This site is full of diaries calling for an end to the campaign. The inevitability of Obama's nomination has permeated the reality-based community. Everyone but Hillary seems to understand she's finished, but she continues on.
There are imprecations to anyone who will listen. Somebody needs to put a stop to this nightmare:
The superdelegates should rise up and smite down the Clintons. But the supers aren't monolithic. They've all got their own agendas, and they're not likely to step forward en masse until the primaries are over in June.
The Democratic leadership should tell the superdelegates to move. But let's tell the truth. The Democratic leadership hasn't been able to stand up to George Bush, let alone the Clintons.
Al Gore and John Edwards should call a meeting and broker an end. Get real. Not going to happen.
So what's the solution?
The truth is that the Democratic leadership is perfectly willing to let this thing play out until June. Don't disenfranchise anybody. Let everybody have their say. Then, when all the votes are tallied, declare for Obama, the pledged delegate and popular vote winner.
But there is one group that can put an end to this: the Democrats of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
We know that the demographics of Pennsylvania aren't entirely favorable to Obama, and Governor Ed Rendell is a popular and effective Hillary spokesperson.
But it is as clear to Pennsylvanians as it is to all of us that this campaign's ship has sailed. They now have a choice -- give the state popular vote and a small pledged delegate margin to Hillary, prolonging everyone's agony and diminishing Obama's chance to win in November, or support Obama and force Hillary to withdraw, either voluntarily or because their support brings the superdelegates off the sidelines.
This is a unique proposition that has not been available in any primary to date. We knew that Obama wins in Texas and Ohio would end it, but Obama's inevitability was not broadly understood then. But now it has reached the MSM, and there is a clear choice that the Obama campaign and other Democratic leaders should exploit.
The clear message to Pennsylvania Democrats is this:
Lead us to victory in November, or doom us to two more months of self destruction and likely defeat.
We don't need to turn the entire state. If you believe yesterday's Rasmussen poll, things are tightening in Pennsylvania. After losing significant ground during the Wright debacle, Obama is making up ground, fueled by two main stories: Hillary's lying about her experience and the broadening understanding that she has lost.
If Obama is behind by about ten points, we don't need to make very deep inroads into Hillary's base to turn this around. There are two main groups whocan be swayed by this argument:
Solid Democrats who like both candidates but prefer Hillary. There is a simple argument to these voters: we can win if we consolidate behind Obama NOW, but there is a much larger chance we will lose if YOU allow this to continue.
There is a secong group of Clinton supporters who will be more difficult to sway, but can be moved with a concerted effort:
Women for whom women's issues are the primary reason for supporting Hillary. These are the voters who write with great passion on other sites that Obama is a sexist and a liar who will never get their vote. But there is a simple truth here: the two olderst Supreme Court justices are John Paul Stevens (87)and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (75). There is a good chance both will leave the Court during the next four years. Hillary campaign has made it possible for a woman to be elected in the near future, but it is time to support Obama. If John McCain is elected Roe v Wade is in serious jeopardy. At the same time, if Clinton and Obama continue to destroy each other for two more months, it is increasingly likely that this will happen. You now have the opportunity to take action to fundamentally protect the rights of women.
This should become a focus of messaging on this site and elsewhere -- an appeal to Pennsylvania Democrats to take responsibility for the health of our party and victory in November.
If we make this case, Obama can win Pennsylvania and move forward to beat John McCain in November.