FISA Split is Why Democrats Lose Elections

Written by: Matthew M on Jul 10, 2008 8:59 AM EDT

And how do the democrat's plan to fight this battle?  Because lets be honest, it WILL be a battle.  If any of you out there are foolish enough to think the race you see today is the race that will exist in September and October then this diary isn't for you.  Here is the future of the race:  527's and PAC's will use every trick in Rove's playbook, play on people's fears of terrorism, obama's skin color, his secret Muslim heritage, rev. wright and McCain will tell the media and American people that he has too much integrity and honor to engage in such tactics, that he condemns those groups and they will believe him.  The democrats will stay far away from McCain's sketchy war record, they will run from attacking his age or his propensity for gaffes and they will cringe at the thought of revisiting the keating 5 scandal.  The media will eat up every McCain off-color joke and tell us its just McCain, the old war hero, being himself.  Obama will make the slightest gaffe and the msm will cover it for a week.  

All the while the Bush administration will be doing everything it can behind the scenes to help McCain.  They will emphasize the growing threats around the world, the dangers of Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Hezbollah and al-queda.  There will undoubtedly be some sort of "foiled" terrorist plot that the administration tells us about in October, even if it happened a month or even year before.  New information regarding Osama bin Laden's whereabouts will be leaked to the press, Iraq will have voted in their provincial elections and surely many top al-queda officials will be coincidentally killed in the process.  

And here is where you Kossacks who are withholding funding and support for Obama because of his FISA stance come in.  I cannot count the number of diaries and comments on dailykos over the last few weeks RAILING against Obama for his stance on FISA.  Understandably, many of you have serious concern with the immunity and will vote and donate based solely on that issue but do not pretend you are any better then the republican's who would never vote for Obama b/c he is black or because he supports abortion rights or the Hillary supporters who wont vote for him because they are pissed off.  Those republicans will vote against their own economic interests and the interests of the country because of one issue and you will do the same.  You will put this country in jeopardy of economic collapse, you will put roe v. wade in danger of being overturned and you will send us to war with Iran, all because Barack Obama did not fillibuster the FISA bill.  Are privacy and fourth amendment vitally important?  Coming from someone who is right now studying for the bar exam i can tell you that they absolutely are for many reasons.  But will protesting Obama's vote help ensure that the fourth amendment is protected?  Absolutely not, because i can assure you that John McCain does not care about your freedoms and id be surprised if he knew what the fourth amendment even said.  

Barack Obama may have disappointed you as a man, as the leader of a movement and maybe even as a candidate, but as a politician who wants to win the White House he is brilliant.  This is the type of politician that Kerry was not, that Gore was not, and Dukakis, Mondale and Carter were not.  This is a man who knows how to win and refuses to lose.  This is a man with the killer instinct of a republican and the integrity of a democrat.  This combination makes for a different kind of politician, the likes of which dems have never seen and to some it is an unpalatable version of one.  But this is how it must be.  Barack Obama must move to the center, he must win over the security moms, the white working class men and the middlers who still dont know who he is.  This is how to defeat the republicans, at their own game.  He must become America's safe choice for candidate, not the risk.  So where have you FISA voters left Obama?  Here we are, 4 months out, and you see a loose thread.  And you want to pull and pull at that loose thread until it unravels.  You do this because you are so passionate about your issue but you are missing the big picture.  You have ridden Obama's coattails of change so hard and fast that when he stopped at edge of the left where a politician must stop if he wants to win that you just kept going.  When you stopped and saw that Obama was not there with you you became angry.  Why did he abandon us, why doesn't he support our cause anymore?  He does support your cause, you are what got him there but if you want any of the dreams and ideals that he has promised you to be fulfilled you must understand, he is doing what he is doing for us, for the party, to WIN.  You must bare with him, give him the benefit of the doubt, donate, volunteer, call, canvass and do what you must to get him elected.  If he fails you after he becomes president, then I will join in your cause and contribute my voice to it.  But we must get behind our candidate, if for no other reason then because we cant afford to lose this election.  Remember, republicans win because they refuse to lose.  Hey dems, this time, let it be US that refuses to lose

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