The problem with Democrats
I have been trying to figure out the exact problem the Democrats are having this election. It shouldn’t be that hard. You have a Republican presidential candidate who is going to follow in the footsteps of President Bush if elected. Well, I figured it out.
This election should have been a referendum on the Bush Administration and those Republicans who continue to blindly follow Bush’s failed policies. However, it has become a referendum on “making history” and how we should do it (by either electing a black man or a woman to be our president).
This is not just a recipe for failure in the 2008 general election. This also loses sight of the main point of fighting for civil rights. We are not supposed to be supporting people because they are a woman or belonging to a minority group. We are supposed to try and treat all people equally regardless of their gender or ethnicity. As Dr. King said, judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
And yes, I completely understand and accept the argument that a black person is likely to think that a black president would understand the needs of the black community (just as a woman might think that a woman president would understand the needs of women). That is all well and good for the individual. However, for the party as a whole, we need to get off of the idea that electing our candidate will make history. We need to get back to the idea that if John “Bush Wannabe” McCain gets elected, that our rights and civil liberties will BE history.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Agreed. Except that I think it’s unfair to make that accusation across the board for the Democrats. If Obama’s run was just about race, he would have long ago been relegated to the Jackson/Sharpton archive. Obama resonates with many people for a variety of reasons, of which (at least for myself and others I’ve spoken to) race is almost an afterthought. Hillary’s stalwart support, on the other hand, seems largely predicated on the idea that it’s a woman’s turn to be president. With so many Hillary supporters claiming they’ll vote for McCain rather than Obama, it’s not much of a stretch to assume they’d vote for Condoleezza Rice if she were running. On the other hand, I can’t picture an Obama voter going for Condi simply because she’s black.
I’m not denying there’s a degree of what you’re saying in both Democratic camps. But, at this point especially, it’s much more on one side than the other.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Well, I really wasn’t trying to make any comment about the quality about the candidates. I find that both candidates are qualified and pretty much believe in the same thing. They just differ on implementation (which we both know would get changed by the time it got through congress anyway). I also don’t charge all Democrats across the board. I know many Democrats who will be voting for either of the two candidates regardless of who wins. I guess I could have worded the post “the problem that the Democratic Party is having”.
On the issue of who does it more, I think the sides may be more even than you think. While the Hillary side may be more vocal about it, the Obama side doesn’t need to speak out about it because they are currently in the lead. What reveals their level of participation in the wrong referendum is the sheer turnout for him in southern areas as opposed to other candidates who wouldn’t get that high of a turnout. But I could be wrong. However, what concerns me is that it is happening on both sides and it is giving McCain a chance when there is absolutely no way he should be able to win this year.
The number of voters who would not stay with a Democrat if the “other Democrat loses” is dissapointing (and very disturbing) regardless of who has more. But it just helps to prove the point that we have lost the focus on what this election needs to be about.