Ohio Now Do Or Die For Hillary

Hillary Clinton isn't going to want to hear this, but Gene and Mary Jo Branstool are wavering.

It's already been a tough week for the junior senator from New York, what with the string of eight primary defeats, the resignation of her campaign manager and her husband's loss at the Grammys in the spoken-word book category--to none other than Barack Obama.

And now the Branstools.

The Branstools are Democratic royalty in Licking County, where they live on a farm in Utica, about 35 miles northeast of Columbus. That farm was the site of a campaign photo op in 1992, when the Clintons and the Gores visited after the Democratic National Convention.

Gene Branstool's ties to Bill Clinton run deep. He was the Ohio Democratic Party chairman during Clinton's first campaign for the White House and was an assistant secretary of agriculture in the Clinton administration.

But Branstool said this week that he and his wife are on the fence.

"Mary Jo and I have been hashing it over," he said. "I think people are looking for some new leadership."

Ohio has always been good to the Clinton family. It was the Ohio primary in June of 1992 that provided the clinching delegates for Bill's Democratic presidential nomination. The following month, the Democrats arranged the ceremonial delegate count so that it would be Ohio that officially put Clinton over the top at the party's national convention. Ohio went for the Clinton-Gore ticket in that year's general election against George Bush and again four years later over Bob Dole.

But the Clintons have never needed Ohio as badly as they do now.

Keep reading here.

Comments

[nurseattorney]

Did you hear about how the Clinton campaign just learned that the way the primary process works in TX will likely mean that Clinton gets a lot fewer delegates out of that state than they expected? I thought the Clinton's were supposed to be a "well-oiled political machine", but over and over they have misstepped, and have simply been unprepared for this primary. Barak Obama, for all his youth and "inexperience" is making Clinton's organization look like a bunch of amateurs.

[lamarguerite]

Get a grip Ohio people! Yes, you can see the truth, past Hillary's lies. And recognize the outstanding contribution made already by Barack Obama, to an otherwise dirty political field.

[laylahb]

Obama must be doing something right.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
John McCain- "All fired up." How fired up can you be at 71?
Hillary Clinton-"Yes We Will" chanted by Hill over and over again- no audience response.

[Robespierre]

Lets See Those TAX Returns Mrs. Clinton! Or is there something to hide?

[patriotscholar]

I really hope that Ohio voters do some research into what Hillary is saying now and what she has said in the past. They also might consider her past as a whole, her activities as a lawyer in Arkansas up to the present.

[gregjones]

Clinton Admits health plan may mean Garnisheed Wages !

"Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment­."

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?
Visit: Official Site www.Blacks4Barack.org (A Multi-Racial Organization)

[patriotscholar]

Her plan (and her own statement) will force wage garnishing. Unfortunately, that still will not work and would push low-income families even further over the brink. Can you possible imagine how a family that is barely making it now and can't afford heath care would cope with the loss of more income?
And, here is another example - What if you had a married couple, with the man retired and covered by Medicare, his wife still not retired but unable to find work? How would that work?
There are more examples of why Hillary's plan won't work than there are of Obama's.

And, how about Hillary's refusal to sign a pledge to restore the Constitution to where it was before Bush and company illegally trampled on it? This is a fact not reported much in this country but known. See here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/politics?type=politicsNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B7tmRCRJt2YFzDsa7MJ1CblL&src=blogBurst_politicsNews&bbPostId=Cz1VeFnrO5fmhCz7sNEgkr6eaqCz3hWJURc5eE5Cz8bp0emPnej3&bbParentWidgetId=B7tmRCRJt2YFzDsa7MJ1CblL

I don't know about you, but I think habeas corpus and our civil rights should be restored.

[PTTY]

NAFTA signed into law by President Bill Clinton. [12/08/93]. They were Co-Presidents then, of course she supported it. They are trying to revise History because Bill Clinton signing that NAFTA Bill has caused America's economy to be in the horrible condition it is in.

Of Course Hillary now has to distance herself from the truth as always. Her Vote for the Iraq War was WRONG on DAY 1

Her Solutions CAN NOT fix the MESS SHE and HER HUSBAND have created.

We have SPENT BILLIONS AND BILLIONS on her WAR Vote, we have lost our young women and men in this War as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives.

Our Infrastructure is crumbling and we borrow from China, but yet her VOTE FOR WAR has nothing to DO with our poor economy.

Hillary and McCain are one in the same, of course they are BEST FRIENDS BFF.

Hillary like Bush, cannot admit when WRONG!!!
But she has the SOLUTION to the MESS she and her President Husband has created.
What is so amazing they think they can fool the American People

Clintons' Terror Pardons

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120277819085260827.html?mod=loomia&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r1:c0.128055

Obama need to read TNR TALKBACK

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=aaad0724-dd13-4ffa-810b-d5d3220ff055

[lboucher]

The Obama campaign feels more and more like a cult. It seems totally centered around the wonderfulness of being an Obama worshiper and experiencing the cult of Obama. It reminds me of the original EST from the 1970's run by Werner Ehrhard, who himself used to be in Scientology.

At some point Obama will be forced to make known in detail what his position will be on taxes, Iran, Israel, Iraq, federal budget deficits and school vouchers. I am afraid hope, good vibes and change seem like vague and ephemeral hot air slogans in a balloon that will be punctured in the fall by McCain.

Cults do not last long and often have ugly endings.

[passport]

Hillbots need some new talking points the old ones aren't working.

[Ides]

You're clearly a Republican. No one else gives a damn about giving wealthy people MORE money to take their kids out of the school system with "vouchers.­"

[balzar]

I remember JFK, I remember the optomistic forward looking feeling in the air at that time (crap the man was able to take you to the moon, literally). Obama has that feel about him, what you are mistakenly calling a cult is actually palpable optimism, something your country has not felt for too long. Stop being negative and embrace it, it appears all too infrequently.

