary too though I am well to her left on some issues and, being 74 (Bernie’s age), I concur that age is a factor. I am way above the average fitness level for our age and there is no way in hell I could physically handle four years as President, let alone 8. There are very, very few who could. Hillary’s global experience is also crucial, these are not exactly easy times.
gbear
A deep ‘thank you’ for this great post, Mr. Cole.
different-church-lady
@Schlemazel (parmesan rancor):
The compromises on the ACA were to gain Democratic votes.
Southern Beale
@raven:
I saw that, Siubhan came over to my place and I posted a comment on that thread! It felt really great to feel the love from you guys!
I have a regular teaching schedule now so I just have very little time to comment on blogs anymore. My own blogging has gotten so sporadic, even. It’s insane!
dr. bloor
@Baud: You’ll always have Guam.
Oh, wait. My condolences.
TK_1
I support Hillary. A third Clinton administration actually sounds pretty good as someone old enough to remember the first two.
terraformer
I wasn’t enamored with Hillary at the start. Bernie has done a great job of making her – at the very least say the right things, can we hope she’ll follow up with going through with them? – so having done that, Bernie has done his job.
Clinton’s a better Dem candidate than she would have been sans Bernie’s prodding from the left.
I remember with fondness how the last Clinton administration ended, with a large surplus and a strong economy, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. I’m tired of Repubs coming in after two strong Dem terms only to shit the bed. Look at where we went the last time that happened. Give ’em hell, sister.
Baud
@Southern Beale:
Your priorities are way out of whack. We’re saving the world here.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@TaMara (BHF): the idea that this (as I understand) low level IT staffer was gonna blow the lid of the Cltinon Machine was pretty funny. “And after you explain to me what “reboot” means, Laddie! I’m going to sell all the classified material to Goldman Sachs and the Deatheaters for One, Million, Dollars!, because I am Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I am EEEEEE-VILLLLLL!
and make sure you never tell anybody what I said about my eeevillll scheme. Would you like to use the powder room before you go?”
Woodrowfan
John: I went through much the same thing, and decided to vote Hillary. I still like Bernie, but I think she’d make a better President.
msdc
You know, the Twitter profile directly above this paragraph gave me false hope that you were referring to Alfonso Ribeiro.
Because that kind of works, too.
oldster
Thanks John.
I basically agree with all of this.
Now let’s get her elected!
The Dangerman
General agreement except these two statements; I’m going to reverse the order that you presented them to serve my purposes:
Agreed. It will be the ugliest campaign of any of our lives and I don’t care how old you are (or young you are, for those with many more election cycles to live through). It will be UGLY. It was going to be ugly on steroids before Scalia checked out; after Scalia, ramp that up by orders of magnitude.
Not a chance. The Right will toss more shit than we can possibly imagine; some of it will stick.
schrodinger's cat
@Amir Khalid: I thought Lily was his sweet heart.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@TaMara (BHF):
We lived through this when her OM was President. Every 6 weeks the GOP ran around wetting themselves because “THIS TIME WE HAVE HIM! THIS TIME FOR SURE!!”
Those people suffer some serious brain damage & are incapable of learning as well as human decency.
laura
Here’s my old white lady unsolicited opinion: my parents and grandparents; as well as the spouse’s; were survivors of the depression, and I’m guessing that their collective experiences were likely less onerous that the collective experience of the African American communities of Chicago and San Francisco. In both families, the reverence for Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal were drilled into us from the get go. I still see tangible evidence of the WPA stamped in my neighborhood sidewalks, and all over the state of California.
We STILL need a new New Deal and so, I’m voting for Bernie in the primary and will vote for the candidate that Bernie supports in the general.
We’ve got two acceptable candidates on the Dem side, and madness across the aisle.
It’s not rocket science.
Steve in the ATL
@different-church-lady:
Hey, I started the post by saying that he is a friend! If I were actually that judgmental I would be at Red State, not here.
But he does enjoy his weed and works as an energy healer….
Southern Beale
@different-church-lady:
He has literally been saying the EXACT same thing for over 40 years:
Bernie Sanders, 1971:
Bernie Sanders, 1972:
Bernie Sanders, 1973:
Bernie Sanders, 1974:
The guy is calcified. It’s like he has political Tourette’s. In all that time he’s gone from Mayor to the House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate and he hasn’t even changed one talking point? He hasn’t learned anything?
Has he even accomplished anything?
I’m increasingly of the opinion that Bernie likes to talk about income inequality but he really isn’t interested in doing jack shit about it. He’s too cemented to his ideological purity.
Tim C.
So say we all John Cole… So say we all.
(note… this is a nerdy Battlestar Galactica reference and not a blanked statement saying everyone agrees…. but I sure the hell do.)
Jordan Rules
Well said John!
Punchy
@different-church-lady: Have the Supremes weighed in on that? Who’d be against it? When should I expect the landmark Cole v. Ecuadorian Guinea Pig Supply Company oral arguments?
WarMunchkin
@different-church-lady:
Okay what? This makes zero sense.
Regarding the post content: I agree, but I don’t think the “he seems old” argument is a very good one to make, even if it was made with care.
raven
@Southern Beale: I think folks will be glad it’s that and you didn’t give up on this bunch of reprobates!
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@different-church-lady:
But we still have no idea how many Dems would have supported a better bill. I know there are some real assholes on our side but they allowed the GOP into the discussions on compromise when they had no intention to vote for but only wanted to ruin.
raven
@Tim C.: It’s a Lawrence of Arabia reference if you are old enough.
Bleeble Blabble
Minor correction – you are going to need a mammogram (all this praise must be making you uncomfortable so I figured I’d cleanse the palate).
Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance
While I like a lot of what Sanders has to say and think it’s important that he says it I am definitely leaning towards Hillary at this point. Either way I will be voting for the Dem nominee because the alternative is the abyss.
(and btw long time no post :) )
Tim C.
@raven: Really? Huh… I gotta go rewatch that sometime. I remember being slightly thrown off kilter by obi-wan being an Arab prince in that movie.
msdc
I went through a similar evolution as you, John. I started out as a Clinton skeptic (thanks to the Iraq war vote mostly, and lingering bad memories from 2008, though I mostly liked her term as Secretary of State). I was looking for any alternatives and ended up deciding she was the best alternative. The Benghazi hearing last October was a turning point, as was the first debate – she just seemed more ready to do the job than any candidate on either side, and she’s definitely ready to handle the unending rivers of bullshit the GOP will train on her. It’s not like that would be any different from the last 25 years.
Somewhere this winter I went from “resigned to voting for her” to actively wanting her to win. A lot of that is down to the Sanders campaign and their mistakes, but part of it is watching her mount a basically well run campaign (other than one weekend of panic pre-NH) and avoid all the mistakes she made in 2008. She’s run as the candidate who will carry forward the Obama coalition and protect his accomplishments, and that counts a lot with me.
So I guess the primary has basically done its job of clarifying the options and identifying the candidate who will best unify the party and represent its goals. I haven’t voted yet, but I am ready to get this shit over with and start throwing punches in the general. We cannot start soon enough.
different-church-lady
@WarMunchkin: To be more clear, I should have said a lot of the people on the left who think the server thing disqualifies Clinton.
Obviously the folks on the right would love it if they shared the same cell at Gitmo.
(ETA: now that I think about it, I’m probably going to be answering this same question a lot. [forehead slap])
Amir Khalid
@schrodinger’s cat:
Well, Steve and Thurston are the male pets of the household. Yes, Lily is indeed his sweetheart, and that does complicate matters.
CaseyL
Excellent post, John, and thank you for it.
I remember back in ’08, early in the campaign (long before John Edwards became a dirty joke), not being able to decide who to support. I said I’d be happy with any of the three – Edwards, Clinton, Obama. By January I was thinking, “Maybe Obama.” I went to a rally for him in February, and came out convinced that he should be the candidate – but I was already, in tiny steps, heading in that direction.
Ditto this season. I started out thinking any of the three – Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley – would be fine Presidents, and couldn’t decide which one I liked most. O’Malley soon faded. I liked Sanders’ passion. Clinton didn’t excite me in any particular way, but my opinion of her competence and dedication rose considerably during her stint as SOS. As the primary season has worn on, I found myself listening to Hillary with more enthusiasm, and being happy when she wins primaries. Meanwhile, the problems with Sanders’ candidacy started to become more obvious (doesn’t help his cause that he’s the latest Shiny Thing, a cycle I’ve seen way too often).
A long-winded way of saying: You nailed it. Those are exactly the reasons we who support Hillary do so. Intellect, toughness, competence, heart in the right place, and a battle-tested ability to take on the GOP.
geg6
This is one of the reasons I love you, John Cole. This and Lovey.
Emma
@TaMara (BHF): Ditto. Seconded. Yep. I don’t care who sits in the Oval Office as long as s(h)e has D after his/her name.
Mary G
I have never admitted it, but I have a mad crush on you. John Cole. If I was 20 years younger,less lazy, and geographically desirable I’d be stalking you. An animal lover, big heart, and a fanfuckingtastic writer – my ideal man.
Go Hillary!
WarMunchkin
@different-church-lady: Precedent is enough for me to think Clinton didn’t do anything that disqualifies her, but I’m not seeing a relevant comparison to Snowden or even Ellsberg.
FlyingToaster
@WarMunchkin:
It was more of a Whovian “He looks tired, doesn’t he?”
Donut
I have admired Bernie for a long time. Loved “Brunch with Bernie” on Thom Hartmann’s radio show. Listened faithfully to him there and in other venues and nodded my head in agreement three zillion times every time.
I’m so close to Bernie on policy preferences that it’s practically incestual.
But for all the reasons Cole gave above and more, I am a Hillary supporter and will be bar none.
Thanks for writing this post, John. It says what lots of democrats and Democrats are thinking.
Southern Beale
@raven: No, never! It’s not like my huff arrived and I left in it. Life just interfered!
different-church-lady
@WarMunchkin: What I was getting at is the manic progressives who, on the one hand, will scream, “SHE’S GONNA GET INDICTED ON THE EMAIL THING!”, while at the same time hold up Snowden as a unfairly persecuted national treasure, and never notice the irony.
jfxgillis
Here’s one reason I’m not as concerned about Hillary’s hawkishness as I was 8 years ago: Obama.
Two parts to that one reason. First, Obama proved you don’t have to be hawkish to win. You can’t be a peacenik, but you don’t have to be a warmonger. IOW, the perceived public pressure to take the maximalist military position just ain’t what it used to be. While it’s true that Hillary grew up in public life during a time Before Obama when that was the case, so she retains some worrying tendencies, it’s half as bad as it used to be, and a twentieth as bad as any Republican opponent.
Also, Obama changed the Democratic party at the Congressional and bureaucratic level to be less militarist and/or less worried about matching the opposition’s militarism. The foreign policy hands of the first Clinton Administration are either old or dead and have been mostly replaced by a new generation that grew up with Bush & Obama. Madeline Albright may be Hillary’s mentor, but she ain’t coming back.
So yeah, the thing that worries you most worries me most. But I’m not that worried.
raven
@Tim C.: @Tim C.: Rats, it’s a play on this from the 10 Commandments,
My Truth Hurts
Your vote is your choice and most of your reasons are sound even if I disagree, but you are nuts if you think the GOP, who has waged war on her and her husband for 25 years, will be willing to work with her in Congress on anything. It will be 4-8 more years of obstructionism and government shutdowns. They hate the black guy and they really hate this women and her husband, who will be joining her at the White House by the way and driving them insane because of it. Sanders at least has experience working with and compromising with the GOP in Congress. Sure the obstruction he would experience would be great, but for Clinton it will be massive.
