I'm a Democrat and I am worried. In the beginning of the year I couldn't wait for 2008. I couldn't wait for a Democrat to take office and turn this nation around. I knew it wasn't a matter of if, but when. Unfortunately, the tides have turned. American citizens are sick and tired of the partisan bickering in Washington. They are tired of waffling politicians who promise one thing, but don't deliver. It is evident in the polls. Only 11% of Americans approve of the job the Congress had done. Only 10 months into a Democratic lead Congress and the nation already wants us gone. If we are going to win the White House, we need to clean ourselves up and stand at attention. We need to get our people to do their jobs and serve the American public. The biggest challenge we face is partisanship. Though it may be the Bush Administration’s fault America and our leaders are so divided, it is our job, as Democrats, to fix the problem. There was a time, not long ago, that Republicans and Democrats worked together, ate together, discussed issues together. We need to return that era of respect and goodwill and leave the partisan stabs behind. The only way we are going to move this nation forward before 2008 is by getting Republicans to vote for Democratic bills. The only way to do that is to show respect and integrity.
As voters in a democracy, we have a voice and we must stand up and use that voice. If we are going to end the division in Washington, we need to show our leaders that we are willing to work with Republicans. We shouldn't criticize a fellow Democrat when he or she reaches their hand across the aisle and asks for a Republican's support. Just yesterday, Joe Biden, a liberal Democrat, and Sam Brownback, a conservative Republican, came together and held a town hall meeting to share a plan to end the war in Iraq. Though the two Presidential candidates share nearly no political opinions, they do share one, and that is how to get out of Iraq. Because they came together and showed unity, they were shunned by the bases. Democrats have called Joe Biden “too conservative” and Republicans have criticized Brownback for working with a “liberal”. This however, baffles me. When you build a bipartisan consensus things can actually get done. We need to stop questioning Joe Biden and all other Democrats when they try to build bipartisanship. Just recently, Joe Biden enticed 26 Republicans to vote for his federalist solution for Iraq. He called it the “first ray of hope” while a fellow blogger, desmoinesdem, criticized Biden saying it “annoyed ” him and that Joe Biden was out of line because he “threw Senate Republicans a life raft”. The only thing Joe Biden did was be the first person to be able to convince Republicans to publicly rebuke George W. Bush and his policies in Iraq. Besides, the only people who need a life raft are the Democrats. I hate to say it, but it's true. We have been too dead set against compromise to end this war. If we are going to win the General Election in 2008 we are going to have to 1.) Begin to end the war by adopting the only political solution with the ability of overriding a Presidential veto and that would be Joe Biden’s and 2.) We need to nominate a Democrat with a history of bringing people together. That is Joe Biden.
As Democrats, we must remember, in General Elections we rely on the independent vote. Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton, who is currently leading in all of the early states, does not appeal to independents. During the 1990s, when Clinton gave her began effort to achieve Universal Healthcare, $100 million was spent on the Harry and Louise campaign alone. This idea of Universal Healthcare is still called HillaryCare by many Republicans and the term was used in the latest Republican debate, not to mention the fact that Clinton's name alone was brought up six times. Candidates like Clinton are much too partisan to win in a general election. She will energize Republicans and alienate independents. Nominate Clinton and we will lose. Nominate Joe Biden, a man with a solid record going back 35 years, and we Democrats will take back the White House!
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