Democracy for Vancouver

From the Guardian:

The verbal battle between the Democratic presidential hopefuls intensified yesterday, with Hillary Clinton accusing Barack Obama of being “elitist and out of touch”.

Clinton was trying to keep Obama’s bungled comments on small town America in the news, while Obama struck back at her over her stance on gun laws.
…
At the first opportunity, Clinton went after Obama, accusing him of making “elitist and out of touch” comments.

Clinton, a senator from New York, was referring to remarks Obama made last week at a San Francisco fundraiser. Speaking of working-class voters in old industrial towns decimated by job losses, Obama said: “They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Yes, I wish Obama had said it better, and referred to the GOP as “they” instead of the people who are voting against their own interests. It would have been much better to say, “The Republican Party has played a massive con on the American people, scaring us into fearing for our jobs, our values, and our basic rights while they rob the government blind and move our jobs overseas.” That would have put “them” firmly in “our” camp, and shown “them” who is really on “their” side.

It was inartful, and it may have sounded elitist. But there is no question that Obama is right on this point: people do retreat into what makes them feel comfortable and safe when they are threatened. The problem is, the GOP has made the threat seem like it comes from the libruls/coloreds/feminazis/ homos/atheists instead of from the GOP pulling the economic rug out from under them.

Clinton is tacking so far to the right on this that if Obama is the nominee, she’s given McCain a raft of soundbites to attack him with in the fall.

And, if Clinton is the nominee, how is she supposed to draw all those young, progressive Obama voters to her side after rhetoric like this? Those voters don’t see this as a zero-sum game; they won’t just shift their allegiance to Clinton if Obama is denied the nomination.

Many of them have never voted before, and it will not phase them to skip this election if they feel they have no real choice. We disillusioned voters, who’ve been through the last 20+ years of “electability” compromises and massive strategic blunders by the Democratic party, may have come to expect such disappointments, but idealistic young voters want to vote those ideals, not the lesser of two evils.

Cut the shit, Hillary. Wage an honorable race or get the fuck out.