I’ll let you in on an important political secret: my mother is the unit California Democrat. As she votes, so vote the Democrats of California. As long as I have been tracking it, this has been proven to be true.* And my mother doesn’t like (putting it mildly) Hillary Clinton.
Here are the facts: she is a retired schoolteacher, born and raised in the deep south east, she has lived in California 55 years (40 of them in San Diego). Although widowed by a radical leftist (yes, my father) who registered Peace and Freedom Party and often voted for losing third party candidates against mainstream Democrats, my mother is a yellow dog Democrat. There isn’t an ounce of swing voter in her. She is relatively socially liberal, tends to be comfortable with and support the mainstream Democratic choices.
She supported Bill Clinton, Michael Dukakis (she loves Greeks), Walter Mondale, Al Gore and John Kerry in their respective primaries (and she supported them long before the historically late California primaries rolled around). She still holds bitterness and resentment against some of her children for “throwing the election to that man (W)” by supporting Ralph Nader in 2000. “That man” was also what she called Ronald Reagan.
Closer to home, she supported Gray Davis until the San Diegans started to experience blackouts and electricity rate hikes. Then she started to hate him and voted for Cruz Bustamante in the recall–I think she voted against the recall because she was worried about Schwarzenegger winning, but I’m not sure, I should check.
She always votes in every single election. She calls my husband and goes over any questions she has on her ballot with him, taking his advice if she doesn’t know more about it herself from locals. She is also very interested in how the local teachers’ union tells her to vote. If the teachers’ union’s opinion differs from ours, she’ll usually go with the union.
So last night, I gingerly broached the subject of who she was favoring in the California Presidential primary. I had been avoiding the subject for months afraid that it would be Hillary, given her affection for her husband.
Her response? “I’ll tell you who I don’t favor, Hillary Clinton. How anybody could vote for that woman is beyond me. I don’t think she can win. The Republicans are all united against her. And I don’t want her to be President. I don’t trust her. I’m afraid I’m going to have to support that Obama, Barat (sic) whatever is name is, whom I’ve never even heard speak.”
Music to my ears. A white woman brought up in the cradle of the confederacy, with all that that implies, would rather support a black man whose name she doesn’t even remember over Hillary Clinton.
There’s hope!
*Exception, my mother did not vote for stunning upset Assembly primary winner, Lori Saldana in 2004. Perhaps she is only the prognosticator of statewide outcomes, not local races.
Sara – enjoy your blog, am a huge admirer, agree on most things, but your Hillary-hate (not your mom’s) risks sounding odd and personal and excessive. The ballot box isn’t a confessional. Voting for the “right” person won’t cleanse your soul. May clear your conscience, enable you to complain for 4 years when somebody else wins. The challenge the Clintons pose to Democrats is the challenge of growing up and realizing how things get done. Compromise isn’t the same as corruption.
# posted by snichols : 6:31 AM 0 comments
Thank you, anonymous admirer (wish I knew your name so I could thank you personally). I really had to laugh at the first part of your comment. Have you really been reading my blog? Everything I write is “odd and personal and excessive”–that’s my stock in trade. I do not pretend to be anything else. I am without portfolio and my writing reflects ONLY my personal opinion, nothing else.
Having said that if that’s the challenge of the Clintons, I’m not up for that challenge. I lobbied on national health care while the Clintons were in office. I met with Hillary once and key members of her “task force” many times. I know a lot about how to get things done and I learned some hard lessons. What did the Clintons get done? Here are some of their biggest successes: reducing welfare benefits, reducing oversight of food safety and paving the way to flood the country with toxic toys from China. That having been said, Bill Clinton was a hugely better president than his successor and I yearn for him daily (you have no idea…). Hillary on the other hand I’m not sure what she believes in besides Hillary. She may be able to “get things done” but will they be the right things? Right now she’s helping Bush move into Iraq. Is that getting things done?
excuse me, I meant to say “Iran” not “Iraq” Sara
Barack Hussein Obama gets my primary ballot unless John Edwards convinces me he has a better chance of winning California delegates over HRC. I don’t care how much Obama panders. He was right on Iraq in 2002. He deserves my vote. I owe him.