They call her a criminal. Accused her and her husband of murder. Shut down her attempt at health reform. They will not work with her. Period. Did everyone forget the 1990’s? She and Bill are liabilities and impediments to progress, even though that is no fault of theirs. Sure I think it will be an epic troll if they regain the Presidency and I will laugh and drink and savor Republican tears but the idea that she will get things done with such a hostile opposition Congress is insane and stupid. Sorry, pal.
dmsilev
Going into this cycle, my biggest concern about Hillary was something that arguably cost her the nomination in 2008: the apparent inability to pick a good team of subordinates and manage them effectively. Remember Mark Penn? Identifying, recruiting, and managing good people is a huge part of making a Presidency successful (exhibit A of it being done badly: George W Bush), so it’s an important tell as to how a candidate will act if they become President. Obama 2008 had it, Hillary 2008 didn’t.
Hillary 2016 has a much better team, and it seems to be working much more smoothly. Also shows that she’s learned from her mistakes.
I’m in CA now, so the primary is unlikely to still be effectively contested by the time it rolls around here, but barring something dramatic and cataclysmic happening in the next few months, she has my vote this time.
Amir Khalid
@Applejinx:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you adequately justify this characterisation of Hillary.
Elie
Late to the party but Yay John… I support your post
amk
“Until Democrats get off their asses and start voting on off year elections, we are going to have to deal with these bible-thumping backwoods hicks and their crony capitalist buddies in Congress.”
This.
Mr. Twister
This is an interesting thread. A real love fest and I agree with our blog host. Hillary is probably the best decision. It would be nice if certain people who are so respectful of John’s decision would have treated the rest of us that way as well. Hell, all I did was point out that so far, Hillary was winning the popular vote in the primary. I mean damn you would have thought I was the dumbest mother*cker on the planet based on the response I got. But it’s all good.
raven
Lawrence is “Nothing is written.”
twice
“Nothing is written”
Germy
@My Truth Hurts: Well, they surely wouldn’t work with President Sanders, either. They’re going to hate any Democrat who gets into the White House.
They’re still pissed about what happened to Nixon.
raven
@Mr. Twister: Forget it Jake. . .
different-church-lady
@raven: But (speaking of ironies…)
Felanius Kootea
@Davebo: They might be from a country that doesn’t allow dual citizenship and feel funny about having to renounce their birth citizenship.
One of the reasons why it took me 13 years to naturalize is that I felt somewhat guilty because my primary and secondary education were heavily subsidized by the Nigerian government (and that education was high-quality enough that I tutored my US high school classmates in chemistry when I first moved here and got A’s). I kept thinking I should return home to pay back that debt. I kept reading about brain-drain from Nigeria to the US and the UK and Saudi Arabia and that made me feel even guiltier. Almost all my Nigerian high-school classmates who went to medical school are now doctors in the UK or US. My relatives back home told me to stay put, that I wouldn’t be fully valued or appreciated if I returned, especially not by the dictatorship in place when I was first thinking about moving back (one that viewed professors as a threat). After my first US faculty position, I realized that I had to be honest with myself – I was never moving back permanently to Nigeria. Most of my friends were Americans I’d met in high school, college or graduate school. My mindset had changed in subtle ways and I found old friends from back home to be way too conservative on social issues for my liking. I figured out how to teach short courses on the African continent in my field and contribute that way. I naturalized, married an American who appreciates Nigerian food and culture and have embraced civic life in the US with a vengeance. My siblings have still not naturalized. One moved back – he had some horrendous experiences with racism here that I haven’t had, so I don’t blame him. My mom naturalized as soon as she could – within five years. Everyone has his or her own reasons.
dmsilev
@My Truth Hurts: The GOP in Congress is going to massively obstruct ANY Democratic President, no matter who it is. The specific language that they’ll use to gin up outrage among their base will change depending on who is sitting in the Oval Office (we won’t see as much racism, but we’ll either get a bumper crop of sexism or plenty of screaming about soshalism leavened with just a tinge of anti-Semitism).
Emma
@My Truth Hurts: Sanders has no chance as well. The Republicans have bet their whole survival in obstructing the Democratic president. Jesus Christ with a side dish of the Holy Ghost could sit in the Oval Office and the Republicans would still try to bring him down.
The Dangerman
@Germy:
They’re still pissed about what happened to
NixonHoover.FTFY.
raven
@different-church-lady: Confusing isn’t it?
Germy
@The Dangerman: The art of holding a grudge.
debbie
I’ll vote for whoever is the nominee, but I was very disappointed at Clinton’s statement that Sanders had voted against the auto bailout. Half-truths serve no one.
Elie
@Applejinx:
I find your comment incredibly self centered — and you end it with almost wishing a third world war because?
I know your issues but go fuck yourself! Lots of us do not share your loyalty to Bernie, but do not so easily wish such a horror out of spite…. What kind of person gives that kind of throwaway line — like all the good that has been worked for in this country and died for (YES DIED FOR) and the world doesn’t mean shit. Again, go fuck yourself.
phein55
John Cole,
Apropos of “shouty,” I have a family story you might like.
My family is from Pittsburgh, Stanton Heights, albeit 95 years ago. Although I didn’t recognize it until recently, those people are loud.
20 years ago, my sister-in-law and her husband, both from Minnesota, moved to Pittsburgh with their 5 year-old and infant daughters. After they settled in, the SIL went down to the Giant Eagle for groceries. Her first time, her very first time in the store, some woman came up to her and took something out of her cart and told her, “Oh, honey, you don’t want to buy this, there’s something better on sale up at the end of Aisle 7.” My SIL was petrified: Not only did someone she didn’t know talk to her, but they practically assaulted her in public!
She went home to make some tea and settle down, catch her breath, find her bearings. Then it was time to pick the niece up from kindergarten. When she did, the niece was crying: “Everyone was shouting at me, and I didn’t do anything!”
It turns out that “Pittsburgh nice” is “Minnesota shouty.”
They never really recovered, and returned to Fargo after the husband’s 3-year tour at the VA hospital was up, where no one notices you in public unless you want them to (and you don’t), and shouting is for hockey games.
smintheus
If I’m forced to hold my nose and vote for Clinton, I’ll do it only once per election cycle. I’ll vote in the primary for a candidate with more honesty and integrity, because I think we need more of that and less of the Clintons in politics.
PIGL
I respect our host a great deal, and his analysis would be quite reasonable were I a white American. As a foreigner, I hold Ms Clinton responsible for her support — almost alone among the nations of the world — for the Honduran coup and in some measure responsible for the murderous oppression that flies with it, not least of which this recent assassination.
American support for the coup was perverse, bloody minded, malicious, unjustifiable, unnecessary, and absolutely typical of the predelictions of your power elite, of which Ms. Clinton is simply one of the more presentable members.
Ella in New Mexico
@Betty Cracker:
This.
There’s a whole lotta unnecessary trashing of a good, decent, but maybe less electable guy here at BJ. With all kinds of dramatic references and bullshit. It’s gettting f’ing irritating.
Exlitigator
Great Post. In talk radio speak, I am a long-time listener, first time caller commenter. I agree with you on you post. It is a bit of a cliche to say that my heart is for Bernie and my head is for Hillary, but it is just true. My greatest regret for Obama is his continual quest for bi-partisanship. I feel like for much of his presidency he has been Charlie-fucking-Brown kicking the football over and over. Hillary would just Bitch Slap Lucy and kick the damn football. (Sorry for the sexist language). Anyway I think Hillary will be a better President and is the best qualified for our new partisan reality. Anyway, I have really admired your personal journey and your openness and honesty.
Jordan Rules
@msdc:So much of this. Great contribution.
Iraq war vote and 2008 campaign were a couple of my speed bumps too.
But she is so ready for the ugly they are going to throw at her. It’s like a silver lining prep course.
Betty Cracker
@Mr. Twister: It’s early yet. Things will probably get much uglier around the #200 mark, and by the time the comments approach #300, it will be a sea of “fuck yous!” :)
Baud
@Betty Cracker: Here’s my contribution.
Tara the Antisocial Social Worker
I will happily support whichever Democrat we put up in November. Hell, I’d vote for an indicted ham sandwich against Trump. I just gotta say, Cole, how much I respect this:
I just came from reading an article on the Erin Andrews lawsuit, and while I should know better than to read the comments in mainstream news, I did anyway, and nearly had my eyes burned out. I know it’s just a tiny number of guys and their sockpuppets, but the sheer vitriol (against a sex crime victim!) was jaw-dropping.
Which has nothing to do with Hillary vs. Bernie per se – except that I really needed to hear from people who actually get the concept of empathy, and how much it affects all our lives.
Dave
It’s funny – earlier today I noticed Tom’s post tagged with “I Can No Longer Rationally Discuss the Clinton Campaign”. I clicked through and looked at some of the oldest posts with that tag. It took me way, way back. Remember when Hillary was a vicious, wretched monster, inciting racism to try to get some minimal upper hand in her lost cause to overtake Obama in May 2008? Remember how her team basically argued that 2+2 = 5 to try to seat delegates from Michigan, even though Obama’s name wasn’t on the ballot because he withdrew it? Remember how they tried to argue that caucus votes don’t count, so she had won the popular vote nationally?
It’ll look and feel a whole lot better when she’s using that unscrupulous BS against people who actually deserve it. I want her to fight them tooth and nail, every inch of the way, for the next 8 years. Bernie’s fine, but I don’t know that he can or will do that. Hillary absolutely will.
japa21
John, very well said, and I am not saying that because I am a Hillary supporter, which I am.
But you gave probably one of the best summaries for supporting her I have ever read. (Send it to her campaign).
And there was not a single episode of hippie punching, which I almost never see around here.
To me it comes down to competency, and IMO Clinton wins that argument. I like Sanders, love his passion. But he has a history of not seeking or creating allies. He has had other progressive candidates come to him asking for assistance in getting elected through the years, but, apparently has chosen not to do so.
And watching Hillary on the campaign trail this year is totally different than 8 years ago. Of course I was an Obama supporter than, but she seemed much stiffer, less authentic. It is almost as if she actually became younger, more energetic, more authentic. I think her time serving as SoS and working with Obama made a big difference to her.
greennotGreen
@Technocrat: But when I support a candidate because he or she is better on racial issues I am doing it for my white self! It’s not altruism. I don’t want to live in a world where American citizens minding their own business in Walmart can be murdered by the cops and the grand jury comes back with, “No harm, no foul.” Or where state governments knowingly poison little children and seem not to care because the children are poor and/or black. It’s no different than my not wanting to live in a world where little children are gunned down in their school along with their teachers, and Congress’s response is “Moar gunzzz.”
I don’t know about other white people, but when I vote for a candidate because that candidate is better on racial issues, it isn’t out of some sense of noblesse oblige. It’s because making the world a better place for you makes it a better place for me.
Elizabelle
I smiled all day after I voted for Hillary in the Virginia primary. (Early voting, yet.) Felt good.
I like Bernie too. Appreciate his being in the race and raising income inequality and his other issues. They’re important, and he cares deeply.
If we did not have a center right press, we’d be so far ahead of the game.
(And if you had any questions about that, listen to the Reagan hagiography happening this week — Nancy this time — as all weeks… the GOP sh*tshow is Reagan’s ideological children. Not Eisenhower’s, not Teddy Roosevelt’s, not Lincoln’s.)
Daulnay
Thank you, John. As a Bernie supporter, I can’t find anything to disagree with, really. I’d hoped we’d have a candidate that would fix the things that Bloomberg likes from Clinton (Bill)’s administration and Reagan’s administration, because the plutocrats suck. But we’ve got what’s on the plate, and someone perfect isn’t going to magically come along. Hillary could well be better than I expect.
