Team Spirit
WASHINGTON, Democratic National Committee HQ -- Democratic Party leaders banded together today to announce their support for Barack Obama, attempting to heal the divide between supporters of Obama and Hillary Clinton and to put John McCain in the party's crosshairs.
"This is not just about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton," DNC Chairman Howard Dean said this afternoon. "This is about our country. This is about undoing the incredible damage of eight years of Bush/McCain policies. ... I have every confidence that we will be united as a party by the fall election, and even before that."
In addition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, several high profile Clinton supporters turned out for the pep rally-cum-party directive, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Others on hand: House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Democratic Governors Association Chairman Joe Manchin, among others.
"We are all on the same team here, and people across this country -- men and women alike -- understand what is at stake in November," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a former Clinton supporter.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), another Clinton backer, promised an Obama win in her home state in the fall. Stabenow said that women, who helped carry Clinton to key primary victories in NH and PA, among other states, might still be disappointed by the outcome of the Democratic contest but that they'll ultimately come around to Obama's cause. The balance of the Supreme Court is at stake, Stabenow noted. And women who want to see the United States withdraw troops from Iraq will be reminded of the difference in foreign policy views between the two general election candidates.
"We all worked hard," Stabenow said of the primary fight. "It takes a little while. You have to take a deep breath. ... People are going to rally behind Sen. Barack Obama."
Meanwhile, Pelosi, in a clear appeal to those working class voters who consistently voted for Clinton, said that the rich have gotten richer under President Bush while the middle class continues to feel the pinch at the pump. Home foreclosures and job losses, she said, have also contributed to a period of great financial strain for most Americans.
"Women and blue collar workers, whatever their race, have the most to gain by the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, and the most to lose," Pelosi said.
Reid criticized McCain for lacking plans to deal with the gas crisis and ignoring the need for a renewable energy proposal.
"His temperament is wrong," Reid said of McCain. "He’s wrong on the war. He’s wrong on the economy."
The party's leaders stressed that the long primary contest has prompted a surge in Democratic voter registration, giving credibility to Dean's 50-state strategy, and providing the Democrats with an advantage going into the fall. Dean, the 2004 presidential candidate, acknowledged that "emotions have run high" during the primaries and caucuses and that there have been "bitter disagreements." But he praised Clinton for her leadership, remarking on the energy and passion she brought to the race, and calling the contest "transformational for Democrats."
He said the fight made the party stronger and better prepared to go after the GOP.
"Today we stand united as a Democratic Party focused on putting an end to the idea of a third Bush term, which we would get with John McCain," he added.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
My wife and I are Florida Hillary Democrats. WE ARE THE HALF- PEOPLE AS DESIGNATED BY THE DNC.
For us to vote democrat (Obama) in November we want two things from the National Committee:
1. For the DNC's dishonesty and victimization of Hillary during the Primary, we need the DNC to reorganize - no more superdelegates, one-person-one-vote, popular vote majority wins.
2. Because of the disgraceful DNC treatment of their Florida voters we need someone in the DNC to admit fault and to fall on their sword. We would like to see the fool, Howard Dean, resign or be fired.
LOL.
Shove your vote up your nose
LOL.
Shove your vote up your nose
People like you don't deserve to be called Democrats. So just leave the party because we don't want you in our party. People like you are a total disgrace to our party, so just leave and never come back you fools!
We're gone.
We're just letting you know how we feel. (Maybe free speech is no longer allowed under the Barack Obama regime?)
If you don't need us, could you please tell the DNC to stop giving us all the lectures about how important it is for us to come together with them?
We know we have a pool of 18 million voters. The vast majority of us are not the type of people who take marching orders from the DNC (as we've proven in every single Presidential election for the last 50 years).
We have been ignored by the DNC.
In November, we will be ignoring the DNC.
We're organizing now to do what it takes with our 18 million votes to stop BHO from winning the electoral votes in about 10 swing states. It looks possible for him to win the popular vote but lose the EC.
And that for us would be the sweetest irony we could ever imagine.
If you don't want to read our responses to the DNC's futile demands for unity, please ask the DNC to cancel all further "Unity" lectures directed at us.
Jan, you've already proven to us that you are not a Democrat. We GET it. You are a Republican. Thank you for your lies and spin. Now. Just. Go. Away.
Jan and Chris Morton - I am a Clinton supporter too. I contacted the DNC daily, and urged friends too, in order to have your votes in FL and MI count.
I told the DNC it was treating the MI and FL voters as less than slaves because even slaves were considered 3/5 of a person which is more than 1/2.
I've been a lifelong Democrat. After this debacle, I switched my registration to "decline to state."
I am not voting for Obama because if he and the DNC ignore voters in FL and MI now, who will he and they ignore if he becomes the President.
I am not willing to take a chance that we will have a facist regime with Obama.
I will vote for McCain if Clinton is not in the running.
>>>I will vote for McCain if Clinton is not in the running.
Good. I hope you do.
You will have to live with the fact that you abandoned your Democratic principles because your candidate lost a PRIMARY. Nobody who does that belongs in the Democratic Party.
Let me ask you tho... As a woman, who do you think McCain would nominate to the Supreme Court when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires?
Who?
Please answer. Thanks.