I recently sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee.  I felt it was something I had to do, to express my opinion on the craptastic situation in the Democratic race.  I shared this with some others and it was really well-received, so I thought I'd share it with everyone else.

Hi there. I'm one of those new voters that has been inspired to start participating in the process because of Obama. Until recently, I lived in Utah and grew into the political process feeling pretty disenfranchised (no matter what I did, a republican was going to be selected for president there).

Like you, I really do want a democrat to win the white house this time around, but I've been tired of having to make a choice between the lesser of two evils. No offense against either Gore or Kerry, but they weren't very inspiring and really didn't motivate people all that well. I felt people (at least in my social circles) were more motivated in trying to make sure a republican wasn't in the white house than truly caring who they were voting for. That's no longer the case... but...

So far, Hillary Clinton has run a pretty dirty campaign. She seems to be running as a true politician, which is definitely not a good thing. Some things in particular that bug me in no particular order:

1) Her statement in response to whether or not Obama was a Muslim. It was pretty ridiculous. Instead of saying "Barack's definitely a christian", her statement seems to express some sort of doubt, or at least she wasn't being very direct about what she knows to be a fact. To the less-informed, it starts sewing some doubt. That being said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a Muslim.

2) In Texas, I read that Hillary actually hired groups of African Americans to hold her campaign signs. Need I say more about this?

3) Wasn't Hillary supposed to take her name off the ballot in Michigan and Florida like the rest of the candidates? She's now claiming these states as hers, despite the fact that nobody else was on the ballot? That just seems really underhanded to me. Something definitely needs to be done about those states. You can't disenfranchise the voters because of the stupidity of their party leaders, but the DNC needs to show that there are serious consequences to violating its rules.

4) The recent phone advertisement suggesting the country would be safer with Hillary answering at 3AM, instead of Obama. I understand that it's important to draw distinctions between you and your competitors, but is it really necessary to give your Republican opponent some serious ammo for this fall?

5) Clinton actively courting super delegates: I understand that these delegates are not obligated to follow popular vote or rules, but can you imagine if the popular vote was for Obama, but Hillary won the nomination because of superdelegates? Or vice-versa. Seriously, what would happen to the democratic party if Al Gore vs. Bush happened within its own ranks?

6) Clinton's strategy for actively courting pledged delegates: Really... the leak from her campaign to go after people who were already pledged, that one just made my blood boil.

7) Clinton's campaign threatening lawsuits over the Texas delegate caucus / primary rules: She accepted this going into the race, but the second the polls start swinging away from her, she actually threatens to sue? Same goes with the Michigan / Florida thing... she knew what the rules were, even agreed to them a head of time. She also really criticized the caucus system. The caucus I participated in was the first. Through this process, I could definitely see that more people were encouraged to become active in the party, not just cast a vote in the election. Caucuses should be promoted... after all, you want people passionate about the political process and where things are going, instead of just dropping a ballot in the mail, right?

8) Clinton saying that only places like Ohio, Texas, and California really matter, especially for the nomination and winning the presidency. Shouldn't a leader say that every voice matters and we all need to participate, instead of just states that we already think democrats will win? Didn't John Kerry win the major blue states that democrats typically win, but he failed to win the presidency? Is it really right for a presidential candidate to diminish the status of party loyalists in the other states?

9) Clinton's unwillingness to release her tax information: After years of feeling shut out of the government because of the Bush administration, I want transparency. I'm not the only one here. Good, bad, or whatever, let the people decide.

There are many more that I could come up with, but I'll stop here. Seriously, the DNC has been trying to get younger people invigorated for years, and behold! You've finally done it! I've seen so many people excited about politics for the first time... they all want to make a difference and participate. I have an Obama slant because he won me over, as well as so many other people. He got my foot in the door, and I do want to remain active in politics, but all of this crap from the Clinton side is wearing down my enthusiasm. Don't lose this chance to drastically broaden appeal in the party.

What I want to see is some leadership from the DNC. I want a firm solution on Florida / Michigan. I want to hear that the popular vote should not be subverted. I want some of the party elders to finally step in the ring and really discourage the negativity, half-truths, and battles that might tear the party apart. Please, do something!