SiubhanDuinne
@TaMara (BHF):
Yes.
BruceFromOhio
Clinton/Sanders or Sanders/Clinton gives me the same in-your-face-fuck-you-Republicans feeling as Obama/Biden. Let’s go win an election, what say you?
Thanks, John. Good post.
MazeDancer
Right there with you, Mr. Cole. Well said!
Started out open to both candidates. And as they caucused in Iowa, realized how, emotionally, I wanted Hillary to win. Even though I am to the left of Bernie. Even though I really wish Hillary was married to someone else. Even though I wish she was less hawkish. I have only gotten more emotionally invested in her winning over time. Probably, because I am part of that hardcore female base.
On Twitter, I read probably over 100 politically savvy women’s tweets daily. Many of them Black Women. Twitter lets you expand your circles and learn from a wide range of people. And this disparate pool of women are all pro-Hillary. The Black Women are especially not interested in Bernie. And find him tone deaf and clueless.
Have to admit that Bernie feels like a continuation of the Patriarchy to me. While I admire his views, he is a privileged, white guy, used to being a privileged white guy. His yelling, finger wagging, and interrupting feels to me, and many women, like every “I’m in charge” man who did the same in way too many meetings. He doesn’t feel like change. He feels like more of the same.
Hillary is so very smart. Mr. Obama has taught me to like very, very smart Presidents. Hillary has also been subjected to every piece of slime that could ever be smeared. She’s strong as iron and more experienced than anyone who has ever run for President. We need a fighter like her to win an election like this one.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Southern Beale:
I agree, and appreciate every time Hillary takes responsibility for her mistakes. She’s making me more confident that she’s learned a lot, especially from Obama. Bernie’s stuck on that one thing he’s got, and it’s a hammer. I think he’s too old to listen any more.
To John’s point, I’ve come to understand that the point of the spear in this country is race, and if the AA community, who have been sold out more than any other group in the country, can keep showing up to vote Democratic in large and reliable numbers, then we owe it to them to show up too. The true revolutionary act of this day and age is to embrace Obama – and for whites to check their privilege. Bernie doesn’t get it, and Hillary does, and it’s the only path forward to make real change. To the barricades, citizens!!!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This kind of talk fascinates me. How does it translate into the actual political process?
Anya
Ya’ll Caitlyn Jenner hearts Ted Cruz: Jenner said last week. “I think he’s very conservative and a great constitutionalist and a very articulate man. But I also think, he’s an evangelical Christian and probably one of the worst ones on trans issues.” gawker.com/caitlyn-jenner… Let’s just agree that Caitlyn Jenner is an idiot.
Mr. Twister
@Betty Cracker: I’ll control myself.
Amir Khalid
@Southern Beale:
My preferred vehicle of departure is a snit.
BruceFromOhio
@Daulnay: He’s the real deal. I hope he sticks around. The conversation has changed, and won’t be the same without him.
Jordan Rules
@Ella in New Mexico: Yup! I still love Bernie too and I think his voice was so important.
I hope his lasting contribution here is pulling more people over to this side for life. The other side is not him and if his people don’t realize this, that’s a problem.
Baud
@Anya: LOL.
Apparently, gender reassignment surgery comes with a free lobotomy.
different-church-lady
@Betty Cracker: mc-youknowwho will be around shortly, I’m sure.
SiubhanDuinne
@Robert Paehlke:
You and Bernie and I are roughly the same age (I’ll turn 74 in August, close enough). Do you find as I do that you have grown more liberal as you get older, rather than more conservative as seems to be the norm? (Sanders, as someone — Southern Beale? — pointed out on this thread, has stayed exactly the same for four decades or more.)
Ruckus
JC, welcome to the fold. We really do have 2 candidates who I think could do the job. The question is of course to figure out which one can do the best. And of course we’ll never know between these two. Hopefully one of them gets elected president. My choice has been Clinton all along for many of the same reasons you give (great post BTW).
This is a tough time for the US, one of our political parties is having a self-inflicted implosion that’s taken 40+ yrs to reach this point and the worst thing is they don’t know it yet. Will they learn? I’m doubtful, they’ve spent too much time and effort being the stupid party and denying everything.
Mr. Twister
@Anya: Saw that, the human colostomy bag known as Ted Cruz hangs with this guy.
Betty Cracker
@greennotGreen: This. I’m still so horrified by the Tamir Rice case, that a 12-year-old kid could be murdered on video and no one is held accountable. I don’t want to live in a place like that, even if there’s almost zero chance it could happen to my child.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mr. Twister: Eh, fuck you and your fucking control.
different-church-lady
@Tara the Antisocial Social Worker:
You know that old “normal person + audience + anonymity = complete asshole” formula? Take away the “normal” part and you have internet news outlet comment threads.
Technocrat
@Amir Khalid:
Or a flounce. Why can’t people do a good flounce nowadays?
@greennotGreen:
I hear you man. Still, respect.
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus: No, no, no, wait for comment 200!
schrodinger's cat
@Amir Khalid: Not a flounce?
Mnemosyne
@Anya:
It takes a village to raise a set of kids as annoying as the Kardashians, and Caitlyn definitely contributed her mite to that hot mess.
Technocrat
@schrodinger’s cat:
holy shit, jinx much?
different-church-lady
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m not as old, but I find that as I age I personally get more liberal, but have less and less patience with liberals.
For what it’s worth.
Keith P.
I decided to support Hillary for President as soon as she became Secretary of State. My reasons (and I explained this to some pro-Kasich folks who were shocked I’m for Hillary) are simple – a) I’m liberal, b) I have refused to vote for a Republican for anything since about 2010, and c) she’s just got the damn resume for the job. And unlike, say, Rubiobot, when she gets up in front of a mic to perform, whether it’s a debate or a 10 hour hearing, she brings it. She’s done the work that all those names on the right who come and go refuse to do, chasing the quick sound bite and cash-out instead.
schrodinger's cat
@Technocrat: I call it GMTA, Great Minds Think Alike!
Steve in the ATL
@Anya:
Odds are good that you will get no dissenting opinions here…or most places
Mary
@different-church-lady: I’m in my thirties, and I’m the same.
ellennelle
wow, john; this is disappointing.
sure thought you’d at least give charlie pierce a run for his reasoning money.
didn’t come close. which is surprising.
i do like the “kinda” part, tho; keep at it.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Schlemazel (parmesan rancor): Sure we do, look at what they(Lieberman, Baucus, Nelson) said at the time.
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: Too late.
Anya
@Baud: the stupidity and wilful ignorance is shocking.
different-church-lady
@japa21:
[hangs head in shame…]
SiubhanDuinne
@My Truth Hurts:
So, uh, maybe it would be a good idea to work on regaining both houses of Congress for Dems this year? The Senate is doable, and depending on what craziness the GOP unleashes, we may even be able to retake the House or at least narrow the Republican majority there. Just an idea, pal.
Randy P
@SiubhanDuinne: Depends on your norm. I know plenty of Quakers and I can assure you they don’t get conservative in their old age. When you hear about 85-year-olds being arrested at protests, those are the Quakers.
In fact, Bernie reminds me a lot of many Quakers I know, who I greatly admire but wouldn’t necessarily vote for for president.
Gex
Love, love, love point 1. As a QPOC, it is disheartening how often I and others like me are told that our reactions to politics are wrong, that our priorities are wrong, or that we should set aside our issues to focus on The. Important. Issues. As. Determined. By. White. Men.
How refreshing to see someone listen to us and say, hmmm, maybe these groups are saying something with their votes. Maybe they understand something I don’t because it doesn’t affect me. It is particularly refreshing compared to the “they don’t know what’s good for them” response that a subset of white liberals go with. (Which I will say preemptively is not something I experience in these threads, but I have elsewhere.)
The Dangerman
@Mnemosyne:
Remember, the biological Father was the POS that helped OJ get off (and I’m not talking about his lawyering skills, but, rather, helping to get rid of evidence).
Fuck that whole Family (are we at 200 yet?).
ETA: 198? Oh, so close.
Technocrat
@The Dangerman:
Too fucking early.
…Oops.
ETA: 200 was rather tame :(
BruceFromOhio
@Betty Cracker: This times 16 jillion.
Baud
200! Time to get nasty!
different-church-lady
@Dave:
Oh, you mean just this morning on the rec list at Daily Kos?
japa21
John, I meant to add that one paragraph in this post exemplifies the biggest difference between liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat in this country:
It is the exact opposite of the IGMFY philosophy we see one the right. The, “As long as someone is worse off than me, I’m okay” approach to life and politics.
It is this view of life that makes me proud to be a liberal.
Omnes Omnibus
@ellennelle: It is very similar to the process that a good number of people have gone through, greater or lesser degrees of angst, You may not agree with it, but that doesn’t make it invalid.
Amir Khalid
@Steve in the ATL:
I do wonder about people like Caitlyn Jenner and the Log Cabin Republicans — why do they support a political party that sees them as freaks and perverts?
different-church-lady
@Baud: Can I punch a hippie now? Can I can I can I?
BR
I’m basically with Cole on this. I have been on the sidelines for the nomination (whereas in 2007/2008 I spent a year and a half of my life volunteering for Obama), and like and dislike things about both Clinton and Sanders. I wish I could combine their strengths. But I’m starting to feel, to my great surprise as someone who never really liked Bill or Hillary Clinton before, that Hillary seems like a better choice to me now than Bernie. Given that I’m in California, my vote in the primary won’t matter. I still may vote for Bernie in the primary more as a vote for his issue platform (but I don’t like the magical math his campaign seems to favor), but with the understanding that I’m supporting Clinton in the general.
Technocrat
@different-church-lady:
It’s after #200. Get your Caligula on!
japa21
@different-church-lady: I was looking right at you when I typed that.
Ruckus
@SiubhanDuinne:
I’m a bit younger than the three of you but not all that much. I have become much more liberal than I was decades ago and I was on the liberal side then. I’ve seen what liberal policies do and I’ve seen what conservative policies do and I know which world I like to live in and I’d like others to be able to share that.
That said I also see a lot of people becoming more conservative as they age. I think there are a few answers. The wealthy that I know are conservative because they feel that protects their money. The racists/misogynists are conservative because of course they are. The rest are because they watch Faux news and believe what they are told, they are good followers. There is overlap.
moderateindy
As a person that has slowly moved farther, and farther to the left on economics, and trade policy over the last 20 years, (after having actually seen close up how the european socialist model works compared to ours) I lean heavily towards Sanders. I don’t hate Hillary, I just am totally over the entire Clinton, center right, DLC, triangulation crap. People say that she is more liberal than Bill. That ain’t saying much. For the first time in 25 years there is a viable alternative at the top of the ticket to the Clinton/ Gore/Kerry, and yes even O’Bama center. BO is to the left of Clinton, but not by a ton. Look at his financial team. Obviously he was hamstrung because of the situation he inherited, but still it seems he could have done better than giving us team Clinton/Goldman Sachs retreads. His justice department has prosecuted exactly how many bankers/Wall Street types? Opting instead for settlements that include fines that amount to a small tax on their ill-gotten gains, and the no fault determination. The ACA was fabulous, but pretty much a centrist, partial solution. (That being said, it was the best he could probably get, and something I’m pretty sure he realized was all about getting the camel’s nose in the tent.) But I doubt Hillary is more liberal than O’Bama.
People claim that Sanders only addresses things like racism through an economic lense. If you’ve ever had a chance to listen to him on the Hartman show on Friday’s, over the years, most of his talk was about the social safety net, and the exploitation of “the commons” by corporations, and the 1%.
