Democrats should unite behind one candidate
(Last updated: 08/27/08 6:46pm)In an effort to unite the Democratic Party, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., officially released her delegates Wednesday.
Finally.
At long last, Clinton took her hard-earned delegates aside, thanked them, and for the first time, encouraged them to vote for and work to elect Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who will presumably accept his official nomination tonight.
Clinton releasing her delegates obviously was a good move — one that will unify the party while still solidifying Clinton’s stature as a future presidential hopeful — but waiting until the last moment has caused some problems. For one thing, not all of Clinton’s newly released delegates are planning on voting for Obama; they’re still voting for Clinton.
The State News reported this week that she still had a responsibility to represent her delegation, and that means voting for Clinton at the convention.
This is nothing short of childish. Disunity this late in the game does nothing more than weaken the Democratic Party. Since Clinton officially supported Obama, the Democrats have had three months to get behind their candidate. And Clinton’s supporters are not helping anyone by being defiant.
Obama’s acceptance of the nomination tonight will be nothing more than a formality. The primary elections were over months ago, as were Clinton’s hopes for being elected president in 2008. In other words, as the primaries ended, so did Clinton’s delegates’ responsibilities to vote for her.
In her highly-publicized speech Tuesday night, Clinton challenged her own delegates, asking if they were in the race for her or for the ideals that she stood for. MSU students who are still avid Clinton supporters would do well to listen to her words and channel their energies toward electing Obama.
For instance, the creation of an American Opportunity Tax Credit to aid students in their first year of college — something all college students should be interested in — is something both Clinton and Obama avidly support.
If anything, Clinton’s delegates are doing her, as well as the entire Democratic Party, a disservice. Undecided voters will not be persuaded by a fragmented and split party. Besides, if Clinton officially supports Obama and his positions, shouldn’t her delegates, by simple employment of the transitive property, support Obama?
Which begs the question: Clinton officially endorsed Obama way back in June, so why wait until the convention to release her delegates? She could have released them at any time, and the sooner she released them, the better off the Democratic Party may have been.
Clinton’s insistence on staying in the race and refusal to liberate her delegates only hurts her chances in the future. If the Democrats lose the presidency in November, Clinton could be seen as being divisive. Instead of showing the party that she can be a team player, Clinton has only brought more attention to her attempts to stay in the limelight for as long as possible.
Obama’s acceptance of the nomination tonight has the potential to be a historic moment in our country’s history. It would be a shame if that moment was tarnished by the stubbornness of Clinton’s supporters.
Originally Published: 08/27/08 6:35pm
Bill Lumberg
08/28/08 8:15amFor all the new students at MSU, please read this opinion and understand that your “independent voice” is really just another cog in the ( D ) machine.
And “the creation of an American Opportunity Tax Credit to aid students in their first year of college — something all college students should be interested in”; why should all college students be interested in having someone else pay their way, why can’t some college students be interested in working hard and earning what they get?
GPM
08/28/08 9:00amAs some who has worked hard and earned everything they have, I can wholeheartedly say that college would’ve been a whole hell of a lot more fun if someone else financed it. There’s plenty of time to be under stress about money and paying for things in life. There’s certainly not a poverty of it.
haveaheart?
08/28/08 9:16amGPM-
Read Barak Hussein Obama’s book “The Arrogance of Entitlement”
Joe
08/28/08 9:27amYeah, I’m sure Barack Obama, as a black man growing up in a period of racial strife in our country and someone who worked his way through Harvard Law school, knows first hand of America’s “entitlement.” Unlike John McCain, a legacy of Admirals who had his education paid for by US tax dollars at the Naval Academy and took advantage of his entitlement by screwing around and graduating 5th from the bottom of his class.
arr
08/28/08 9:27am“The State News reported this week that she still had a responsibility to represent her delegation, and that means voting for Clinton at the convention.”
That sentence makes no sense.
“Which begs the question: Clinton officially endorsed Obama way back in June, so why wait until the convention to release her delegates?”
