Quote by Kelly in Ohio about JRE's Exit

I just saw this at JRE's blog. It's a very succinct quote that describes many of us. Kelly in Ohio posted this at CNN's site.

"It's strange to realize how little the general public understands about Edwards supporters. As someone said in a recent article, 'People who love John Edwards really love him.' Many of us are still voting for him. From our point of view, all the other candidates are very, very far from him in spirit, in approach, in policy priorities, and in reliability. From our point of view, neither Clinton nor Obama are 'almost as good' as Edwards. From our point of view, we had one candidate who was going to be the advocate of the people, and many who are not. Many of us who identify as progressives don't have a 'second choice'. On top of that, folks don't seem to realize how many Republicans were going to vote for Edwards, who are now going back to the Republican side. Edwards appealed to conventionally 'red' areas-rural areas, small towns-due to both his economic agenda and his own rural, Christian roots. Now those people are lost to the Democratic party. And with our only publicly funded candidate out of the race, true democracy--rule by the people--remains lost to the country.

"In other words: No, Edwards' supporters are not 'up for grabs' by the other Democratic candidates. Instead, we are simply alienated from the Democratic party. And just as Republicans have a hard time winning without considering religious conservatives, Democrats are going to continue to have a hard time winning as long as they continue to alienate the progressive wing of the party."