I’ve been a Clinton supporter since Bill was president (I was young and didn’t care much for politics before then). Yeah sure the guy got a blowjob here and there but he did a decent job running the country. At the end of his presidency there was a national surplus; unemployment was as at its lowest rate since 1969; he even came close to ending the Palestinian conflict and his wife was a nontraditional first lady. No one before her had been so openly empowered, save for Eleanor Roosevelt. “Two for the price of one,” Bill often said. Under Bill Clinton she pushed for healthcare reform, although she didn’t get much traction and died in the Senate.
It is no wonder why I was excited when Hillary decided run for the Senate; I was genuinely happy for her and optimistic. Last year when there was still speculation on who would run for president, Hillary was one of the names mentioned. I thought it would be good for the country, that it would be good to have the Clintons back. Bill had already proved that he could do a good job running and I was sure he would have a very active role behind the scenes. The government needs to focus on the country once again and to listen to the people and the many concerns the people have. When the speculation died out and she finally decided to throw her hat in ring I was fully behind her. I always thought of Hillary as a smart woman; a good person that was really concerned about the people, the blue collar, the white collar and the poor.
January’s primaries and caucuses came as a surprise to many. Obama won three of them and tied one with Hillary. What was I missing, what were these other people seeing that I wasn’t? I watched and listened as Hillary outlined her goals and made her arguments and refused to listen to other candidates, especially Barrack Obama. My loyalty was blinding.
Super Tuesday came and I was glad to see Clinton back on the score board. I gasped with relief when California was shown as being won by Hillary but overall Obama had won the most delegates.
Jeremiah Wright’s speeches made the news and that made me for the first time look at what Obama would say to defuse the controversy. Surely I thought he would throw Wright under the bus without hesitation; that didn’t happen and for the first time I saw Obama in a different light. He wasn’t traditional and what he said in his speech made me think that there was more to him; he was a non-traditional politician, yet I stuck with Hillary.
Geraldine Ferraro, a member of the Clinton campaign had made some comments - “If Barack Obama were a white man, would we be talking about this, as a potential real problem for Hillary? If he were a woman of any color, would he be in this position that he’s in? Absolutely not.” – I am not sure what I expected from Hillary but I would have liked her to comment on Ferraro’s comments, she didn’t. She did the politically safe thing to do and didn’t touch the subject and Ferraro faded into the political background, and I stuck with Hillary.
Hillary’s campaign started to turn progressively negative and personal attacks became part of her strategy. I had not expected such a thing from Hillary, especially towards a fellow democrat; sure I had expected it but from a Republican but from Hillary. My support was slowly slipping away like sand slowly being washed back into the ocean by the constant beating of turbulent waves.
The democratic campaign has gone back and forth, up and down, one side winning and the other continuing to fight but the gap has widened and the will of the people has tilted in favor of Obama. Now with more delegates and more of the popular vote in his favor, the mathematics of electing a nominee has become clear.
Now as I read and listen to Hillary’s arguments I ask myself, is this the person I believed in? Is she the person that I thought she was? She has gone from one argument to another, from agreeing about 2026 delegates to 2210; from accepting the fact that Florida and Michigan would not participate to their votes must be counted. Although I support this notion, Obama wasn’t in the Michigan ballot and even if they split the state, she would still be behind in the count.
It has become apparent to me that the Hillary I believed in is a different person than the one I see today, the person who I thought cared about people and their issues, about equality for everyone. Her actions seem to now be dictated by her personal ambitions in making history. The math is not there; why not accept it and shift the focus to making sure the voices of the people who supported her don’t fade away by calling on the apparent candidate to listen to her supporters concerns and bring them together.
Some friends tell me to give Hillary a chance, although they know I really had. Some people compare it to a game and say, “You don’t leave your team when there’s still some time.” The problem with this argument is that THIS IS NOT A GAME.
The argument now is that she is staying to force the Democratic Party to negotiate about having a power position within the party; while this might be speculation I would like to hear from others as to the motives on staying if this is not the case. I see this as the only reason as well. Does she really care about people? Everything she is doing now tells me that she only cares about her legacy and her own political goals and has turned the admiration I once had for her and her family to nothing but a memory that is quickly fading.
Hillary, I have admired you and your family for a long time, I stood by you through tough times but I can no longer support hallow arguments; I have to part ways with your personal beliefs. It is clear now that you do not represent my views or are interested in my concerns. I feel that you have used my support to make history and even though I deeply support and admire that plight, this is not the way to do it. You have already made history and no one can take that away, but your campaign should not be based on making history. It should be based on fighting for the people. It concerns me to see such division now and my disappointment has been cemented on how this campaign has been conducted. With all of this I can say nothing more except this: Hillary Rodham Clinton, I quit you.
