This is my first diary, because I finally have something to say. I have never contributed to a political campaign until March 2008 when I gave what small amounts I am able, to Barack Obama. This is because, while I have always voted either for an independent or a Democrat in 30 years of adult life, I have never before felt able to do more than vote for a lesser of two evils.
We are facing such a choice now. It is our good, and bad fortune, to have two viable candidates for President from which to choose, and as we approach the final frenetic weeks of voting, tempers have flared to incendiary. But let's be honest: rhetoric will not give Obama, the frontrunner, that additional edge to push him over the top. This has been a hotly contested race that has come down to only a few choices that are beyond the limits of campaigning to resolve, and as so many others have pointed out, it is time to look to the general election.
However, in order to do that, it now becomes necessary to refocus our efforts on the problem created by this closely contested campaign - to take a pledge to vote for the Democratic nominee: to spare American lives in a useless gesture of playing peacekeeper between the Sunnis and the Shi'ites in the midst of a bloody civil war. To stop the squander of billions of dollars of American prosperity as our economy grinds itself to a halt in the worst economic condition since WWII. To reverse the downward spiral of joblessness, poverty and hopelessness for minorities, illegal immigrants, the disadvantaged, and the disenfranchised. We can get that only if we defeat the Republicans in November.
We must unify to do that. I finally have something to say, and what I say is, I challenge all Democrats, Independents, and left-leaning undecided voters to end their threats to vote for McCain in retaliation for choosing someone other than their selected nominee. The DNC convention in August will decide our nominee, and we NEED to accept this. Why? Because the country, and indeed the world, need America to go in a new direction. We KNOW we will not get that with a McCain presidency. He has already told us this. We have to choose wisely, and rationally now, and the power is in our hands.
Will there ever be a better opportunity to win a majority in the House, the Senate, and the White House? I say no. Will the momentary satisfaction of denying our vote to the Democrat we thought less of, outweigh the misery America and the world will suffer by a meaningless act of Schadenfreude? I know it won't. I had that momentary satisfaction once of writing in a presidential candidate, and the pleasure wore off about two minutes after the polls closed and Reagan won anyway.
We have to unify. Join me and take the pledge to VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE. Don't give the Republicans a free pass to the White House this fall, because if you thought Bush's Theft x 2 had produced a reign of arrogance like no other - wait till you see what happens if we reap the whirlwind of a two-front war with Iran AND Iraq, with little or no UN support. That is what we will have under McCain. And that is something we don't need to count superdelegates for. It's guaranteed.