Anybody at all excited about SC Democratic primary?

I asked sort of the same question last week about the GOP contest. But this week it feels even more appropriate.

The Democratic primary is so low-energy that I’d be surprised if I get comments exceeding single digits on this post.

We know, or think we know, it’s going to be relatively low turnout.

Bernie is blowing SC off, and Bernie has been the only source of excitement on the Democratic side.

The campaign has seemed relatively invisible — probably because the one candidate actually running here can only be so many places at once. But it may also be because I’m a white guy who voted last week — if you’re not a black Democrat, that Hillary isn’t trying to seek you out.

Those black Democrats aren’t going to get as excited as they did in 2008, no matter what she says or does.

In fact, probably the one person who has any adrenaline going at all is Hillary Clinton herself, who has to win big here, or else. And that adrenaline probably isn’t all that great, since it seems that is going to happen. Although she might occasionally wake up in the middle of the night, filled with unreasoning fear that it won’t happen.

Anyway, is anyone else seeing this differently?

 

44 thoughts on “Anybody at all excited about SC Democratic primary?

  1. Dave Crockett

    No. But I’ve decided to vote for Bernie, knowing full well that he’s not going to win here and, in all liklihood he won’t get the nomination. I have problems with both him and Hillary, but I feel the need to express my frustration with her longheld presumption of the nomination. And come November, I’ll probably have no choice but to vote for her. But not happily. And If Donald Trump wins the election, I’ll be all the more unhappy. Just call me Droopy Dog, bub.

    I don’t hate government. But I sure hate what passing for governance has come to.

    1. Juan Caruso

      I don’t hate government per se, either. But the stench of uniparty collusion, particularly the false dramas staged with bi-parrtisan cooperation has meant unmistakable public corruption for too long now. Not all of the public has been fooled all of the time.

      Why else would anyone in their right mind suppose Trump coud be supported by almost every demograhpic element?

      Face it; career politicians who have made their beds with lobbyists, and must now lie with their undue influence and corrupt organization. No pity on the career scum nor racketeers!

  2. Norm Ivey

    I’m looking forward to casting my first vote for a Socialist. I have a conservative friend who was unable to get to the polls last week, so she and her husband are planning on voting for Hillary tomorrow. She seems eager.

  3. Phillip

    Bernie’s playing the long game, so I don’t blame him for looking ahead to some other states’ primaries. FWIW I’ve gotten a lot of calls from his campaign and none from Hillary.

    Well, I’m excited for the primary for the same reason as Norm. Would Bernie be able to enact any of his ideas were he to somehow be elected President? No of course not. But Hillary isn’t going to be able to, either. The animosity and venom directed her way from the right goes back much farther, now over 20 years, so I expect McConnell et al to basically call her a “lame duck” President the day she takes office…it will make Obama’s administration look like the model of executive-legislative cooperation by comparison. No Democratic president is going to be able to accomplish much of anything on the domestic front.

    Hillary will almost certainly be the nominee, so I just feel that tomorrow is a chance to stand up and be counted. No matter what, Bernie has accomplished a great deal in this campaign. In a campaign noted (especially on the other side) for its tragicomic farce, arguing about who uses more makeup, you name it, Bernie has been serious as a heart attack and and sincere and consistent in his message.

  4. Brad Warthen

    FYI, just to let y’all in on the fun …

    I’m at an urgent care. I fear I’ve recracked my ribs. Broke four of them 15 years ago. Kickboxing.

    Hurts like crazy. But only if I do something stupid like breathe. Started to sneeze awhile ago — BIG mistake!

      1. Bob Amundson

        Hope it’s figured out soon; keep pushing until you are comfortable with a diagnosis. Make sure they rule out heart problems.

      2. Harry Harris

        Coughing or laughing hurt a bunch, whether it’s a bone cracked or muscles watch pout for temperature changes that can easily make you cough or sneeze. We wish you well in getting well soon.

      3. bud

        Nothing more fun than dealing with the American health care system. Hope you get to feeling better soon. At our age it seems these incidents that quickly healed can now linger for months. While trimming hedges my brother did something to his arms and it took 6 months to heal. Hopefully your issue won’t take that long.

    1. Dave Crockett

      Did Mrs. Warthen put a hurting on you, or did you just do something none of us should do at our ages?

    2. Doug Ross

      I broke a rib back in December doing something really difficult – leaning across the center console of an SUV to try and close the passenger door. I made one extra push to try and reach it and snap, crackle, pop! Ahhhhhh! That was followed by two weeks of agony, two weeks of misery, and two weeks of discomfort.
      So as Bill Clinton would say, “Ah feel your pain… [lip bite]”

      Hope you get better.

