While Senator Obama downplays his loss in the Pennsylvania primary yesterday and Senator Clinton spins her win as a huge step forward, John McCain keeps rolling along, increasing his lead over both of them. Here is what we know after the votes in Pennsylvania were counted: Clinton and Obama are in a knock-down, drag-out fight. This fight is going to last a few more rounds, at least!
Neither Senators Clinton nor Obama have reached the required number of delegates to secure their party’s nomination and Democrats throughout the nation are starting to get a little worried. Democrat National Committee chairman Howard Dean has come out and practically demanded uncommitted superdelegates make a decision. Obama supporters are telling Clinton to get out of the race because she hasn’t won enough states and she is too divisive a figure to be the nominee. On the other side, Clinton supporters are touting her wins in the “big states” (California, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas) as proof of her broad support. Furthermore, Clinton herself has said Obama cannot win the general election against John McCain.
All of this amounts to not much more than political posturing. Both candidates will do anything to get their Party’s nomination and to get elected. As we have seen, they routinely try to out-liberal one another as they play to the base of their party. Unfortunately their ideas and their rhetoric often don’t match up. For example: Barack Obama has outwardly touted raising taxes on the “very wealthy”. One such tax Obama plans to increase is the capital gains tax, which he believes will tax only the wealthy. What he fails to realized is 79% of the 8.5 million tax filers who reported capital gains in tax year 2005 had incomes under $100K. Yes, Barack Obama’s tax increase is aimed directly at you.
The fact Clinton and Obama will continue to do battle for their Party’s nomination, maybe even going all the way to the Democrat convention in late August, serves John McCain and Republicans very well. There is no doubt the politics of personal destruction, which Clinton and Obama have perfected over the past months will be focused on John McCain at some point in the future. Until then, we Republicans can use this time to further unite behind our presumptive nominee and begin putting our grassroots network in motion. Retaining the White House this year will take an exceptional effort on the part of all Republicans. The Democrats continue to beat each other up and tear each other down. We must seize the day, seize the moment for party and country.
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