This whole thing is reminding me why I left the Democratic party 10+ years ago...

[basselope]

Let me start with I have luxury of living in California where it doesn't really matter who I vote for... if I lived in a swing state my ultimate votes would probably be different!

I watched it happen with Howard Dean.. up close and personal.

The democratic establishment didn't want Dean to be the nominee.. so they sent Richard Gephardt on a suicide mission in Iowa and Gephardt did nothing but run negative ads against Dean for the month leading up to the primary.

Then with a little help from the MSM and the "Dean Scream" and Dean was done we were left with a weak Iraq war voting candidate, who I didn't vote for.

Then in 2008, there simply wasn't a candidate I really could get behind. I saw 3 center right front runners (Obama, Clinton, Edwards). The one lucky thing Obama had going for him was that he wasn't in the Senate when the Iraq war vote came up, so he didn't vote for and spoke against it; however, I strongly suspect he may have voted for it (as he did for the FISA Bill) if he was in the Senate at the time.

So many of my liberal friends tried to get me on the Obama wagon and I kept warning them.. he isn't what you are making him out to be. He's not a progressive.. he's just another DLC type who will wind up giving away the things that matter most to you. I didn't vote for him in 2008 or 2012 (I voted green)

By the time 2010 rolled around, my liberal friends were done with him. He gave away the public option when he could have pushed it through and on issue after issue he was giving in when he didn't have to... they wanted him primaried as well, but no one was going to do that to the first AA president.

As of today Obama has accomplished one major thing, he took a title which Michael Moore bestowed upon Bill Clinton... Obama is now the best republican president of my lifetime.

People love to point to the numbers.. look how high the dow is, look how low gas prices are, look how low the unemployment numbers are.. but this is all a smokescreen and YOU KNOW IT. The economy isn't on solid ground and far too many people are struggling to make it paycheck to paycheck, but Clinton, in a shameless bid to secure the PoC vote is clinging to Obama's legacy.

What is sadder to me is that you all KNOW things aren't really that good. 90% of the people have insurance... so what? INSURANCE SUCKS! My wife was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.. luckily it is curable with Chemo and even with our platinum level plan, we already have 8K worth of bills and at LEAST 3-4x that amount to come. WITH our platinum level PPO insurance, her curable cancer will cost us 50K. We're very lucky b/c I was the co-founder of a company that sold for 1 billion a couple of years ago, so don't have to worry about $$$, but could you imagine someone with "Bronze" coverage suddenly having to come up with 50K? The insurance companies still play the same games they did before. The Dr wanted a second opinion on the pathology and sent her biopsy to a second pathologist.. "not covered", so 2K on the bill. Those "out of pocket cost maximums" are BULLSHIT! They find a way to say what you are doing isn't really part of the plan so it doesn't count towards your out of pocket maximums.

So yeah... sorry to say but I can't pull the level for Clinton, because it is more of the same BS progress, giving corporations more and more control, because they rely on corporations for the majority of their money.

When the primary is over, IF Sanders is not the nominee, I will just stop posting and lose my account info again. Maybe I will be back in 4 years when we get another shot, b/c I don't think Clinton has a prayer in the general election.

[Human101948]

1. Why do you keep referring to Dean as "Dead?"

I think he is still breathing.

[basselope]

2. NM, found the autocorrect and re-corrected the autocorrect.

[Human101948]

5. Read your post

The democratic establishment didn't want Dead to be the nominee.. so they sent Richard Gephardt on a suicide mission in Iowa and Gephardt did nothing but run negative ads against Dead for the month leading up to the primary.

[daleanime]

7. The flesh lives on....

after the soul has been lost.

[m-lekktor]

10. ha. good post!

[BeyondGeography]

3. Sounds like it's all about you

Forget the many millions of people who would be better off no matter which candidate of ours wins the White House relative to the alternative. Those drug tests for food stamp recipient bills that die now? What do you think happens under the Trump Administration?

I read your post with interest because the odds are my life will resemble yours before too long as my wife and I enter my 60s. My voting habits will be different though.

[basselope]

6. As I said in the post...

I live in California, so I can vote for Green w/o issue.

I would hold my nose and vote for D if I lived in a swing state.

[randys1]

4. Some dont have the luxury of allowing fascists who openly express hate of all non white str8t xtian

males to take over the government.

So, for the millions of Americans who would not be physically safe in this country under ANY gop candidate, I will work as hard as I can to find someone to replace your vote.

[basselope]

12. My vote doesn't matter, b/c of where I live.

If I lived in a swing state, I would hold my nose and take the slow road to hell instead of the fast lane.

[randys1]

15. Not the point. The point is there is a VAST rightwing machine dedicated to destroying

Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, it has been operating full steam for decades.

When you speak publicly in the manner in which you do, your words work to their agenda, whether you mean them to or not.


Neither candidate is anywhere near liberal enough for me, but I will vote for either because to not do so is actual death and destruction.

[basselope]

17. The democratic party is destroying the democratic party.

It really started with Bill Clinton who made republican talking points as part of this platform.

He dignified the entire welfare queen nonsense with his welfare reform. He continued the charge towards deregulation and brought us NAFTA.

Do I need to mention "the era of big government is over".

That vast right wing machine has been fueled by the words of Democrats. When a democrat declares "The era of big government is over", you instantly cede the entire argument that government is ACTUALLY GOOD at some things.

You know the post office is ACTUALLY more efficient and more reliable than FedEx or UPS in delivering overnight packages? (http://consumerist.com/2008/10/31/overnight-shipping-battle-fedex-vs-usps-vs-ups/)


I got news for you... We are headed for death and destruction under Hillary too... it will just be a little bit slower, but she is beholden to the same corporate interests.

[quantumjunkie]

8. Excellent Post - K&R

There are many here that feel the same.

[farleftlib]

9. Best wishes to your wife for a speedy recovery

It's very disconcerting what the Democratic Party has become compared to what it once was. I plan to stay inside and fight for it but I don't blame you for your ambivalence. I hope Sanders is our nominee and we'll see meaningful change because we seem to be in a fight for the soul of the party as well as for the direction our country will take.

[basselope]

14. TY!

Luckily, it was caught very early (stage 1A) and is 96% curable with 3-4 cycles of ABVD Chemo.

I only brought it up b/c as we started getting the bills, it re-opened my eyes to how much we are still at the mercy of the insurance companies.

[MisterP]

13. Sanders support comes from personal experience

they know people who can't sleep after Iraq or prison, they're putting off marriage and surgeries, their spouses are suffering from corporate-written health insurance law, their parents have moved in with them, they know people who fled from Central America or the Mideast, they're the ones with tens of thousands in debt