Let me say this; because I hear over, and over again about how Hillary will do more about racism. How? Exactly what new policy is out there that can stop, or even diminish racism? Trying to legislate what people think always turns out well. How are you going to stop an HR manager from looking at LaShonda’s resume, and passing it over because she has a name that sounds black? How are you going to stop cops from pulling over people for DWB? And if there is some policy that could help minorities Is Hillary going to support some legislation that Bernie wouldn’t? What policy proposals is she touting that actually addresses racism?
The whole, “Bernie thinks that economics is the only way to help minorities”, is stupid. He simply realizes that it is one of the few actual legislative options that can have an effect on their lives. Policy matters, and whether it was welfare reform, the crime bill, DOMA, or trade policy, team Clinton did no favors to minority communities the last time they were in power. Bill spoke eloquently about race when he was President, He’d “feel” their pain, he just didn’t do anything to “heal” their pain.
Baud
@different-church-lady: I shudder at the idea that you haven’t been punching hippies up till now.
Steve in the ATL
@Amir Khalid:
I’m no psychiatrist but I’ve always assumed it’s a combination of abject self loathing and raging stupidity.
Jade
@goblue72: Does GoBlue mean UofM? If so, do you think Michigan will vote for Kasich? Pretty strong Ohio Hate for both wolverines and Sparties.
I am a fellow BernieBro (yeah, I think that came from the opposition camp too).
jacy
Bravo, Cole. My kids and my best friend and The Boyfriend are all for Bernie, which is great. But I’ve been around the block a time or 50, and I voted for Hillary in the primary the other day, basically for all the reasons you gave.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@MazeDancer:
Every word of this is true for me too. The first thing I did when I started with twitter was follow black women. It’s like stepping outside of the white racist operating system matrix that white America runs, blinkering them to their privileged existence, and enforcing it. Things got clear for me quickly that Bernie’s analysis of the ills of our economic system is blinkered way too much by his white male privilege, by listening to them from that perspective. Hillary has more bandwidth than him. I’m used to smart, and I think Obama will partner with her.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Steve in the ATL: I figure they don’t socialize with the people who see them as freaks and perverts, just like the bulk of that crowd doesn’t socialize with the people whose taxes they’ve been voting to cut for thirty odd years.
The Dangerman
@Amir Khalid:
Tax Cuts Uber Alles!
Goblue72
@Amir Khalid: Church lady has s history of hippie punching. There’s s lot of that going around here. Many commenters who lately glory in sneering at activists who gave the audacity to call out the Democratic Party for being far too in bed with their corporate paymasters and far too spineless in doing much for working and middle class households. Who are under the delusion that centrism actually accomplishes any progress.
There’s a reason why Democratic elites display a liberalism focused on means-tested, poverty amelioration policies and not wage worker empowerment policies.
Prescott Cactus
@Baud:
Baud I Hardly Knew Ye
phein55
@TaMara (BHF):
I don’t think people understand just who they are voting for when they vote for a Presidential nominee:
Not just the President-Vice President, but also all of their:
Nominees for:
Supreme Court
Cabinet Positions
Hundreds of Under-Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries and Deputy Assistant Secretaries
Appellate and District Courts
Ambassadors
Executive Orders, which tell the Federal Agencies how to function, including who to hire, what to buy, etc
Pardons
The list goes on much further than my 35+ years with the U.S. Army can tell. But the fact remains, any set of the above put in place by Hillary or Bernie is going to be radically different, and have radically different effects, than any set put in place by anyone else. If you really support Bernie, but are going to flake out if Hillary is the nominee, I can’t find words for you.
Goblue72
@Jade: Yes, U of M, for law school. Not up on Michigan politics. California resident currently.
different-church-lady
@Goblue72: MUST… NOT… FORM… FIST……
Eric U.
I was thinking earlier how great it is that Bernie had a chance to be heard this election cycle. In the past, the great liberal hope has always been gone by New Hampshire. And it certainly has been good for Clinton, who otherwise would have been totally ignored. The goat-rope on the republican side has almost kept dem bashing off of Fox, which is a new and exciting thing.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
“exactly”? I don’t know. At least two.
ellennelle
@Amir Khalid:
the point is not that he broke the law; he knew he was breaking the law. so did daniel ellsberg, and a ton of other whistleblowers in our history, most of whom were silenced twice, by the government and then the media.
the point is that he exposed the fact that the government was breaking the law. and the citizenry needed and deserved to know.
TaMara (BHF)
@greennotGreen: This. I was trying to put this into words, but thankfully you did if for me.
shortstop
I came by for some of that horrible coffee you find here after 8 p.m. or so (can no one but I ever put on a fresh pot?). Is everyone playing nicely? If not, are everyone’s punches being thrown with grace and elegance?
Goblue72
@TK_1: This Gen Xer recalls a Clinton admin that gut the welfare state and wholeheartedly embraced financial deregulation and job bleeding free trade agreements. And whose whiz bang economy went kablooey, taking everyone’s meager savings in my age cohort with it. There’s a reason there’s such a sharp divide in Sanders vs Clinton voting that hovers around age 45. Boomers have done comparatively well economically compared to Gen X and Millenials. The most recent economic downturn eliminated DOUBLE the comparative net worth of Gen Xers compared to Boomers.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@moderateindy:
Stop asking for a policy – you have to do that yourself. It’s up to each one of us white people to call bullshit on racism in our own families and with our friends, and push it. It’s not like we don’t know anyone who’s racist. It’s uncomfortable at first, but you know what? When you name a thing, you claim power over it. When something is racist, just point it out and watch what happens. It’s the true revolutionary act in this racist as fuck country.
p.a.
head: hillary
heart: bernie
gut: victory
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
The pie filter has some advantages and a couple of disadvantages. The advantage of not having your BP spike every time a very few people post out weighs everything else. I use as a stupid asshole filter.
Davebo
@Goblue72:
Is there some Gen Xers stock market I don’t know about?
Ruckus
@p.a.:
This deserves repeating. Many, many times.
head: hillary
heart: bernie
gut: victory
This should be in the running for comment of the year.
Loviatar
3 quick thoughts
1) with the exception of #5 (ageist argument) pretty much the same points could have been made for Clinton over Obama in 2008.
2) its been amusing watching the Obots argue for Clinton’s incremental pragmatism over Sanders’ revolutionary Hope & Change. I guess 8 years of actually trying to govern with intractable opposition can change your view of the world.
3) as support to #1 I found this post to an excellent short summary of Why isn’t Bernie Sanders doing well with black voters? For those with an open mind it gives a real good insight into the black political mind.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Well said, JC. I mostly co-sign (with a few quibbles not worth mentioning here).
I was a little worried, based on my occasional skimming of your Twitter feed, and the war that underway at Kos’s place, that you were going to throw in the towel, say that you were going to go on sabbatical in Tibet, and that we were on our own.
That would have been very bad.
;-)
You mentioned Bernie’s stamina – I was worried about Hillary’s because she seemed so worn out at the end of her term as SoS. She seems to have figured out how to pace herself. Bernie could do that too, but he may feel that he has to keep pushing to have a chance to affect the outcome. I dunno. But I do still worry about both of them.
I agree with many that have said that he still has the ability to make a big difference in the Senate. He’s shown that he has a big national following and is speaking about issues that many, many people care about. I hope that he also sees that helping her win in the fall is in his and the nation’s interest. I hope he doesn’t let his rhetoric about the “corrupt campaign finance system” and “Millionaires and Billionaires™” blind him to the possibilities to make things better even if he loses the nomination.
I don’t have kids either, but I do have a heart and do have a mind that tells me that we need to be better citizens and better neighbors. It would put us on the path to solve a lot of problems. You’ve shown that too through your actions, and it’s quite inspiring.
Let’s run up the score this fall!
Cheers,
Scott.
Mai.naem.mobile
200 comments and nobody mentions one of the top reasons to vote for Hills? Jeezus people. Obviously to make right wing.brains explode. A Clinton. Bill’s wife. I’m guessing the suicide hotlines in D.C. would be super busy the first weekend of November.
cmorenc
@Punchy:
John is already gay married to his dogs, so it couldn’t be that.
:=)
John Revolta
@Technocrat: I’m gonna get my “black” license revoked for this
Who signs those things for you guys nowadays? I know it used to be James Brown but I haven’t been keeping up.
Uncle Ebeneezer
@MazeDancer:
Yup. In 2016 (especially after these past 18 months of seeing the tremendous racist underbelly of this country) I just can’t get onboard with a Revolution that is so overwhelmingly White. Even on the Dem side, my White/male perspective has gotten more than it’s share of influence and I’m ready to see the D party start prioritizing the needs of Black/Women/LGBT etc. voters and while Hillary is far from perfect, I’ve seen much more of that sentiment from her than Sanders (who I also like and would be happy to support.)
BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid:
IGMFY.
danielx
@phein55:
Similar experience in my misspent youth – I was 14 and spending the night over at a buddy’s family home, a guy who I’d met while taking an entrance exam for a Jesuit high school, god help me. Anyway, his family was a bunch of Jersey Italians, mom, dad and five kids. My family were WASPs, and even Episcopalian no less, very much stiff upper lip, mostly. So I get over there and had no clue that Jersey Italians mostly communicate by shouting at each other, and was some considerable taken aback – not intimidated, exactly, but over in that direction. I get home and tell my mom, yeah, Vic’s a great guy but his family is crazy – they yell at each other all the time, it’s a little unnerving. Mom had a little more experience of the world and said hey, they’re not mad at each other, they’re Italians, it’s just the way they do. Took some getting used to, but he remains a good friend to this day.
Wag
I’m for Bernie but will happily vote for Hil if the time comes. It’s awfully nice to not have to choose between two insane candidates.
Davebo
@BillinGlendaleCA:
It’s more than that. But that’s a good start. More so with Jenner than the LGR’s IMO.
I know several gay people for whom their sexuality isn’t their primary issue in voting.
Anya
@Steve in the ATL: ha! That was Gawker but I wholeheartedly agree. Jenner’s been saying idiotic and out of touch shit from the first time she got her show. But her willful ignorance & self delusions reached another level when she claimed republicans are for everyone’s freedom. What planet does she live in? I hate that she’s the face of transgender equality.
Technocrat
@John Revolta:
Hah! It WAS James Brown, obvs.
I think it’s Kanye now.
gogol's wife
Sorry I missed this thread while watching (sleeping through) The Agony and the Ecstasy. But this is why I read this blog — what a great piece!
And I love the “seventh seal” tweet!
I’d vote for either Hillary or Bernie. But I do think she’s more viable as candidate and president. We MUST win.
Scamp Dog
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m in my mid-50s now, and I’m also getting more liberal. Each Republican administration pushes me farther to the left, and the next one (hopefully at least 8 years away) will probably turn me into a bomb-throwing socialist. Or maybe the conservative movement could regain its sanity after 16 years out of the White House… Nah, bomb-throwing will be it.
Ruckus
@danielx:
It’s taken decades for me to calm the Sicilian demons that I inherited, trying to talk over everyone else just to be heard, talking with my hands so that people are intimidated. Haven’t yet licked the use of expressive language involving words like fuck. But 2 out of three ain’t bad.
Omnes Omnibus
@Anya: Winning a decathlon doesn’t mean that one has a functioning brain.*
*It doesn’t mean one doesn’t. Independent variables and all that.
Jordan Rules
@Ruckus: @danielx: Repeat!!!!
Omnes Omnibus
@Technocrat: Beyonce?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: I thought it was Rev. Al, James Brown was like a father to him.
NotMax
OT.
@SiubhanDuinne
How was the opera?
