Inside the Head of a Hillary Devotee

When John Edwards' confession hit the MSM on Friday it knocked off the front pages Hillary's campaign appearance for Obama that afternoon in suburban Las Vegas. The Edwards/Rielle Hunter "news" -- ignored by the MSM which, as one journalist put it, would touch it only with "tongs" -- had a second ill-timed impact on Obama. With two weeks to the Democrats' convention in Denver, Obama did not need Howard Wolfson, Hillary's chief flack during the primaries, to speculate that had Edwards come clean before the Iowa caucus in January 2008, Hillary would have won the caucus -- she came in third behind Edwards -- and she, not the first-place winner, Obama, would be the nominee.

That scenario is highly debatable -- Obama, not Clinton was the voters' second choice -- but it still made the headlines and gave Hillary's dead-enders a double grievance (against Obama and, now also, against Edwards). Later in the day Wolfson backtracked, acknowledging exit polling "tells something different," but sticking to his "gut" feeling that had Edwards confessed in a timely manner, "we would have done better in Iowa."

As the Edwards scandal unfolded last Friday I was preparing to interview Simone DuBois, the Hillary devotee who videotaped the "Unity" event in Los Altos Hills, California that has since been seen around the world. In it, Hillary, standing on the steps leading to a supporter's patio and yard, seemed to encourage her backers to develop a "strategy" for the convention that could result in a roll-call vote. Hillary described the opportunity for them to express themselves at the convention as a "catharsis." (See my earlier post on the subject.)

DuBois, 44, grew up on a farm in Iowa, and lived around the country and in Europe before moving to Oakland, California not quite three years ago. A Hillary backer from the start of the nomination battle, she calls the Senator from New York the smartest, most prepared person to be president.

I first saw DuBois's video on August 2, and my post about it appeared the next day. DuBois was one of the hosts at the fundraiser (attended by both Obama and Clinton supporters) designed to retire some of Hillary's debt. When she saw Hillary that day, DuBois recalls, "I put my hand on my heart and said, `You absolutely inspire me. I hope that when you are feeling down and blue that you'll think of all of us out here that have worked on your behalf and still care about you very, very much.'"

DuBois can't seem to find anything positive to say about the presumptive nominee, Obama -- her second choice in the primaries was Joe Biden; "I love Biden." Early in our conversation, DuBois said she "leans" toward voting for John McCain, but was also leaving open the option of writing in Hillary's name.

That Hillary lost Iowa, DuBois says, was no surprise because it was easier for the younger Obama enthusiasts to make it to the caucuses. As evidence, she cites her 67-year-old mother whose Iowa house sits on a gravel road. She had just broken her wrist, but promised her daughter that she would caucus. Keeping that promise required her to drive 12 miles in the dark. On arrival she was directed to an entrance across an iced-over parking lot. DuBois has a list of other grievances that she believes were perpetrated by the Obama camp, aided by Howard Dean and his DNC. Working as a monitor for four precincts during the Texas caucuses, she says that packets went missing--taken, she implies, by the Obama people. A letter of complaint about the Texas caucus sent to Howard Dean by registered mail went unanswered, she adds, as did additional letters she and her compatriots sent him. On May 31, when the DNC's rules and bylaws committee met, she complains that delegates were unfairly allocated. "I think they absolutely handed it to Obama." She derides Obama as "selected" and "the anointed one."

Since her You Tube hit the charts, she has been bombarded with ugly email: "I'm a racist and everything else." Just after the primaries ended, in the front yard of the house she shares with her girlfriend -- who has not decided whether to write in Hillary's name or vote for McCain, but will definitely not vote for Obama -- she placed a McCain sign "right behind" her Clinton sign. She describes her neighborhood as "liberal," and says a neighbor left an unsigned, typewritten note on her doorstep complaining that "your lawn signs give the impression, anyone except a black man." The writer denounced McCain as anti-woman and pro-war. "Please reconsider this." She wrote him/her back: "You know nothing about the diversity in our families; this is our property and one of us at least has decided to support John McCain ... We're open to a discussion, a dialogue." No takers as yet. (DuBois went from "leaning" McCain to voting McCain by the conclusion of our hour-long conversation.)

DuBois, who describes her work as "sales," attributes her support of Hillary to time spent in Syracuse and seeing how hands-on the new Senator was in upstate New York. Hillary's performance during the debates closed the sale. "She was just so strong." She says that she concluded that Hillary "has one of the greatest minds that could really turn this country around."

