I am as politically addicted as the rest of you who lose sleep cross-tabbing late-night election returns.
I have been active in local Democratic Party politics off and on for years.
As we voted in our local precinct organizing meeting last night to replace a recently-deceased Chairperson, I was thrilled (again) to note that the Democratic Party has built gender equity right into the core rulebook: if the Chair is female, the vice-chair must be male, and vice-versa.)
My vote is reliably Democratic across the board. I would not consider casting a GOP vote even for Lowly Interim Stamplicker.
I am a partisan. I educate myself. I do what I can to help educate others.
I vote. I vote. I vote. I vote.
And I have had it with the Clinton campaign.
For months, while supporting other candidates, I happily broadcast the fact that I would vote for Senator Clinton in November if she were the nominee and be thrilled to have such a rich cast of candidates this year.
Clinton's recent "Commander in Chief threshold" comments gave me significant pause, however. Throwing Party weight behind the GE opponent is out of bounds in a partisan contest.
But it is Ms. Ferraro's recent and repeated ugliness, which strike my ear in much the same way that George Wallace's schoolhouse door diatribes still do when I read them today, that destructively drag the Democratic Party backward 50 years in Hillary Clinton's name.
They make me seriously consider staying home in November should Senator Clinton somehow eke out the nomination.
I never imagined that I would contemplate such a thing.
So, deeply disturbed, I wrote Senator Clinton a letter, which I share with you here:
Hillary Clinton for President
4420 North Fairfax Dr.
Arlington, VA 22203
Dear Senator Clinton,
Your "threshold" comments in praise of Senator McCain hit a sour-enough chord inside the Democratic Party, but now your finance committee member, Geraldine Ferraro, begins to sound like George Wallace at the schoolhouse door.
I thought the Democratic Party had jettisoned this sort of nonsense long since and left the ugly dregs to the GOP.
If you are the eventual nominee, the rank and file of your party --- and certainly this individual Democratic partisan --- will stay at home in November rather than meekly tolerate this sort of rhetoric.
Not in this party.
Not in this party.
Not in this party.
Sincerely,
James A.
3/12/2008