This won't be a pretty diary. I don't have the time or the energy to do any pretty links or formatting today. Unlike many kossacks I'm not caught up in the primary. Sure, I watch the news and follow the handy links here off to other sites to see who's saying what and the latest challenges to both campaigns but I'll be happy voting for either candidate.
I loathe the number of primary-related diaries that are so prevalent here. You're preaching to the choir in most cases and time spent writing and commenting in defense of either of our solid Democratic candidates would seem to be better spent on other topics or, a thankless task, finding one of those 30-percenters and convincing them, once and for all, what an utter waste of space Bush/Cheney is.
I digress:
I'm sure this will undoubtedly fall on deaf ears but the FISA issue is weighing on me.
Our constitutionally and legislatively protected freedoms are my NUMBER ONE ISSUE -- more than health care, more than Iraq, more than, well, anything.
I find myself reaching our to Republican senators who I know have had a historically passionate understanding of and defense of our Constitution. I ask them to explain what it is about this Administration that could cause them to discard a potentially vibrant legacy for votes that they know are legally and morally reprehensible.
And then I find myself looking at the list of "Democrat" traitors that voted today and say "No more."
No more money. No more time. No more volunteer drives.
More and better democrats is a great rallying cry but we see the Mark Peras of the world failing.
And those former ActBlue democrats who were so loudly and proudly represented here (McCaskill, Webb) ignore the very activism that contributed towards their current status and brush us off. Sure, they'll reach their hands out to the energetic and numerically affluent grassroots while campaigning but when it counts, REALLY counts, they forget all about us. Or prove they weren't such a great candidate after all.
Universal health care is inevitable. We cannot afford to stay in Iraq forever financially or from a manpower perspective. However, the changes we edged so much closer to granting today won't be easily withdrawn. The wounds to our country and our freedoms may never heal. I don't see the election of either Clinton or Obama to be the miracle of hope or change that so many so clearly want it to be.
And I'll be damned if I'll give another dime of my hard-earned money to another candidate touted here or anywhere else purely for the sake of getting a Democrat elected. Once elected, too many appear to forget they are Democrats.
No. More.
Have at.