harikari.com

In view of the consternation regarding our upcoming election, I wish to inform you of some of the conversations I have had lately with friends. There is a group I have spoken with over the months regarding the election. These people are Democrats and at the beginning had the same collective thought that it is necessary to actively seek a nominee from the Democratic party that will win in the November election. With Hillary Clinton and Barock Obama both seeking this nomination, after John Edwards backed out, the common thought was, “Well, I guess I could support either one of these two people in the fall”. As time has gone on, however, I am hearing and agreeing with a different viewpoint. This morning I had a discussion with these poeple and this is now the common view: If Obama wins the nomination, then there is one of two choices to make in November - either do not vote, or vote for John McCain.
Neither of these choices are desireable choices, but in regard to the more we see of the two Democratic candidates, the more sceptical we are to have Obama as our president.

Since we do not truly have a vote as an individual and need to rely on someone else voting for us, this is also very frustrating. This does not seem like a truly democratic society anymore, if it ever was. If we must rely on someone else to make these choices, I would hope you would take others viewpoints into consideration.

I hope this e-mail does not just disappear into cyberspace, but will readh some people with openminded attitudes.

Mary,

It seems to me that it all depends on who you talk to.

I too have had many lengthy conversations with several Obama supporters and several Clinton supporters. My impression at the beginning of this campaign was much the same as yours: People had a preferred candidate, but they would vote for whoever gets the nomination.

As you say, that feeling has changed.

What I’ve heard from my friends who support Obama is that they are fed up with Hillary and they will not vote for her if she wins the nomination. They say that because they are infuriated by her negative campaigning and how she seems to be willing to stoop to Rovian like tactics to win the nomination. They say they will vote for McCain or a third party rather than her.

What I’ve heard from a few of my friends who support Clinton is that they will vote for Obama if he wins the nomination. That’s different from what you are saying, so who the heck knows what people will really do six months from now.

Point being, whoever wins will have a long and difficult campaign ahead of him or her after the nomination is settled.

I have wanted to vote for Obama for president ever since I watched him deliver his speech at the 2004 convention, and I am excited about the prospect of being able to cast that vote this November.

I would also like to add that I will vote for the Democratic candidate regardless of who wins the race for the nomination. I am a liberal Democrat, so I could not in good conscience vote for McCain and I will not throw my vote away on a third-party candidate.

I as an American voter WILL NOT VOTE FOR HILLARY OR OBAMA. This country was bouilt on voting for whom ever you wanted to see in office, but anymore it is who can gather up the most money and buy their way into office!!! I HATE IT.

In my opinion, it is truly interesting to see how many people are not true democrats during this campaign. It is amusing to see how many people will post anything to get people to vote for whom they would like to see win. I find it frustrating when people post things about “groups” they have talked to, and then they do not give us information to follow up with these “groups” ourselves. We are all intelligent people here in Washington state, and I feel that you must always document your sources for these postings to have any validity at all. Also, you must include all details as to why they would not vote for a particular candidate. I did not read why this particular “group” would not vote for Barack Obama. Please don’t insult my intelligence. The posting is incomplete as posted. Also, true democrats already know that we will vote for a democrat in the end, no matter what happens.

I suggest that when you speak with this particular “group” again or any “groups” at all… that you try to speak with them about something positive… like being a true democrat, and uniting the democratic party. There is no need to fan any negative fires so that they spread like some kind of wild, unknown virus that infects the spirit of the democratic party. We need to come together and build a bridge of unity so that we may all make it to the other side and start fixing what has already been broken by the “status quo” situation we are in today.