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Clinton has become an embarrassment


Until today, I have been proudly telling anyone who asks that we have two great Democratic candidates for president and that I support both equally.  I still believe that either Obama or Hillary would execute the office capably and particularly if blessed with a true Democratic majority in House and Senate could make significant headway towards repairing the damage of the Bush catastrophe.  I think they'd both make a great president.
But I no longer think Hillary is a great candidate.

I had been forgiving Hillary her increasingly sharp attacks with the rationale that she might have been trying to help innoculate Obama from the inevitable attacks he will face if he wins the nomination.  That it helps her cause would be acceptable, but she hadn't really crossed any lines until today.  Today, however, it became clear that Hillary has fallen prey to the Iron Law of Institutions and is no longer operating for the good of the country, but purely for her own selfish interest.
The bruhaha over Geraldine Ferraro's comments is not just a tempest in a teapot.  As I indicated in my first post here on TPMCafe, the "racist two-step" clearly indicates one thing: a lack of leadership.  What Mr. Ferraro is saying is completely unacceptable in any public figure, and the reaction by the Clinton campaign makes it clear that they have not just read the Rove Playbook, they're operating by it.  
We don't need to become Repugnican to beat them at the ballot box.  I want more, better Democrats, and Hillary has just shown me that she is not.  She is self-serving, and that is the last thing we need in the White House.

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agreed. The notion that fighting a sludge campaign for the sake of the win is good for Democrats is preposterous. Those of us who can't stomach voting for Hillary don't have a deep resentment of Hillary the person or Hillary the woman or even Hillary the candidate, but her campaign has been shameless. Bring out the claws in the general if need be, but going after a fellow Democrat over his placement in demographics is really low.

When Obama, Biden, Richardson, and Edwards removed their names from the MI Ballot in a cynical pander to Iowa I was angry with Edwards, my candidate, but I thought that's how politics is played. When Obama supporters attacked Clinton with the lie that she was the only one on the ballot I thought it was just the supporters. Gravel, Dodd, Clinton, and Kuchinich were all on the ballot. But when Dasche attacked Clinton with the same lie on national tv I knew it came from Obama.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/09/michigan.primary/index.html

While Dodd's campaign is "committed to the importance of Iowa and New Hampshire going first," Dodd will not withdraw from the ballot, said Dodd's communications director Hari Sevugan.

"It does not benefit any of us, if we are the nominee, to pull our name off the ballot and slight Michigan voters," Sevugan said.

When Obama pandered to homophobia in SC I was upset.

http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2007/10/barack-obama-ca.html

Its one thing to not stand up for minority rights. I can understand keeping silent. But to actually sell them out for votes is a Rove and republican tactic.

When Obama played the race card over Clinton's correct statement about the history of MLK and LBJ to get the black vote to move to him I was angry again.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/064146.php

I guess the last straw for me was Obama not wanting a vote in Fl. He is doing nothing to help and slowing the process to get a revote. When Obama supporters lie about the rules and attack Clinton with those lies it only adds to my anger. The rules have always allowed the states to have a revote just as Delaware had a revote in a previous primary when sanctioned for the same reason. I feel as if my vote was not counted because of the republicans and the Supreme Court in 2000. If the democrats do it to me this year I will not vote in the GE.

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The most perfect example of "old" politics would be a back-room brokered convention.

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Some posters have suggested contacting the DNC. Here's the contact info:

Contacting the DNC:
Mailing Address:

Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Main Phone Number: 202-863-8000
For questions about contributions, call 877-336-7200

Email form at: http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contact

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Thanks eroquid, keep passing it around. If we consider ourselves progressive democrats we have to stop this nonsense.

Thanks for the post. I agree wholeheartedly!

I agree with you except for one point. She crossed that line when she essentially endorsed McCain over Obama a few weeks ago. There were some other "questionable" things that were done even before that sad saga but that was clearly the worst egregious one along with the Ferraro debacle. Is she still a democrat? As far as I know, I guess. Right, Bob Cesca?

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And he didn't cross the line when he endorsed Reagan and republican ideas and characterized dems as "tax and spend liberals"?

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He didn't "endorse" Reagan's ideas. He pointed out that Reagan succeeded in selling them to the country. That's kind of, you know, true.

The point is that the bully pulpit matters, charisma matters. Kind of like with that Clinton fella who managed to beat a Republican majority with "just words".

Yes, indeed. I had already emailed the DNC. But after Ferraro's recent remarks, I've been so furious that I just sent them another email.

The Clinton campaign has been deliberately divisive. They seem to be TRYING to tear apart the Democratic Party. And that old racist crap is rearing its ugly head again. I'm an older white guy, but I'm about as pissed as I get.

This is a perfect example why we NEED Barack Obama and his message of change. Do we really want these same old politicians running things the same old way? Geraldine Ferraro? Gah!

Hillary isn't so bad if you can just get past the fact that she's a racist.

ROTFL the Clinton campaign has been divisive. If hillary clinton said hello you people would spas out screaming she was had some evil alterior motive for the comment. I cant for the life of me figure out why Dems supposed Dems> always let the media make a fool of them. No where in Ferraro's comment can I find where she said Black or whites were superior because they are of that race. this is the very definition of the word. How could you all have been sooooo duped? Were you that desperate to trash the clinton campaign you bite hook line and sinker? People shape uo or in the fall the republicans will really make a fool of you.

P.S.

eeitjrecords careful what you wish for, remember Clinton supporters in Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, california and looks like PA have already voted against Obama once I doubt they will have a problem doing it again.

