I must firmly come out against my fellow progressives whom are opposing Hilary Clinton so soon in being the next President of the United States, and her visit to Tampa to this week.
I use to share the same views as some of these far leftist. That the principle of supporting a good person like Ralph Nader was honorable. That I would not sacrifice my beliefs in order to support a lesser of to evils in the Democratic candidate. I know have come to the reality that this is simply a dream in American politics. At least until we have a good man or woman in the White House to steer our nation towards positive uncorrupt reforms.
There are many things I like about the Honorable Ms. Hilary Clinton. She is a fighter and we know what she will do if elected. DO NOT confuse her as a flip flopper, and I say this specifically in regards to a radio statement that Clinton changes her positions. This is false, Clinton’s positions are consistent. Do not confuse her with the likes of John Kerry. She has a record and has taking tangible initiative on issues such as Health Care and children’s issues.
I would be more than happy to align myself with Greens and left progressive but the fact is you have no unity, you do not work together, and you have no viable leaders. It all practicality, support Ms. Clinton or get your act together and win elections.
Clinton is someone that can whip the ass of the GOP
St. Pete for Peace is protesting Ms. Clintons visit to Tampa. Even though your group is not putting forth any viable alternative candidates and your group is not putting forth any issue campaigns that can be supported by the public. This is where your energies should be directed, not towards defeating someone that could be your ally. Don’t be idiotic, your pride and principle is worthless if another corrupt Republican is elected.
I simply ask you to not add to corrupt conservatives opposing Clinton, killing your very cause.
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I got this e-mail response from a member of St.pete for Peace.
"Anthony,
Good to hear from you again.
As a matter of fact many of our members are or have
been very active in the local democratic party. I
myself was very active in the local Kucinich for
President campaign a couple of years ago because I
thought he was the right candidate with the right
ideas and an extraordinary message.
It's not that there aren't democrats, voters and
politicians, who don't want an end to war and a fair
economy. These people exist, many of them, but their
voices are not heard in the party. It's the
leadership of the democratic party that has been
rejecting progressive ideas and embracing corporate
money. There's no doubt about the control the
conservative DLC still exerts over the party's
direction and will continue to do so in the next few
years.
Why, in 2004, was war not the main issue? Democrats
had a chance to use that issue, with many Americans
becoming alienated with the conflict, to gain support
from voters by saying we'll stop the war now. And
there were some very good anti-war candidates,
Mosely-Braun, Sharpton, Dean and Kucinich who had a
very solid message. But what happened? The party
starved these candidates of money, attention and
support and threw their hat into John Kerry's ring who
actually wanted to expand the war in Iraq!
That kind of strategy does not indicate a party to
which peace is a fundamental value.
It's this disconnect between the desire of voters and
the actions of party leadership that has driven many
former dems like me away from the party. I will not
support a political party that has to reference its
opposition party's position to know where it stands.
I wish we could have a voice in the democratic party,
but the fact is without millions of dollars to
contribute to democratic PAC's our voices and are
lives mean nothing. Even the most well-meaning
democrat who stands for peace will have to change his
or her mind as soon as they get that first big check
from Lockheed Martin that totals more than their
annual campaign contributions combined. The party
leadership will not change, power never relinquishes
power, and the decent democrats left will find
themselves frustrated by a party system that continues
to be divided, unorganized and appealing only to
wealthy special interests.
And please don't be fooled into thinking we can change
Hillary's mind about anything. She has never
represented our community and she will not suddenly
transform into a progressive just because we write her
a few letters. She is by nature, a very conservative
person who sees power and war as a solution to our
problems. If Mrs. Clinton really wanted our vote then
she would start speaking our language of peace and
eliminating poverty, like Kucinich and Sharpton did,
and, as a sitting U.S. senator, actually start voting
that way, too! But the truth is, she thinks she can
do without us and does more with her platform and
rhetoric to drive progressives away from her campaign
then we do by objecting to her views on war and the
PATRIOT ACT.
Like you I am also frustrated with the pace of change
and apparent lack of impact our actions in the
progressive community are having on the political
structure at large. But remember, this movement is
just starting to gain traction and it takes decades
for a grassroots movement to see results from their
work. Who would have thought thirty years ago that a
small band of religious conservatives passing out
fliers at churches Sunday morning would one day run
America?
Well, they didn't give up on their efforts, no matter
how futile they seemed, and neither will we. We do
take practical action to make a change in our
community by feeding the hungry, by holding our gov't
accountable, by exposing the ties of our gov't to the
corporations who control them and, most importantly,
by speaking to our neighbors. That is all a small,
but important step towards real change.
We don't just want a few cosmetic changes in this
country either. We want a complete fucking overhaul!
Right now in this country 5% of the richest Americans
own 90% of the nation's wealth, the federal minimum
wage hasn't risen in almost 10 years, we've had 5
years of increasing poverty and homelessness and the
Pentagon gets 11 times as much money as our schools
get. All the while our nation is controlled by a
cabal that stole power in 2000 and got to run as the
incumbents in 2004.
This is no time to just rearrange the deck chairs, the
fucking ship is sinking! This is time for revolution!
A revolution that re-establishes the Bill of Rights
as our fundamental founding document. A revolution
that will establish direct-democracy for all citizens,
not just an over-glorified student government body
with nukes at their hands. A revolution that provides
health care, education and housing for all, no
excuses, no exceptions. A revolution that makes peace
the central focus of our foreign policy and brings
every American soldier and sailor back to our shores
and borders to protect our country and our country
only. A revolution that creates equality on all
levels, racial, sexual, age and economic position.
This revolution will either tax the rich till they are
rich no more or it will throw them off our shore.
That's just a few examples of what we want, there is
much else. And if the democratic party starts
embracing and espousing these values I will consider
listening to and rejoining them. Until then I won't
waste my time buying a cocktail from the democratic
stewardess while the republican pilot is flying the
plane into the ground. I hope you'll realize there is
a time to change an institution and there is a time to
stop beating a dead horse. As far as the democratic
party, and Hillary Clinton, goes I'm putting my whip
down.
I enjoy sharing these thoughts with you and hope you
will continue to reply. If you still support Hillary
and think demonstrating against her is the wrong thing
I would recommend coming out to the Wyndam Westshore
Hotel on Saturday with others who share your message
of support and to engage us in a conversation about
war, politics and how we can change our country for
the better, together.
Yours in peace,
Jim Marvin
St. Pete for Peace."
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