A Publice Service Announcement

The following is reprinted from colorofchange.org, portions in red are my own words.

Dear Friends,

Some leaders in the Democratic Party are playing with fire. They think that they can betray the will of millions of voters--and choose Hillary Clinton as their Presidential nominee, regardless of whether or not she is the choice of the majority of voters in the Democratic primaries. We can't let this happen. It would be the largest disenfranchisement in modern history, and it would mean the Democratic Party giving their stamp of approval to a clear and consistent pattern of race-baiting by the Clinton campaign.

If we make our voices heard, we can stop it. Please join us in signing an open letter to leaders in the Democratic Party -- DNC Chair Howard Dean, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and all superdelegates -- demanding that they reject an outcome that involves trampling voting rights and legitimizing the politics of division and fear:

http://www.colorofchange.org/dems/?id=2281-546680

By the time the last vote is cast on June 3rd under the rules of the Democratic Party, it's unlikely virtually impossible, unless Barack Obama is struck by a meteor, that Hillary Clinton will beat Barack Obama among voters. But there's a chance that superdelegates will hand Clinton the nomination anyway.

This would be a shocking attack on democracy, and it would destroy the Democratic party's credibility on protecting the right to vote. Black Americans of color people have a long history of fighting against voter suppression, and now the Democratic Party will be the enemy in that fight. As bad as that would be, there's another reason that a coup by party insiders would threaten racial progress.

Senator Clinton's plan to have superdelegates hand her the nomination doesn't make sense without a parallel strategy -- she has to stoke enough division and race-based fear among Democratic voters to convince superdelegates that white voters will not vote for Senator Obama in the general election. One of Clinton's key arguments to superdelegates is that America won't elect a Black man, and therefore she's the better choice for Democrats to beat John McCain. While she makes that argument in private to superdelegates, in public Clinton's campaign and her surrogates are doing everything they can to damage Barack Obama by ginning up fear and division and playing to the worst instincts of our society. It's an insult to Black people and all Americans, Obama and Clinton supporters alike.

The pattern has been clear and consistent to some party leaders. Last week, according to the Washington Post, James Clyburn -- who as House Majority Whip remains neutral and is the highest ranking Black member of Congress -- accused the Clintons of marginalizing Black voters. Referring to this strategy in another interview, Clyburn said that "Nothing in this campaign has been by accident."

Congressman Clyburn warned that "black people are incensed" over the divisiveness of the Clinton strategy and that it threatens an irreparable breach between Black people and the Democratic Party. He's right. And if superdelegates hand Clinton a victory despite her defeat among voters, they will be condoning and rewarding that strategy.

Some party leaders have expressed strong concern about superdelegates overruling voters. But as a whole, superdelegates have not made it clear that they will respect the will of voters. Today, we want to send a clear, unequivocal message to superdelegates and other party leaders: Reject the idea that the nomination can be won with a strategy that preys on racism, sows division, and disenfranchises millions of voters.

Please join us: http://www.colorofchange.org/dems/?id=2281-546680

Further, Governor Dean,  I think that you should know that there are no small number of activists in the blogosphere that plan to influence as many voters as possible to directly attack the democratic party's ability to achieve the White House if Clinton is handed the nomination with out winning it via the legitimate votes that were cast in the various state primaries and caucuses.  We view another four years of bad Republican government as no better than a Democratic government installed by immoral practices.

Some may see this as an exercise in "sour grapes", but what it will actually be is the permanent... PERMANENT fracture of one of the largest voting blocks in the Democratic party.

My name is Gunfighter, and although I didn't write the bulk of this message,  you can bet your entire ass that I heartily approve of it.

Comments

[jessabean]

*loud cheering from the peanut gallery*

A resounding HELL YEAH from me!

[Terri@SteelMagnolia]

I don't care for Howard Dean one tiny bit. *mad face*
I saw his interview w/ Chris Wallace tonight ... he was lame. I watched the Obama interview w/ CW last weekend.

I'd love to see Obama be interviewed by Bill O'Reilly ... Clinton did pretty good, I guess. In my opinion, she WAY blew it w/ the sanctuary city comment. I wonder how the family of that murdered high school boy feels about that... you know the mom who was serving in Iraq and her son was murdered by an illegal alien gang member that had just gotten out of jail. He should have been deported instead of being let out of jail.

I'm not happy with any of our candidates this time. I think we are screwed no matter who gets elected.

MHO only

[amy]

I can see that this would be bad on a race level but I hope that our country can see that this would be bad race issue aside. We have got to get to a point were we do not have the popular vote overturned by super delegates or the electoral college. I just wish this country could get to a point where decisions weren't made (or should I say didn't have to be made?) for good or for bad reasons, based on race.

All I can say is I will be just as incensed if this happens as I was in the last two elections (I still don't buy Bush winning the popular vote in 2004 either.) I am tired of having others decide how my vote should be cast. Is this a democracy or not? I just don't see how anyone could possible see Hillary as being more "electable" than Obama. For ANY reason!