jormagund

Hillary catches a lot of flack for being a woman. But I am pretty sick and tired of the double-standard that is going on. I criticize her A LOT. But it has nothing whatsoever to do with her gender.

Vocal Hillary supporters are quick to accuse anyone who criticizes Mrs. Clinton as being sexist. And not just men. My mother's best friend actually tried to give my Mom (who, like me is an Obama supporter) a guilt-trip over the fact that she was NOT supporting Hillary. It's almost as if this baby-boomer generation of women believes they are handing America some kind of gift with Hillary Clinton, and that all women who reject that gift are fools to be pitied. That they have somehow betrayed all the previous efforts made on behalf of women's rights.

They'll say that it is sexist to reject a candidate based on gender. Yet they are supporting her for that exact same reason.

The reality is that many people, myself included, have legitimate reasons why we support Obama. And distrust Hillary. Lets face it... on policy they are VERY similar 95% of the time. If that is so, then clearly there are other important factors in this decision. Some of my reasons are generalities, others are quite specific.

1) Hillary Clinton voted for the war. Sure, she's seen the light now and supports a draw-down. Great. But it's more comforting to think of someone who gives more careful consideration to how our troops are committed in the first place. We sure don't need any continuation of the loose-cannon cowboy leadership we've seen.

2) Hillary Clinton voted for NAFTA. This is a --HUGE-- problem for me. NAFTA is a big threat to American jobs. American manufacturing has suffered horribly. American trucking jobs are under severe threat right now from Mexican truck drivers. These Mexican truckers, with the support of President Bush and all the legislators who voted to authorize NAFTA are on the verge of being given free reign to drive anywhere in the United States. They will be doing so for much less money and with much more dangerous trucks. This hasn't gotten a whole lot of press, unfortunately. But I can assure you... the ONLY people who benefit from this are the Mexican truck drivers and corporate executives who care more about cutting their logistics budget than they do about preserving the American workforce.

The NAFTA issue alone makes Hillary my enemy.

3) The continuation of the status-quo. Hillary is an incredibly smart, accomplished woman. But she is also a typical politician. She's lived her entire life just setting herself up for this moment. That disturbs me. The ONLY change she represents is her gender (in this case). Because in every way, she represents business as usual among American leadership.

3a) Barack Obama began as a community activist. He ascended to politics to address the needs of average people. Not to float his own ego. Not to be "first" in some historical footnote. I'm not trying to imply that his desire to help the American people is any more noble than that of Hillary. But I sure do FEEL like it is.

3b) Lately Hillary has been down-playing Barack's rhetoric. But do not discount the importance of inspirational oration. Senator Obama is in good company in this regard. Prominent leaders throughout history have shown the power of words. The WAY in which you say things can inspire a nation to greatness. Jack Kennedy. Robert Kennedy. Ronald Reagan.

It's completely ridiculous to suggest he is all talk. But it's equally ridiculous to suggest that the ability to inspire a nation doesn't matter.

3c) Many things Hillary says suggest a continuation of the same-old-thing in Washington. This past week I have heard several times from her campaign that she "won" in Michigan and Florida. Lets look at the FACTS:

-There were rules set forth by the democratic national convention ahead of time.
-The states of Michigan and Florida BROKE THE RULES.
-The voters of these states knew AHEAD of time that their votes wouldn't count. I agree completely that this is unfair and that it isn't the fault of the voters. But the fact that they knew their votes meant nothing also means that not everyone who would have voted bothered to do so. Thus the results are not an accurate reflection of the desires of the voters of these states as a whole.
-Barack Obama's name WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT in Michigan. This is important. Because Hillary suggested multiple times that the voters of Michigan had an open election and chose her over her rival. That is just not so. Michigan democratic voters were given two choices: Hillary Clinton or Dennis Kucinich. The fact that the Clinton campaign would INSIST that this was a fair reflection of the will of the citizens of Michigan is disturbing.

It's complete spin. Things like this simply enforce my opinion that she's a typical Washington politician with typical tricks up her sleeve. And willing to do whatever it takes to win, regardless of the ethics. It's unconscionable.

Incidentally, the only fair solution to the Michigan and Florida "problem" is to have a "do-over". If that isn't possible, then split the delegates from these states 50-50. Thus they CAN be seated at the national convention, but would have no practical impact on the result.

With all due respect to the citizens of Michigan and Florida, your STATES fucked up. Be angry at your own state's democratic leadership. Nobody wants to see people's votes not counted -- but your results are tainted.

4) A Clinton or Bush has led this country for the past 20 years. Doesn't that make anyone else uncomfortable? 232 years ago we rejected the rule of dynasties.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is pure insanity.

5) Hillary Clinton is very divisive figure in American politics. To a great degree, the many reasons for this are irrelevant. But the perception is real. Conversely, Barack Obama has a PROVEN ability to pull us together as a nation. Heck, I'm not even a democrat. His supporters span the breadth of America. This is exactly what we need at this point in history. Someone who can reach across partisan lines. Someone who inspires us to be a better nation. And someone who can lead us down a path to regaining some of the respect and admiration we have destroyed recently among our peer nations around the world.

6) Obama can beat John McCain. Hillary? It's questionable.

7) Hillary is arrogant. She thought this race would be over by now. Never in her wildest dreams would she have expected to still be fighting tooth and nail beyond "Super Tuesday". Well, we know how that turned out.

And just as a final thought: I grew up the oldest child with three younger sisters. I have tremendous respect for these women in my life. I think it would be a wonderful thing to finally tone down the tradition of testosterone in the Oval Office. I'd be delighted to vote a woman into the presidency of the United States. But I cannot support this particular woman.

So lets have an end to any ridiculous implications of sexism damaging the Clinton campaign. The exodus she is experiencing has nothing to do with that.