Anonymous wrote:Yeah, sorry, his lumping Planned Parenthood into the "Establishment" was the final straw against him for me. They are and have been the stalwart against anti-choice attacks. Economic issues are obviously enormously important, but if I don't have the right to dictate what happens with my body, what do I have? And he just sort of waved away its importance.
He didn't wave away the importance of PP. You are completely ignoring the context of his comment. PP is going to support the Dem Establishment candidate. That's undeniable. He didn't imply PP isn't significant; he implied endorsements aren't really significant because any group that lobbies Congress is going to voice support for the party establishment pick.
If anything, his comment was less about PP specifically and more about the ridiculous game of endorsements. Endorsements aren't usually based on an objective view of which candidate is better. They are made out of political self-interest. No one is going to bet on the underdog -- even if the underdog is the better pick -- because they don't want to be alienated when the establishment pick, as expected, gets the nomination.
There's a reason Warren hasn't endorsed anyone. I think it's because Clinton isn't exactly her preference, but she knows she'd be alienating herself if she came out in support of Sanders. That's the game. I actually respect Warren for just kind of keeping quiet during the primary and not overtly supporting either candidate. She's trying to balance survival as a politician with being true to the principles she originally ran on.
It's why I give little credence to endorsements. I suspect a lot of them are products of backroom negotiations and quid pro quo promises. But no one will ever come out and admit that.
And that's exactly the nonsense I think a lot of people are frustrated with. It's one thing when these kinds of handshakes are made between politicians. It's worse when they are made between lobbyists and politicians.
I think this entire election cycle is evidence that some people are kind of tired of the feeling that a group of political elite run the country in a manner that isn't at all transparent and that often is determined by individual career self interest and less about the needs of the constituents.