Now accepting submissions.

Within the last 48 hours, we have witnessed her pseudo-concession speech and the emails insisting that she will support Barack Obama from this point forward. We have listened to the thank-yous for helping to kick-start one competitive campaign. At last, we shed a tear (perhaps multiple tears) as she addressed us on TV for one last time: our first, serious, female US presidential candidate.

We will support Barack Obama in his presidential candidacy. We believe his desire to bring change to this country; much like we have throughout the primary season.

But for those of us who have supported Hillary as our number-one nominee, there is a part of each one of us that needs space to grieve, vent, and grumble about all of the misgivings of this primary season - and the despicable way that the media (and, sometimes, other Americans) have discussed and deplored Hillary Clinton as both a woman and a candidate. Perhaps, while our healing begins, we can find space on here to applaud her as well.

In the days and weeks to come, we'll be collecting art and writings for submission to this blog. There is no deadline, and this is not something we intend to stop any time soon... so long as we need a space to keep on talking.

Please email thehillarycollective@gmail.com now to submit.

Friday, August 8, 2008

That's right - more from Hillary's wild-ass supporters.

Today, I was fortunate enough to click over to my daily publication of choice, The Washington Post, and what do I see on the website's front page but an article delineating the "potential embarrassment" that is the battle between Democrats and "The Hillary Supporters."

Maybe, instead of getting all riled up at work over the language that the media chooses to use in its discussion of anything-related-to-Hillary-Clinton, I should start to accept the cognitive framing that they would like to apply to her and her militant supporters.

Maybe I should be okay with the fact that the media now wants to use Hillary Clinton's candidacy to stir up drama where it doesn't exist - by suggesting that her supporters are refusing to acknowledge that she lost. We are so ARDENT in our support that we didn't cry when she declared her race over, we haven't acknowledged that Barack Obama is the candidate we'll be voting for in the general election - instead, we're all going to Denver carrying posters that say "Hillary for President."

Maybe it's just me feeling particularly FEMALE this morning (using that term to stand in for, you know, bitchy or loud), but who decided that us Hillary supporters are going to cause upheaval at the convention?

Is it just me, or does that sound pretty-fucking-ridiculous? So because I'm a Hillary supporter, I want to go cause ruckus at the Democratic National Convention and show a lack of support for Barack Obama? Because I support Hillary Clinton, I want to go into the convention and "embarrass" the hell out of everyone there by showing signs of disunion?

Am I the only person that thinks that all that would stand to do is make me look like an idiot? But maybe the news would cover me looking like a total idiot! And then, I can be the face of Hillary supporters everywhere - every last one of us.

So just because someone asks me today how I feel about the election, and I tell them that I supported Hillary Clinton first, am I somehow less of a Barack Obama supporter? If I intend to vote for him on election day and question those who do not, then count me amongst his supporters. Do not question it.

And do not suggest that, just because I'm a woman and I supportED Hillary Clinton's campaign for President, that I'm not interested in seeing Barack Obama get elected as our next president.

Goodbye to all that. Disgusted, is how I feel, yet again. Instead of attending the DNC, I think I'll go stand outside CNN offices and write up posters declaring my disgust for the media and how it portrays us unruly, not-helpful, homogeneous Hillary supporters.

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