I’ve avoided blogging for a long time, in part because of some personal issues that have rather soured me on politics, but also because my chosen candidate, John Edwards, wasn’t making the splash I’d hoped he would, and I was actively against Hillary Clinton and indifferent to Barack Obama. I’m all in favor of the “hope-driven Obama nation” and political optimism, but I couldn’t identify with it personally, having been the victim of a blame-shifting opportunist (who, perhaps not coincidentally, ended up supporting Clinton) and becoming rather sour about the general ethics of those in politics. There was nothing, basically, to spark my interest in the primary season.

However, I’ve become so utterly disgusted with the Clinton operation that I’m going to break my silence.

In my opinion, Hillary Clinton is a craven, amoral politician who will do ANYTHING to “win.”

There. I said it.
I’m not talking about Bill Clinton’s racial remarks. I’m not talking about the smear campaign against Obama’s real estate deal, a smear that has since been thoroughly debunked. What I am talking about actually has nothing to do with Barack Obama, though I admit I am rooting for him because he is the only candidate in the race whose views I can stomach and who has a shred of integrity.

I’m not even talking about Hillary’s backstabbing of John Kerry in 2006 when she sided with the Rove noise machine about his ill-delivered joke. Though that incident DOES still rankle. Nor am I talking about the 2004 Election Night backstabbing of the Kerry-Edwards campaign by Clinton crony James Carville, who tipped off the Bush campaign about K/E’s intention to contest Ohio, resulting in lord only knows what ballot-shredding and other machinations that night, but which cleared the way for Hillary to run for office.

I’m talking about HillaryLand’s clear and open contempt for the democratic (and Democratic) process.

It started with her lawsuit in Nevada to prevent easy availability of polling places to casino workers, a demographic group that she apparently felt would not support her. The Clintons lost that suit and ended up winning Nevada anyway, but the point stands: If Hillary thinks you might not support her, she won’t support your right to vote.

Then came her sideswipes at those states that did not vote for her. “They’re just caucus states.” “Those are red states that we won’t win.” (Well, maybe not, but ceding them up front guarantees it.) “Those states have a lot of black voters.” “My opponent’s support was in the upper-middle-class, elite voters.” “The support comes from activists, who don’t represent the electorate.” Hillary denigrated all these groups of voters, making increasingly pitiful and offensive excuses for why she lost, rather than showing one iota of grace.

Then we witnessed her new strategy, which was to persuade party insiders (superdelegates) to vote for her at the Democratic convention, even if such a vote defied the will of the electorate.

Then she did a backflip on her stance on the Florida and Michigan delegates, and decided that those tainted elections should be just as valid as any other primary, because it would mean a delegate gain for her. Now, I’m as annoyed as anyone over the whole mess with those states, but that does not change the fact that they were not valid primaries. The issue is not with who was on the ballot and who wasn’t, or who campaigned and who didn’t. The issue is that the states’ voters were told that any vote they cast for the Democratic primary would not count, and now Hillary Clinton wants to change that, after any number of voters may have stayed home. It’s like a teacher telling a class, “I’m giving a practice test tomorrow. It won’t count for anything. Take it seriously if you like, but no one’s grade will be recorded”… and then, after the test is scored, counting it ANYWAY. It’s unethical.

Then, as if that isn’t enough, we have this. Welcome to the gutter, Hillary. That’s a sure way to endear people to you, strong-arm the delegates who are SUPPOSED to vote as their constituents voted.

Is there anything she won’t do?

At this point I would only be shocked to flip on my TV in August and see Hillary curled up in the fetal position at the Democratic convention, threatening to hold her breath until she is declared the nominee. And if she keeps up with these election-thieving plans, I wouldn’t even be surprised by THAT.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, if you’re clearly losing the nomination and have no respectable way of winning it, then show some dignity and drop out. Because not doing so only improves McCain’s chances of taking the White House. This is bigger, much bigger, than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Between a war, a recession, a government teetering on the edge of becoming autocratic, and the Bill of Rights itself at stake, we need someone who promises NEW policies, not four more years of the very stuff that got us here in the first place.