Congrats on winning West Virginia, another notch in your belt that your supporters will fail to notice is tainted with racist overtones--a state Bush won handily in 2004, one that will very likely go to McCain in November no matter who he is running against.
Sincerely,
Unmoved
P.S. I still like you and Bill. But, in the words of Jon Stewart, don't fuck this up.
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Here I hope to explore many of the things that interest me, from politics, rhetoric, pedagogy, film, and literature, to life in general along the Cascade Range—baseball, seafood, and the stray cat that sleeps on my car. (Or: An experiment in the new public sphere my learned friends tell me all about.)
About Me
- Travis
- Corvallis, Oregon, United States
- An Oregon transplant raised in the hardwood forests of northern Michigan, I teach, study rhetoric and new media, drink good beer, and run a wicked pick and roll.
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3 comments:
Clinton's supporters will fail to notice? That's a big assumption -- that no Clinton supporters will notice something is not quite right when a candidate wins by THAT big of a margin? You helped me see the racism, but hopefully that margin would've made me wonder about what was going on, anyway. But, also, like I said, many -- not all, but many -- Barack supporters will fail to know that many votes Barack gets will be because of sexism. There's just as much to fuck up if Clinton loses as if Barack loses.
I guess I found your blog, huh, Travis? :-)
Ha ha, glad you found it! This little entry needed some challenging, anyway.
No doubt, any female candidate faces sexism. I've maintained, for me, it comes down to policy, voting records, potential to reach new constituents, etc., that leads me to say something like "don't fuck this up, Hillary." Race and sex are obviously central factors in this election, and I hope/believe I'll see a black president and a female president in the not-too-distant future. The holes in Hillary's record leave her too vulnerable in a general election against McCain, and I worry that SOME of the criticism from SOME Clinton supporters against Obama has been unfounded, and I've heard a few too many females say, directly and to me specifically, "It just means so much to me and my mother to see a female president." I understand and respect that sentiment, but I think the stronger argument for a candidate comes outside of an argument founded on race, sex, etc.
I'm really rambling here, but I hope I've clarified a few of the thoughts that led to this blog post. I've been meaning to write a more developed entry explaining my support for Obama, so maybe I'll do that this weekend. I don't like being told that I'm someone persuaded merely by Obama's ability as an orator. (Not that you've ever suggested that, Laura.)
Hey, Travis. No, I just have this one thing about racism and sexism -- that both are always in play (and I think the latter more than the former, though the former is much more visible).
I'm voting for Clinton because I think she has more ability to make changes. I'm a bit cynical in my middle age. I've heard the idealism of Obama before, about three or four presidential elections before, actually. And nothing has ever changed. Or, it was never the "I'm going to change Washington" folks who made any changes. So I put more hope in -- what I perceive as -- the candidate with more competence AND more idealism. I was for Obama at first. His oratory is very powerful. In a way, you -- and all of us -- should be proud of being influenced by it. It's good real stuff. But as I listened to both candidates talk about their plans, I became significantly more confident in Clinton's abilities to make the needed changes.
I'm sure you have very solid reasons for supporting Obama. No doubt. :-)
And yeah, I'm sure there are voters voting for Clinton because she's a woman, for Obama because he's black and/or because he's a man, and for McCain because he's white and/or because he's a man. That's another thing that's true for all candidates.
I don't THINK I'm voting for Clinton because she's a woman, because I was originally for Obama and switched due to their responses to debate questions. But once I realized I was voting for a woman candidate, it did become kind of exciting that a woman could win.
Anyway, I'm rambling... :-)
So you liked me dropping the F word, eh? Middle-aged people do that, too! heheh ;-)
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