Friday, April 25, 2008

The Coming Civil War Among Democrats

Her victory in Pennsylvania guarantees Hillary Clinton will continue her destructive campaign until the convention. This assures a battle royal that could rival the chaos of the 1968 Democratic convention. Such a bloodbath would hand the election to John McCain. This might explain why some in the Democratic party are blasting the Clinton distraction:

If Democratic leaders strip Barack Obama of the nomination when he holds the lead in pledged delegates, they might as well call it "Driving Miss Hillary" - and watch as the party is torn asunder, long past the November election.

For decades, black voters have been the very core of the Democratic Party.

Without their near-total allegiance, Bill Clinton would not have served a single term, nor would Jimmy Carter have occupied the Oval Office.

Early on in this race, black voters viewed Obama as almost too good to be true, and they supported Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well.

They suspected Obama must be like all the other "black candidates" - a vent for them, but hopeless at the polls.

In the wake of Clinton's win in Pennsylvania, a new round of speculation has begun about whether to cut throats and whose to cut.

Clinton's blue-collar supporters are far more likely than Obama's black supporters to back John McCain if their candidate doesn't get the nomination, the theory goes.

Therefore, according to speculation, Democratic Party elders should dismiss Obama's advantage among "pledged" delegates - those won at the ballot box and the only true currency in this campaign - and give the nomination to Clinton.

But to be tricked now and sent once again to the back of the bus by the party they have loyally supported for decades would be a cruel, twisted insult for black Democrats.

Dem bigwigs are terrified of a convention fight and want a conclusion before then:
Democratic Party bigwigs are preparing to push superdelegates to get off the fence once state primary elections end in June, officials said yesterday.

The leaders, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, might pen a joint letter to the party insiders.

The letter would send a clear message to about 300 insiders who have stayed on the sidelines while Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have mounted increasingly harsh attacks on each other.

"The three of us, we may write a joint letter," Reid said yesterday. "We might do individual letters."

"We need to solve this before the convention," said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. "The way to do that is to have the superdelegates make their choices known."

And if you think the solution is a Obama-Clinton, Clinton-Obama ticket, Speaker Pelosi poured cold water on that idea:
KING: If you had your power, would you want them to run together?

PELOSI: No.

KING: No?

PELOSI: I don't think it's a good idea.

KING: Not a good idea?

PELOSI: No, I don't think so.

KING: Because?

PELOSI: I think that, first of all, the candidates -- whoever he or she may be -- should choose his or her own vice presidential candidate. I think that's appropriate. That's where you would see the comfort level on not only how to run, but how to govern the country. And there's plenty of talent to go around to draw upon for a good strong ticket. I'm not one of those who thinks that that's a good ticket.

KING: Really?

PELOSI: Really. KING: There's too much animosity?

PELOSI: No, I just think that -- well, let's put it this way, if they think that it's a good ticket, maybe it is. But I don't think that we should thrust the vice presidential choice onto the presidential nominee. That's her or his decision to make.