Almost all of us have applied for jobs, auditioned for parts, or sought some position in life in which we were competing with others. Indeed, we may have craved those positions and been deeply disappointed if rejected or overly euphoric if accepted becasue these things mattered. I've competed in many activities in life and I've won some and lost some. Such is life.
But how you play the game matters. It speaks about who you are and what kind of job you will do. I believe that competing fairly and honestly also matters. And my commitment to fairness and honesty is not a sign of weakness. If someone competing against me lies about me, I will strike back with the truth and point out the lies. If someone competing against me smears me, I will point out the smear and fight back with truth. What I will not do is smear (knowingly tell a lie) or attack with low blows. But make no mistake about it, I will be very tough.
Republicans like Karl Rove, George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity do not know how to be fair or honest. They are scoundrels of the lowest order who lie and smear constantly just to obtain power or further their cause of the moment. They deserve nothing but scorn and shame.
To defeat Republicans we NEVER have to engage in lies or smears. We simply have to tell the truth about Republicans and the Republican Party collapses and goes the way of the Whigs. If you need examples, think Where's Osama, 100 years in Iraq, no WMDs, Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran, your latest energy bill, gas prices, tuition costs, mortgage rates, local taxes, foreclosures, credit card debts, student loans, NCLB, environmental deregulation, Justices Roberts and Alito and their judicial decisions, Hurricane Katrina, collapsed bridges, student loan rates, Terri Schiavo, torture, illegal spying, ignoring the Constitution, Saudi Arabia, Rapegate, outing an undercover CIA agent, AttorneyGate, waterboarding, a 9 trillion dollar deficit, unfair trade agreements, low wages, HMO bureaucrats, insurance bean counters, heck of a job Brownie, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove, prescription drug price gouging, Jerry Falwell flip flop, telecom immunitygate, the bankruptcy bill, etc...
Note how easy it is to defeat republicans. Here I provide a list of 40 concrete and general examples of why one should never vote Republican. Each example can be backed up by specifics. Use them.
But what would be unacceptable is using lies or smears. Going negative is fine, going negative dishonestly is not. Does that mean we don't fight back when attacked? Of course not. Does that mean we never use strong language? Of course not. When someone like Bill O'Reilly suggests that a 13 year old kid enjoyed being sexually abused and kidnapped, we should use words like scum and evil because they are appropriate if not understatements. When someone like right wing nut John McCain says that Chelsea Clinton is ugly because her father was Janet Reno, McCain should be condemned in strong terms. When someone like John McCain advocates kicking 3 million people out of the country because he doesn't like a political ad, he should be condemned in the strongest of terms. When someone like Ann Coulter advocates killing 85% of the earth's population because she doesn't like their religious views, we definitely should speak out. And most of us do.
It is also not fair game to try and drive wedges for political purposes within a Democratic primary or caucus by state, alcoholic beverage, ethnicity, gender, income, or occupation. The Democratic Party is the party of men and women, the party of blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, native americans, indians, and every other race. The democratic party is the party of beer drinkers, wine drinkers, soda drinkers, and water drinkers and drinkers of all kind. We are the party of plumbers, teachers, nurse, service workers, lawyers, doctors, carpenters, and 99.9% of every profession out there. We are the party that has a majority message that, when articulated properly, would win in New York and California, Kansas and Minnesota, Colorado and New Hampshire, Virginia and Missouri. Granted we may have a tough time in about 3-7 states but at the very least we should be able to win 40 states.
When you attack unfairly, deliberately lie, or engage in win at all cost politics, you HURT the Democratic party UNLESS the base of the Democratic Party swiftly condemns those doing the "swiftboating." (I believe Democrats have improved their chances in 2008 and beyond by overwhelmingly condemning the person and her campaign who have engaged in these tactics during the past week.) When Mark Penn says that most of the voters in this country are insignificant, we as Democrats MUST respond quickly to let the public know that this kind of person doesn't speak for us. MOreover, we MUST let the public know that we do not want this person EVER speaking in our party's name again. Again as suggested time and time again, and for her own good, Hillary needs to fire this man.
Our principles as honest progressives, liberals or moderates (that 75% coalition I like to form with conservatives as 4th party gadflies) mandate that we respect and value democracy. We want every vote to count and we want voters deciding elections, not Antonin Scalia, Diebold, or elitist superdelegates. It is non-negotiable that we expressly and concisely make it clear that the person with the most pledged delegates should be our nominee. Should any candidate attempt to subvert this spirit, it is our obligation to come forward and say that we don't want such a candidate speaking for this party. This does not mean by vowing not to vote for HRC in the general election makes me an enabler of John McCain. It means that I adhere to a very simple concept in everyday life known as a "dealbreaker." A person willing to steal a nomination after finishing 2nd is a dealbreaker. Dealerbreakers are common in contracts, dating, car purchases, home purchases, and every walk of life. I may love house A, car B, business C, or woman D but if there's a dealbreaker, then no deal.
