What to do if you can't say anything nice?

No? Well then, the answer is: don't say anything at all. I'm sick to death of all the knee jerk anti Hillary commetns that people keep leaving at the bottom of any post that mentions her.

I'm sorry to put it so bluntly but could you all just shut up? What is the POINT of carrying on with these sustained anti-Hillary diatribes? I mean seriously?

I voted for Obama in the primary, I worked my tail off for Obama in the primary, I called Hillary on it whenever I felt she went over the line in the primary, I defended Obama whenever I felt like she was attacking him unfairly in the primary, I don't think I need to prove my commitment to Obama's cause.

But for heaven's sakes, people! IT'S OVER.WE WON. Stop with the bitter, already! The continued attacks on Hillary Clinton are only doing three things right now, all of which ultimately HURT Obama in the general election.

1) They piss of Clinton supporters, millions of whom supported her, need I remind you, because they were every bit as inspired by her as we have been by Obama. How does it make you feel when you read Obama bashing? I don't know about you but it makes my blood boil. Why should Hillary supporters feel any differently? Is there anything constructive to be gained by making potential Obama voters hate and resent his supporters?

2) They take the focus off of John McCain. If you have any residual resentment or anger left over, why not spend it on the person who we actually disagree with and need to beat? And by the way, the person who - unlike Senator Clinton - opposes a woman's right to choose, wants permanent war in Iraq an dhas no interest in solving the health care crisis. It just makes no sense to let him off the hook while we continue to bash a woman in our own party who agrees with us about all the main issues. Get over it already.

3) It could drive a wedge between Barack and Hillary. Neither of these two people has shown any trace of the bitterness that their supporters seem to feel towards each other - and for a simple reason. They need each other. When Obama becomes President he has an aggressive legislative agenda to deliver - and Hillary Clinton as one of the nation's most powerful Senators will have a huge role to play in helping him to do that. Does it really make sense to foster animosity between two people who can should must be partners?

Can't we just agree that we disagreed about our preferred candidate but now that it is over there is nothing more to be gained from either side attacking the other?

In other words - MOVE ON PEOPLE! THERE'S NOTHING TO BE GAINED HERE.

As we gear up for November there is going to be a lot of talk about swing states and get out the vote operations around the country. But there is one group of critical voters who are (literally) not in range of the US media coverage - or polling.

Americans living abroad are keeenly sensitive to America's loss of international reuptation. They get media coverage that has been more consistenty critical of the Bush administration for longer than voters back home. And in the 2006 election there were more absentee ballots from overseas in the Virginia and  Montana Senate races than made up the margin of victory in those races. So yes, these voters do make a difference.

But finding overseas voters, informing them of their voting rights, getting them registered and ensuring they do actually vote can be exponentially harder than GOTV operations in the States - plus we are often subject to more restrictive laws. For instance, here in Europe there are stricter rules about data protection, making it more difficult for us to access personal information through third parties. In some countries, such as China, there are actually laws preventing a foreign political party from organising.

Below is a short guide to the overseas vote this year - how to do it and why it matters. I'd appreciate it if you could recommend this post to help us get the word out about these important voting tools, and if you could forward this information along to anyone you know who lives overseas.

Can Americans Abroad Vote?

Yes they can. For the past 40 years, expats have been eleigible to vote in US federal elections (presidential and congressional). Some states also allow us to vote in local elections as well, but rules on this vary. 

How Do they Register?

Americans Abroad can register via the embasy, or they can get help through the Federal  Voting Assistance Program.

But by far the easiest, quickest and most user-friendly way to register is through the Vote From Abroad Website.

www.votefromabroad.org

Although this tool was created by Democrats Abroad (the officially recognised "state party" of the Democrats for Americans abroad) the tool is non-partisan and can be used by Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. It does, however, ask users at the end of the registration process whether they would like to join Democrats Abroad - if so, then the party is able to provide them with ongoing voter information and advice. 

After completing the online form, the tool creates a PDF with all your details completed, along with full instructions of where you need to send your form (by physical post - no e-mail or fax submissions accepted, sadly).

Where Do Americans Overseas Vote?

Americans abroad must send their absentee ballot to the last state where they lived in the US. If you are a US citizen who has never lived in the US - typically these are children of US citizens who have always lived abroad - you must vote in your parent's last state of residence.

There are US expats from every state in the Union. The largest numbers probably come from big states such as New York and California, but there are also large numbers from states such as Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

How Many US Voters Live Overseas?

No one really knows. One estimate is that there may be as many as 6 million  with nearly 250,00 in my home city of London alone - but no one tracks this information in any consistent way. We do know, however, that there are more than enough to make a difference in this election.

At Democrats Abroad meetings I frequently encounter people who have been living abroad for decades and who are voting this year for the first time. Go to the American Schools here and you find hundreds of young people who are about to turn 18 years old and preparing to vote for the first time. Go to the financial district here and you find thousands of wealthy executives who have never donated money to a politician before, or who have given to Republicans in the past, who this year are making major donations to Barack Obama and the Democratic party.

How do Americans Overseas Vote?

It used to be claimed that most American Expat voters were Republicans, but in the past two election cycles we have seen a significant change in this pattern what seems to be an overwhelming tilt towards the Democrats.

Barack Obama in particular is wildly popular overseas, and this enthusiasm is reflected in the expat population, which voted for him overwhelmingly in our Democats Abroad Global Primary - giving him 65.8% of that vote.

In Summary

Finding and registering overseas voters is hard work, but well worth the effort since these voters vote overwhelmingly Democratic, vote in a broad range of critical swing states,  and are not included in US domestic polling. A huge upsurge in the overseas vote could be exactly the right thing to push our votes over the top in November. Please share the Vote from Abroad link widely and spread the word to every American you know who lives overseas. Thanks!

Karin

http://obamalondon.blogspot.com

At the bottom of the web page on while John McCain asserts his staunch determination to overturn Roe V. Wade, one also finds these words:

The Greatest Honor is to Serve the Cause of Human Dignity

There is no greater nobility than to sacrifice for a great cause and no cause greater than protection of human dignity.

Decency, human compassion, self-sacrifice and the defense of innocent life are at the core of John McCain's value system and will be the guiding principles of a McCain Presidency.

"To sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself, and to sacrifice your life to the eminence of that cause, is the noblest activity of all."

I have to say, I have no idea what he is talking about here, but it seriously creeps me out. In the context of talking about abortion rights, and considering that we have had people with very similar views on both abortion and sacrifice actually bombing clinics in the recent past, isn't this wording (to say the least) provocative?

Am I being paranoid here, or does anyone see what I mean? Can anyone come up with a plausible alternative explanation for just what exactly he IS suggesting with these words? Because I'm baffled.

[This is cross posted from my blog: http://obamalondon.blogspot.com/2008/06/john-mccain-really-creepy.html]