Please please please stop misusing the phrase “beg the question.”
Also, during the roll call vote (a procedure that happens at every Democratic Convention), Clinton moved to suspend the process and vote for Obama by acclamation.
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arr2
08/28/08 9:31amBeg the question
omg
08/28/08 11:07amarr – If there’s anything more annoying than playing the race card, its playing the gender card! Stop making excuses!
Joe – yer stoopid!
arr3
08/28/08 11:34amI should ammend my last statement to say “any Clinton supporter who is threatening to vote for McCain was only voting for her because she was a woman, or is bitter that his/her candidate lost.” Please tell me why someone who sincerely supported Clinton would vote for McCain instead of Obama.
And, omg, I wasn’t making excuses, and I didn’t play any ‘card’. gfys
Joe
08/28/08 11:45am“omg” – good argument….
Bill Lumberg
08/28/08 12:17pmActually Joe omg’s argument was as good as yours was. First, no one at any point said or implied Obama did not work hard for his education. Secondly, if you think severing in Vietnam wasn’t payment enough for McCain’s education you’re an idiot. Third, do you really think that only the top of any given graduation glass should be allowed to have dreams and aspirations of succeeding in this country?
Bottom line, Joe – yer stoopid!
omg
08/28/08 1:10pmarr3
You did play the gender card and I told you to stop making excuses.
Erudite come-back – “gfys”. That stands for God feels yer stoopid! like he does Joe. Now, don’t come back with your far-left-wing, whacko liberal jibberish about the non-existence of Gad. All you need to know about him is he feels yer stoopid!(Joe too) Go fix that!
Joe
08/28/08 2:03pmBill Lumberg,
Wow… First, I didn’t have an argument it was a comment. I was responding to your post and the “Arrogance of Entitlement” post which together clearly implies Obama feels people don’t need to work hard, but rather are entitled to hand outs. I was merely pointing out that Obama did work hard to not only make it into Harvard, but to also work to pay his way through school.
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Joe
08/28/08 2:17pmYou could say “omg’s” “argument” was a comment, too… so I apologize. Either way, “yer stoopid” is a great post worthy of intelligent discussion.
Zeke
08/28/08 3:06pm“I was responding to your post and the “Arrogance of Entitlement” post which together clearly implies Obama feels people don’t need to work hard, but rather are entitled to hand outs.”
Huh? How did you gleam this? GPM says he/she wished someone else had paid for his/her college, and haveaheart replied with Obama’s book on how thinking one’s self to be entitled to a handout is bad. Where on earth did you make the amazing jump in logic seem to have taken? I’m still UNclear on the clearly implied suggestion that Obama favors handouts.
Bill Lumberg
08/28/08 3:22pmTo further rebut the âclearly implies Obamaâ, I never said anything about Obama. I took the quote from the SN editorial âthe creation of an American Opportunity Tax Credit to aid students in their first year of college â something all college students should be interested inâ which as I read it means the SN feels that ALL COLLEGE students should be interested in a handout.
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unanimous
08/28/08 3:38pmI guess it’s unanimous – Joe, yer stoopid!
Joe
08/28/08 3:58pmI concede my overreaction to the “Arrogance of Entitlement” post caused a jump in logic and perhaps a misread of your original post, Mr. Lumberg. (And maybe that does classify me as “stoopid.”) Since it’s been clarified to me, I agree that not every college student is, or should be, interested in a handout. However, making college free for all Americans would not create an “arrogance of entitlement.” People would still need to work hard to get the grades, to prove to employers they have work ethic and committment, and succeed in the workforce.
Bill Lumberg
08/28/08 4:16pmI will withdrawl my yer stoopid comment Joe. But I will strongly disagree with your statement “However, making college free for all Americans would not create an “arrogance of entitlement.”” Every handout adds up to a since of entitlement, in my ever humble opinion.
Bill Lumberg
08/28/08 4:18pmsense of entitlement not since.
actually, omg...
08/28/08 9:44pmgfys=go fuck yourself.