October 17, 2007 at 10:17:03

Will Dems Commit Political Suicide in '08?: An Address to Democrats Abroad

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Bernard Weiner, The Crisis Papers (about the author) Page 4 of 4 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

In short, the 2008 election may well turn out to be a watershed in modern American politics, re-aligning the electorate in ways they feel more comfortable with. We shall see.

THE Q&A SESSION

What followed those prepared remarks was a wide-ranging discussion of U.S. domestic and foreign politics, everything from: whether Gore (now Nobel Laureate Gore) will jump into the presidential ring -- there was much enthusiasm among the DA crowd for the idea; the intricacies of vote-tabulation and the likelihood of electoral fraud again; the insanity of attacking Iran and why CheneyBush would take that route; the possible genesis of Democratic wimpiness these days; the punishment the Party leadership is preparing for several state Dem organizations such as in Florida and Michigan for pushing their primaries way forward, etc. But a good share of the conversation involved the frustration and puzzlement they feel toward their wimpy Party leadership. And about the Democratic contenders, especially whether anyone can stop Hillary.

And, of course, these DA members wanted to know my preferred candidate(s). I told them that, for a wide variety of pragmatic and policy reasons, I would prefer the Dem nominee not be Hillary Clinton; of the potentially electable candidates, I am more favorably inclined to John Edwards, with much to admire also about Bill Richardson and Barack Obama. Despite their elitist ties and tendencies, any of these three would be somewhat more progressive, anti-war, civil libertarian and more sympatico than is Hillary.

But, if Hillary Clinton turns out to be the Dem standard-bearer in 2008, then all we progressive, anti-imperialist Democrats will face the usual moral dilemma next November. Clearly, there are significant differences between the two parties. The question is: Will there be enough of a difference between our candidates and those put forward by the Republicans to justify yet again holding our noses and voting for the lesser of two evils? I suspect the answer is yes, but we shall see how the political drama plays out in the next six months. #

Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked as a writer/editor with the San Francisco Chronicle for two decades, and currently co-edits The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org). To comment: crisispapers@comcast.net .

First published by The Crisis Papers and Democratic Underground 10/16/07.
www.crisispapers.org/essays7w/suicide.htm

Copyright 2007 by Bernard Weiner

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

www.crisispapers.org

Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.