I’ve been sitting on a very ranty post about Hillary Clinton for about a week now. I started writing it just before the March 5 primaries/caucus, with the view that I would finish it after the results were in. I’ll go over things point by point after the jump.
Reading the first draft over now, I’m glad that I stepped back a bit because basically it’s just a litany of complaints with not much in terms of context, so now I will try to sort out a bit more why it is that I feel so strongly that based on her campaigning leading up to March 5 and pretty much ever since, Hillary Clinton should not be the Democratic nominee for President — I’ve always said that if she is the nominee, that I will more than likely vote for her, but if that is the case, you’re going to have to check back with me in November, because right now, I’m not voting for her.
After Barack Obama had his February winning streak of eleven straight wins, there was a conference call by Team Hillary and her advisors where they rolled out to the press what the campaign themselves called “the kitchen sink” strategy, which has included the following in no particular order:
Clinton Mocks Obama
Obama handled this with a lot more grace than I did. Not only is Hillary mocking Obama, she’s also mocking his supporters. You know, us kool-aid swilling, Obama-borgs who don’t think for ourselves. We’re just so easily duped into thinking that if Obama wins that we’re all going to get ice cream and ponies. The nicest thing I can think to say about this is that Hillary is rude and dismissive — not the smartest tact to take when you’re insulting people that you might have to count on to help you later.
Hillary GOTV caller refers to Barack Obama as “Osama bin Laden”
Okay, having done a few hundred GOTV (Get out the vote) calls in my time, I know that it can make you a bit loopy when you get to the second hundred or so calls, but this is just ridiculous. It sounds like a random slip of the tongue except…
From the beginning of this campaign Obama has been fighting a whisper campaign to paint him as a Muslim. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with being Muslim – absolutely nothing – but in a country that has been attacked by Muslim extremists (the most notorious of which is STILL roaming free — Heck of a job, Bushie.) insinuating that Obama is a Muslim plays into the smear campaign that Barack Obama is a “Manchurian Candidate.”
You might be familiar with an e-mail with a title (and variations) “The REAL Barack Obama” that has been circling the interwebs for quite some time. It has been denounced and rejected by the Obama campaign, not to mention debunked by urban legend sleuths, snopes.com, however the smearing and the insinuations still continue. Oh great, here’s a new Obama e-mail hoax.
60 Minutes did a report the Sunday before the primary from Ohio where the presenter talks to a person who is leaning towards voting for Obama.
Schoenholtz told Kroft he is leaning towards Obama, but that there were a couple of issues he was “not too clear” on.
Asked what they were, Schoenholtz said, “Well, I’m hearin’ he doesn’t even know the National Anthem, you know. He wouldn’t use the Holy Bible. He’s got his own beliefs, got the Muslim beliefs. Couple issues that bothers me at heart.”
“You know that’s not true,” Kroft remarked.
“No. I’m just…this is what I’ve been told,” he replied.
Uh, huh. Very nice. So the presenter puts the question to Hillary – She has the opportunity to squash that rumor once and for all — which would be the right and ethical thing to do, except… her lead is so close in Ohio that she’ll do pretty much anything for those extra few votes:
“You don’t believe that Senator Obama’s a Muslim?” Kroft asked Sen. Clinton.
“Of course not. I mean, that, you know, there is no basis for that. I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn’t any reason to doubt that,” she replied.
“You said you’d take Senator Obama at his word that he’s not…a Muslim. You don’t believe that he’s…,” Kroft said.
“No. No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know,” she said.
As far as she knows? Are you kidding me? These two have been to prayer breakfasts together. That is the kind of wiggle around the facts stuff that Bill is such an expert at. I guess it just depends on what the definition of “is” is. Please.
In light of all that (and I’m giving her the benefit of a doubt about the Farrakhan thing from the last debate), one could draw the inference that if her campaign isn’t outright telling their people that the Obama/Osama/Muslim message was fair game, they sure as hell weren’t doing anything to stop it. Because really, a fellow democratic campaign wouldn’t willfully send out false information or lie, would they? Oh yeah, they sure do.
To finish off this train wreck of a thought, there was the Clinton campaign leak of a picture of Obama in African garb to conservative blog Drudge Report (Google that if you must, I won’t link to it.). This is just so wrong on so many levels.
Again, there is nothing wrong with Africa or Muslims, but these events are not to appeal to the average, fair-minded electorate, these kinds of smears appeal to a hopefully small sub-set of our population — again, in a close race all you need to do is peel off a couple of percentage points and you go from also-ran to front runner.
Time and again Hillary had the opportunity to put a stop to these attacks, or to step up and call bullshit on things like the Farrakhan questions from the MSNBC debate, but she’s chosen not to.
The final straw for me, was Clinton’s de-facto endorsement of John McCain.
I cannot express how angry and disappointed I am that Hillary Clinton would embrace the Republican argument that this election is about national security — it’s not — as is was in 1992, “It’s the ecomomy, stupid.”
Choices. We all make them. Hillary Clinton has chosen to run the most divisive, fear-mongering campaign that Democrats have seen in generation.
My choice is to stand up and say enough. We will not divide this country, we will work to bring it together. We will run a campaign that embodies the motto that appears on the wall in most local Obama campaign offices:
Respect. Empower. Include.
Bonus Features
This post is already too long, but here’s what got left out. Think of it as the bonus disc on a DVD box set.
“Limbaugh Effect” on Texas Primary
Olbermann on Clinton’s attacks on Obama
Clinton NH mailer lies about Obama not being pro-choice, Clinton staffers resign in protest.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot:
Girl in 3 AM ad is an Obama supporter!
Silly season of politics, indeed.
Remember, you dont have to vote!
I’m planning to support the downballot races so I’ll vote for sure. We’ll see what happens.
I’m going to just hope the nominee is Obama!
downballot races?
The Presidential race is the top of the ballot then the other races like Senator, or State Representative and other local officers or initiatives are considered the downballot races, which I plan to vote in.
Interesting reading, susanita! Thanks so much for linking. There are a number of questionable tactics here, and one seems particularly short-sighted as well. If Clinton does win her party’s nomination, the McCain campaign is going to have a lot of fun with all those clips of her talking about how McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the White House. D’oh!