Her personal interaction with Hillary, before the "Unity" event, consists of shaking her hand and exchanging a few sentences at rallies during the nomination battle. While visiting her family in Iowa, before the caucus there, she first met Hillary at a "sale barn."

"She has an energy ... she gives you that one-on-one focus, she just really pays attention, and she's just really smart and she's caring." That enthusiasm resulted in Dubois ringing doorbells for Hillary, hosting phone banking and letter writing to superdelegate parties at her home. DuBois campaigned outside BART stations, stood "for hours" on corners holding signs, raised money, cofounded a group called the East Bay Iron Angels

She plans another protest, this one in San Francisco, on August 17. Her protests in Denver a week later will be peaceful -- but the messages on protest signs will be strong: "Denounce Nobama's Coronation." She will not be moved by her critics. "I hear all the time, `Get over it, you guys lost, quit whining'; you should see the hate mail I get, just from the video ... Why ... not put my candidate's name in nomination. ....What would it hurt to have her name in nomination?"

If she could give Hillary advice it would be to concentrate on her work in the Senate, and not work for Obama. "Why should she? It'll only help him" She will be "ecstatic," she says, should Obama lose in November, and on election night her house would become "Hillary headquarters for Oakland, California ... I will just take it upon myself for the next four years to just start strategically saving money, tap into my friends to have them save money, and to make this happen in 2012."

In the meantime, she works for McCain -- hosting a barbeque at her house for her East bay Iron Angels. She invited s McCain surrogate, Michelle Gray, who had quickly tried to recruit DuBois, to speak. She gets email from McCain's people asking her to do phone banking. She'll probably go to Oregon to work for McCain "I hear that Oregon is getting close ... within three points."

She has told McCain's people that she hopes McCain, if elected in 2008, will be a one-term president, losing to Hillary in 2012. She says she has been straightforward about this and McCain's aides have responded, "We're happy to have you now."

DuBois says a vote for McCain would be the first time in her life she has voted Republican. Before she would look only at Democratic names; if her research found a Democrat coming up short, she would "leave it blank. I wouldn't even look at any other party." She is no longer a straight-ticket voter. "I have changed my entire outlook on political life."

She also has sworn off MSNBC, and she seems skeptical also of CNN, which used to be her home page. She admires FOX News, which she claims to have just started to watch this year, and Bill O'Reilly "I think [Obama's] uncomfortable with himself. Let me ask you this: he says he will go meet world leaders with no preconditions, then why can't he sit down with Bill O'Reilly....I think he's scared."

She says that she "discovered" Obama's church soon after the New Hampshire primary, "way before the story broke. ... I'm telling my friends, `You guys gotta go look at his church website, it is really racist; you have to check it out.'" She says she didn't think of bringing Trinity and Reverend Wright to the attention of Hillary's people. "Fox News covered it a year before; it just never got picked up. I mean Sean Hannity was covering this ... months before but it never got picked up by the MSM." She also suggests -- no evidence offered -- that John Edwards endorsed Obama because Obama's people knew about the affair and threatened him. Asked how it serves Obama that the story broke this week, she responds that Obama "doesn't want Edwards in his cabinet."

Of the people whose names remain on her email list, none will vote for Obama, she says happily. One-third will stay home, 1/3 will vote for McCain, 1/3 will write in Hillary's name.

As for Obama selecting Hillary as his VP, she hopes he doesn't. "What's in it for her? ... She only helps him." The possibility of Obama naming another woman as VP does nothing for DuBois. "I don't think there's anybody better qualified than Hillary. Why would you pick another woman, for what reason, to pander?" She seems not to see anything odd about the "Hillary or Bust" position; that only one female Democrat is qualified to be on the national ticket.

When asked if she worries that voting for McCain could result in the overturn of Roe v Wade, she answers, "I don't see it being overturned. I think the Republicans make way too much money on it. It's a cash cow for them ... Send out a letter with Roe v Wade in the first sentence and you got a couple of million."

Comments

[goutgrec]

Does this woman truly not understand the 2 most important words in this election: Supreme Court? I join the disappointed HRC supporters (although she lost me after the fictional hail of gunfire). And I'm not so in love with Obama. But McCain? Who offers his wife as Miss Buffalo Chip? Can no one reason with Ms. DuBois? No matter what the Obama people did politically, there is no rational reason to vote for Mc Cain except spite. Hey there Simone DuBois -- you hearing this?

