We agree with Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama, we support the progressive values they support, and we share their dedication to making this nation better... That's why we're Democrats! :-)
Showing posts with label Hillary Clinton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hillary Clinton. Show all posts
Ugh. David Sirota just took himself to a new low. He got some ugly hate mail from a few "PUMA" McTrolls... So now he must attack Hillary Clinton and all of us who supported her during the primaries?
Sometimes, I feel the same way. And before anyone here calls me a "PUMA", let me remind you all that I didn't just vote for Obama last November, but I also donated whatever $$$ I could, called states like Colorado and Florida, and canvassed in Nevada for Obama. I knew he'd make a good President, and even though I ultimately favored Hillary Clinton in the primary, I had no doubt in moving to Obama in the general.
Now with that said, I need to say this. It's a HUGE mistake for us to center a movement around a personality over a cause. Sure, it's nice to look at the Obama Administration and say "change has come". But really, when will we start seeing more change? When will we see universal health care? Real climate solutions? The Employee Free Choice Act? An end to DOMA & DADT?
Honestly, I see President Obama as I saw President Clinton. Like Clinton, I do think Obama has good intentions and I do understand his sympathies mostly lie with us. However, he seems quite susceptible to the same DLC/corporatist influences (like Summers or Geithner) that Clinton was 15 years ago. And if we don't keep up the pressure and encourage Obama to shift left, he'll follow the DLC rightward... Just like President Clinton.
That's what we should be discussing now. How do we avoid the same mistakes we made 15 years ago in not being prepared to fight the radical right when they attacked "Hillarycare" and "tax and spend lib'rulzm"?
This is merely my opinion regarding Clinton as SOS and therefore I cannot speak for everyone who did not support her in the primary (I did not support her, I was first an Edwards supporter then moved to Obama rather quickly despite some of my reservations). From some comments (by others) in various threads there are some very interesting themes emerging.
One... many at Kos hated Clinton, so that anyone that now supports her appointment as SOS was lying then or lying now.
Secondly... Clinton is so damn hawkish because of her support and vote for the war she is completely unfit to serve in Obama’s administration.
So, here I must refute these ideas...
Clinton fought hard during the primary and said some things that really pissed me off, just as many here were pissed. Some chose to express that anger in ways that might not seem as productive as other means but things were said during the primary, we all know that.
But when Clinton conceded and endorsed Obama, I was a bit shocked. I did believe she might keep fighting until the convention and even challenge his nomination at the roll call. But as history now shows us, Clinton not only endorsed Obama, she campaigned for him and urged her supporters to vote for him.
How much clearer could she have been, No McCain, no way, no how? She was very clear that McCain was not an alternative to Obama and by Republicans picking Sarah Palin as the VP choice (Sure, we all know McCain did not get his way) they gave Clinton an even bigger bat to hit that point home ; McCain/Palin were not an alternative to Clinton either.
I teared up when Clinton stopped the roll call and spoke those words that ended it as clearly as anyone could have, she will forever have a huge part in history for many different reasons and I think one of the most important was the grit and class she showed after she had lost the primary. It turned my head and it gave me the ability to forgive and forget. Yes, it can happen in politics as well, some things are just not worth hanging on to.
Is it possible that I might be the only one whose opinion of Clinton was drastically changed? I highly doubt it and I’m hoping that is the case, that many allowed themselves to be won over by her ardent support of Obama and her ability to be a “team player”.
Obama is also playing the game and he has given her a great opportunity to be a tremendous Secretary of State to put forth HIS agenda on Foreign Policy not her own. That’s where her perceived hawkishness is irrelevant to me, ultimately Clinton was chosen for her standing in the international community and relationships between world leaders that already exist. It is also a nod to her competency as a Senator and an opponent. It was a brilliant move by Obama in my opinion and a deserving position for Clinton as well, in my opinion.
But do you really think that Clinton would have enough sway over Obama to start another useless and illegal war? Really?
