What an interesting ride.
Quick summary.
From the beginning of 2005, the only Congressional members I could count on to vote - almost exclusively - in the way I really wanted were the members of my state's delegation, House and Senate, from Massachusetts.
Yes, that includes the "boring" Ted Kennedy and the absolutely dailyKos-despised John Kerry. Yeah, remember how you all wanted him on a spit? I do.
Anyways, they all made me proud to be from MA since then.
No one else did.
Without question, I absolutely disliked pretty much every vote and positions taken by Clinton. And equally so Obama. Sorry. Come on people, the only person who showed any leadership in 2007 was Dodd. Period. And before you open your mouth to say otherwise, shut it. Stop lying.
Anyways, what's my point?
Well I'm not there yet.
Bottom line in 2007, I wasn't terribly jazzed about anyone in the potential Pres field. Not totally anti-anyone (well, maybe Biden for weird-I-dont-buy-it reasons). But no one really was all that.
Fast forward...
by late 07, it was clear it was Clinton or Obama
(Yes, Edwards too... And I so like Edwards. It didn't ultimately gel, but still...)
And I was sitting there in December going, "aw man..."
I mean on the one hand here's a lady who really has many cards in her hand, she's smart, savvy, knows the system as well as many in DC by now (I should hope) and, with the right words and acts, could really carry the ball home.
But she didn't. Listening to her, it sounded like an act - even if it wasn't It just did. And the actual votes that were taken (ugh, Iran anyone?) and general non-combativeness... I was underwhelmed to say the least.
But... speaking of underwhelmed.
Obama. Disappointment. Not in presentation. Not at all - he excelled and excels in that. But... crappy votes. No fight in the Senate. By the end of 2006 I was thinking "ok, the guy was all talk". Face it. It's true.
But, ok, that's all we got. The two of them.
Hmmm... Well, on the positive side, they both got a bunch of positives. Yeah, they each got lots of negatives, too. But, fuck, who doesn't?
Now let me tell you where my heart lay.
As a kid, I read and saw speeches of FDR and JFK. I saw how people could take inspiration, with a good helping of tools (very important), and make it innovation. And hope for all.
So, duh... you'd think I'd still give Obama the benefit of the doubt. More than that actually. A lot more than that.
Oh... but then the sludge factory came to town.
And look, I don't care who started it... you (you know who you are) joined in and made it a communal activity.
And I'm sitting here over the months thinking "Oh My God. Many of these folks sound like they just got off the boat from FreeRepublic. Are THESE the Obama supporters??? Holy crap. Here's a guy with great ideas, great delivery, and as far as I'm concerned a great chance to go beyond anything he's ever done before and for the betterment of us all. But... this is the type of person who supports him? Who thinks Bill Clinton should have been convicted as well as impeached? Who thinks Hillary should be sent to a kitchen to bake cookies and never speak a word again? Who thinks Rush was right and Chelsea is a...
I'm clearly picking some of the choicest bits. The very worst. And I know it.
But it is the worst of the recommended stuff, not the comments.
Months of this bullshit.
And yes, perfectly good vigorous policy debates. But no one gives a shit about those. We all want to see the Kill Hill diaries!!!
Barf.
So ultimately I'm thinking, here's a damn good person, Obama, who could lead us and serve as a rallying point and - IF he can truly pull it off - actually show us the way as a people.
So damn hopeful.
But then every day I come here, read a few recc'd diaries and think:
"Are we, as a people, that seriously fucked?"
So you can imagine how I wasn't so keen to jump on the Obama wagon here.
Imagine if some people here, Reccomended people, had NOT been assholes?
It would have been an Obama blowout.
People like me wouldn't be thinking "man is THIS what it means to support Obama?" I wouldn't be thinking, if I support Obama, according to the dKos community, I should go and forcibly remove my entire MA delegation since they are all the "old guard". In fact, if Kerry and Kennedy had NOT supported Obama, their heads would be on spits?
(It's true. Y'all hated Kerry since 2004. I defended him from bs then and y'all still hated him. He says a few nice words for Obama, you love him. But, oh my god, should he have supported Clinton... he's be all but dead now, according to the dKos common wisdon. It's true. You know it.)
Ugh.
But in the end...
I FUCKING WANTED HOPE.
I've wanted it since before a number of you were ever born (and FUCK I'm only 38)!
But by the sheer unadulterated mistake of ever setting foot on this site back 5 years ago, I set myself up to be swayed away from hope, almost FEARING hope, by a small band of unthinking, uncaring asswipes that disgrace the concept of building a nation and a people by example.
You KNOW who you are. And if it's not you, you KNOW who THEY are.
Well, I'll join them all in assholishness...
Fuck the assholes here. Yeah YOU!
Why?
Well...
When President Obama is sworn in on January 2007 2009 , I will fucking REJOICE! All the good things I would have been thinking if I hadn't seen the bile on this site will be what I feel.
I will rejoice.
But in spite of the asswipes.
Right. Don't even talk to me, you sorry handfull of fuckers. I deserve to be fucking joyous at that time.
You're gonna spoil what should be a victory for the entire nation because you stupid schmucks think it's your prick nature that won it?
Fuck. You.
I will ignore the stupid fucks who wouldn't understand the words "long awaited redemption", "long awaited validation", and "HOPE", let alone "politics" or "diplomacy" (lol), if they were tattooed on the inside of their rectums.
Bottom line, I'll be supporting the Democrat for the November elections. If it's Clinton, which seems unlikely at the moment, I'll be fine.
If it's Obama, I'll be ecstatic.
And more so once I dissociate my happiness from your (you know who you are) thuggery.
Brought to you by the "he's somewhat hypocritical in ways you can't fully place but you know he is accusing others of doing the same thing he's done plenty of times but you just can't document it and do I smell vodka?" group.