Why are Obama fans so angry and emotional?

A woman showed up at my door last weekend wearing an “Obama ‘08” sticker, with two small kids trailing her, also plastered with “Obama ‘08” stickers. Readers of my blog can guess this unsolicited visit did not end well.

I was enjoying a gorgeous sunny fall day with my family, feeding my baby while singing along with Raffi’s Baby Beluga. I opened the door and licked the last of the rice cereal from my baby’s spoon. I let her get so far as “hoping for your support…” before I smiled and shook my head. I had no desire to argue with her, I wanted to get back to my beautiful, hungry baby. I turned to close my door noting she wasn’t turning to walk away but instead stood rigid and fixed, working her best to shoot me a holier-than-thou flame-throwing stare with a disgusted sound of “Umph!”

Perhaps because she’d seen my lawn sign for our Democratic candidate for Congress she’d presumed I was a supporter. But the pure hatred in her distorted face stopped me. Why was she so angry? What had I done but quietly disagree with her? She interrupts my cozy family reverie to peddle her flawed messiah and then spews bad mojo into my home when I politely turn down her wares. Even the Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons usually offer a weak smile when I tell them I don’t believe in their God as they turn away.

In my mind, she was the one who had to answer for her questionable choice. But I thought I’d give her an explanation she could take back to her pod people. I offered a simple, “I could never vote for such a sexist and unprincipled man.” She turned away to follow her children down the sidewalk as I turned to close my door, when she stopped, whirled around and shouted at me a breathless, angry, “YOU DON”T KNOW WHAT YOU”RE TALKING ABOUT! YOU ARE MISINFORMED! YOU NEED TO READ MORE ABOUT HIM!!!!!!!!!” Her kids looked up at her in awe and my mouth dropped as this woman unraveled outside my door.

Her vitriol stunned me for a few moments, before I chuckled to myself. I know few people who’ve spent as much time reading and writing about him or studying the US Presidency as I had. I started with the low-hanging fruit. “Really? What about his abandoning his religion and spiritual advisor of 20 years for political reasons? His claiming to be against the war, yet voting for every war resolution since he got to the Senate? Or his ridiculing Sen. Clinton for repudiating public financing only to turn around and do the same thing and spend record amounts of money?”

Now she became completely unhinged. “HOW DARE YOU SPREAD THIS KIND OF NEGATIVE ENERGY AROUND MY CHILDREN??!!!??” She was practically screaming.

This is what it’s come to. This is what Barack Obama’s campaign has been about all along. His supporters can’t or won’t discuss his weaknesses in any kind of rational manner. His internet supporters dog my postings on major political sites with the most negative, insulting and immature “neener, neener” kinds of retorts – rarely does an Obama supporter post a comment that doesn’t contain insults, and I’ve never seen anyone intelligently discuss or admit his weaknesses. And they’re always so angry.  Recall how nasty the primary was and Barack and his supporters tried to blame that on the Cintons. Notice that Sen. Clinton is long gone, while the vitriol from Barack supporters keeps on churning.

Lately I've been getting angry, emotional emails from friends - many who have sent rude, disrespectful emails mocking the impressive Gov. Palin, who are angry with me because I've written pieces questioning Barack Obama's record. I got an email from someone I haven't seen for 20 years who was just as unhinged as the woman who showed up at my door - simply because I wrote a piece acknowledging Gov. Palin's many great leadership qualities. I never said I was voting for the McCain/Palin ticket (although I might). All it took to bring out more vitriol from Barack fans was to speak positively about the other side.  I've yet to see that "post-partisanship" - another of Barack's long list of empty promises.

But this visit to my door in mid-October struck me odder than most. Obama had busted out a strong lead in recent weeks with the economy flailing. The tanking economy made it look like a shoo-in that the party not in power would win. Obama appeared that day and now to be the winner. The gig was up. They’d won. I’d resigned myself to that. So why did she show up at my door so angry? 

I’ve spent a good chunk of my life going door-to-door for political candidates and issues.  My mom was the local precinct committee-person for the Democratic party and she’d take us around with her to drop fliers at people’s doors.  She never argued with anyone – she offered her opinion and left the fliers with the local registered democrats and walked away.  In college I was a paid canvasser for the Democratic Party and went door to door.  I had some great conversations with people.  This was the summer of the 1984 convention when Jesse Jackson and Mario Cuomo had delivered those fiery speeches.  Many people wanted to have honest conversations – they were frustrated with Reaganism but tired of party politics and wanted to find a way for average families to make it.  I walked away from most doors feeling uplifted. 

I remember when Al Gore was running in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004 – there was productive, collective sharing of ideas among democrats about how to defeat Bush and people in general about trying to move the country in a new direction.  I had great conversations with people in the primaries – until the 2008 primary.  Until Barack Obama.  Until now.

I was tired of all the hatred from Barack supporters claiming to support a kinder, gentler America. I quickly grew tired of this spectacle outside my door and asked the crazed woman to leave.  "Let me remind you that you’ve come to my house and I'd like you to leave.”  She finally stomped off screaming, dragging her kids in each hand, hollering over her shoulder what an unhappy person I must be.

I sat down to finish feeding my smiling baby, wondering what this country had come to. Now I’m afraid to open my emails or my door anymore, fearing more attacks by unhinged Barack fans. What’s next – a mob with pitch forks?  He’s practically won, so why are they so, so angry?  Why are they hunting down anyone who doesn't agree?  Does anyone remember the French Revolution, and how quickly the peace loving "egalite, fraternite" slogans morphed into blood-lust guillotiners who roamed the country crazed to punish anyone who disagreed? 

This politics of hate is bad for everyone.  This is not progressive politics and Barack is not a progressive candidate.  As the British New Statesman has written, Barack's campaign is a new brand of McCarthyism. It's us against them.  You're with us or we'll destroy you.  That's the precise attitude of Bushism that the democrats claim to want to change.  Yet they've fallen for the same black and white divisive political scam.  And heaven help those of us who dare to ask questions, let alone disagree.

Comments

[Ali]

Well, he did instruct his supporters to go out there and get in people's faces. And he did lay the foundation for a belief that his success is more important than anything - more important than race relations, sexism, ethics or honesty. "The movement" is where it's at...

[M.R. Field]

I've noticed in the past few weeks especially that if Obama and McCain say the same thing, the media praise Obama as wonderfully fresh and McCain as hopelessly out of touch. I've also noticed friends screaming at me if I dare to point out flaws of Obama or Biden and strengths of McCain or Palin. Fortunately, I've been able to redirect the conversation to stress that respect for a person or a person's talents does not mean that I agree with the person's policy agenda. At the same time, support for a policy agenda does not mean I will follow placidly every line item. I've said for over a year that if we want a continuation of the Bush presidency, we will elect Obama. It is that continuance of arrogance that allowed Bush to act without regard to consequences. It is Obama's answer to a question the very first time I heard him speak that gave me the same reaction Ali has, i.e., it's all about Obama winning, not about you, not about me, and not about our country. Remember what the political analysts said about Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign? It wasn't enough for Nixon to win, he had to obliterate his opponent's support. Look at how Nixon's desire left the country.