Noteworthy Political Scientist Says Clinton Was For Characterization Of Working-Class Voters Before She Was Against It

Oh, noes! Would it crush anyone's beautiful velveteen pony to learn that Hillary Clinton hasn't always been a duck-hunting, beer-drankin', Senator-Saint who walked among the commoners and lived as they do? It's true, it's true, and apparently, there are witnesses!

Harvard University political scientist Theda Skocpol - also an elite, I guess! - provided Talking Points Memo with a following statement, which, in part, reads:

I have been in meetings with the Clintons and their advisors where very clinical things were said in a very-detached tone about unwillingness of working class voters to trust government -- and Bill Clinton -- and about their unfortunate (from a Clinton perspective) proclivity to vote on life-style rather than economic issues. To see Hillary going absolutely over the top to smash Obama for making clearly more humanly sympathetic observations in this vein, is just amazing. Even more so to see her pretending to be a gun-toting non-elite. Give us a break!...

This has to be one of the few times in U.S. political history when a multi-millionaire has accused a much less wealthy fellow public servant, a person of the same party and views who made much less lucrative career choices, of "elitism"! (I won't say the only time, because U.S. political history is full of absurdities of this sort.) In a way, it is funny -- and it may not be long before the jokes start.

Perhaps, however, it can be said that Pennsylvanians are not "bitter," at least, relative to their candidates.

[hat tip: to Isabel]

Comments

[jteschke]

The cynical hypocrisy of the Clinton campaign is breathtaking. Obama was telling the truth and probably should not have backtracked. I did like the Annie Oakley comment, but he needed to come up with something different than "shame on you". Meanwhile, the ultimate elitism is getting nine figure income since leaving the whitehouse complete with Cayman Island connections and the request that we suspend our disbelief that Hillary will be for fair trade despite her decades of shilling for NAFTA and other trade pacts.

[iPolitics]

Hillary seems to drink a lot.

[greejambri]

And her husband seems to be sexually compulsive a lot. Sounds like the perfect couple to be in the WH for the next four years, doesn't it? PA, PLEASE deliver us from this POX. Give Obama the win on April 22nd.

[hoodrat]

I wonder if people really understand, that for most thinking(maybe cynical) Black men - can't speak for Women mind you, when we were calling Bill Clinton " the first Black Prez", it was kind of an inside joke on him - and by extension ourselves - on all the things that we criticize about our caricatures of self. Bill was cool, glib, slick,and loved his juice(power) - which caused him to get caught in the most ignorant positions. Then, like the friend you know just got you caught up in shoplifting, for a pack of gum - with $100 in his pocket, saying "WHO ME?". My woman has been with me for over 30yrs. If someone told her that Hubbies being naughty with Hotties, the very last one she would accuse of some kind of conspiracy - is my accuser. Always thought Hillary was the true brilliance of that duo - before we got the full line-up of contenders, she was acting like it was already hers - I don't think the competition was taken seriously, and now that it's not already in the bag - she's taken to shit-bombing. And a lot is splashing back.

[MRb1000]

I was offend by calling him the first black president.

[Justtellthetruth]

Pennsylvania newspapers are hardly running it. Its a non issue there.

But Hillary? looks shes finally found her voice (for the 50th time). This time it's the hard drinkin, gun totin voice that we always knew was there (not). Really, it does not look or either ridiculous or transparently opportunistic. Seriously, this is her, THE REAL her, having now, truly (and not like before) found her voice.

Or, maybe its cumulative, but I got to tell you, the idea of a Crying, desperate, drunken, gun toting voice is a little frightening.

[Oldbuck]

It time to get the Clinton's out of this nomination process, If I could vote in Pennsylvania Obama would have one more in his column, because I am really tired of all the BS.

[HT]

Hillary is desperate! Let your Senators, Congress members, and DNC know that you are tired of her tactics.

[raskolnikov72]

Its absolutely amazing how this works. The MSM glibly swallows what its fed and people lose all perspective of what has really cost our economy and stagnated the progress of more than half of our country. I can see why people are "BITTER" ... pick 1980 (Reagan's first year) and walk forward on the following graph .. notice any differences in the 50th percentile income and lower? Yeah, that's the point, there is not difference. Its stayed the same and all you people can talk about is use of the word "BITTER" vs Cynical .. wake up, people. the world is changing ... and you want more of the same

REAGAN(BUSH)-REAGAN(BUSH)-BUSH-CLINTON-CLINTON-BUSH-BUSH ...

seriously?

come on. Do some analysis of your own ->

http://tinyurl.com/39ln65

[hoodrat]

I keep saying our woes began, when America started mistaking moviestars - for the roles they played, expecting the Hero to crest the ridge, yelling "get one for the Gipper", and every fool since, trying to imitate. John Wayne wasn't John Wayne - he just played him. And it's Americas fault for believing the hype.

[uscitizen]

It is well past time for a change, and I certainly hope enough people are ready to move on.

[efranklin]

All this talk from Hillary of being a gun-toting commoner should make for quite a hilarious TV ad in the run-up to April 22. I have visions of a sequence showing an armed and camouflaged Hillary traipsing through the woods in Pennsylvania. It is sure to be a YouTube sensation.

[Barbarossa03]

It kind of brings memories of John Kerry in his hunting attire.