MomSense
@Baud:
Has anyone actually seen a real hippie in the wild in the last 40 years? I grew up in hippie central and I haven’t seen one.
At the start of this process I was really hoping for a good alternative to Clinton but I think her competence, mastery of the policies and mostly that she is campaigning on the progress we have made with President Obama have convinced me she is the best choice. I like Bernie’s values but I can’t support his candidacy for many reasons. I wish him well and think he is better suited to the Senate.
David S
@JMG: I agree, and she’ll have a better chance of implementing more Sanders-ish policies than Bernie would
Anya
@danielx: LOL! My dad is Somali and my mom is Waspy McWasp. I grew up with the wasp side of the family but saw my Somali family on a regular bases. My dad is a son of a diplomat who grew up in England and Germany so they’re not pure Somali in the cultural sense. To make a long story short, my dad took me and my two brothers to his homeland to visit the extended family when we were kids. I remember us running to dad saying that his family were fighting because everyone was shouting. I think the language barrier made things even more complicated but it was scary. To this day my dad makes fun of us for that little panic.
Omnes Omnibus
@MomSense:
There are a still a few real ones here in Madison and quite a few pseuds.
Technocrat
@Omnes Omnibus:
I think Beyonce’s actual title is Queen of Things. She delegates the small tasks.
p.a.
@Ruckus: I’ve always remembered a column by W Va native Martha Smith when as a young adult she worked for the Providence Journal, alone in a new city, got invited for Tgiving, Xmas whatever to dinner with a coworker family- Italian or Portuguese (same thing) I don’t remember. She started crying in the middle of the meal “I’m sorry all the fighting upset me”… “Who’s fighting??!”
O. Felix Culpa
@Goblue72: Anecdata, but: My two GenX sons voted for Hillary. Their reasons? 1. The Republicans are horrifying. All of them. 2. Her perceived electability in the GE versus Bernie. 3. Her intelligence and experience in governance. 4. The Supreme Court. 5. Not believing that Bernie’s proposals are actionable.
Not a representative sample, but there you have it.
Steve in the ATL
@Technocrat:
I was thinking New Black Panther Party. Shows how white I am!
J R in WV
I started out with the same problem, and wound up making the same decision. I will vote for Hillary, she is the only candidate I have donated for in this election cycle. I plan to support Tammy Duckworth, other Senatorial candidates, even a Congressional Dem out in AZ. For Gabby’s old district. Victoria Steele.
I agree with Sanders, I just don’t like him. I agree with Hillary on many issues, AND I like her a lot.
Omnes Omnibus
@Technocrat: Makes sense.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Anya: I had the same feeling when I first met my wife’s family in Korea.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: Here in Atlanta we have Little 5 Points. Plenty of vendors of piercings, vintage clothing, and “tobacco” pipes.
And a cool small club where I saw an intimate show with Pat DiNizio of Smithereens a few months ago. He sang until 3 am. He has gained a couple hundred pounds (steroids for a health condition) but his voice is still perfect.
p.a.
@MomSense:
I was at a Jorma Kaukonen show last night; there were a few real hippies and lots of hippies emeritus.
Phil Lesh shows, Trey Anastasio shows other potential viewings.
Anya
@Omnes Omnibus: Someone upthread said that Jenner is responsible for raising the monstrous Kardashian/Jenner crowd. Jenner and her family are a distraction & horrible part of our celebrity culture. But you would think she’s smart enough to not promote people who hate her because of her identity.
O. Felix Culpa
@BillinGlendaleCA: And I with my ex’s Cantonese-speaking family.
Aleta
John Cole…Wild thing…You make my heart sing…Wild thing…You move me.
I have to thank you.
Strandedvandal
Sweet cheeses, I leave for a couple of years and someone has replaced Cole with a reasonable articulate person! What the hell happened?
Seriously though, good post. Well thought out and presented.
Redshift
Bravo. One thing I wish I could get passionate supporters of either candidate to understand is that both have something like 80% approval among Democrats. So if you’re going to argue that the other is a horrible monster or hopeless loser and parrot your campaign’s caricature, understand that you’re only engaging in a circle jerk with other supporters, not actually making an effort to convince anyone.
Denali
Thanks, John Cole for an excellent post. Hope that Hilary will appoint Bernie to actually address the economic inequities in the country.
Warren Terra
@Amir Khalid:
Jenner supports Cruz. What could better define someone, anyone as a freak than supporting Cruz? And maybe as being a pervert, too?
Steve in the ATL
@Warren Terra: Once you have decide to have your dick removed, should you be giving other people advice on what to do? I think not.
different-church-lady
@Redshift: Amen.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
What office is that? You think he would have a greater effect on policy outside the Senate?
Omnes Omnibus
@Warren Terra: Jenner has said that she gets more grief for being a conservative Republican than for being trans. I say, well no shit. One is who she is and the other is a horrific choice.
Technocrat
@p.a.:
My dad is a jazz musician, and quite a few of his fans were hardcore hippies. I kind of grew up around them. As I recall, they were typically very mild, mellow folks, but there was always some sort of surprising fact about them.
I remember one particular lady, long hair, peasant dress, soft-spoken. We went her farm, and it turns out she was a world-class fencer. She gave me a foil, got a wooden spoon from the kitchen, and proceeded to school me. I never laid a touch on her, and she was grinning the entire time. I remember that 45 years later.
Omnes Omnibus
@Denali: Why can’t Senators stay in the Senate?
moderateindy
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: While all that may be true, it is a total red herring in the context of the arguement that someone supports Clinton because she is better on racial issues. How substantively is she better; and how will that translate legislatively?
My whole point is that there are no actual proposals out there to do anything about racism. Am I wrong? Pretty much most passable legislation at the federal level to combat racism is already in place; so why is anyone arguing that Hillary will be better on race issues? The evidence that is out there regarding policy, and how it affects minority communities is not a net positive for team Clinton.
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus: Comment of the year nominee.
Eric U.
@Warren Terra: not only that, but some people say that Cruz is the Zodiac killer. Jeb! for one.
I have no idea why anyone would support Cruz. Trump, I can understand. I certainly think that Jenner would be much more welcomed in a Trump White house than by Cruz.
J R in WV
@Applejinx:
No, Jinx, NO!
The next World War they’ll start out using Nukes, not finish up a dead war using a couple to make a point.
Think about South Asia, two major nuke powers there, always on the verge of breaking out into war. We don’t even really know who all has them now. We can’t afford a world war any more, ever.
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: /blushes.
Kay (not the front-pager)
@Schlemazel (parmesan rancor):
It took 60 votes to pass ACA. 60. Which we had for about a minute, thanks to vote count shenanigans in Minn. So no, we didn’t have a nice test vote, we had filibusters instead. And even at that, the death of Teddy Kennedy meant the final bill had to be done with a budget reconciliation with the House bill. Facts are stubborn things.
If I sound cranky it’s because John Cole sneaked into my brain and stole the “Why I Support Hillary Clinton” essay I’ve been writing in my head the last 2 weeks. And then he did a better job of it.
pseudonymous in nc
Kudos to Cole for this. I don’t think my politics have moved anywhere from the left-left as I’ve got older, but I have grown more inclined towards politics as the art of the possible, and the Obama years have pretty much defined what’s possible for non-crazy-assholes in American politics.
I do think Team Hillary needs somewhat fewer close personal blowhard surrogates of long-standing in front of the media, and instead there should more of a role for younger advocates who were Team Obama in ’08 and ’12 — Laura Olin is an obvious example there, even if she’s been a bit nasty towards the Bern. And I do think there’s a role for Bernie’s focus on the ongoing screwing of the waged class, but again, art of the possible.
aimai
John, I love you so much for this post. Thank you for being you.
James E Powell
@Amir Khalid:
Taxes matter more
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus: Don’t get a swelled head. I think it’s good that you entered the comment, because it makes the eventual comment of the year stronger. But it has no chance of actually winning.
Technocrat
@moderateindy:
The next time an unarmed YBM is shot, if and how the President reacts will make a difference to people who feel no one cares. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a legislative reaction – see Dylan Roof.
Michael Bersin
I supported Hillary in the 2008 primary. I worked my ass off in the general election because that’s what you do when the alternative is the end of the world as we know it. I’ve known for a while that ‘d be supporting Hillary in 2016. It’s what you do. Stickin’
I covered a Bernie Sanders campaign event in Lawrence, Kansas last week: Bernie Sanders (D) in Lawrence, Kansas – March 3, 2016
At the time, on social media, I also wrote: “I like Bernie Sanders a lot. He is a good person. I like what he has to say. I’m glad he’s running. I like Hillary Clinton a lot. She is a good person. I like what she has to say. I’m glad she’s running. I will vote for the Democratic Party nominee for president. Sitting this one out is not an option and it never has been. On March 15th in the Missouri primary I’ll be voting for Hillary.”
I’ve been thinking about what I saw and heard in Lawrence, Kansas last Wednesday. It struck me today. Over the years I’ve covered a lot of presidential campaign events and candidates. In every instance, save one, you got a sense of purpose, of joy in the journey and battle, if you will, from the candidate. Bernie Sanders definitely has purpose – it just struck me that, for whatever reason, I couldn’t see or sense his joy in the journey.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@moderateindy:
You really need to try to take some responsibility for yourself, stop looking for a savior, and read why isn’t Bernie Sanders doing well with black voters?
pseudonymous in nc
@Omnes Omnibus:
FFS, yes to this. Maybe the Senate is a shithole for non-shitheads, but that can’t be changed if good senators won’t stick around. Professor Senator Warren needs to stay around long enough to become chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and maybe Bernie can have some seniority there as well.
Scott Alloway
@Mary: Agree. Big time. It’s time to save what we have.
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: It is an honor to be nominated. I console myself with the thought of Peter O’Toole.
chopper
FUCK YOU ALL
Technocrat
@different-church-lady:
Soooo meta. Well done.
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus:
And who wouldn’t, really.
chopper
sorry, betty said this would happen around now.
NR
@Kay (not the front-pager):
Only because the Democrats allowed the filibuster to remain in place, which they could have gotten rid of at any time with 50 votes plus Biden. The only reason the bill needed 60 votes is because the Democrats decided it would need 60 votes.
Indeed.
different-church-lady
@chopper: Missed it by two. Pity.
chopper
@different-church-lady:
I always wondered what would happen if peter o’toole married pussy galore.
chopper
@different-church-lady:
son of a bitch! come on!
Frank
Whether or not one happens to agree with John’s post (it happens that I do for many of the reasons John cited, especially for Sanders’ failure to recognize that economic inequality is not the end of the story, as I grew up white under Jim Crow and know that racism is its own thing), I suggest that one must concede that it is a model of what civil discourse should be.
Aleta
@Prescott Cactus: We’ll always have Baud.
Coin operated
@greennotGreen:
This x1 gazillion
Omnes Omnibus
@Aleta: Oh fuck.
different-church-lady
@chopper: The answer.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Frank:
Arguing in good faith is what this place is all about – John’s taught us all that through the years. Let’s work to honor that and keep the lights on.
J R in WV
@smintheus:
You say you want to vote “for a candidate with more honesty and integrity, because I think we need more of that and less of the Clintons in politics.”
But the Republicans have spent tens of millions of dollars attempting to convict the Clintons of something, anything. and for their money and investigations, they got nada, bupkis, zilch. Nothing!
This alone convinces me that the Clinton family are straight-arrow mid-western honest. I think Hillary is honest, and other than being a horn-dog, Bill is honest too.
And when compared to any Republican, Any Republican anywhere, they are the salt of the Earth! All your apprehensions about the Clintons were planted by Republicans, lying about them.
KS in MA
@MomSense: Come to Western Mass. The hippies all came here.
