Why Hillary's loss breaks this Obama-supporter's heart.

[calmblueocean]

Anyone who knows any Hillary-supporters in real life, knows that so many of them are wonderful people. There is a clip of two elderly women at a Hillary rally -- one black, one white -- that if you haven't seen by now, you should:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs1x1yEvMpg

It's beautiful. Chokes me up every time I see it.

These are the kind of Hillary supporters I know.

So many women have invested their hearts in Hillary, with the dream of seeing a woman elected to the White House. For some, like the 101-year-old and 91-year-old women in this video, it may be their last chance to see it happen. For them, Hillary's loss is a crushing blow, the loss not just of a candidate but of a dream of equality recognized.

My heart aches for Lenore Brieger and Jewell Hodges, the two women in this video, and for all the Hillary supporters like them, struggling with the loss of a dream today. You fought hard, for a righteous cause, and even though my first choice was Obama, I share your dream of getting a woman in the White House as well.

You've got a lot to be proud of. Hillary was a victor over sexism, not a victim. She blazed a trail like no one else. She inspired. She made history. I'm honored to share the Democratic party with y'all.

[highplainsdem]

1. Thank you. K & R

[Kali]

2. nice

:thumbsup:

[onenote]

3. k/r

[MonkeyFunk]

4. Yep

that's the sad part. Hillary's candidacy really meant a lot to a lot of people, and it's going to be difficult to walk away from it.

[Tatiana]

5. My grandmother, an 80 year-old black woman is a Hillary supporter.

She passed out cards with polling place information to all people in her retired community.

I met a few really nice Hillary supporters in Indiana.

The majority are not what you see on this board. They are Democrats who will support the nominee and want to see change in this country.

[calimary]

6. Nicely put!

I share your views here - an Obama supporter who also took heart in what Clinton's campaign meant as far as breaking the last glass ceiling. She and Obama both have represented the permanently disenfranchised - as far as the large segments of our population who were locked out of the big game because we were either female or nonwhites. That old barrier has now been broken down. Women and candidates of color are now full contenders to be taken very seriously and considered with full parity along with white men. Previous to this, such prospects were unthinkable, improbable, not credible, and quietly chuckled at. Not anymore.

Presidential campaigns will NEVER be the same again. Thank goodness!

[chieftain]

7. k/r from another Obama supporter.

[myrna minx]

8. K&R n/t

[seabeyond]

9. tx primary i was chatting with a hillary supporter. older white male in panhandle of texas

proudly standing out on curb hlding up a hillary sign. girlie man.... i was so touched and proud and inspired and awed by the man because it is so contradictive to the whole environment i live in. i had to go over and chat and even though i was voting for obama, just feel good with his enthusiasm.

[clydefrand]

10. Thank you very much

I'm one of those older women supporting Senator Clinton. I might not be here to see another woman try to become president either. If only the two candidates could work together, then real history would be made. I will vote for either candidate, but I really wanted Senator Clinton to get the nomination.

[KSinTX]

11. They represent the sort of HRC supporters I know

in real life. I feel so fortunate to have a brick-and-mortar life so wonderful it doesn't get lost in my cyberlife. Supporters of both candidates (and, yes, even John McCain's) whom I've met are wonderful and warm human beings who are just trying to get through another day.



Caveat: Although I'm here in San Antonio, I have not met Pastor John Hagee.

[NC_Nurse]

12. My best friend is a Hillary supporter. She held her ground even though

most of our friends and families supported Barack. I never argued with her or
tried to change her mind. I respect her choice and I know why she made it. I can't
wait for the day when a woman that I support runs. Hillary has helped blaze that
trail and for that I am grateful to her.

:patriot:

[crispini]

13. .

:patriot: to my friends who are Hillary supporters.

[renate]

14. what a beautiful post!

With the primaries being so hardscrabble and all, I for one had kind of lost track of the absolutely stunning and wonderful fact that our party's top two candidates are an African-American and a woman. :applause: We are so fortunate to be watching history in the making.

To my kids, it's not amazing. Which is the way it should be, for people who aren't particularly aware of American social history before the 21st century. But I am so moved to think about what her candidacy would have meant to the suffragettes who less than 100 years ago were still just asking for the privilege of the vote.

[Writer]

15. This is the way to reach the heart of a Clinton supporter.

Thank you very much for your nice post.

:hug:

~Writer~

[kaygore]

16. I have had the same experience with an 86-year-old friend

She is a Hillary supporter because she wants to see a woman president before she dies. I guess that is the greatest disappointment in the Hillary campaign: Hillary in her win-at-any-cost campaign approach has done a real disservice to these women. So many more us of would have supported Hillary if she had taken the high road, embraced Democratic principles, and refused to run a Republican-like campaign.

I have urged my friend to become more familiar with Obama--the man and the issues--because I think that she will understand that her support of Hillary is more about Hillary being a woman than what Hillary actually stands for and has supported as a senator (where we have an actual record of her political achievements and abilities).

[LVjinx]

17. Thanks... A lot of Obama supporters don't understand we love our candidate too

But finding common ground like this will help us all adjust to the fight we'll have to share in November. If we can find that common ground and bury the hard feelings, we will outnumber Republican voters in November 2:1.

[uponit7771]

18. K&R

[marions ghost]

19. political analysts

would do well to study the reasons so many women went whole hog for Hillary.

It surprised me. I didn't know there was so much symbolism about her run for so many women. I mean I could see the reasons for it intellectually, but had no feeling for it.

In many ways Hillary, like many women in high positions, emulates men. So it's not hard for me to view her candidacy more objectively. She has fought some important battles for women. However she has done it strictly according to men's rules of the game, and she's gotten some extra grease for playing the game. So in the end I don't see her as very different from any other smart individual who's pushed to go as far as he or she can in this culture. I couldn't get what the big deal about her candidacy was at first, for women. I just assumed people would choose their candidate regardless of gender. I see it more clearly now.

Yes of course Hillary has faced some huge obstacles in this, some heroic hurdles. But it would not make me choose her over another candidate, all else being (roughly) equal. I guess I'm mentally jumping ahead to the days when this is all history and nobody thinks twice about what gender the candidate is for public offices.

I guess I already (mentally) live there in that future...tending to project the world as I want it to be, not as it still is.

I definitely have had my eyes opened by the support Hillary has gotten from women....

[grannylib]

20. Hear hear, from another Obama supporter. We have to be one

party. Different viewpoints are great, and honest debate is great, but at the end, we need to be unified. I'm confident we will come together and do just that.

[mkultra]

21. it does make me sad to see them sad

but i always have to wonder why they are so sad. Seems like an equal number of barriers to equality are being broken with the election of a black man. Either would be a victory for minorities. This factor makes me doubt their stance.

[indimuse]

22. thanks!

k&r beautiful.