        1. Brad Warthen

          They gave me tramadol and flexeril. It’s taken the edge off. Really, the main thing is that it relaxes me, which goes a long way toward feeling better.

          About to face the real test — trying to lie down to go to sleep. When your ribs hurt, that’s a challenge…

          1. Brad Warthen Post author

            I feel MUCH better today, although very woozy.

            I credit the muscle relaxer for part of it — I think some of the pain was caused by my tensing up…

  5. Lynn Teague

    Sorry about your ribs! No one warned me that every assault on our bodies that we seem to breeze through at 30 comes back to haunt at 67.

  6. Karen Pearson

    Sorry you’ve hurt your ribs. That is no fun at all. Now, if you could just hold your breath for 6 weeks or so.

  7. Harry Harris

    I’m not excited at all. I’m voting for Hillary in a change from supporting Sanders since the beginning. I’m
    really tired of the excitement, and want some thought-based campaigning and a calm, respectful atmosphere. Bernie, in my view, spent too much time repeating his campaign points, and little time explaining them. The media outlets, especially the commercial ones hype the excitement, conflict, and shallow goofiness. Enough for me. I think after super Tuesday, the board will be more clear, and the needed unifying will begin. Some won’t come in, but many will.

  8. Karen Pearson

    No one these days seems to want an explanation. Everyone simply wants assurance, as in” hide behind the largest male gorilla.”

  9. Juan Caruso

    “Anyway, is anyone else seeing this differently?” – Brad W.

    No differently than proclaimed in this very blog months ago …..

    Hillary is toast. She must eventually end her race, probably citing unspecified health reasons, but not without castigating a sacrificial campaign dupe.

    Oddly, it is “going to be “husband” Bill who actually faces dire health problems. Pity poor Chelsea, a veritable celeb hasbeen.

  10. bud

    After finishing my coffee I’ll head to the polls to enthusiastically vote for Bernie. I do get a bit annoyed hearing his stump speech over and over and over again. And I do wish he’d spend more time on foreign policy, climate change and military spending. That said, his positions on income inequality, health care and education are exactly in line with my own views. As many have said here and elsewhere he has zero chance of getting any of these things enacted. But he’s started the conversation in much the same way that Barry Goldwater and Eugene McCarthy did a generation (or 2?) did. Perhaps in the fall voters will embrace much of what he said and vote for Democrats. Not a perfect party but the best hope we have to avoid becoming a de facto plutocracy or worse a return to the neocon horror of the Bush years. The most important reason for my vote is to simply express in some small way the support for the political philosophy that I agree with. To me that’s the only principled vote to make.

  11. Rose

    I’m having trouble getting to my polling place. The Lexington Race Against Hunger was staged from Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church in Lexington, which is also my polling place. Since I was participating in the race today, I got there early enough to vote, only to find one small, hard-to-read sign next to the road that voting had “temporarily” been moved to another church. That was the only sign, which was visible only when we lined up to race and 378 was closed. Very, very poorly done. I’ve got to go find the other church this afternoon. If you know you have this kind of scheduling conflict at a location then you need to be aggressive in getting the information out there. There may not be many Democrats in Lexington, but we still have the right to vote.

    And no, I’m not excited about any candidates, but damn it, I’m going to vote any way.

      1. Norm Ivey

        Hey, you’re voting in the Democratic primary in South Carolina. Even a heavy turnout looks light.

    1. Howard

      Don’t you love it when some charity decides to do a race so a few dozen people can tie up traffic for the entire morning. They don’t seem to have the ability to figure out that they can run through neighborhoods and disrupt traffic much less than they area by running down Hwy 378 and Hwy 1 on a Saturday morning.

  12. bud

    Just voted. Me and about a half dozen other bleeding hearts/tree huggers. Pretty lonely place being a liberal in Lexington SC.

  13. Norm Ivey

    Just voted. The poll workers asked if we would mind if an Aussie news crew filmed us checking in and voting. We consented.

  14. DougT

    Just got back from voting. It took 2 minutes. Practically empty. Voted for Bernie though Hillary will win. I have Clinton fatigue big time.

  15. Dave Crockett

    Lib and I both just voted. We were #155 and #156 (which, as I recall, suggests more interest in this Democratic primary than the last one). Took 90 seconds for both of us.

  16. Bill

    Despite my reluctance ,I voted in honor of my late partner,Mike.Brad said something about sacrifice;he spent 5 years living in a group home for autistic children,among the 20 plus .He was a much better man than I-Last time we voted,he was for,John Edwards(Partly due to BW:)

  17. Kathleen

    Anybody else hear news blurbs about SC Bernie voters being young? Everyone I know in the Bernie column is north of fifty.

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