[BeCivil]

1. If her mom got 1/10 the number of calls from Hillary campaigners as we did, she would have been offered a ride to the caucus at least a dozen times.

2. It WAS icy here in January. Very icy. All day long. Everywhere. Would have been if there were a primary too.

There is going to be a very vocal minority including Ms. DuBois. Emphasis on "minority". Look, if there were really 18 million spitting mad Americans out there, they'd cough-up two bucks apiece and retire Hillary's debt in an instant.

If Obama isn't their 2nd choice, then they were in it for the wrong reasons to begin with.

[yallkiddn]

Wow! 'Talk about hitting the nail on the head!

[truthskr]

"it was easier for the younger Obama enthusiasts to make it to the caucuses"

Ah, yes, because we all know how easy it is for young adults, with school, odd-hours jobs, and young families, to get to the caucuses. What a deceptive and inaccurate argument. I heard this complaint SO many times from my generational contemporaries, GenX-ers and Millenials, at the caucuses as well as the subsequent, mulitiple all-day conventions - that they had a very difficult time being involved in the process due to their schedules, many taking unpaid time from work to participate, and that many of their friends who wanted to be involved were not because they simply could not miss work, skip school, or find childcare. If any supporters were disenfranchised, it was largely Obama supporters who tend more than other groups to have very demanding work, school, and family schedules.

The caucus system very much favors long-time Party insiders who understand the process, as well as those whose demographics trended heavily towards Clinton - older and retired, politically active women (second-wave feminists), or adults with regular work schedules and (maybe) fewer family demands.

This argument is pointless. Obama is, and will remain, the nominee.

[ched]

It appears lost on the PUMAs that their every action only reinforces every negative stereotype of women -- irrational, overly emotional, catty -- that they suffered under before the women's movement, while also combining it with every negative stereotype of feminists - bitchy, cold, conniving - that arose in reaction to the movement.

Thanks, Hillary and the PUMAs, for setting feminism back about 50 years!

[RapidRay]

this stuff is great.
Methink this is the first time many of these voters have put their toes in the real political water. They got little their little pinky toe bitten off. Politics (vs just voting) is nasty business. Wishing will not make it so. Hil was sweet and focused on you for a minute just won't do it. This is, for the moment, the most powerful job in the world. Staring into Putin's eyes, seeing his soul and stuff like that.
Think of it as ice skating PUMAs. Twirls and sequins outside, hack you at the knees in the back room.
Bring it on.

[Tommygun264]

It all boils down to people who cannot accept the fact that no matter how liberal or open-minded they believe themselves to be, deep down they cannot bring themselves to vote for a black man, but they cannot accept their own racism, so they search desperately for something, ANYTHING that will give them a socially acceptable excuse for voting against Barack Obama. This accounts for their willingness to believe unsubstantiated accusations and their tendency to fly into a rage with anyone who challenges their assertions simply by asking for supporting evidence.

[urbanliterati]

Exactly. This is just sad.

[belikejeanvaljean]

Well said.

[enkidusshade]

what an interesting worldview this person has. apparently you can believe what you want, contrary to reality.

the republicans would never repeal roe v wade, despite the fact that they keep trying to push "life begins at conception" amendments at the state level, and have made abortion unobtainable in states like SD. they make too much money off of it, and it's not like there are other cash cows out there to raise money off of (like immigration, affirmative action, gay marriage, gun control, and again, gay marriage, miss living-with-your-girlfriend).

hillary is a strong leader whose campaign (through no fault of her own) imploded due to a lack of leadership.

and fox news has more balanced coverage than cnn and msnbc, what with their brave stances on the terrorist fist jab, barack's baby mama, and their steadfast refusal to devote too much time to trivial issues like the politicization of the justice department, trashing of environmental rules, or the faked al qaeda letter. and bill o'reilly is a modern day walter cronkite of course.

what an interesting place to live.

[JackNasty]

Hillary squandered the huge advantage she held at the beginning of the primary. She spent her campaign into debt. She ignored the caucuses. She seriously underestimated the capability of he opponent.

Would die-hard Hillary supporters please explain how these actions could possibly add up to the best qualifications to be president?

[yallkiddn]

She's a woman.

