One thing that last night made clear is that the only viable solution is to propose a joint ticket with Clinton on top, Obama as VP. It’s as clear as day. Okay…I admit it…that’s delusional. But some people are suggesting that Obama should select Clinton as his running mate as a way to mend fences. Anyone who thinks that is a good idea hasn’t really been following the campaign. It hasn’t been a battle between Barack Obama (centrist black man) and Hillary Clinton (centrist white woman). That was the superficial story line where the only difference between them was their identities. If you thought that was what the choice was, you can be forgiven because that’s what the media and more than half the blogosphere told you it was about.
In reality, this was a generational fight. It was a fight between those that came to power during the post-McGovern era and those that aspire to power in the post-Bush era. It was between a party that relied on the white blue collar ethnic vote and a party that relies on majorities from non-whites, non-Christians, and the generation of whites that grew up well integrated with them. It was between a party that came to rely on corporate money and union muscle just to be competitive with Republicans and a party that has learned the new fundraising and social networking skills of the Information Age.
But, above all, it was a fight about leadership. Barack Obama knew better than to rely on the existing infrastructure, created by the blogosphere, to fight back against the Bush administration and the media. We are too stridently partisan to be messengers of a new kind of politics. He had to step around the gatekeepers of the blogosphere, much to their chagrin. Barack Obama’s greatest accomplishment is the organization that he created. He used our tools and his own message. And he won. He could not have won any other way. And that makes him both our greatest representative, and someone who doesn’t really need us at all. All of you should go join up on his website and meet your neighbors that are supporting him, and get organized. For presidential stuff, there is no reason to use the blogosphere at all. Use Obama’s own tools.
However, for downticket races and for media criticism, there is still no substitute for the blogosphere. Last summer I said that we couldn’t really have any effect on the outcome of the primaries and that a farmer in Iowa had more say than we could ever hope to have. Boy, was I wrong! Obama gave all of us the tools to make a difference…in 45 states now. But those tools don’t exist for House and Senate races, and that’s where our focus needs to go at this point.
As for the Clintons, it took a lot of money and a lot of psychic energy to defeat them. There is no way that Obama can betray that effort by inviting them back into the tent. That would make his campaign all about him, rather than all about us. This was a fight for the ideological soul of the party. But the ideology wasn’t so much about health or education policy. It was about how the party is organized, who it really represents, and whether or not it will continue to be beholden to the old lobbyists, interests groups, and consultants, or whether it will become the truly people-powered party that is a necessary predicate for bringing real progressive change.
We have our victory, even if it isn’t quite what we imagined it would be. Now it’s our job to go out and win the November elections all up and down the ticket and change what is possible in Washington.
Okay, the first link is getting redirected to another post by the fools at Confluence. Here’s what you should see when you go there:
Dear SD’s, here’s the only viable solution:
Posted on May 7, 2008 by riverdaughter1.) Propose a joint ticket with Clinton on top, Obama as VP. She’s earned the top spot by capturing all of the big states and swing states. He is much more acceptable as a VP than she is. She is more qualified and experienced. You can’t afford to lose her supporters no matter how much you try to talk yourselves out of it, The AA community will come around because Barry can get experience in the executive branch, which he desperately needs, and run as her successor in 2016. They just want to see him get there. Why not do it in stages?
2.) Get the Rules and bylaws committee to waive the penalty on FL and MI so that Clinton gets the delegates she needs. You’re going to have to do this anyway. Ok, have Obama do this at a sunlit tableau surrounded by grateful Floridians and Wolverines. Just get on with it already.
3.) Negotiate the deal before the end of the primary season and before anyone hits the magic number, which is illegitimate without Florida and Michigan. If you wait until someone hits it, the possibility of getting the ticket you need starts to approach a limit of minus infinity.
4.) Fire Howard Dean and Donna Brazile ASAP.
I hate the idea of a unity ticket but that’s the only way I will vote for Obama this year- is if he is VP. Think about it because there are some majorly pissed off members of the “old coalition” out there who you are going to lose shortly.
I’m bumping this up from the comments. I know this person is a REAL Republican and this is what she has to say about the proposal above:
Riverdaughter – you know I’m the Republican lurker here. I was just talking to the hubby last night about what a debacle the primary has been with Michigan and Florida. To ignore people’s votes is just wrong. To say “Florida can’t have it’s primary before …” is just wrong. The election needs to be controlled by the will of the people, not the DNC chairman (and that’s what it will come down to). Hillary deserves top billing on the Democratic Ticket and it needs to be done soon. People like me will then have time to compare McCain and Clinton on the issues and make their objective opinion.
There you go. It’s one but I’ll betcha there are others.