I know many here admired the fact that Obama stood up and spoke out against the Iraq war when it was not the politically expedient thing to do. I was also one of the many who never supported this war and I still feel betrayed by all that allowed themselves to be swayed by the bullshit meme put forth by the Bush Administration, either you are for us or against us. Clinton is not politically un-savvy, she knew she had to support the war, at least in her mind and at the time it was what she felt was necessary.
Clinton also knew (yes, all supposition on my part, I admit it) that she could not fully repudiate her stance on the war, it would mean admitting she did not do her homework and that she was possibly like every other Democrat (according to the right wing) soft on national security, etc. Clinton was in it to win and she made a calculated decision (just as John Edwards did, by the way, but he had nothing to lose in saying he was sorry, I wonder even now if he ever meant to see it through Super Tuesday).
Obama has proven that you can be for America and be against stupid wars. He’s held his own in showing that inexperience doesn’t mean dumb and that his intellect far outweighs the experience of the many people who supported this war in the first place. Clinton in his Cabinet will not overpower Obama nor will her “hawkishness”. Obama will not allow that to be the driving force of his Foreign Policy.
It is possible for former Clintons skeptics to support her appointment as Secretary of State without it meaning that we all lied just a few months ago. And by her full throated support of Obama during the general election she’s also proven that his agenda can be her agenda if it means improving our standing in the world and helping America be a better place for all of us.
Just call me a pragmatic optimist, I would much rather give people the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best once Obama is sworn in rather than mope about something that is completely out of my control in the first place. (Yes, the left has every right to speak out against the perceived move to the center, which is still more left than McCain would have ever been if he had won).
No one explains it better than Taylor. It's ridiculous how the corporate media and certain "progressives" hate the idea of having a strong woman as our ambassador to the world. Oh yes, and what was so bad about The Clinton Years? What was worse, the peace or the prosperity?
President-Elect Obama knows what he's doing. I find it hilarious that we Clintonistas are now the ones who have more faith in him than some of his early (fair weather) "friends". ;-)
Does anyone really know? I guess we'll find out in the coming days. I can hardly wait to hear the official announcement. I don't think there's anything like "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton" that will help restore our credibility abroad. ;-)
NBC News says it may happen! I just caught this on MSNBC. Both Obama transition advisers AND Hillary Clinton aides say that President-Elect Barack Obama is seriously considering her for our nation's top foreign policy role.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has released his health care plan that he plans to push in his committee and work with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, on refining.
The bad news: There aren't too many details on financing.
The good news: So far, the plan looks an awful lot like the plan advocated by our favorite Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) during the Presidential Primary Season. For one, the plan has a requirement that everyone be covered. And as we all learned some months back, the ONLY way a health care plan can truly be "universal" is that everyone be covered.
Also, there are some extra goodies on lowering costs & improving technology. So far, the news on the health care front looks good. If we can get a plan passed that covers everyone and makes health care affordable for everyone, we can go a long way to solve the problems crippling our system today.
So what kind of health care plan do you want Congress to pass & President Obama to sign into law? How far should we go to regulate the insurance companies? How strong of a "mandate" for coverage should we have? How far should our government go in getting involved in the system?
Let's talk health care today. Consider this a wide open thread.
McCain now says he's bringing up Ayers to get answers to the questions that Hillary supposedly said "should come up". However, he refuses to state the fact that Hillary only mentioned Ayers & Weather Underground ONCE... During a primary debate, when she only said that the issue MAY come up again during the general election. That's all.
In fact, Hillary Clinton spokesperson Kathleen Strand had this to say:
As Hillary Clinton has criss-crossed the country for Barack Obama, she has said to anyone who will listen that we can't trust John McCain and the Republicans to fix this economy and turn our country around. Funny, John McCain isn't using those words.
