But, I am 72 years old. I remember coming home from school. We had a brand new TV. Never had one before. And they were broadcasting the McCarthy hearings. May have been a re-run. But it sure scared me as a child.
I remember picking up a newspaper when I was about 12. Saw the picture of soldiers accompanying African-American children into a school. I cried.
JFK was elected when I was 17. 1960.
JFK was assassinated the same year I married my dear husband: 1963.
My first vote was for Johnson in 1964.
Granted, Hillary was young, but in 1964, she was a bright high school student SUPPORTING GOLDWATER. Goldwater was the candidate of the racists in my universe. Anyone raised with an inkling of morality did not support Goldwater in 1964 no matter how old they were. Hillary was never and is not now a true progressive or liberal -- maybe on women's issues, but that is about it.
Again, I voted for Johnson who signed the Civil Rights Act, started Medicare and fought the Viet Nam War. Also began the interminable relationship between Brown and Root which later became Halliburton, and the US military. Would I vote for him again knowing what I know now? Hard to say. He did some good things and did some bad things. He was a neocon but he furthered our country in terms of social issues.
In my view, Hillary is less innovative and liberal than LBJ. Just my opinion.
After all that, I lived overseas for a number of years and returned during the Reagan administration.
I always voted for and usually campaigned for every Democratic candidate in my life starting with wearing an Adlai Stephenson button in the 1950s.
The point is: I've compromised my values in every election in which I have voted
And now, we have a candidate, Bernie, whom I can vote for without compromising.
First time in my life a candidate, Bernie, is running, and I don't have to bite my lip to vote for him.
I just don't know whether I can compromise again just to keep Trump from winning. I can't stand Trump, but maybe it's time for those younger than me to do the compromising. And I say that with a heavy heart.
The system is not just rigged. It's sick.
I note that Hillary is pressing Bernie to get out of the race right before we vote in California. It's a little harder to rig the vote in California than it is in some other states. Could that be the reason for the hurry?
Could it be that our votes are not accurately counted?
The polls on specific issues certainly don't support the votes on the candidates. So, who knows?
***
I read from the events in Nevada (and I really appreciated the factual account of what happened that is in this video) that the DNC is conniving to shut Bernie out of their little party in July.
So here is what I would like to ask of Majority Report and the other liberal internet media:
Please hold an internet, interactive convention, an on-line convention for Bernie supporters and progressives, true progressives prior to the Democratic convention.
Let's get our ideas, our hopes and dreams, and most important, the faces, voices and ideas of the truly progressive, truly liberal politicians young and old on the internet.
Let's join together online to celebrate our great ideas about the environment, about healthcare funding, about education, about race, about women's rights, about freedom of religion, about all the issues that we care about.
Let's encourage all these young people who think they might one day run for office to submit their videos. Let's watch good discussions on-line about the issues. Let's show the mainstream media, the corporate media, how to report on politics.
Let's show the Democratic National Committee how to hold a convention.
I would like to see this.
Here is why it is important.
As I suspect, based on my age and what I have seen over the years not just here but in other countries, the Democratic Convention is going to be one long, unending attempt to crush the spirit of the Bernie supporters, especially the millenials. It's going to be painful, well organized, expensive and exclusive.
I read the internet. I see the evidence.
The party leadership is planning to respond to Bernie's political revolution with a political assault on the values, morals and ideals of Bernie's supporters.
We have to "strike" first. At 72 I am certainly not speaking of a physical assault.
Let's diffuse the attack that the Democratic Party plans: the exclusion, the name-calling, the frustration that they plan to bathe us in, by simply holding our own pre-convention convention on the internet.
It's up to the liberal internet media to organize this. I'm 72 and have trouble getting into my Facebook account, so I can't do that.
Liberal radio, Thom Hartmann, Ed Schultz, Bernie himself, TYT, Pacifica hosts, etc. I can't think of all the names. Democracy Now.
Invite progressives to send in videos. Invite on-line chatting and phone-ins from listeners and viewers.
That will diffuse the frustration and let us know that we are the many and that our ideas will prevail in the future if we organize and DON'T GET MAD.
Thanks.
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