[debwarot]

Interesting - yet distasteful - to see into her mind.

[truthskr]

I have to agree. I particularly like the line "none will vote for Obama, she says happily" - something tells me that this individual has not been happy for a very long time, never will be, and that it actually has little to do with the election process. Very miserable, and very intellectually dubious, to say the least. I feel sorry for her - life must be very difficult, not to mention frustrating, when you're carry that much irrational anger and vengence around.

[ewoman]

I agree as well. Every time I hear something that comes out of this woman's mouth, I want to run...and I'm a woman. But, she's proven what I thought all along - that's she's a closet Republican. She certainly isn't a Democrat.

[WFV]

The only reason these people still have a platform is because their illustrious candidate never took one step to dissuade them from their actions. Remember her saying she would 'work her heart out for the presumptive nominee'? Yeah, like that really happened.

Their unveiled attempt at a power grab will finish them in the end. As an observer, I can't understand why Obama gave them such face time at the convention, but based on his previous decisions, I am confident he has a bigger plan; something that will undercut some of this unabashed bravado that is so undeserved.

[BCubedReg]

The reason the PUMA's still think they have a chance for a power grab is because Hillary only suspended her campaign. She did not end it. Technically, she could unsuspend it at any time.

Both Hillary and the PUMAs are bent on destroying the dems. It's all about them, not what's best for the country.

[wizened]

I would hope these people are far more a distraction than a threat. I would think that the votes barack needs to win are in the middle, not at the fringes. there is nothing that can be done reasonably to win over non issue oriented voters, especially when they have the lack of self awareness to call themselves Democrats. That Hillary is willing and indeed so purposeful in continuing to exploit the passion of these people instead of leading them into the mainstream of the party for the purpose of winning the election for her partybetrays a cynicism toward leadership that hopefully won't be easily forgotten by more issue oriented Democrats.

[reliant1]

"since we were unable to raise enough funds for a sufficient number of buses to denver, we will be using the bus fund to help individual puma members get there..."

this is from the kitties den

[truthskr]

Wow - a little hard to be scared of a the supposed financial prowess of a group that:

1. Can't even scrape together enough money for buses, and

2. Obviously has a majority of members that either can't, or won't, pay their own way to Denver to stand up for a cause they are supposed so devoted to.

[MrWinky]

Ah yes....more catharsis.

DuBois is "inspired" by Clinton and loves her some Joe Biden, yet intends to vote for a man who opposes everything they stand for and who they are actively campaigning against.

Now she really likes Fox News and Bill O'Reilly, and now Obama is scared to be interviewed by Bill. I imagine it is only a matter of days before she starts freely using terms like "cut and run"

Then we get the racist Trinity Church, a church and pastor that the Clintons actively supported as shown by Rev. Wright's invitation to the White House by Bill during the Lewinsky scandal. You know, back when Bill was able to exploit and manipulate his connection to the black community and its churches for political gain.

How can these people be taken seriously?

[lawchic]

Oh, Mr. Winky. Stop backing up your arguments with logic and common sense. It has become clear to me now that both of these notions have been lost on some of these Clinton supporters for some time now.

The more people try to apply sanity and reason to this foolishness, the more upset they will be.

[BCubedReg]

They are to be taken seriously because the can vote (unfortunately).

[batspaul]

Ms. Dubois' bitterness and incoherence demonstrate exactly why Hillary Clinton will never be President. As recently-released memos confirm, this was the way the campaign was run. While I still think Senator Clinton is a talented, committed, brilliant person, too much of the public has seen this type of unprincipled, self-defeating, say-anything, angry, wounded entitlement and sour-grapes attitude in her campaign. All the Puma folks can do now is try to tear down the Party. But they will fail, and their failure will reflect even more badly on their idol as they act out. If Senator Clinton does not make a stronger effort to bring them to reason, her reputation will be tarnished even more.

[debwarot]

I agree.

What they chose to do, or not do, next about these lunatic fringe groups will help determine what their 'legacy' is and political future will be. They are, of course, both more than smart enough to realize this. The question is, will their enormous pride and obvious anger keep them form doing what is not only 'right' but also politically expedient?

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

well it just doesn't get any more bizarre than that.

[Bobrobert]

Hate.

Malignant isn't it.

How pathetic can you get???

Oh well.

Remember to vote all.

:-)

Pray for all the troops.