I’m not all that convinced just some mistake. Sure seems an intentional obscene gesture to me.
Some of us who voted Bernie have been in a very difficult position. At times I’m sure purists have claimed I was a Hillary supporter in bad true believer clothing because I don’t think buying into every stupid, or half assed, Hillary conspiracy theory is wise. I don’t believe villain-ization serves Democrats well, or Bernie well. Who it does serve is a party that has continued to skew into more torture, less personal rights: except for those with a lot of money or part of big corporations whose interest is to oppress small ones.
I could go one; but not my main point here.
The recent release of inner party E-mails by WikiLeaks is disgusting, and exactly what I would expect. Unlike Hillary, these folks rely on being very private and staying in the shadows. I do find, however, with more public folks, it pays to ask why they would do A or B when it obviously will be seen, and obviously not help a candidacy. It’s kind of a rational approach to recognizing we have those who claim to be believers, followers and supporters, but really aren’t. There’s a long history of this kind of punking.
Which makes the selection of Tim Kaine worse than “puzzling.” Does the Clinton organization, does Hillary, recognize that their biggest weakness with Sanders supporters is the image of them as fracking-loving corporatists?
He’s somewhat of a clean coal advocate? Really?
An advocate of religious exemptions for employers who personally object to abortion, the pill, yada, yada… really?
One of the biggest needs here is to heal the party and bring in those Sanders supporters who might reluctantly vote Clinton due to “the far worse candidate” politics. I am, by far no fan of this: but until we change the very nature of the system we have to elect our representatives, our president, it is what we have to deal with. Jill Stein isn’t going to win. Dem leaders have proved over, and over, again that having the presidency snatched away due, in part, to a third party never, ever educates them: because the set up is so skewed towards a duopoly. Run off voting and neutering the gerrymander are hardly on the horizon and will take a hell of a lot of organizing that would take us far beyond 2016, probably 2020 and 2024: if we even start heading that way.
By the way, Republicans are just as guilty of non-response: see the autopsy of 2012 and the following double downing, just to provide two examples.
But I can’t help but feel, after his great speech, that this is basically a middle finger in the face of Sanders and his supporters. Great way to confirm the arguments of Bernie or Busters, Hillary.
Yes, I will not vote Trump. I will vote Hillary: despite. In my opinion the stakes are too big, and Christian Reconstructionist Pence only makes it more vital. Want to see women who get an abortion go to prison, a theocracy-based state and as bad, or worse, even more of a corporatist state with poverty wages, more prison labor instead of jobs? Vote Trump/Pence. The Donald has already indicated he’s interested in jetting around, keeping businesses going and, I suspect, posing for photo ops.
Narcissicism is beyond just a “defining characteristic,” and he seems to have little interest in hands on. Welcome to what essentially would amount to a Pence presidency.
Vote your conscience, as that great irritant, Cruz, said.
But, Hillary, in my opinion, you didn’t just made it a hell of a lot harder for Bernie supporters to still make that a vote for you. You just shoved a middle finger into their faces.
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Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 40 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks, and into the unseen cracks and crevasses, that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
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