The Poetic Exodus

Attitude reflects leadership.

I never intended for my blog to become solely political, or even nearly so. Every day I think of something (non-political) and say, “I should blog that,” and never do.

Today, I can’t ignore the urge. Something political has pissed me off.

Just finished watching the DNC Rules Committee deliberations. I’ve listened for months to the arguments on either side of the Florida/Michigan delegate debacle, and shared mine with anyone who would listen. Unlike many who like to spout off and pontificate about the issue, I am (or rather WAS) a Florida voter. I watched helplessly as the Florida Republicans screwed everything up for everyone else. I voted in the Florida primary, fully knowing (and even in spite of) the fact that my vote wouldn’t “count.” I voted because I love Senator Obama. I’ve wanted to vote for him since I first heard about him about 6 years ago. I voted as a warm-up for the general election.

As an aside, it’s a curiosity that Senator Clinton was nowhere to be seen when all this mess initially happened. She didn’t give a rip about Florida until she needed our delegates. How convenient. *eye roll*

At any rate, I was of the opinion that Florida and Michigan’s delegates shouldn’t have been seated at all, or at the very most they could be seated but not given voting privileges. Neither primary was a fair contest. Folks (read: Clinton supporters) are screaming about their “voices being heard,” but none of them are concerned about the thousands of non-Clinton supporters who stayed home because they trusted their party to play by its own rules.

So today I’m watching as the DNC Rules Committee considered several resolutions - some reasonable, and some ridiculous. The ridiculous one was the proposal to fully seat the Florida delegation, under the guise of “full representation.” What a crock. The compromise proposals (full delegation/half votes in FL, half votes and negotiated allocation in MI) were ones I could live with.

I was completely dumbfounded and disgusted to see and hear the behavior of Clinton supporters, both on the committee itself and in the audience. They were classless, disrespectful, arrogant, slimey, rude, and a distinct contrast to everyone else in the room. They shouted, heckled, booed, hissed and generally acted like idiots. By contrast, the Obama supporters were civil, respectful, restrained and honorable.

Seems to me like a reflection of the campaign in general. I realize (or rather hope) that the scene we saw on television this afternoon doesn’t reflect the attitude and behavior of millions of other Clinton supporters. But as I watched my television this afternoon, I was disgusted. Disgusted at my fellow Americans who would rather act like classless pieces of s*** than listen to reason. Blinded by their own hatred and irrationality, they behaved accordingly. They are behaving exactly like Senator Clinton herself.

I don’t really care what happens to “the Party.” I only registered as a Democrat so that I could vote in the primary. Today showed me a lot about the true colors of many Clinton supporters, though. They are bitter, angry, irrational, disrespectful and rude. So is she.

Hardly the folks we need leading this country. Give me hope, class, civility and unity any day.

Yes we can.