Why I probably will not care who is on the 2008 ticket

I am not a Democrat. I left the Democratic Party when it became clear to me that the party was committed to causes about which I care deeply--feminism, gay rights, the environment, etc.--only as far as lip service would take it. This is not true of all Democrats, of course, but it is true of the party as a whole. The "me first" leap to vote for the invasion of Iraq, the trashing of Howard Dean, the excising of the ERA from the party platform, and the refusal to investigate the 2004 election have only confirmed my opinion that the Democratic Party is the confused branch of the Republican Party.

Now everyone is abuzz about the 2008 presidential election. We are hearing the words "shrill" and "strident" a lot because a woman is being considered for the ticket. No Democrats, not even the pro-Clinton ones, do anything to stop the sexist bashing of Senator Clinton, just as they have never done anything to stop the sexist bashing of any female party members.

It is very sad for me to hear so much excitement about a Gore/Warner ticket, or a Kerry/Feingold ticket or an Edwards/Clark ticket, or any combination of two white males you can think of. (Not that Feingold stands much chance--consider his last name.) I made up my mind some time ago that I would never again vote for a ticket of two white males, and I will not.

Consider this: That a Kerry/Warner or a Clark/Bayh ticket is elected. Yes, any of those men would do a better job than George W. Bush, but there are high school dropouts who would do a better job than Bush, so that is hardly an issue. Yes, any of those men would nominate judges whose mission in life is relatively free from misogyny, corporate ass-kissing, and a hatred of the poor.

But the Democratic Party's message would still be the same: We are afraid, and we--the white males--can do the best job of representing women and minorities. Message has to count for something. It says who we are as a nation.

Some day, if we ever get around to electing women and minorities to high office, I will be glad to go back and cast votes for capable, courageous white males--men like Feingold and Dennis Kucinich and Henry Waxman. If capable white males put women and minorities on their tickets, I will vote for them now, but the party has to be prepared to fight--not roll over and die-- when those candidates get Ferraro'd. There has to be commitment, something the Democratic Party simply does not have.