[GGinCA]

So, if a lot of people are enthusiastic about something, but you aren't, it's a cult?

Admit it, this does carry a whiff of desperation.

[MariaHopeful]

Is that a threat lboucher? FYI, Obama has detailed positions outlined on his websites. In most cases his positions are much for detailed than those of Mrs Clinton but of course, it sounds better for you to keep making the same old tired criticism of no plans. A whole bunch of people who were Clinton planners back in the nineties now work with Barack. There are not a whole lot of differences between the two. Of everything I have seen thus far, I would rather have a President Obama than a President Hillary, wouldn't you? Consider what he has done thus far: Best campaign this country has seen in decades, thousands more attend his meetings than everybody else combined, galvanized the youth vote, set the bar for inspirational, motivational speeches, built such an impressive campaign from scratch, has more donors than anyone in the history of campaigning, more donations than anyone in the history of campaigns and those just for starters! Hillary on the other hand has squandered the $150 million she had, squandered the Clinton name and influence, resorted to negative campaigning, her campaign is in disarray and all that just for starters. I think the choice is clear.

[mrJJ]

Die? Die?? People really like hyping the newslines. I support Sen Obama but I think that Sen Clinton should be allowed to continue her quest to regain the White House. If you win you win if not at least you tried your best. As long as there is a level playing field to do battle on ... why not?

OK... back to flaming Sen Clinton.. Good Luck to both candidates.

[COwoman]

February 15, 2008, 3:38 PM
The Silence Was Deafening
Posted by Fernando Suarez

(CBS)From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

AKRON, OHIO -- Hillary Clinton made a stop at the Lockheed Martin plant in Akron today, but about the only thing that was hot in the room were the reactors working in the plant. Clinton received an awkwardly chilly reception at the plant, so much so that upon taking the stage the music was cut short because the crowd was just standing there watching her and no longer clapping.

Clinton started her speech by offering her “prayers” to the family members of those who lost loved ones at the shooting at University of Northern Illinois. “I was deeply saddened by the terrible shooting that occurred,” said Clinton.

Clinton then began laying out her standard stump speech and when she reached key applause lines like wanting to build up America’s manufacturing plants or offering universal health care or even building America’s national defense programs, there was nothing but silence.

In fact, Clinton’s first applause came 11 minutes into a 12 minute speech when she said she would bring troops home from Iraq. Clinton quickly wrapped up her speech following the applause.

A campaign spokesman denied that she cut her remarks short and said that Clinton met with supporters and delivered her points of her speech.

Having been to more Clinton events than I care to remember, this was by far the shortest speech and most silent reception I can recall.

[passport]

Her own arguments against Obama.. the empty rhetoric ones.... are causing people to take a hard look at hers , and its coming up short.

[PODdem]

I sort of see Obama like a subprime loan everybody is signing without reading the fine print on this guy.But it sounds real good. No substance down, will see later... But can we afford him? One thing about Hillary everything about her has been in big bold letters. I know exactly what I am getting.

[Zia]

I am an Obama supporter and have contributed to his campaign. I think he is great, and so is Hillary. She is the architect of what everybody calls "Clinton Legacy". Bill has only augmented the aura by his nice speeches. But now, he has done irrepairable damage to Hil's campaign by coming up with his comments. I feel so sorry for her.

[sky2evan]

POD:

You know exactly what you're getting? From a politician with a history of triangulation and spinning?

I guess one woman's poison is another man's meat.

Frankly, I'd rather roll dice.

[greenpaz]

Yes, you know exactly what you're getting. While Obama is running a well-oiled machine and getting the most bang for his buck, Hillary has blown a ton of cash with a consistent erosion of support to show for it. She's had to fire senior staff. She made the fatal political mistake of bypassing several caucus states that Obama ended up winning—some by amazingly huge margins. And the tactic of focusing solely on big donors has left her in the fundraising dust behind her opponent. To wind this up: The wife of a former president, with name recognition across the globe and the backing of the Democratic Party infrastructure has frittered away an insurmountable lead against a political upstart who has only held national office for all of three years.

And she says she's ready on Day One?

[Lis]

If you visit www.barackobama.com/Issues you can read the fine print.

There's a lot of substance there.

Can we afford him? Well, hundreds of thousands of donors like me who slip him $25 every now and then say yes, we can.

[HGalal]

Has the rate reset yet, on your subprime loan?

Yes We Can!!!

[gregjones]

Hi Fellow Obama Warriors;

Greg Jones here, National Director of the grassroots, multi-racial organization called Blacks 4 Barack which is based right here in Cleveland, Ohio. We're Fired Up and Ready To Go. Together, we can WIN Ohio....Fo­r the Re-Birth of America !

Visit: www.Blacks4Barack.org
Obama news, views, issues, photos, videos and More !

Fired Up & Ready To WIN !!!! You Warriors have been INCREDIBLE

[horacekent]

Screw Untity....­...We Will Never Vote for the Clintons Again.

Hello - I'm Horace Kent,.... & I approve this Article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-sturdy-beggars/screw-unitywe-will-nev_b_86813.html

Great Luck!
~HK

[tililek]

I find it sad that individuals are afraid of voting in a primary for the candidate that best meets their opinions. If not true to yourself in a primary, when else can your opinions be moved by expediency or whim.

When the voting takes place in November you won't have a chance to voice your needs, at least in a primary, whether your candidate comes in first, or last, you have the opportunity to let the variety of beliefs that are available be selected and it informs the eventual winner that there are a lot of possibilities. I want a representative who knows that there are choices.