Oh, ferchrissakes.

The lengthy Democratic primary contest bodes well for Republican chances of holding the White House, a new poll suggests.

As Democratic Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York slug it out for the nomination, many of their supporters — at least in Pennsylvania, site of the next major primary — aren’t committed to the party’s ticket in November, according to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll.

Among Obama supporters, 20 percent said they would vote for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, if Clinton beats their candidate for the nomination. Among Clinton supporters, 19 percent said they would support McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic nominee.

The significant number of potential defectors underscores how divisive the Democratic primary has been.

Um, can we say “sore losers”? How about “whiny tittybabies”?

As someone who voted for Nader in 2000 and 2004 – and as a liberal who’s been defending her choices in the face of strategic Democrats the likes of which you can find on the Daily Kos ever since – I’m not saying don’t vote your conscience in ’08. By all means, if you think McCain is the best candidate of the three, then vote for him. I’ll still call you a douche, a selfish bastard, a warmonger, a dolt who’s easily impressed by pandering, etc., but if you truly, madly and deeply think he’s the best candidate for the job (or at least the least objectionable of the top three), then vote for him.

But don’t fucking throw McCain a pout vote because your Democratic primary choice didn’t make the cut. When it comes to Obama and Clinton, they have more in common with one another than either of them have in common with McCain. Health care, the economy, the war in Iraq, trade policies, women’s rights, contraception and sex ed, you name it. If you supported Obama in the primary, and he turns out not to be the nominee, then a jump to McCain is inexcusable. The goes the same for Clinton supporters.

Again, I’m not saying you should vote for the Dem nominee if you don’t like him or her. If you think Obama (Clinton) is condoning sexism (racism) by not calling out the sexist (racist) attacks on Clinton (Obama), and he’s (she’s) on the ticket, then vote for McKinney. If you don’t believe that the Dems have earned your vote, then don’t give it to them. Vote for Nader, vote for Gravel, vote for Kucinich…fuck, pencil in Stephen Colbert or don’t vote at all. I don’t give a shit. But there’s no way you can justify voting for John. Fucking. McCain. after supporting a candidate that’s way left of center to the guy – not when the Democratic nominee’s politics are closer to those of your preferred choice. Not when there’s at least one third-party candidate who’s more your speed.

And a poutpout vote is not the same as a protest vote – when I voted for Nader, I was voting for the Green Party. I was voting for diversity in our political system. I was voting for an end to the two-party system and the Dem/Repub monopoly. I was not voting for George W. Bush. But an Obama supporter voting for McCain over Clinton (or a Clinton supporter voting for McCain over Obama) – yeah, that’s a direct vote for McCain, a dubya clone. Whining is not a form of protest. Fuck that, and fuck you.

That goes double if you’re the kind of “progressive” who likes to bully others over their third-party votes. Like, wtf!?

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Tagged: hillary clinton sexism misogyny 2008 elections barack obama john mccain poll pa pennsylvania race racism strategy democrats republicans protest vote

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 6:14 pm and is filed under indecision '08. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.