it seems that barack obama is that guy. i supported john edwards for president and while i still think he was a better candidate than hillary or obama, i was prepared to vote for obama in november, support the party and all that, and send a little dinero his way as well. that was before his FISA amendments act vote last week. i can't remember the last time i was as pissed off about anyone's vote as i am about his. i don't even know if i'll vote for president at all, and believe me, i can't believe i am even contemplating such a thing. i remember gerald ford being sworn in as president and i couldn't have been more than four years old, that's how into politics my family is. i remember carter running for president and how exciting it was; i was in 2nd grade. i've always exhorted people to vote, if for no other reason than so many people in other countries can't or risk their lives to do so, but i just don't think i can stomach any more. it was one thing when it was bush and his cronies ramming this sort of shit down our throats (with the help of many cowed and useless democrats, lest we forget) but to have the candidate for my party, the candidate who's supposed to be the alternative to bush and his corrupt administration, shoving this shit down my throat? i really think that was the last straw for me, on top of the complete disregard for the Constitution and the principles and ideals that this country is founded on. maybe i'm a bit naive, but i take that stuff very seriously. it's very important to me that the Constitution and Bill of Rights be defended and exercised. rights are no good when you can't use them, and laws don't mean anything when they don't apply to everyone. when i think of voting for someone who went from "i'll filibuster this bill" to "it's flawed but trust me... i'll fix it later," especially after blasting hillary for making the politically expedient choice with her yes vote to authorize this fricking war in the first place, it literally makes me feel queasy and sick. i so sick and tired of being given the choice between this pile of shit and that pile of shit. i am royally fed up and disheartened. i honestly don't recognize this country i'm living in anymore.

obama didn't get where he is by pandering to the religious conservatives who won’t support him come november, or wearing american flag lapel pins, or reversing his stance on public campaign financing, or supporting this clusterfuck of a war, or supporting illegal spying on law-abiding americans and giving the companies who helped the government do it a free pass. i don't really care about the telecoms being held responsible per se (though they should be), but now that they're off the hook the lawsuits against them, which were the only chance to find out the scope and severity of the spying, are moot.

the problem, well one of them, with the democratic party imho is that they take the vote of liberal democrats and progressives for granted. in their political calculus, who else could we possibly vote for? certainly not john mccain, so no matter what they do, they have our vote. i for one am sick of being taken for granted. i certainly won’t be voting for john mccain in november but i don’t think i'll be voting for obama, either. he's done nothing to earn my vote and has, with his “yes” vote on the FISA, betrayed the very foundation and principles upon which this country is based. i don’t believe him when he says he'll fix this law if he’s elected president, and if it was so flawed why would he vote for it except for political expediency? why should i believe anything coming out of his mouth when, once he's got the nomination sewn up, he reverses himself on such important issues? i'm not a totally naive idiot... i know politicians pander and change their tune depending on which way the wind is blowing. i'm just tired of participating in it (don't worry, i'll still vote for other races in november for sure.) obama has shown me that he's exactly what he said you wasn't: more of the same old politics as usual. i never believed him when he talked about rising above it all - that's just not reality when it comes to politics - but he's gone and confirmed it in about the worst way possible from where i stand.

and it's not that i don't think having a black president would a paradigm shifting event for our country; it would. things would never be the same, and that's a good thing, a great thing! i just can't stomach voting for someone who's already shown that he won't preserve and defend the Constitution of the united states. i just can't.

drew and i decided the money we were going to give to obama is going to the aclu instead. they'll do something we support with it. at least we didn’t waste any money on obama.