Aleta
@Omnes Omnibus: Just get on the plane already.
mclaren
I disagree with you, Cole, about Hillary’s electability and the supposed single-issue of Bernie’s candidacy, but big deal. As a practical matter Hillary will probably be the nominee, and you bet yer ass I will vote for her.
I’m voting for Bernie in my primary. But either Bernie or Hillary will work. Anything but Gozer the Gozerian, in the guise of
the Stay-Puft Marshallow Manopposum-headed Trump, choose and die!Omnes Omnibus
@Aleta: Where is my ironclad promise of ambassador to France? I don’t sell cheap.
ArchPundit
John Cole is the greatest monster in history. Or not really. I’ve backed Bernie with the understanding he was never going to be the nominee so I’ve had a hard time getting worked up this cycle. But he did change the conversation and now on to the general election with Clinton.
different-church-lady
@J R in WV:
Well, they did get the blow job.
Callisto
Hm.
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: No, Bill did.
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus: You’re welcome.
Linnaeus
Late to the thread, but I will echo the kudos for this post. It’s very well-reasoned and fair.
Whatever his flaws, I’m glad that Sanders is around as a candidate. He’s not going to be the Democratic nominee, and to be honest, I don’t think that even he expected to be. What he is doing, IMHO, is opening a political door. Who, if anyone, walks through it remains to be seen, but it’s there.
Joel
The emails remind me of my old boss.
My current boss… not so much.
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: It was like volleyball. Nice set.
redshirt
@mclaren:
Agreed!
Vote Gozer!
cjenk415
if we were voting for president of high school I’d say the popular girl is a good choice. the POTUS makes decisions for the best of the nation and can’t afford to have friends. Clinton values loyalty and rewards it, that’s why so many are loyal to her. Expect lots of cronyism when she gets into office.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: You may have gotten rather the wrong end of the stick there, old bean.
Coin operated
@J R in WV:
Quoted for truth, and what I use on every wingnut that posts the Hillary scandal meme(s) currently flooding the interwebs. Show me one fucking indictment, and I’ll give you 10 Republican ones in return. What really cemented this idea for me was the Benghazi hearing. Republicans had 8 other investigations worth of material to question her on, and had her under oath for 11 fucking hours, and still couldn’t close the deal.
What more can they throw on her during the general election?
am
This all sounds okay.
Also, pagination for me is broken on the main page.
Aleta
@Omnes Omnibus:
Last night Baud said a great many things.
Omnes Omnibus
@Coin operated:
Poo? Honestly, she seems to have gone into “I welcome their hatred” territory years ago.
Paul T
Nicely done, Mr. Cole.
Raven Onthill
Finely and graciously said. I wish you a leader worthy of your loyalty.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: You doubt the appetites of sloars?
redshirt
@Aleta:
Indeed. I was promised Anatolia and yet here I sit, Anatolia free.
BillinGlendaleCA
@different-church-lady: No, your comment about Hillary winning the dick measuring contest yesterday. I read it to my wife, she broke out laughing.
Omnes Omnibus
@Aleta: I just want my appointment to France. I am not even asking for a lot. Always my negotiating tactic… I actually ask for what I want.
seaboogie
@CaseyL:
I agree completely with you and with Cole – well stated.
Compared with the ’08 election cycle, Hillary is so much more seasoned after her turn as SOS, and her witnessing the absolute obstruction that the GOP has directed at Obama, plus running the gantlet of Benghazi and email-gate leaves her with no illusions whatsoever WRT what she will be up against when elected. While I don’t feel inspired by Hillary like I did with Obama, whenever I hear her speak, I am inspired with confidence that she would do a very good job. She’s very wonky, and not reckless.
I am feeling more and more like Cruz is going to get the nom, and this will be a good thing because, unlike Trump, he’s not going to draw demented or racist Dems to his side, plus he’ll lose a number of Repubs not in the 27% base. In fact, even though they would likely not go on record with it, I’ll bet a certain number of Repub Senators in particular would rather work with Clinton than with Cruz.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: I just suggesting that mclaren may not be pro-Gozer. I may be wrong.
Culture of Truth
I’m in a similar position. I’m not a tradition Clinton supporter — in that I didn’t campaign for them in 1992, opposed her Senate run in 2000, and backed Obama in 2008 — but I’m supporting her now. I like some of the things Sanders says, but it comes down to, among other things, I think she’d make a better Chief of of the Executive Branch of government, which is a pretty complicated endeavor.
Also, quite honestly, Sanders impresses less and less the more I see of him in the debates. Idealistic and admirable sentiments are one thing, but someone wanting to President should be able to articulate well-thought policies in a wide variety of areas.
Doug R
@kc: You haven’t been paying attention.
Oscar
Lurker of several years, and first time commenter.
I like this enough to come out of my shame-hole. Kudos.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: You know you’re wrong.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NR: Except for one problem, YOU COULDN’T GET 50 DEMOCRATS TO VOTE TO END THE FILIBUSTER IN 2010.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: You posit that mclaren is pro-Gozer? I’ll leave that to mclaren.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes. mclaren is not only a Gozer supporter, he might be an acolyte.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: Again, I will leave that to mclaren.
seaboogie
So here is a nice visual for you all…..
So imagine this time around it is Hillary taking the oath of office, Bill off to one side, and then 13-year-old Chelsea now has a toddler in hubby’s arms, and a new baby (due this summer) in hers. Pretty sweet!
redshirt
@seaboogie: American royalty.
Omnes Omnibus
@seaboogie: I was happy with that pic when it was taken.
ETA: I am still happy with it.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: How old are you?
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: How old are you?
mclaren
@cjenk415:
This seems unfair. Obama values loyalty and rewards it. FDR valued loyalty and rewarded it. Any competent politician values loyalty and rewards it.
To jump from “values loyalty and rewards it” to “cronyism” is a leap too far. Cronyism means insider dealing, corruption like what you got when Dick Cheney coincidentally decided to award lots of the Iraq war contracts to his former employer, Halliburton.
You don’t get direct corruption like that with the Clintons. You get a more obscure form of fit-for-tat. For example, Hillary’s son-in-law works for Goldman Sachs as a hedge fund trader. That’s not direct cronyism. It does mean Hillary will probably not be eager to order her DOJ to indict Goldman for securities fraud.
Crony capitalism is what Republicans practice. The Clintons even at their worst never stooped that low. So let’s be clear that Hillary will get involved in sleaze, but not direct corruption. Armies of Republican lawyers investigated the Clintons for decades and never found anything directly corrupt. Meanwhile, the Reagan and Bush administrations were corruption festivals, full of paper bags full of bribe money, illegal conflicts of interest, and gross criminality. The only reason Reagan and Bush didn’t go to jail was that the Republicans controlled congress during their tenure, and the subsequent Democratic administrations didn’t want to rock the boat with investigations. If Obama had ordered an investigation of criminality in the Bush administration everyone in the West Wing right down to the janitors would’ve wound up in prison.
The Clinton administration was full of sleaze. But outright criminality…no.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: 51. For liberals of my age, Clinton was a wonder. He won. And he tried.
Omnes Omnibus
@mclaren:
\
As a general rule, presidents don’t order indictments. AGs and USAs are free to do their thing.
Original Lee
@TaMara (BHF): I have friends who are fussing because they’re sure Hillary will be indicted before the convention, and then what will we do? I pointed out that Drumpf is more likely to be indicted for criminal fraud by July than Hillary, but they don’t believe me.
Omnes Omnibus
@Original Lee: Bet them. Offer money. You will win.
mclaren
There are some advantages to a Hillary presidency.
First, she’s been attacked and reviled so viciously by Republicans for so many years that she has no illusions about bipartisanship. So Hillary will not make the mistake Barack Obama made of holding out an olive branch in the vain hope that the Republicans will be reasonable and vote for her proposals. Hillary knows she’s going to have to attack the Repubs with a meat hook, and she’ll do it with gusto.
Second, Hillary will bring in some tough former Clinton people to go after the Repubs. She and Bill understand at this point that it’s war and the way to deal with these motherfuckers is a k-bar in the eye, not a handshake.
Third, Hillary has got experience. Unlike Obama, she knows how D.C. is wired. She’ll hit the ground running from day one and hammer hard to force whatever changes she can.
Fourth, I think Hillary will be less squeamish than Obama about pushing the edge of the envelope. Obama might be hesitant to do something like give the Republican senate a 60-day deadline, then when they refuse to hold hearings, directly appoint a supreme court justice on the principle silentia consenit. Hillary will probably less hesitant to push it that hard. She has long since been disabused of the fantasy that if she plays nice, the Republicans will be reasonable and negotiate. Hillary will play hardball from day one.
Fifth, Bill + Hillary will represent an interesting Dynamic Duo. Bill is still widely popular both in the country and inside the Beltway. With Bill to schmooze while Hillary hands down the proposals and lines up the votes, you are going to get a very intriguing dynamic going on. Legislators who might be inclined to middle-finger Hillary by herself may have a harder time when they get sweet-talked by an extremely popular ex-President as well as pushed into the corner by a very tough current lady president. There’s a carrot-and-stick option there that could prove extremely effective in congress.
mclaren
@Omnes Omnibus:
As a general rule, when a president wants indictments, either the AG starts indicting, or the AG is out of a job.
Seriously, people, do we even have to discuss this? Notice how when Obama was dismissive of marijuana legalization early in his administration, Eric Holder refused to hold off on state dispenary raids. Then, after Obama had a change of heart late in his second administration, Eric Holder suddenly magically decided to start holding off on state dispensary raids.
NR
@BillinGlendaleCA: That’s because they wanted the filibuster in place so they’d have an excuse for passing a massive gift to private insurance companies instead of real health care reform.
seaboogie
@mclaren:
Agreed on all points. Which is kind of irksome to me, since you can be relentlessly and douchily dismissive and arrogant in how you express yourself towards others.
Original Lee
@Omnes Omnibus: We kind of have a rule in our circle that we don’t bet on politics. Otherwise, I definitely would.
Davebo
@mclaren:
Which is why Robert Bork is a supreme court justice right?
mclaren
@seaboogie:
You mean “dismissive and arrogant” in how I express myself to others whose sole response to me is “fuck you, mclaren”?
Wait a sec while I get out my scanning tunneling electron microscope to see if I can detect the femtoshit I give about that.
mclaren
@Davebo:
Lie down and sleep it off. You’ll be able to think clearly in the morning.
Ruckus
@p.a.:
We actually fought. Not ALL of the time, but the shouting and being stabbed with a fork, putting a fist through a door, that was fighting.
Mary G
@mclaren: Like this x10, I have thought this for a while, but you articulated it on the nose.
different-church-lady
@mclaren:
Now look, I might have thought that a few times, but to my recollection I’ve never actually said it…
gwangung
@cjenk415:
The exact opposite is true.
AxelFoley
@different-church-lady:
Damn good point.
TriassicSands
I don’t have any problems with the commenting policy here — ignoring people is easy enough, but the idea that the ability to be rude to people makes it a “fun place” is remarkably childish. I don’t enjoy being rude to others, nor do I enjoy people being rude to me. I think it is possible to carry on a civil discussion without the resort to insults. In rare occasions, civility might not suffice.
Brachiator
Rave on, John Cole!
dianne
I’ve been saying the same thng for months. A stark ” I’m voting for Hillary” when any discussion arises. Her intelligence and seasoned experience at the beginning of the season has now come to include the fact that she’s sane compared to the inhabitants of the cellar on the R side. I like Bernie, too and appreciate the fact that he has sent the whole party leftward but still, we need the competance she has exhibited for all these many years.
low-tech cyclist
Normally if there are already a few hundred comments on a front-pager’s post, I just shut the hell up, because whatever I’m going to say, somebody’s already said it.
