Those of you who have been here long enough know that I was among the most vocal of the Clinton supporters in the spring of 2008.
And you also know that I became one of the most vocal Obama supporters in the summer and fall of 2008.
And just as I felt a particular obligation to counter the ugliness from some of the Clinton "supporters," I now feel compelled to address a rather disturbing trend I've noticed here lately.
We should have listened to Hillary.
Hillary was right.
I wish I'd voted for Hillary.
Hillary in 2012.
I have one word for you:
Stop.
We had a long and bloody primary war. It wasn't fun. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't easy.
But it's over.
And I have no interest in going back to it. We already wore ourselves out debating the merits of the candidates. We typed our fingers raw and screamed ourselves hoarse telling each other why Obama or Clinton was the best choice. We made our decisions. We cast our votes.
And now is not the time to play "what if?" and wish we could do it all over again. As my grandmother would say, "Coulda, woulda, shoulda." You wish you'd voted for Clinton? Tough. You didn't. Get over it. No amount of buyer's remorse is going to change history, and it sure as hell won't solve a single problem we face today.
And I have news for those of you suffering from an overdose of disappointment because it turns out Obama is not the Great Progressive Hope.
Neither was Hillary.
Their voting records, when they were both in the Senate, were nearly identical. Their positions were nearly identical. And anyone who thinks that President Clinton would have given us universal single-payer health care is as delusional about Hillary now as they were about Obama then if that's what they expected from him.
We all made our choices. And our choices led us to the historic election of our nation's first African-American president. And maybe some of you have forgotten the pride you felt, but I haven't. I won't. And I'm not going to waste a half-second of my time regretting the money I donated, the hours I volunteered, or the vote I cast.
And neither should anyone else. Because neither regret nor revisionist history will end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, save our sinking economy, reverse global warming, or get us the health care reform we deserve.
You're frustrated? Angry? Disappointed? Fine. Take those feelings and turn them into something productive. Contact your representatives. Organize to elect progressives. Donate to the causes you believe in. Do something. Be the change you want to see, remember?
And I'm talking to my fellow Clinton supporters as well. Because I get it, that desire to say, "I told you so." The very same people who mocked and derided and insulted us and downright bugged the ever-lovin' crap out of us with their endless quotations from Obama's books and endless repetition of campaign slogans and endless postings of that damned will.i.am video are now repeating the same criticisms that used to get us into trouble, even HR'd or chased off the site. Hell, they're even calling us "bots" now.
Irony is ironic that way.
But so what? What do we gain from gloating? How does that fix a damned thing? And better yet, how does that in any way honor the woman we wanted to be president? Don't you remember watching her at the Democratic Convention last summer and feeling so unbelievably proud all over again because she was so gracious and so determined to help unite the party behind Obama?
You want to trade all that away for the mere momentary satisfaction of saying "I told you so"? Is that what you think Secretary of State Clinton is doing right now?
'Cause I sure don't.
If you wish you'd supporter her back then, follow her example by working with our president to solve the problems we face.
And if you did support her back then, follow her example by working with our president to solve the problems we face.
And if you're just trying to make trouble by stirring up old divisions from the primary wars because you're a right-wing troll or just a first-class jerk, kindly fuck all the way off.