How very true! If the best McBush can do to explain why his campaign is resorting to such disgusting attacks is to try to drag Hillary into the mud, then they're goners. Stick a fork in him, McBush is toast. ;-)
Hillary just held a private conference call with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and dozens of donors to her campaign and to Ohio Dems, urging them to plow funds into the coffers of the Ohio state party so it can help execute the ground game on Barack Obama's behalf, a Hillary aide confirms to me.
"There isn't any doubt that Ohio once again will be the pivotal state in this election and I know that it's extremely close in the state," Hillary told the donors, according to excerpts of the call sent our way by her office.
Hillary also promised extensive future visits to the state on Obama's behalf. "I will be back campaigning up and down the state to make the case that the failed leadership of the last eight years should not be rewarded with another four," she told the donors.
If the most recent polls released are correct, then Ohio is a genuine toss-up swing state that's within our reach. With Hillary promising more support to the Ohio Democratic campaign, this may be the one lift up that's enough to put Obama over the top. If there's anyone who can vouch for Obama's ability to make real change to help real working people, it's Hillary Clinton. And with her and all of us uniting to help Democrats here, there may be nothing the McBush GOP campaign can do to stop us!
Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden will be part of a video forum hosted by Women for Obama this Wednesday, September 17th, at 8 p.m. EDT. It's part of our Women's Week of Action -- and you can start the conversation.
They will discuss a range of issues important to women, from Equal Pay for Equal Work to reproductive health, from expanding the Family Medical Leave Act to giving tax cuts to strengthen the middle class. But they also want to know what's important to you. Be part of the conversation on women's issues with Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Submit a question today:
P.S. -- After you've submitted a question, don't forget to join us on Wednesday, September 17th, at 8 p.m. EDT for the Women for Obama Online Video to hear Hillary and Joe answer your questions and talk about how we can bring the change our country needs.
Last night, Hillary Clinton came to Tampa. And boy did she kick some ass! I arrived dressed in my Hillary gear and stood roughly 20 feet from the stage. I could not find good video of her visit on Youtube. This is coverage of her visit from a local news outlet.
It was obvious that the Obama campaign is using Hillary to reach out to women. The invocation was given by a Unitarian minister, a female. The pledge of allegiance was led by a female. The first speaker was a state representative, an African-American female. And former Tampa mayor Sandy Freeman warmed up the crowd before Hillary's appearance.
Sandy Freeman is a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton who at one point was reluctant to endorse Senator Obama. Last night, she gave him her strong endorsement and provided the crowd with a stinging indictment of the McCain-Palin ticket.
And the woman of the hour...
She talked about how important the election was and reminded voters that her generation risked being the first to pass on a country that was worse off than when they inherited it.
She also reminded us that this election is bigger than any one person. Bigger than her and bigger than Barack. And speaking directly to the Clintonistas, she asked us if we did it for her or if we did it for the future.
At the end of the speech she repeated a line from her concession speech where she said that although she and Barack had started out on separate paths, they are now on the same journey. She asked the Clintonistas who worked hard for her to work just as hard for Senator Obama.
My favorite line:
This election is about the differences between us and the Republican party. And you know, anybody, anybody who uh believes that the Republicans, whoever they are, can fix the mess they created probably thinks that the iceberg could have saved the Titanic.
And my other favorite line:
No way! No how! No McCain! No Palin!
Once again, Hillary made me laugh, she made me cry, and she reminded me that this election is not about Psychodrew's feelings. It's about the future of our country. She did more than re-affirm my support for the nominee. Her speech, listening to her speak in person, gave me some much-needed closure. Going forward, I think that I'll be a little less angry and a little less sarcastic, but probably no more enthusiastic about the ticket.
But most importantly, I'm going to vote for Barack Obama!
I remember not that long ago, President Bill Clinton vowed to work with us to build a bridge to the 21st Century. And build it, we did! During the Clinton years, we saw record economic growth that made everyone more prosperous. We had a world community that respected us and loved us. We had a nation we could be proud of, and America was on the right track.