But I’ve just got to say: John, this post of yours absolutely fucking rocked. Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts together on this, and thanks for speaking from the heart.
If anyone asks me why I’m supporting Hillary, I’m gonna just refer them to what you said here. Oh, and Alzheimer’s research, because when the Baby Boomers start gettting into their prime Alzheimer’s years, it’s gonna swamp the nursing homes unless we figure out some answers.
satby
@Mary G: I’m just going to agree with Mary G here and say I also have a mad crush on you, John.
You young whippersnapper.
Bill
I have to agree with post #130 @My Truth Hurts.
Hate to disagree with our host @John Cole but your reasoning falls apart for anyone who remembers the political history of the last 25 plus years.
What alternative universe is this? These Republicans (especially the House) will burn the country down first.
The right have such a deep rooted, white hot sun hatred of both Bill and Hillary there will be non-stop investigations over everything they see fit (Forget Whitewater remember Travelgate? How about the friggin’ Christmas card investigation?)
With all these up coming attacks on the Clintons, you’ll think the constant obstructionism and government shutdowns of the last 7 plus years were the “good old days.”
Also remember, when Bill compromised and triangulated with a Republican Congress he ended up enacting THEIR policies. He gave them Welfare reform on their terms helping them to punish the poor and put a greater number of poor blacks deeper into a cycle of poverty.
Here are a few more of Bill’s compromises:
Trinity
I’m late to this but I just want to thank John for sharing his thoughts. It’s why this has been my favorite blog for so many years.
HeartlandLiberal
Marcos needs to read what Cole has written. I was so pissed with Marcos diatribe I have almost quit reading DailyKos. Cole has hit every nail on the head, with reason and with passion, and without alienating.
I will still vote for Bernie in the primary because, well, reasons, but I sure as hell with work my ass off and try to make sure Hillary Clinton is elected president in November, because, well, even more reasons. As for Marcos, I was especially p*ssed because I actually coughed up an annual subscription to support the site. I am tempted to ask for my money back at the moment.
Worst of all is the vitriol poured on Bernie supporters Hillary supporters. Ack. Gag. I have just quit reading the comments on some diaries, my tender sensibilities just can’t stand it any more.
Sarah
What they all said, plus crush too.
C.V. Danes
Eloquently written, and it has devolved into the predictable backbiting in the comment thread. The only thing I will add is this: neither Clinton or Sanders can win this thing alone. They represent somewhat divergent political winds in the Democratic party, with admittedly some overlap, that will need to make peace with one another to defeat Trump.
I have been a Sanders supporter from the beginning and continue to be so. Come election day I will rally behind Hillary. But the day after she wins the election, I will be going back to placing my support with Senators Sanders and Warren to keep Hillary on the left side of the equation, where she belongs.
Davebo
@mclaren: Oh that was brilliant.
Marge
@Felanius Kootea: that was my decision in the virginia primary. I think she will be a very good president
Tinare
@seaboogie: I forgot what a crush I had on Al Gore back then. Hubba, hubba.
Oh, and good post Cole!
cleek
right there with ya, Cole.
i have nothing against Sanders, and if he wins, i’ll support him without reservation. i just think that Clinton would be better overall. that doesn’t mean she’s my ideal candidate, but that she’s my favorite of the two. a year ago i wouldn’t have thought i’d say that. but, she’s grown on me, and Sanders hasn’t.
phoebes from highland park
Cole, I stopped reading after the third paragraph or so. I agree totally with you on Hillary, and have already cast my vote for her in the Illinois election early vote last week.
By the way, Cole, WHERE’S THE CAT?
PaulW
This post needs sharing on twitter and facebook
Felonious
John. I would never question your keen insight and the review of the two candidates is spot on. My problem with Hillary Clinton dates back many years and many concessions. I see her as primarily an opportunist who once had strong commitments but allowed the trappings of office cloud her perspective. Sanders isn’t necessarily running to win as much as he is running to change the conversation. I like you have no skin in the game but I am reluctant to associate the overwhelming support Clinton garners in the black community to any initiative she has taken on their behalf so if you have some knowledge please lay it on me. Her strong support of the security state and the existing banking structure make her the candidate of leaving things alone.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
I don’t know if someone else has posted this above but this article by former Obama speech writer Jon Favreau is a pretty convincing explanation for why people who work with Hillary are supporting her – i.e. your point 2). She’s nice to work with and for, and she’s very competent and hard working.
smintheus
@J R in WV: ‘All your apprehensions about the Clintons were planted by Republicans, lying about them.’
No, they’re not spoon fed to me by Republicans. If you don’t know of behavior by both Clintons that shows a lack of honesty and integrity, then you haven’t been paying attention. In fact I had a negative impression of Bill even before the first primary in ’92, before Republicans had weighed in on him, and that impression has been amply borne out over the years.
Voting for Clinton with your eyes shut is a recipe for disaster. She will walk away from many of her primary season promises once she has Democrats in her pocket, and probably revert to past form.
And fwiw, I’m also concerned that she has shown terrible judgment in policy, and does not have good political instincts on campaign either. All I see on the horizon now is years of frustration, with or without Clinton in the White House.
No One You Know
Thank you, John. I hope your extraordinarily well-written post develops legs, and draws voices. And courtesy to people who disagree with us will, finally, pay a peace dividend.
Miss Bianca
Nice. : )
I’ll be caucusing for Sec. Clinton at the CO state delegates’ meeting. I will be very interested to see how the state-level vote goes!
J R in WV
@smintheus:
You nag and nag, with feelz bad negative impressions, terrible judgment, years of frustration, with nary a single specific item to distrust, event where Sec. Clinton failed the United States, disappointed President Obama, her boss. I do not know of any obvious behavior that causes me to suspect Sec. Clinton’s integrity, and nor do you or you would have mentioned it with specifics.
There are never specifics when criticizing Hillary Clinton, just vague intimations of dread, generated by people who hate her or dislike her, or prefer someone else for any reason at all. Like you, with negative impressions of nothing whatsoever.
Name something specific that a lawyer would say, “Now you have something to work with!” But don’t waste our time, you can’t. There’s no there there, ever. Just vague dread generated by, yes Republicans, and repeated by suckers.
Paul in KY
@Davebo: Do they not have to pay income taxes?
Miss Bianca
I’m kind of amazed no one has made an “this is excellent news for John Cole” crack yet…
gwangung
@Felonious:
How about talking to people in the black community? Might do wonders.
Ella in New Mexico
Can I just say that I REALLY wish this site had a way to respond to an original comment that grouped them together, rather than a running stream with only an “@” symbol 274 comments back to as a reference.
I’d love to read all the comments here, but seriously, almost 400 is just too many. My house is a dumpster and I need to do some grocery shopping before I go back to work tomorrow. :-)
Oh, and I actually agree with almost everything John pointed out in his post. But I still want Bernie to hang in there, because America needs to hear what he has to say and we need to tackle those issues he sees as being so important: income inequality, climate change and environmental protection, cheap or free higher education for all, and of course, universal and affordable healthcare.
Ella in New Mexico
Except, I totally disagree with John on this:
Income inequality-particularly the extreme burdens being placed on middle, working and poverty-ridden classes in this country–is EXACTLY what fuels and nurtures those issues. Income inequality has supported the status quo, and prevented change, kept people focusing on the ‘micro” problems of their everyday lives, rather than the “macro” of making their voices count in politics.
It’s a big picture problem, yes, but we MUST solve it in this country if we’re to make sure as many people as possible are educated and empowered and fearless to participate in their own government.
FlipYrWhig
@Ella in New Mexico: I feel like “income inequality” is a shorthand here meaning “everything bad today.” Sandra Bland wasn’t a victim of “income inequality,” she was a victim of arbitrary and racialized law enforcement. To be honest I’m not even sure what “income inequality” means, and to the degree that I _think_ I know what it means, it seems much more like a symptom than an underlying problem.
Lynn Dee
Great post, John. I feel the same. Bernie’s inclination to give short shrift to racial injustice bothers me. His apparent instinct to try to fit everything into some unified theory of wealth inequality just seems a kind of intellectual rigidity that I find baffling. I like his more expansive view of government, but I don’t get the narrowness of his thinking in other areas that are at least as urgent and important.
smintheus
@J R in WV: Ha ha ha; no specifics, of course nobody could possibly have any could they? Except…let’s think back a few hours ago when for example she was pretending to be all against fracking. The business she went to such extremes to promote while she was SoS, even to other countries. How much more material do you want? Shall we open up the Iraq War folder and start there?
Bob In Portland
@Ella in New Mexico: This.
I discovered this post this a.m. so I’m sure everyone’s moved on. With money comes power. With enough power comes justice. If a cop stops a kid for the hell of it, it makes a difference if the kid turns out to be the mayor’s son. The cop may not make this discovery before he ruins his own career but he learns.
Science says “race” doesn’t exist. We are all merely approximations of each other.
Racism does exist. It was a lynchpin of colonialism. That is, wholesale devaluation of peoples in turn justifies the profit in colonialism.
Racism then is merely a tool for profit. Our country, our early economy, were built on devaluing humans for profit. Slaves, sharecroppers. Henry Ford, despicable racist that he was, found it useful to use blacks to break strikes. It can help to keep poor whites in line. Private prisons profit now from racism. Racism is helping America wage war against the people who live in oil-producing countries.
To think that racism is disconnected from an unfair economic system is to be blind to the economic system we live in.
Likewise with sexism, although sexism is much more complicated.
The more separation between the rich and poor (and there is quite a bit more now than before Obama was president, than before Bush II was president, than before Bill Clinton was president) the more it is necessary for emphasize the “order” side of “law and order”. We live in a contradictory society where we are supposed to all be equal but we also are supposed to know our place, and the place for poor people is getting farther and farther away from the rich people.
Despite her claims of concern and love for minority communities, her personal decisions and political decisions always seem to fall with the rich. Since Bill left office the two have made over a hundred million just talking to rich people. The Clinton Foundation sits on two billion dollars, almost of it donated by the rich. Despite her denials, you can point to relationships between donations to the Clinton Foundation and, say, arms deals during Clinton’s time at the State Department. The Clinton Global Initiative is even murkier with even shadier partners. Of course, like everything else what is legal is relative to how much, who, and what you gonna do about it, chump. People here accuse Sanders supporters of being naive. Clinton supporters are naive because they think greatness rises above money. Clinton has proved the opposite.
Clinton’s support among women under 50 is clearly exaggerated. It’s hard to find people of any gender or race under thirty who support her. Where the Democratic Party machine can influence the turnout she wins. In the rest of the country she doesn’t. Her dominion over blacks weakens the farther from the South you go. Today (it’s Tuesday now) will be interesting to see how the northern urban black community votes, if it conforms to southern black predilections.
This country needed a revolution fifty years ago. It needed a revolution a hundred years ago, three hundred years ago. The Clintons have done a lot of damage to minority communities in their time. Embracing icons is not going to raise minorities. Giving everyone a decent education, making sure the poor are fed and housed and free to live and learn are ways to lift up the poor. Making sure that racism is attacked on all levels works, not spouting platitudes on one hand and taking the money of the private prison industry doesn’t. Making trade deals for the rich and leaving the middle class without jobs doesn’t.
In a sense, Sanders is a one-issue candidate, but that issue encapsulates everything that’s wrong about America.
