Self-destructive behavior (Political post)

[jhetley]

I read and hear reports about diehard Hillary supporters who are going to vote McCain out of spite.  Does this phenomenon actually exist?

Suicide is cheaper, and affects fewer innocents.

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Yes, it exists, although (*knock wood*) not to the extent McCain hopes. I have hopes that after the convention most of them will regain their sanity.

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

It may, but I suspect that those Hillary supporters are about as rare as the nimtwits who plan to vote for Nader again this election. I very seriously doubt that any significant number of either exist outside of Portland, Oregon, and both are going to be too stoned on Election Day to make any difference.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

None of my fellow Hillary fans are--we're all firmly for Obama, though we'd wanted her. (that doesn't speak for everybody, of course, just the peeps I know.)

[betnoir.livejournal.com]

Honestly?

That particular subset of Clinton supporters won't go through with it.

They will either suck it up and go with Obama or not vote at all -- and they are not the sort to simply not vote.

[pjthompson]

It does exist. NPR quoted something like 5 percent this morning, but I don't know where they get their figures. I do, however, know one ex-Hilary supporter that's so mad she's voting for McCain. It strikes me as rather like shooting off your foot because your shoes don't fit.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I suppose there were some people who voted for Dick Nixon because Ed Muskie didn't get the nomination. What can you say? It's not like the Democratic Party is an organized political party anyway.

[glinda-w.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

Second-best hope, that they choose not to vote rather than vote for McCain. It's somewhat of a lesser evil.

*huge sigh*

I'm doing my best to avoid political conversations until, oh, 2009. I'm already taking enough blood pressure medication, y'know? And I don't want to lose friends.

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

There's always somebody out there who's willing to cut off their nose to spite their face.

But some of the people we're hearing about are probably paid McCain supporters (or unpaid McCain zealots); and a certain portion of the others are probably just making noise. (In partial support of the "McCain supporters" theory, I find it hard to believe that actual committed feminists with even half a brain cell's worth of political savvy amongst them would engage in public behavior that's such an exact representation of the "strident hysterical woman of a Certain Age" stereotype that it almost descends into parody.)

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

I believe that most of the people making those claims are McCain astroturfers, paid or unpaid. There probably are a very few women who'd be stupid enough to do such a thing, but I'd estimate their numbers in the hundreds nationwide. OTOH, having the noise of it in the media certainly benefits McCain, so Occam's Razor suggests that as the most likely source.

I actually do know (online) one woman who fits the "stridenthystericalmanhatingfeministbitch" stereotype to a T... and she wouldn't vote for McCain for head wrangler at the Skonk Works. She's a loon, but not a stupid one!

[anahata56.livejournal.com]

The number they quoted on the news this morning was 30% of Hillary supporters that were going to the convention.

I was sick for the rest of the day.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

You might want to contemplate anahata56's comment above.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Can I call them racists? CanIcanIcanI?

[anahata56.livejournal.com]

Be my guest.

I've called them worse than that over the last few weeks, when Hillary dropped out and this story started to break.

And after being informed by a good number of the same crew that I could return my Woman Membership Card because I actually chose Obama when I had a choice, I would also invite you to call them a few other things as well. Especially considering McCain's attitudes about women as publicly outlined.

I can't believe that there are people out there who would play fast and loose with the future of the country just because they reserve the right to throw a hissy fit.

God bless America, where the freedom to be utterly stupid is one of our most cherished liberties.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh no. I was only half-listening, which makes shooting off my mouth a dangerous proposition. That really is sickening.

[pjthompson]

As well as forgetting to sign back in and embarrassing myself.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

You'd think Nader would have taught them something.

[anahata56.livejournal.com]

:)

[anahata56.livejournal.com]

There are people out there who still think that Nader was a legitimate candidate, rather than nothing more than a thinly veiled spoiler, and who would vote for him again.

More proof--as if we needed any.

[prophet-marcus.livejournal.com]

Now here's a thought to consider. Maybe some of these folks think Obama's stabbing Hillary in the back just to get some of the more conservative vote by choosing Biden.

My son tells me he ran into people at the local Democratic outpost (he's volunteering) who threatened to vote for McCain because of Obama's choice.

(Isn't this odd? My spell checker recognized McCain, but not Obama or Biden.)

[norilana.livejournal.com]

What sartorias said. My heart broke for Hillary but I like Obama and the alternative is insanity.