Voting against your own self interest?

I’ve been a Clinton supporter from the very beginning; I’ve made no secret of that. I’ve also qualified my support of HRC by saying that I would, without hesitation, vote for the Democratic candidate regardless of whom that was. I can see the writing on the wall, even if others can’t. I know that Obama is the candidate and we need to rally behind him in preparation for the long fight to the inauguration. I don’t think that Obama is the stronger of the two candidates, but he does have the numbers so that’s that. Presented with an Obama ticket versus a McCain ticket in November my choice is crystal clear.

Apparently there are those who disagree with my point of view. In fact it seems that there are many Clinton supporters who intend to vote for McCain in November. This seems to be an example of the old adage “cut your nose off to spite your face”. How does it make sense to vote for the opposite party when your candidate didn’t make it onto the ballot? Childish, petulant and bitter are a few words that come to mind.

On the basic issues such as Iraq, Iran, Health care, Taxes, Welfare, Social Security, etc etc etc Obama and McCain are diametrically opposed. However, in the grand scheme of things, these issues don’t matter. A presidency is only four years with the potential for eight years. The real problem, and what we as liberals need to be most concerned about, is the Supreme Court. Those appointments are for life and the next President will in all likelihood be changing the composition of the court. The effects of the next justice appointments will be felt for a generation, if not longer. Are we ready to cede the court to the religious whack jobs that want to do away with a woman’s right to choose? How about the right of an individual to make birth control choices? What about those who don’t understand the critical importance, on both sides, of the separation of church and state, should they be in control of the court? We’ve seen that Congress has been unable or unwilling to control the current president since the liberals took over in 2006. Do we really trust that they would have any greater control over McCain if he was elected?

Wake up Clinton supporters! You are doing yourselves, your party and your country a disservice if you choose to vote for McCain in November. Regardless of Obama’s strengths and weaknesses, regardless of his experience, regardless of whatever issues you or I may have with him we MUST rally behind the party. While this country can potentially survive another four years of the current administration (you’re fooling yourself if you think McCain will be any different) the ramifications will be felt for generations. The current administration has shown us just how fragile the Constitution can be; let’s not test it further with another four years. The damages done during this administration will require years to repair, let’s begin this fall by electing the democratic candidate, regardless of whom that is.