Disunity among Democrats

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire, not all Democrats are as crazy for Obama as they’d like us to think;

House and Senate Democratic leaders today in Washington D.C., pledged the party’s unified support behind their nominee, Barack Obama, but their calls for unity were undermined by defections in the ranks.

Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a top backer and ally of Sen. Hillary Clinton, definitively ruled out the possibility of joining Obama on the ticket. The Illinois senator hasn’t tipped his hand in regards to his prospective list, but Strickland has been viewed as vice-presidential material. “Absolutely not,” he told NPR’s All Things Considered. “If drafted I will not run, nominated I will not accept and if elected I will not serve. So, I don’t know how more crystal clear I can be.”

Meanwhile, Oklahoma Democratic Rep. Dan Boren similarly voiced dissatisfaction with Obama today. “Our nominee is not my first choice,” he said, calling Obama “the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate,” according to the Associated Press. Boren has declined to formally endorse Obama, calling it a moot point. In April, Boren’s father, former Sen. David Boren, however did endorse Obama.

It’s good to see that there are still some principled Democrats around. Of course, if there was even one Republican that was vocal about his/her lack of support for McCain, the press would be quoting him every half hour. Look how often we hear about some of the more noteworthy bloggers who’ve not been solid McCainiacs.

But, I expect further defections from the Democrats as Obama becomes more of a liability to incumbent Democrats from the South and the West where those “conservative” Democrats won last midterms.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Politics