[argent1]

So if Obama serves eight years as president he won't go out and amass fortunes afterward? I don't think the Clintons made their money before Bill left office. Gun toters are very eltist by the way -- try getting one in NY.

[butchie65]

Guess again, there are tapes showing how they were corrupt when he was a Governor It's on Youtube, watched it last night. She won't be totin to long, her fraud trial is starting soon. Go to http://www.paulvclinton.com/Latest

[Barbarossa03]

Not everyone lives in New York. I can't imagine a gun-totting the gang-banger in the streets being an elitist.

[friendofjimmy]

I'm shocked! An anti-clinton huffpost piece!
Who would have thought?
God bless huffpost for their tireless efforts
to remind america that we'd have been better off
re-electing king george the 1st.

[patriotscholar]

Just my opinion, but in watching the compassion and religion talk, I got the feeling that HRC skirted the issues and just kept talking all around the questions. Obama seemed to answer the questions staright up and honest, but he did throw in a little other stuff.

[windansar]

Amen - I thought the same thing exactly. She talked in so many circles, some of her answers hardly made sense.

[toddster]

I thought her answers made perfect sense and she spoke with the depth and compassion that, to me, always comes through when she discusses the issues. You just choose not to see it that way because you're automatically biased against Hillary.

[starboymikey]

Look at it this way: Any candidate of any party who has to wait around desperately hoping his/her opponent will commit some minor verbal gaff so they can jump all over them, has absolutely nothing of genuine value, and no original ideas to offer the voters.

American politics could not be any more vapid than it has now become. It's "a tale told by fools, signifying nothing."

[Barbarossa03]

I would agree with that.

[politricks]

Bravo. Probably the best comment I've read in awhile. Short. Too the point. And spot-on.

[LonesomeThunderbolt]

It's hard to see how this hurts Obama for long. It's far less a problem than the Rev. Wright controversy, and Obama weathered that pretty successfully. But Clinton will milk it for all it's worth to slow Obama's momentum.

If her strategy of trying to make Obama "unelectable" does bear fruit, Clinton needs to know what the super delegates understand only too well--that giving her the nomination would totally rupture the Democratic Party.

Should there be a deadlock between Obama and Clinton supporters, the convention would turn to a "compromise" candidate. And, that would most likely be Al Gore (with John Edwards as the possible back up). Joe Klein floated this theory recently in Time Magazine, suggesting Gore would take Obama as his running mate.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1725678,00.html

But to avoid humiliating either candidate's supporters, Gore would need to choose someone else as veep (again, maybe Edwards). Obama and Clinton would go back to their respective Senate roles. Clinton cannot unite enough Democratic voters to win in November if she can only win nomination with a "rule or ruin" strategy.

[Justtellthetruth]

Pennsylvania newspapers are hardly running it. Its a non issue there.

But Hillary? looks shes finally found her voice (for the 50th time). This time it's the hard drinkin, gun totin voice that we always knew was there (not). Really, it does not look or either ridiculous or transparently opportunistic. Seriously, this is her, THE REAL her, having now, truly (and not like before) found her voice.

Or, maybe its cumulative, but I got to tell you, the idea of a Crying, desperate, drunken, gun toting voice is a little frightening.

[starboymikey]

Noteworthy Political Scientist Says Clinton Was For Characterization Of Working-Class Voters Before She Was Against It
_________________________________________________________________

Hey, no big. Hillary was for everything she's against before she was against it, and against everything she's for before she was for it.

If this makes no sense, Bill will be glad to tell you why it actually does.

[westview]

More noteworthy that a Harvard professor wants to back up Obama, the first Harvard grad in years, if ever, to have a chance to win the dem. nomination for Pres.. I wonder what that win would do for Harvard's enrollement and esteem?

[VicPerry]

Yeah, it's a big conspiracy because like Harvard needs the prestige real bad

[starboymikey]

Now that Hillary's downed a shot and a beer with them rednecks, and talked about how much she loves her duck shooting, it'd be nice to see her go to the ghetto and do a little crack with the boys on the street. Just to show she can feel them too, y'know what I'm sayin'?

[Indedave]

It won't take much more of her antics to convince me she's already on the pipe.

[GuyInNC]

isn't that what Obama used to do?

[friendofjimmy]

not before he snorted a couple lines.

[patriotscholar]

Wow, downed a shot, swilled some beer, then attends a religious forum. Gutsy.

[toddster]

starboymikey, I guess it's probably difficult for you to take the high road and intelligently discuss the issues and why you like a candidate based on their positions on them ... I guess it's tough for you to avoid resorting to making cheap, disparaging comments about a candidate. C'mon, you have it in you ... I have hope and faith.

[plainsman]

That's funny. I looked at your profile and list of comments and you offer zero discussion of the issues and only offer general statements of support. Nowhere did I see you offering analysis of Hillary's actual positions. I did read a lot of comments to the effect of "The Clintons have always been compassionate: broad generalizations in support of the candidate. If you consider your posts intelligent conversation, I must have wasted a lot of money on my college education.

[anghiari]

Toddy,
He's just taking a page from James Carville playbook...you know james of the "judas" cheap disparaging comment

[VicPerry]

This is funny, I don't care what they say.