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You really need to take some sort of moderating psychopharmaceutic pill. Seriously... nothing Clinton nor any surrogate nor any supporter has said about Obama has been out of line in any way. It's simply amazing to me how Obama's supporters have used this forum to whine and complain lately.

"Seriously... nothing Clinton nor any surrogate nor any supporter has said about Obama has been out of line in any way. It's simply amazing to me how Obama's supporters have used this forum to whine and complain lately."
Posted by destor23

Perhaps, you need to ingest a foot-long REALITY SANDWICH!
That remark defies logic or sensibility.

Damn it, destor23.. you've been a voice of reason in the past. Please don't succumb to the urges of becoming one of the "Clinton can do no wrong" club.

I used to think much as you did,but it has become apparent that Hillary would NOT be a good president. Her campaign is the largest, by far, organization she's run, and it is a God-awful clusterf*ck. She is an incompetent manager; far too secretive, indecisive, slow to respond, and ly incapable of getting upper management to cooperate. Add to that her utter lack of principle (as proven by her relentless triangulation in the Senate), and you have a prescription for a presidency that would make Gerald Ford look like FDR.

Her government would be a disaster.

Why do some of us oppose Hillary Clinton?
(1) She is NOT ready. See Molly Ivins statement of why she wouldn't support her.
http://www.cnn.com/2006//POLITICS/01/20/ivins.hillary/
She'd make a good Hamlet, but not a good president.

(2) She just isn't as smart as is constantly claimed. She finished at the bottom of her law class and FAILED the DC bar exam. After she followed Bill to Arkansas, she passed there, where 85% of all taking the test also passed.

(3) She is not a good manager. Look at her campaign. She prefers people who agree with and are loyal to better qualified people for the job.

(4) Whatever it takes! there have been too many slime calls from her campaign, and she has definitely been part of them. "AS FAR AS I KNOW"! and "HE'S BLACK. HE'S BLACK!" {Please don't try to tell me she'e not divisive.} and the CANADA-Neocongate!! Some are still pushing that lie and avoiding the truth.

Those do not describe the kind of person I want for our president.

BuckBurris,

Bless you for posting that from Molly Ivins.

A reminder of a really terrible loss in a wonderful lady. Still Molly must be loving it that Obama lost the popular vote in Texas and yet apparently got the most delegates.

I did not vote for Bill Clinton. I have voted against Hillary Clinton in primaries and general elections here in New York every chance I got and will do so anytime this DLC'er is on the ticket.

So wonderful to know one lady saw it all before, not to mention the nostalgic memory of Gene McCarthy.

Happy others are seeing the light. Hillary is what she has always been. The Clintons internecine struggles with Republicans should hold no more interest for Democrats than the dog fights the pathetic Michael Vick was underwriting.

Best, Terry

The time has come for prominent Democrats to disavow Jim Crow Hillary Clinton - before ethnic and religious minorities (not to mention progressives) abandon the Party altogether. This unscrupulous, unthinking demagogue has been openly appealing to BIGOTS across this republic in a desperate effort to salvage her floundering campaign. Enough. She has disgraced herself, her family and the Democratic Party. Support Jim Crow Hillary? Consider the tactics you are condoning. Consider the company (BIGOTS) you are now keeping. Can you stomach it?

Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people," he said in a 2003 sermon. "God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme."

In addition to damning America, he told his congregation on the Sunday after Sept. 11, 2001 that the United States had brought on al Qaeda's attacks because of its own terrorism.

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," Rev. Wright said in a sermon on Sept. 16, 2001.

"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost," he told his congregation.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4443788&page=1


Hypocrisy.

Yeah, he's right. The CIA put crack on the streets of LA. Read "Dark Alliance" and "White Out" for more info on this.

The CIA also acknowledges that 9/11 was the result of a phenomenon they refer to as blowback. Learn your history.

What about what he's saying isn't true?

Jesus was a black man.
Jesus wasn't racist.
ERGO... black people are not racist!

Simple. And if you disagree, you are a racist and you don't matter.

"And he didn't cross the line when I intentionally misrepresented his words in as absurdly negative a manner as I could?"

Perhaps Barrack Obama and other "Affirmative Action Babies" should simply abandon their aspirations altogether, and remain mired in absolute poverty like other disadvantaged minorities. They should retreat to the delapidated slums of the inner city, and turn a blind eye to Clinton's "divide and conquer" tactics. They are just inferior savages, after all. How dare they even contemplate running for political office? Right Hillary?

Hillary DOES in fact know what she is doing...

Knowing that she cannot win mathematically, she is positioning herself for 2012 since McCain at 71 or whatever his age is, will be a one term president. Coupled with Michelle Obama's statement that this is the only time that Barack will run, Hillary does not want to wait for 8 years of an Obama presidency which will make her too old and politically damaged from working against his administration.

With her win at all cost strategy fails to see is that as a one term president, McCain will pretty much do what he wants and extend GW Bush policies only more hawkish than Bush himself, putting the country in three times as bad a position as it is today and maybe start WWIII by militarily engaging Iran as Bush wants to do.

This means that we could be looking at another 12 years of a Republican in the Oval Office.

I blame Michelle Obama for Barack’s “lack of experience.” Had she been the governor of a state and then the President of the United States, Barack's experience would not be in question; he wouldn't have to rely on edge he gets for being a black man; and that 700,000 vote lead wouldn't matter!

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