Moving Forward, But Not Moving On....

Moving Forward, But Not Moving On…

By Robert Sandy

The days and weeks ahead will do much to separate the core supporters of Senator Clinton’s effort to become the first female President of the United States from those whose interest and connection to the campaign was largely based on personal psychology and a desire to be a part of something larger than themselves. The primary motivation for latter group was almost certainly purely emotional and it will be difficult to sustain their efforts in absence of a continued and unremitting stream of media-based stimuli.

As the narrative suddenly shifts away from Senator Clinton and her campaign there will undoubtedly be those whose attentions will be turned elsewhere. Additionally, there will be those who will decide to return to the Democratic Party and support Barack Obama, others who will vote against their own political values in defiance of the Democratic Party, and still others who will choose the path of personal destruction and do whatever possible to undermine the Democratic Party’s candidate. But there will be others, fewer, who, with perhaps a more grounded understanding of history and the political process coupled with unflinching loyalty to Senator Clinton, will consider the options before them and move forward with both reason and purpose.

In was clear that Senator Clinton’s speech last Tuesday night was meant to serve as both a prelude to Saturday’s concession to Barack Obama and as a possible launching pad for the Democratic nomination in 2012. Her overriding themes throughout the course of the speech were a simple reiteration of those that have resounded throughout her historic campaign: Health care, fiscal responsibility, ending the war, etc. And while she was polite in her appraisal of Barack Obama’s campaign she was also careful to note—several times—that she had, in fact, won more votes than he. In fact, as has often been reported, Hillary Clinton received more votes than any candidate in any primary season, ever.

Her concession speech on Saturday, which was necessarily effusive, and undoubtedly far more sincere than any of her critics or her fans are likely to believe, will probably serve its necessary function of uniting the majority of Democrats behind the presumptive nominee. But I am not one who was convinced. I remain steadfast in my intent to write in Hillary Clinton as my choice as President. For me, the race for the 2012 Democratic Presidential nomination begins today.

As we close out this long primary season, however, it must be admitted that Barack Obama ran a mostly brilliant campaign. He is the candidate today not because he won any state that Democrats need to win or, in fact, will win in November (accept Illinois and Oregon), and not because his supporters were any more passionate or inspired than his opponent’s, and certainly not because, as he purports to argue, he brought together any larger or grander coalition of voters than Senator Clinton.

Barack Obama won the nomination on the basis of four main facts:

1. The Caucus System – Barack Obama’s campaign understood the nature of the caucus system far better than Senator Clinton’s team. It also understood that the system unfairly favored his demographic of young college students, Democratic activists, and white upper middle-class voters, and he exploited it for all that it was worth. He also understood that Hillary’s coalition of poor and working-class families, single mothers, and older Americans would have less of an understanding of the process and a more difficult time taking part therein.

2. The Black Community – Barack Obama enjoyed an unprecedented level of success with this huge Democratic voting bloc. In some states he received as much as ninety-two percent of the African-American vote. In states like South Carolina and Louisiana where black participation in state-level primaries approached or exceeded fifty-percent this made all of the difference to his campaign.

3. Freedom from the Press – The MSM gave Senator Obama’s campaign a free pass by largely ignoring, or quickly moving on from, the Rezco and Reverend Wright scandals, and, perhaps more importantly, by carefully glossing over his many fabrications and his patently elitist rhetoric. In tandem with the hands off approach taken by the media to his own campaign, Obama greatly benefitted from the barrage of constant attacks on his opponents character and credibility. These attacks were coupled with a steady stream of blatantly sexist rhetoric which continually sought to undermine Senator Clinton’s candidacy.

4. The Democratic leadership – There was simply no doubt whom anyone from Howard Dean to Nancy Pelosi preferred. Early endorsements from John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and others all signaled to Party regulars that the man was preferred over the woman.

Does anyone in the world not see the obvious psychology involved in all of this? Pelosi, one of the most ineffectual Speakers the House has ever been forced to endure, simply did not want to share the mantle of “Most Powerful Woman in the World” with anyone, least of all Hillary. And does anybody else see the obvious thread running through all of the major male endorsers? They are all failed Presidential candidates, each with an ax to grind with the Clintons for having the audacity to actually win the White House, not once, but twice.

My firm belief that Barack Obama will fail in his quest for the Presidency has not diminished. Nor has my belief that he is not nearly experienced enough to assume the Presidency. In fact, the harm he could do to both the Democratic Party and this country should his bid be successful is almost too alarming to consider. Luckily, his only real hope rests in whether or not he will select Senator Clinton as his running-mate (though the selection of Wesley Clark would certainly help him as well), and I just do not think that he has the wisdom to realize this fact. Therefore, at the moment, his chances of winning the general election hinge largely upon his abilities to draw upon the full-strength of the diverse coalition of Clinton supporters, but these hopes, should he harbor them, seem ridiculously naïve. Both Senator Clinton and her supporters were treated as pariah during the course of the campaign by his staff, his supporters, his press, and occasionally by himself. We were told we were racists, we were told that we were ignorant, and we told that we were not needed to win. There is very little reason in light of all of these facts for any genuine supporter of Senator Clinton’s to even consider supporting Barack Obama. It might take only a small percentage of her supporters (under ten percent), in fact, to sway this election in either direction and I have no doubt about where I stand.

The current efforts to draft Senator Clinton to leave the Democratic Party and run as an Independent while certainly sincere are also somewhat naïve. As I have written in the past, Hillary Clinton is a Democrat to the core of her being. Her entire political past, present and future are bound to the Democratic Party, and wherever it goes, so goes she. She will fight hard and sincerely for Barack Obama in the coming months, as no doubt, he would have for her. But have no doubt that if and when he loses that she will begin laying the groundwork for the nomination in 2012 immediately.

And so that is where my attention now turns.

To that end I announce my first in a series of NATIONAL ACTION ALERTS. I will be releasing press notices on Monday June 16^th and I ask that all Hillary Clinton support organizations join me in taking the news to streets. I am asking all Clinton supporters to join me in making Monday June 25^th BLACK RIBBON DAY. I am asking all supporters to wear a simple black ribbon as a show of solidarity as the Democratic National Convention convenes in Denver. It is a small gesture, but an important one. I will be contacting Clinton delegates in Maine, Illinois and other states and asking them to join in our show of strength and support and I ask that you do the same. Let us show Senator Clinton, The Democratic Party, and America that we are still here, and that, while we might be forgotten, we will not forget.

Thank you,

Robert Sandy

Email: robert.sandy@gmail.com

mySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hillarywriteincampaign

Robert Sandy is a writer, artist and moonlighter. He lives in Brunswick, Maine and Chicago, Illinois. He first novel has been nearing completion for several years now and he expects to finish it at any moment.