Again HRC could have diffused this controversy by simply stating that she would abide by the will of the people and pledge to support Obama if Obama is ahead in pledged delegates by the end. She chose not to, her choice, not mine. Thus, I WILL NOT VOTE EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES for a person who openly expresses a willingness to subvert democracy, no matter how often she agrees with me on the issues. (And yes if she's on the Senate ballot in 2012 I'm voting against her in the primary and against her in the general even it that means putting a Republican Senator in Washington. Never in my life have I voted for a Republican for a national or statewide office. That would be the first.) If people suffer because of Hillary's selfishness and undemocratic behavior, then the blame lies with every single person out there who remained silent, acquiesced, or supported Hillary Rodham Clinton AFTER she has made it clear that she is willing to steal the nomination by undemocratic means. She has MADE IT CLEAR by HER ACTIONS that this is who she is and I choose to believe my own two eyes. Call it self righteous but it's the cold plain truth, like it or not. Point out the egregious harm that would occur if John McCain appoints a SC justice and you would be right. But that harm is on the conscience of every person who is willing to support Hillary Clinton STEALING the nomination, not me. The bottom line is that IF Hillary Clinton stole the nomination after being behind in pledged delegates, the Democrats will lose 40 states. Likewise, if we choose Obama after all that has happened, Democrats are likely to WIN 40 states. Go sleep on that Taylor Marsh.
As to Michigan and Florida, these rules were agreed to last year, even approved and ratified by Clinton surrogate Harold Ickes. If I were the Clintons, I would ask for elections in these two states in either late March or April, their choice. The Obama camp would HAVE to accept such an offer and if I were the Clinton campaign manager, I'd suggest it openly because it would help your campaign. If Obama refused (I don't think he would) it would be a huge mistake. But the idea that Hillary would consider seating delegates not won under the rules of the DNC is also unacceptable. The idea that delegates in Florida should count when no one campaigned there is absurd. The idea that delegates in Michigan should count when every major candidate but one took their name off the ballot and no one campaigned there is absurd. But once again, as shown by Hillary surrogates, she is actually contemplating a BushRove and stealing an election. She would actually have the chutzpah to try and take every single delegate in Michigan even though 40% who voted were uncommitted and millions more were uncommitted by staying hom. (Note - There is precedent for rescheduling a primary after a state broke DNC rules. Nothing groundbreaking here.)
Again the Clinton camp can diffuse the Michigan and Florida issues tomorrow by simply doing the right thing. In fact, they would be sagacious to come out and say that they are agreeing to a revote in Florida and Michigan in April and pledge to honor the total of pledged delegates. With Ohio, Pennsyvlania, Texas, and then Florida and Michigan back in play, it would be a golden opportunity for Hillary Clinton to go make her case. Mathematically, it would be her best chance at the nomination. But her egomaniacal blindness has gotten in the way.
The principles of respecting the will of voters, of having legitimate elections, and abiding by the simple principle of fighting fair and honestly are at the core of who we are as Democrats or who we should be as Democrats. I love to win in life and I am a competitive, indeed overly competitive son of a bitch. But win at all costs is immoral. I have no problem getting down in the trenches and fairly criticizing a person in strong, powerful terms. But I won't do it dishonestly. This is not asking too much of Democrats to do the same.
On the Democratic side, candidates should be encouraged to explain why he or she is best suited for a job. There are nuanced differences between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It is fair game to contrast those differences. It's even fair game to talk about one's experiences versus the other.
What is unfair is when a candidate deliberately lies about the other person because her campaign advisors tell her that she has to go negative. What is unfair is when we seek to divide people by race, occupation, or gender for political purposes when we are all on the same team. What is unfair is when you attack dishonestly with lies, half truths and innuendos. And for each day you remain on the record as being open to stealing a nomination you haven't won, you deserve the condemnation you are receiving.
Had Hillary Rodham Clinton chosen to surround herself with people not named Mark Penn, had HRC ran a campaign in which she acknowledged that she and Obama are similar on the issues but she feels better qualified, had HRC run a campaign where she remained positive and inclusive, and had HRC simply explain why she feels better qualified, she would have been the Democratic nominee because her story is compelling, her name recognition is widespread, and because our country has discriminated against women for centuries. She's also very intelligent, has a great work ethic, and has tremendous commmand of policy issues. It is these traits and others which justify why millions of people believed she would be a better choice for President than the other Democratic candidates. These voters are sincere. They are not cultists, Hillbots, Kool Aid drinkers, Clintomaniacs, Obamahaters, or irrational. They like Obama, they just like HRC more. We should respect that.
Most of us feel that fairness, honesty, and means matter. We feel the Clintons have crossed a line in the sand by engaging in unfair attacks, telling most Americans they are insignificant, and by openly suggesting that it would be okay to steal the nomination even if behind in pledged delegates. That does not make us maniacs, bots, trons, cultists, ignorant, etc... This outrage is shared by people young and old, from the far left of the political spectrum to moderate Democrats, from people in big states and small states, male and female, etc... In fact it is moderates and independents most likely to be pissed off by Hillary Clinton's tactics.
I want the American people to know that the Democratic Party does not stand for stealing elections and will not stand for the egomaniacal tactics of Hillary Clinton. And I think we're doing that. It's Republicans who will go down in history as the party of stealing elections and hopefully voters will punish the GOP for decades after all they've done the past 8 years. By showing persuadables that we stand up to this nonsense, we also show them that we are strong enough to stand up to the special interests and any threat to our security as our nation. In short, by speaking out as so many of us have in our own way, from politicians who have courageously come forward on these issues to talk show hosts, bloggers, and everyday people, we are strengthening the Democratic Party and creating the 50 state coalition that we need to create.