I've been plenty harsh on Hillary Clinton and her campaigning methods throughout this year's primary season. Many of the tactics employed by her, her husband, and her surrogates were on the level of those employed by Karl Rove and other Republican operatives. Nevertheless, I was happy to hear her concession speech in which she strongly urged her supporters to back Barack Obama as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee. While I know that it will take some time for her supporters to come around fully, the vast majority of them will end up voting for Obama in the general election.
That doesn't hold true for everyone, though. Via Politico, the co-chairs of Clinton's supporters at the University of Iowa have a different idea.
The Co-Chairs of University of Iowa Students for Hillary have just sent out a Facebook message imploring the group's members to vote for John McCain -- or, if that's too hard to stomach, presumptive Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney.
There's probably not a quicker way to kill one's budding political aspirations than to do something so completely boneheaded as this. Nevertheless, one of the co-chairs of her backers on campus, a strapping young fellow named Cody Eliff, wrote this in explaining his reasoning:
John McCain is an honorable man. He is good personal friends with Hillary Clinton. He is qualified to be president. We do not agree with him on everything, and this is why we urge you to strongly support Democrats up for re-election to congress. He served our country, he is right on immigration, right on global warming, and he voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have banned Marriage Equality.
Nikki and I have decided that now is a good time to get this overwith. Barring a DREAM TICKET scenario or a scenario in which HILLARY WINS THE NOMINATION, which we see as unlikely at this time, we endorse John McCain for President.
This was a VERY tough decision, those of you that know me know I am extremely passionate about our party. I feel that it has moved away from me. We will not campaign for John McCain, but we will vote for him, and urge others to do the same.
First, someone needs to educate Eliff on John McCain's policies. Just because he is 'right' on immigration and global warming doesn't mean that he will be able to pass them. Most politicians in his own party disagree with his policy stances and have prevented him from actually making any progress on those issues. Furthermore, McCain is ardently against gay marriage; his vote against the FMA is merely about federalism, not because he believes in true equality, regardless of one's sexuality.
Second, what about the rest of the policy positions that Hillary Clinton held dear to her heart? Whether it was ensuring workers had a better standard of living, getting us out of Iraq, protecting the right to choose - these are just a few of the issues on which there are great disparities between her and McCain, even if they are good friends, as Eliff seems to make a point of highlighting.
Lastly - and this is going to be the blunt part - there are winners and losers in every contest. Yes, your candidate lost, but now is the time to begin the healing and coming together to fight for the causes that the Democratic Party - and both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - believe in. To turn your back and urge people to vote for McCain or Cynthia McKinney - which is basically the equivalent of throwing your vote away - is unacceptable. As a presumably well-educated college student, Eliff should know better than to throw his generation's future away simply because he's mad.
To him, I would say this: this election is too important to let your petty little emotions get in the way of electing a Democrat to the White House. Otherwise, you're not a true Democrat...and that probably explains why you are part of the Hillaryis44 crew.