Clinton embodies the slow death of progressivism in the US, and with it racial and social justice. To me, this is a graver threat than the clown show on the right. The establishment Democratic Party of the Wassermans and Clintons helps to build and maintain the structure of radical inequality while the Republicans toss the red meat to the white underbelly. Why can’t the Democratic Party do what it used to do in the sixties and seventies? Because Congress is filled with Schultz neoliberals, DINOs who are far more likely to vote with Republicans. And over and over it’s proven that when voters only have a choice between a Republican and a DINO they go for the real thing. The neoliberals are slowly killing the party.
Grumpy Code Monkey
Coming to the party late, as usual.
Voted for Hillary in TX.
Reason #1: I believe she is better suited to the job of managing the Executive than Bernie is. That is, actually running the day-to-day business of the Federal Government.
Reason #2: Right now, we need someone to hold the line, to keep the victories won by the Obama administration in place. No matter who wins the WH, Congress (especially the House) will still firmly be in the hands of the goddamned Freedumb Caucus. I think she will be stronger and ultimately more successful in that battle. This is where I kind of think her apparent, perceived ethical flexibility would be a net benefit; the belief that she can stick the shiv all the way to the hilt and keep smiling like she’s your BFF. Whether she’s really like that or not, the impression of it will do wonders.
In my heart, I agree with a lot of what Bernie says. In other years I would have cheerfully voted for him in the primary, but not this go-round. Like Cole, I am a product of white middle-class privilege, and I know there are plenty of people who’ve already waited too goddamned long for their lives to improve, people who may not be satisfied with guarding the few inches we’ve won in the last eight years. But when you look at what we’re dealing with in both Congress and the greater American public (Trump’s leading the GOP pack for a reason), then the next four years at least are going to be hell.
Ella in New Mexico
@FlipYrWhig:
Really? You REALLY don’t understand the relationship between money and social and political power in a society? I don’t believe that.
Sandra Bland was not just a victim of “arbitrary and radicalized law enforcement”. If true, that would mean that you are arguing that what happened to her was merely a local problem, an isolated case. It was not, and in fact is founded and reinforced by the fact that we have held back people of color, particularly our Black citizens, from becoming widely economically equal, and thus, politically powerful enough to exact change in our government.
And this is not just in areas regarding race. I really believe the underlying rationale for Republicans forcing large groups of young people to undertake giant student loan debt in order to get an education they give to their own kids for free is the same kind of thing–if they’re too busy trying to pay the bills, none of them will be able to have the energy or money to participate in politics.
The lack of respect by a large portion of society for another large portion of society is directly related to the level of income and power held by that disrespected population. Whites have been allowed to perpetuate their racist bullshit for forever because overall, we still don’t have enough people of economic influence who are black to shift the paradigm. It’s basic Sociology.
Bob in Portland said it very nicely, above:
gwangung
Correlated, but not causeated. Just remember that treating one does not mean the other will even be affected.
No One of Consequence
I know this is very late in a thread long-in-the-tooth. But I wanted to chime in if only to say that many years ago, I was an avid reader of DKos. However, things started to go off the rails there around 2007-2008. It really became a cesspool, and one that I no longer wanted to dip a toe into. I found Balloon Juice, and found it engaging, intelligent and (for the most part) respectful. That last part is key. Anyone can hurl invective, armor up their straw-mans and ad-hominem their way to glory. Communication requires active listening. Respectful communication culminates in serious considerations of differing viewpoints. I found that sadly absent at the Great Orange Satan around that time, and left with the redesign that splintered a formerly great site into silos of fragmented audience.
Never looked back.
Huffpo came on the scene, but I adamantly refuse to visit it, and will not click on a known (or discernible) HuffPo link in solidarity with those authors whose work she stole outright, or refused to compensate as they enabled her to build her brand/audience.
Balloon Juice is another beast altogether, and one that I find pleasant for the most part and engaging and thought provoking at the best of times. Notable exceptions have to do with the historically epic trolls found within the sheaves here, including the UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH moron who has been noticeably more quiet since Jeb!? flamed out in regalia with all his war chest wasted or unspent.
Nice piece here John, and kudos to you. Thank you once again for the community, and to everyone here who contributes. Doubly so for those that lurk unseen and unheard. You ghosts are the real audience. All the regulars are died-in-the-wool good eggs who need no encouragement to operate in discernible reality. And for that, I thank the regulars too.
Now back to my mostly lurking state.
Oh, one final plea: regardless of which candidate you favor, realize that you must (emphasis on must) pull the D lever this fall, because the Pubs are damned determined to see another Reich or another Theocracy. Our country can afford neither. Nor can we afford to delay the real work that must be done. Our window for opportunity is closing in so many areas, that unless we address them (and soon), all of this will be so much mental masturbation about patterns of recreational seating on the deckboards of a floating USS Impending Doom…
Peace,
– NOoC
Lynn Dee
@Bob In Portland:
I agree there are connections between wealth inequality and other inequalities. Here’s the thing: It’s like the aphorism “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Sure, if the tide rises high enough, more and more of those at the bottom will do better too. Nonetheless, those at the bottom will have to wait longer, suffer longer before their lot improves, and their lot will likely not improve as much, and will fall sooner when times are tough, than those in more privileged positions.
Maybe you’ll say, “Hey, wealth inequality will fix all that” — but when will that be? And until wealth inequality does “fix that,” what do you do about the discrimination in so many areas of our personal and public lives that causes various groups to be disproportionately represented among those living at the lower ends of the economic scale?
It’s a fantasy (IMO) to think fixing wealth inequality will fix that (particularly with the looming problem of climate change – who do you think that’s going to affect first?), and it’s cruel to ask people to wait until the “tide is high enough” to lift their boats too. (And damn, I’m trying to ignore that jarring, unfortunate juxtaposition of “rising tide” and climate change. It’s stepping on my point.)
EthylEster
Thanks, JC, for the substantive post.
Your thoughtful argument convinced me to fork over money to ActBlue.
Kathy
Excellent post. Thank you.
Ella in New Mexico
@gwangung:
Well, how about we conduct the experiment to find out if that’s true, then decide. ;-)
Patricia Kayden
Very well written, John. Either candidate Clinton or Sanders is fine with me. Looking forward to voting in November for one of them.
Bob In Portland
@Lynn Dee: It helps, and without power nothing changes. And Clinton’s power flows from the wealthy. The deal with Clinton was not made for the rich to get poorer and less powerful.
Narrowing income disparity brings better education, better healthcare (whatever the formula) and better jobs. That can be done with more power to the working class via unions, but the Clintons’ arrival on the national scene have been disastrous for the working class, unionized or not.
People are actually starving in the US. People are dying in the streets. If you think that Hillary, who gets millions to assuage the feelings of the most powerful and corrupt people in the world, is going to significantly change things, then you are naive. With Bernie there’s a chance. If nothing else the lines will be visible.
Isobel
John, I love this post so much and agree with you. I have been so excited watching Hilary do so well.
P.S. If you ever do gay marry the pets, please post pics of the nuptials. Your animals are so precious.
DaveInOz
I agree with John with all of his points.
From afar, my main concern is the the Democratic candidate must beat the bat-shit crazy that the opposition finally decides on.
I think Hillary’s problem is that everything is so careful and stage-managed at the moment as they try to avoid a Mitt-type 47% comment which becomes a media event. The problem is that you never get to see her warm side which leads to the perceptions that some people have about her.
I remember an interview she did here in Australia a few years ago with Hamish and Andy, a couple of local comedians. This is the side of her that people should see more of – it would certainly change the perception that she is aloof and cold. I’d recommend watching it through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xlCNf0MwCU
nutella
Coming in late to say thanks to John for this thoughtful analysis of his choice. I also appreciated his post a week or two ago with a thoughtful analysis of why many young voters are choosing to support Sanders.
It’s too easy to get all tribal once you’ve made your choice and lob word bombs at the other side. We’ve seen plenty of that here in the comments. These posts are a lot more persuasive than any sniping can be.
Fr33d0m
@Felanius Kootea:
This has more or less been my thought process as well, though truth be told, I’ve wanted to vote for Bernie, but don’t see the revolution having enough people, and everything just can’t be based on the inequality argument. There is more to it than that, John gets to much of it. I’ve really appreciated Bernie’s voice, but in the same vein as the effort to get Elizabeth Warren to run, our priority should be to have a solid foundation in the House and Senate before we start running our best progressive voices for POTUS. Without that, not much will get done.
doodley
@different-church-lady: It isn’t ironic. One person keeps secrets and the other exposes them.
Avedon
“Women think x” always makes me feel invisible, thanks. I know there are a lot of women my age, some who were even in the civil rights movement (thought not a lot – the smart ones never got hoodwinked by the idea that there were all these things they *had to* do because they were women), who support Hillary Clinton. They can say what they like about how much they care about reproductive freedom, but sometimes I don’t believe them, especially since, y’know, they are in the same boat as men on that score, now that they are too old to have to worry about birth control.
The women I’m seeing today who support Bernie Sanders in greater numbers than they support Clinton are young women – who are still worried about getting pregnant, and a lot of them know that somehow, once the DLC (Clintons) took over the Democratic Party, America went from being a country where you could get an abortion most places and Ronald Reagan himself signed a law making abortion available for free on welfare into a country where abortion is inaccessible in most parts of the country, no one can get an abortion on welfare, and a Democratic president actually shoe-horned Hatch Amendment language into his “ground-breaking” health insurance bill – and now the GOP is emboldened to go after birth control in a big way. In fact, those DLC people shushed us when we screamed about what was happening to reproductive rights – they enabled this crap. Young women also don’t care for student debt, of course, and are always surprised when I tell them that we didn’t used to have to get student loans to finish college.
But hey, since I grew up before all this stuff got so screwed up by the Clintons and their friends, I’m sure a lot of people – including women – in my cohort don’t really think about how little sensitivity they are showing to young women today who don’t have the advantages we once had.
I have listened to Clinton and I have read her and I have not actually heard her promise to do anything for women except by implication – that is, she implies she intends to do something for women every time she says Bernie Sanders’ plan won’t end sexism – as if she has a plan that will.
Do I have any reason to believe Clinton’s non-promises to actually improve things for women hold any hope out for them? No, actually, I don’t, and I think they’ve been smart enough to notice that, too..
Similarly, our friends from the civil rights movement are having the same issue with regard to the way Clinton has behaved historically where racial issues are concerned and where her current language offers them no promises although she likes to imply that some how she can do more for the black community than Sanders will. But you know what? They may not be largest percentage of black voters, but we’re seeing old Black Panthers and young black kids of both sexes who are breaking for Bernie because they sense that he’s not pandering to them, he’s offering to give them the kind of empowerment – including economic empowerment – they need – we need – so that we can afford to take risks again and fight back.
I also have black friends who are supporting Hillary. Some of them give “reasons” for supporting Hillary, but nearly all of them agree in the end that Sanders is better, it’s just that, well, they are so certain that only Hillary can win the general election, and having a Republican win is unthinkable.
But we’ve gone through this every year since 1968 – we get the “safe” Democratic candidate, even when we didn’t vote for him (Humphrey never won a single primary), and we either lose in the general election or we get a Democratic president who swings the country farther to the right than their Republican predecessor had already swung us. We are so afraid to lose that we end up constantly losing.
We need to stop being afraid to fight for better.
PghMike4
I’ll also point out that Sanders honeymooned in Moscow. Now, you haven’t heard one Republican mention that yet, but I assure you that if he gets the nomination, it’ll be all you hear about.
Look, I understand all the subtleties involved in analyzing someone’s lifelong career. But at least 80% of the voters don’t look at much except gut feel. And a lot of those voters are going to look at Sanders socialism and tolerance for communist countries, and just say no. It is perhaps unfair that Sanders past excludes him from a fair chance at being President, but them’s the breaks.