Now fast forward eight years to today. George W. Bush has taken us across the bridge, but back into the 20th Century. We have become a nation with an overstretched military stuck fighting an unwinnable occupation when they should be keeping our nation safe. We have an economy in ruins and an incredibly shrinking middle class. We have a climate in crisis and an energy emergency that's made us dependent on hostile foreign regimes. We desperately need to change course, and most Americans know that.
When I saw John McCain utter "change is coming" at the Republican Convention last night, I simply wanted to rush to the bathroom and lose my dinner. How is he "change"? What will he "change". McCain's entire platform of "change" consists entirely of the same wrong policies that George W. Bush has used to wreck us in the first place. If Bush took us back across the bridge to the 20th Century, McCain will simply burn that bridge as he & Sarah Palin rush us back into the 19th Century Gilded Age.
The reason why I am a Democrat is that I want what's best for our country. I want us to have the best possible open society, the best possible education, the best possible jobs, the best possible health care, the best possible quality of life, the best possible relationship with our planet, and the best possible relationship with our fellow human beings. That's why I admire what FDR did to bring us out of the Great Depression and defeat the threat of fascism. That's why I look up to JFK and his call for us to be a better people. That's why I will always love Bill & Hillary Clinton and I won't stop thinking about tomorrow.
And you know what? That's why I look forward to a brighter tomorrow with Democrats like Barack Obama and Joe Biden. When it comes to our nation's future, the Republican Party of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Sarah Palin simply don't get it. They want to apply 19th Century "ideas" in a 21st Century world. We need new ideas to solve the climate crisis, fix our economy, make our health care system work, and keep our nation secure. And today, Democrats have all the forward thinking ideas.
This election may not look like a cakewalk now. But you know what? We simply can't stop fighting. We have the upper hand now. We have the bright ideas. We have the unprecedented enthusiasm. We're looking forward to the future and we're proud if it.
Let's keep going. Let's keep working. Let's keep winning. Now is opportunity to put the past behind us, and move ahead to the future. We can do it... Yes we can!
OK, so he's calling himself something slightly different. But still, he's having the same experience.
Progress in America is never cheap, and even today history exacts a price for Obama's victory -- the dreams of electing the first female president, the dreams of so many who rushed toward Hillary Clinton on rope lines across America and refused to give up her hand and their hopes. Today these dreams are giving way to another kind of progress.
For me, the presidential campaign began in a crowded Iowa hall, where I saw a man my age lift up a daughter around my daughter's age and tell her that one day she could be president. Last week things came nearly full circle, when I saw another man my age lift up another child and say the very same thing.
Let's work to make sure these dreams become reality.
Marc Ambinder reports that Sarah Palin was booed when she mentioned Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, and she dropped reference to her in a speech she gave in Missouri.
It is unclear why the campaign cut the paragraphs, which were widely praised Friday for appealing to Clinton supporters who may feel disenfranchised by the Obama campaign.
My guess is that they weren't getting the mileage out of it with the home crowds, since Hillary has never been an exceptionally popular figure among the Republicans (one of the reasons I like her so well) and "disenchanted" Hillary supporters are not all that enchanted with McCain-Palin, so they're not showing up to cheer Clinton at McCain rallies.
It's interesting to note that Sarah Palin's mother-in-law doesn't know that she will vote for her daughter-in-law. Faye Palin says:
I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative.
Meanwhile, the hometown team was in Ohio today. Biden observed:
There’s a gigantic — gigantic difference between John McCain and Barack Obama, and between me and, I suspect, my vice presidential opponent. Well there’s obvious differences — she’s good looking.
A woman apparently shouted out that Biden was "gorgeous." Biden replied that he hadn't heard that in a "long time."
1. No attacks on posters or other commenters. 2. No thread hijacking is allowed. 3. Foul language is permitted, but language that is demeaning of one's race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity is NOT.
The administrators reserve the right to moderate and/or delete any comments that violate the Terms of Use.
Comments, suggestions, or complaints may be sent to c4oblog@yahoo.com
Posts
