Last week I got jammed up, first by my husband and then by my close friend Blue.  They wanted to know if I would vote the Democratic ticket, regardless of who wins the nomination.

“You know you are truly a Republican at heart,” my husband says snidely.

“You’ve voted for McCain before, so why won’t you vote for him again?” Blue accused me.  “You at least voted Democratic in the primaries, right?  Right?”

They feel like they have to keep an eye on me.  Uh oh, renegade Independent sending us all to hell by voting her conscience.

I hold to no party.  The Democrats treat us like an errant lover who only comes around during election season but then the rest of the time goes about his merry way.  And the Republicans treat us like a step child and (except for GWB  –which is the only good thing I can say about him) act like we don’t exist.  This is why so many African Americans feel as if their voice doesn’t really count.  Because we have gotten screwed around and messed around, ignored and treated ignorant on both sides so finally you are like damn, why vote?  Why vote?!

I used to have an answer.  I would say, its because our ancestors were beaten and died for this right.  Because this is our country and its the responsibility of every citizen to stand up and be counted –even if your opinion goes against my own.  It’s because for a democracy to work every one who can needs to go out there and punch the ballot.

But now —

If any African American had any questions about why we  should be on both sides or straight go Independent I think Geraldine Ferraro solidified that yesterday.  If the Clintons hadn’t already done it when they were playing the race card down in SC.

Check it. Geraldine Ferraro says she’s not backing down from what she said about Obama last week.  She’s defending her comments and claining everyone else is sexist and racist against her.

 ’Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let’s address reality and the problems we’re facing in this world, you’re accused of being racist, so you have to shut up,’ Ferraro said. ‘Racism works in two different directions. I really think they’re attacking me because I’m white. How’s that?’…

 ’In all honesty, do you think that if he were a white male, there would be a reason for the black community to get excited for a historic first?’ Ferraro said. ‘Am I pointing out something that doesn’t exist?’ …”

<sigh  deep long sigh>

You know, in a race such as this I can see the person running a bit behind using what they can to catch up.  If this were two white males (oh God how I wish it were two white males) then what would be going on would come out different.  But now you have two represented groups (African Americans and women –in case you didn’t know) who are going at it and women are using victimhood as the reason their candidate isn’t in the lead.  Nevermind that they are running neck and neck and Obama is barely edging her out.  I’m sure if Obama was behind then some of his supporters might be making the statement it’s because of his race that makes it so (although here I would like to point out it probably wouldn’t be him or anyone on his team because they have so vehemently tried to make race a non-issue).

I’m wondering how all this would go down if it were two black men or two women (of the same hue)?  Would a presidential race play out like Sharp James and Corey Booker in the national media?  Would a presidential bid between two women become a political version of Working Girl? 

For the last six or seven months I have been hearing from everyone about how America isn’t ready for a black president.  We haven’t had one before, ergo we aren’t ready.  But they forget the fact that back in 1998, 1999 people were rumbling about how Colin Powell should run for president.  Conservatives were kicking the idea around, not liberals.  Now we have a democratic candidate who is a black man and can possibly get the job done.  Its not because he is a black man that he is in contention to be pres, it’s because he is who he is and he just happens to be a black man.

And I have also heard that America might not be ready for a woman president, but we have Nancy Pelosi who is speaker of the house.  And we have Condoleeza Rice, the Secretary of State.  She is the 2nd black in the position (after Colin Powell) and the second woman (after Madeleine Albright) but after Powell, she is probably the most high profile person in the position since Kissinger (because to tell the truth, I paid no attention to Albright).  With Pelosi and Rice, two bad ass women in Washington, one black and one white, and you want to tell me America isn’t ready for a woman to lead the country?

Puh-lease.  Most people were saying Hillary was running the country during the first Clinton administration.  Now she wants to do it in her own name.

So, breaking this down to the common denominator and making it a black and white thing is a complete turn off and as I said yesterday, divisive to the party.  If Obama should get the nomination the women who feel that H. Clinton was cheated won’t come out to vote for him and may stay at home.

And if H. Clinton gets the nomination does she really think she can rally the party together?  The Clintons have pandered to the worst in Americans.  They’ve played race issues (blacks vs poor whites vs Latinos); they’ve played class issues (a la Bill Clinton’s the rich don’t need a president and Hillary’s quip that rich white folks want to vote for Barack) and they are playing gender issues (oh woe is me i’m a poor woman getting beat out by a man!)  And the press who keeps beating up on Hillary oddly enough doesn’t call her out on all that.  For all their sexism and the cartoonists drawing the size of her hips it’s oddly ignored.  They’ve done her the favor for not calling her out because as long as she can call the media (what media?) sexist she can bring out her base of old feminists who love to man bash and all the while McCain is taking notes.

And I hope everyone else is, too.  Especially blacks.  Remember what Sharpton said at the 2004 Democratic convention?

“Mr. President, as I close, Mr. President, I heard you say Friday that you had questions for voters, particularly African- American voters. And you asked the question: Did the Democratic Party take us for granted? Well, I have raised questions. But let me answer your question. You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That’s where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. We didn’t get the mule. So we decided we’d ride this donkey as far as it would take us.

There is no more pulling the donkey, no more beating on the donkey because the beast is dead and it’s time to find other means of transportation.