You don't know me.
If you look up my profile on DailyKos, you'll see that I joined in 2005. However, despite coming to the site daily, usually many times a day, to read political news and enjoy a silent connection with people who share my political views, I rarely sign in. I even more rarely write comments. I've never flagged anyone or, as far as I remember, contributed to anyone's tip jar. And I have never written a diary.
I don't have any delusions about what will happen if I decide to post a diary today. My words will slide down the Recent Diaries list rather quickly and disappear. Why, after all, should anyone bother opening, much less reading, the rambling thoughts of a long-time lurker?
Yet I feel compelled to write a diary, just this once.
I've been a member of the Democratic Party since 1972. I was too young to vote in the primaries that year, but I cast my first vote for president for George McGovern a few months after my eighteenth birthday. I've voted for Democratic candidates, at every level of government, in every election -- both primary and general -- since that time.
For much of my adult life, I lived in California. During those years I knew that my vote in the presidential primaries didn't count for much. By the time I voted, the decisions had already been made. Maybe that's why I don't remember the Democratic primary fight in 2008 being quite as vitriolic as this year's primary fight.
I do remember that I respected both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the 2008 primary season, and I would have voted for either in the general election. But despite a few initial misgivings about Mr. Obama's relative youth and inexperience, he became my first choice, even though I (as a white, upper middle class, college educated female) was not exactly a member of his target demographic. I also recall, as clearly as though it were yesterday, my excitement and jubilation as I watched the election returns that year and knew, finally, after so many years of corrupt and inept Bush rule, the presidency was back in Democratic hands.
In 2010, I moved from California to North Carolina. And, of course, in 2012 there was no need to make a decision in a Democratic presidential primary. So this year, in March 2016, for almost the first time in my adult life, I will be casting a vote that might actually MEAN SOMETHING in a presidential primary.
And that's where this diary comes in. You see, even though I don't sign in, even though I don't write comments, even though I don't write diaries, this site is important to me. And I don't like that, for the past few months, it's been getting more and more difficult to glance down the front page, much less to open and read diaries. Simply put, there's too much mud-slinging and venom and too many headlines that look like they were copied from a campy 1960s television series (BAM! BOOM! POW!). People on this site used to work together; now they seem intent on tearing each other and the Democratic party apart. I don't object in the least to reading about factually based disagreements; that's how I learn. I object very much to reading diary after diary, comment after comment, containing nothing but personal attacks, both against the candidates and against each other.
Despite the vitriol I know might result, I admit that I plan to vote for Hillary Clinton on March 15th. For me, it hasn't been a difficult decision. I know she isn't perfect; no one is. However, I agree with her on a wide range of issues, from abortion to gun control to women's rights. I recognize that she has spent a long and productive career working for the Democratic Party. I respect what she has accomplished and what she has tried to accomplish, even when she has fallen short. I respect the graciousness with which she has handled both victories and defeats, personal as well as political. And I believe she has exhibited the intelligence, experience and resilience necessary to handle both the election and the presidency.
I will, of course, vote for Senator Sanders should he win the nomination. Doing so won't necessitate "holding my nose" so much as "crossing my fingers and toes." I've seen no evidence to date of the revolution he is counting on to sweep him into office, along with the liberal super majority needed to enact his far reaching promises. Further, I doubt his ability to withstand the firestorm of Republican ads decrying his socialist beliefs and his promise to raise taxes, should he become the nominee. However, those are merely my personal concerns, not attempts to sway anyone else's opinion.
So that's all I wanted to say. A little background, a heartfelt plea for civility, and a brief outline of my own opinions, simply because it felt wrong to pretend neutrality when I've made my own choice.
Thank you to anyone who has read this. I will now return to lurker mode.
Update: Thank you. I never expected to receive more than a comment or two, and I certainly didn’t anticipate being on the Rec list. I’ve been trying to read all the comments, but I have no experience with this, and I’m little lost. I do appreciate each and every comment supporting civil, fact based discourse. Thank you again!