So it happened.
Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. She is the first female Presidential candidate of a major party in America.
Good for Hillary. And good for the Democrats.
Of course, I’m not voting for her.
Not voting for Donald Trump either.
But that’s another story.
The really big story is that the Democrats have managed to do something the Republicans have failed miserably at. And it’s not just cracking a glass ceiling with respect to nominating a woman for President. It’s much more than that.
Watching both conventions, gagging through all the speeches which are mostly a series of falsehoods neatly tied together by a ribbon of lies, I noticed something striking.
The Republicans seemed to be so…white.
The Democrats, not so much.
Everywhere the TV cameras zoomed into the convention crowd at the Wells Fargo Center I saw a wonderfully rich diversity of color, gender, ethnicity and age. The 28-member South Dakota delegation whose votes put Mrs. Clinton over the top included four Lakota Indians. Shawn Bordeaux of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe greeted the convention with a welcoming word spoken in the Lakota language:
“Hello family and friends, I extend my hand to you from my heart with good feelings in our beautiful Lakota language.”
It was magnificent.
The family portrait painted by the Democrats was simply beautiful.
It was the face of America.
My more strident Republican friends might not be able to see this beauty through the filter of issues that separate the two parties. But you really should. It’s not to say the Democrats aren’t screwed up. They are. But they are beautiful screw-ups!
And my hyper-partisan Democrat friends might think that achieving diversity is enough to warrant a vote for their candidate. I don’t think so. When a political party runs and supports a rigged system that exploits the very people they say they represent, diversity can begin to look a lot like pandering.
So let’s enjoy what’s left of the Democratic Convention, especially the multi-dimensional image of America that is reflected in the faces of God’s children with a “D” after their name.
And Republicans….?
Could you work a little harder at not being so freaking white?
Great post Marty – the diversity this week has been very noticeable; as the lack of was last week. Although for once, I don’t fully agree with you. I am going to hold my nose and vote Clinton – I just cannot imagine my grandkids living in a country where Trump’s SCOTUS choice(s) are making judicial decision for a generation and he has the finger on the RED button. What this election cycle will do, in my opinion, is start a third party made up both Dems and Reps with similar values and beliefs.
I’ll give you a pass since you live in a Red State. I’m not certain, however, why anyone who generally supports and voted for President Obama would have a problem voting for Hillary Clinton. There is not a policy dime’s worth of difference. Protest votes are wasted votes, and in Purple states are dangerous votes. The Dems have their screw-ups; but this moral equivalency stuff drives me bananas.
Not voting is a vote for Trump. Do you really want him as your next president?