Yes, We Do Matter

Last month, Hillary Clinton suggested that Barack Obama's recent wins in red states (as well as states with large African-American populations and caucuses instead of primaries) really don't matter because he won't carry them in the general election. It irritated me then, but I just chalked the comment up to spin control from an increasingly desperate candidate and went on my nominally merry way. But the comment has been itching in the back of my mind ever since, so I'm going to offer up a rebuttal:

HORSESHIT.

Allow me to elaborate. States don't get much redder than Wyoming. Registered Republicans here outnumber Democrats by about two to one. The state has only given its three electoral votes to the Democratic presidential candidate one time since 1952 (during LBJ's landslide in '64, in case you were curious). I really don't see that streak ending any time soon - not that I won't be working for a different result, but I have little doubt that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will add Wyoming to his column with little difficulty come November 4.

But for Senator Clinton to suggest that the results of Democratic contests in Alaska, North Dakota, Idaho, Nebraska, or (by extension) Wyoming don't count or count less than those of states like Massachusetts, New York, or California is both insulting to Democrats in those states and seemingly inconsistent for a candidate scraping for every delegate she can get (cough Florida and Michigan shenanigans cough cough).

The point of the primary process is for a party to select its nominee for the general election. I'd be really interested to hear Hillary Clinton's thoughts on why members of her party in one state (say, New Jersey) should have more say than members in another (like Oklahoma). Sure, the first state may be an almost guaranteed win in the general election while the second is dubious at best, but that isn't the point. All members of the party should have a say in who the nominee is. To suggest otherwise is to perpetuate the divisions fostered by the red state/blue state mentality that's gripped the nation for the last seven years (and possibly more, but I wasn't really paying attention then). This is the race for the office of President of the United States of America, not the Blue States of America.

For the first time since 1960 (when the Wyoming delegation pushed JFK over the threshold to win the nomination at the national convention), Wyoming Democrats have some real say in the presidential nomination process. I'm extremely excited for tomorrow's caucus, and have been since the split decision of Super Tuesday. For once, I'll be participating in the process rather than just watching coverage of the returns on MSNBC once again (I'll probably watch Chris Matthews cover it Saturday anyway - the ad during Countdown tonight was too exciting, with explosions and excessive drama, but I digress). And I even have a candidate that I'm excited about to boot!

I don't consider myself to be very partisan - I don't feel obligated to vote a straight party ticket. I'd classify myself as some sort of left-leaning-moderate-libertarian if I felt the need for a label - I assure you, I don't. Given my relative distaste for the prospect of President John McCain, I'd like to think that the eventual Democratic nominee has my vote no matter who it is. But I can honestly say that isn't necessarily the case. If Hillary Clinton gets the nomination, after the primary campaign she's thus far run, after demeaning the participation of about half the Democratic party, and especially if she wins courtesy of the superdelegates despite her having fewer pledged delegates than Barack Obama (which is looking like the only way she'll win it at this point, but we'll save that one for later), I honestly doubt she'll get my vote in November.

So even though she won't get Wyoming's electoral votes in November (assuming she wins the nomination, of course), that doesn't make tomorrow's caucus is any less valid. One delegate in the race for the nomination is just as good as any other delegate, and my input is just as valid as any other Democrat's input.

See you at the caucus tomorrow. I'll be with the Obama crowd.
-Regis