My thoughts on The Announcement
[Reprinted from Facebook for those not on it.]
So now Her Nibs has finally made it official (to the surprise of absolutely no one who has been paying even the tiniest bit of attention the past 18 months or so) and tossed her hat in. And now we get all the prog-blog "realists" telling those who point out her corporate ties, her past support of center-right legislation, and her other failings that they are being silly, childish whiners and should just suck it the fuck up, hold their noses and vote Hillary because SCOTUS. And because every vote the Anointed Queen doesn't get is a vote for her GOP opponent.
Call me a silly, childish whiner if you will, but I'm not so sure. I admit I would far rather see HRC in the big chair in the Oval than a Cruz, a Walker or yet another Bush...but as has been said ad nauseam, the lesser of two evils is still evil. Maybe third-party candidates have a snowball's chance in New Orleans on JazzFest weekend now, but they'll sure as hell never have any chance at all if we don't start supporting them.
Right now, I'm trying mighty hard to come up with a reason not to go Green if someone credible doesn't step up and challenge Madame Pantsuit for the Dem nod. Plus, I don't much care for being condescended to and insulted -- especially by people who are supposed to be on the same side as me. And let's face it, the same chief argument against her in '08 still applies (in fact, more so now after four years running the show at State): the woman has more baggage than Air Force One and Two together could carry.
And finally, I don't believe we should have dynasties in this country; we fought a revolution to get shut of one two centuries and change ago, and another war when they tried to get us back in 1812. Nobody should be simply entitled to either major party's nomination by virtue of family name, monetary wealth or just being "next in line"; if they want the top slot on the ballot, they should bloody well have to work for it in the trenches of retail politics and earn it with better ideas. Coronations are for monarchies, not the world's greatest representative democracy...which the USA is, for all its mistakes, misdeeds and flaws (and I'll be first to admit there have been some unholy doozies).
I know the stakes are unspeakably high, especially for those of my friends not blessed with pale skin and a penis or gobs of liquid cash. Maybe those who have spoken up in response to this on FB are right and we need to get someone elected and let the "true" progressives push them in the right direction...but the past eight years have shown me that doesn't always work-especially with the opposition pushing just as hard, if not harder, in the other direction. And I'm not asking for absolute ideological purity; just someone I can respect and vote for with a clean conscience. And I would dearly love that to be Mrs. Clinton...but her history makes it pretty godsdamned hard.
So now Her Nibs has finally made it official (to the surprise of absolutely no one who has been paying even the tiniest bit of attention the past 18 months or so) and tossed her hat in. And now we get all the prog-blog "realists" telling those who point out her corporate ties, her past support of center-right legislation, and her other failings that they are being silly, childish whiners and should just suck it the fuck up, hold their noses and vote Hillary because SCOTUS. And because every vote the Anointed Queen doesn't get is a vote for her GOP opponent.
Call me a silly, childish whiner if you will, but I'm not so sure. I admit I would far rather see HRC in the big chair in the Oval than a Cruz, a Walker or yet another Bush...but as has been said ad nauseam, the lesser of two evils is still evil. Maybe third-party candidates have a snowball's chance in New Orleans on JazzFest weekend now, but they'll sure as hell never have any chance at all if we don't start supporting them.
Right now, I'm trying mighty hard to come up with a reason not to go Green if someone credible doesn't step up and challenge Madame Pantsuit for the Dem nod. Plus, I don't much care for being condescended to and insulted -- especially by people who are supposed to be on the same side as me. And let's face it, the same chief argument against her in '08 still applies (in fact, more so now after four years running the show at State): the woman has more baggage than Air Force One and Two together could carry.
And finally, I don't believe we should have dynasties in this country; we fought a revolution to get shut of one two centuries and change ago, and another war when they tried to get us back in 1812. Nobody should be simply entitled to either major party's nomination by virtue of family name, monetary wealth or just being "next in line"; if they want the top slot on the ballot, they should bloody well have to work for it in the trenches of retail politics and earn it with better ideas. Coronations are for monarchies, not the world's greatest representative democracy...which the USA is, for all its mistakes, misdeeds and flaws (and I'll be first to admit there have been some unholy doozies).
I know the stakes are unspeakably high, especially for those of my friends not blessed with pale skin and a penis or gobs of liquid cash. Maybe those who have spoken up in response to this on FB are right and we need to get someone elected and let the "true" progressives push them in the right direction...but the past eight years have shown me that doesn't always work-especially with the opposition pushing just as hard, if not harder, in the other direction. And I'm not asking for absolute ideological purity; just someone I can respect and vote for with a clean conscience. And I would dearly love that to be Mrs. Clinton...but her history makes it pretty godsdamned hard.