What should happen on Wednesday

by Stacie

Not saying it will, but here's what should happen on Wednesday:

Hillary Clinton's campaign calls an afternoon press conference after she beats Obama by a few points in Pennsylvania, but the delegate count is another tie. Clinton makes a speech in which she thanks her amazing supporters who have given so much time, energy, and idealism to her campaign, and explains that the job now is to buckle down and work tirelessly to defeat John McCain and the policies of the GOP in November, from the top of the ticket down to county dog catcher, and every race in between. She tells the assembled press and invited members of the audience that her run has been extraordinary, and she is extraordinarily blessed to have had the opportunity to meet so many Americans in so many places and to have been touched so deeply by their stories and by their passion for their country. And that it is in that spirit that her campaign ends, and that her energies will now be directed to building the national leadership that will enact policies to assist all Americans instead of the wealthy few who benefit so overwhelmingly from Republican rule. She will say that it is time for us to come together as Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who want a new direction, and to support the next president of the United States, Barack Obama.

This is what I want to see from Hillary Clinton: a decent act that closes the rancor of the primary battle and moves the Democratic Party into the general election against John McCain and the authoritarians who've taken over the GOP. I don't say this as someone who wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton in November -- I would. I simply can't see how the math works to allow her to take the nomination, only a path of bitter ruination for the party that is still unlikely to yield her the prize.

And so, free of passion, I say that she needs to go. It isn't an attack on her to note that she's behind and unlikely to catch up. It isn't an attack on her to note that if she were to clinch it in the end, it would be through a form of politics that strikes me as simply wrong -- rule changing, strong arming, and ultimately having the superdelegates narrowly overrule the votes of ordinary people. I don't want the process to play out that way, not because I wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton in November (again: I would), but because when I think of those kinds of brutal, exclusionary, win-at-all-costs tactics, I think "GOP." I don't want to see it on my side.

I want to see an act made for the greater good, by a candidate whose campaign has been revolutionary but has just fallen short. It's politics. It happens. And it's time that Democrats take the fight to John McCain. I want to see Hillary Clinton get on board with that. Wednesday is the right day to do it.

Comments

[Libby Spencer]

Sha, you're such a dreamer. I love that about you.

[Stacie Boschma]

Yes, my unreality has its moments of beauty, for sure. :)

[BJ]

It won't happen Wednesday, unless Obama pulls an unlikely upset, but I still hold out some hope that it will happen after the NC/Indiana primaries May 6th. It'll be bloody ugly until then, though.

[Steve Hynd]

Heh, Sha - almost exactly what I told Peter Daou yesterday :-)

Regards, C

[Fledermaus]

You forgot the part at the end when she also gives everyone a pony.

[Stacie Boschma]

Oh, I love ponies! :)