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."
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The world is full of crazy people. Some of them are bound to be Hillary supporters. Is she doing anything illegal? Then give her a break.
Lol. Very Good
The PUMA folks do not realize that IF Obama were to lose to McCain because of the PUMAs voting for McCain and because of all of PUMAs Obama bashing --- come 2012 ALL the Obama supporters AND the Republicans will be against Hillary in 2012 and there will be no way in hell that Hillary would ever win!
PUMAs are just NOT a very bright bunch of folks.
Obama/Sebelius '08
My thinking is that if Obama loses in November the blame will be placed squarely on Hillary's shoulders and as it should be. Her political career would effectively be over. She won't have a chance to run in 2012. The PUMAs don't seem to be able to think ahead and look beyond their perceived injustices.
They are willing to sell their country down the river to make a point. Not too bright in my opinion.
I know I would never vote for her under this scenario and just might devote some time, energy and a bit or cash towards her opponent.
Hillary Clinton had no route to victory. With stratospheric negatives, she went into the race will nearly all the support she was ever going to get. Attacking Obama or Edwards merely drove support from one to the other, never to Hillary. She was at her ceiling on day one; as the overwhelming frontrunner, pretty much every voter had considered her first before deciding on another. If the decision was 'no' there wasn't much she could do to change it.
250 expect to be heard in a crowd of 70K?
Good point, but don't underestimate the amplification provided by the media, always eager to find discord.
But ultimately, it's not a problem. Just point a camera at these people and let them talk. In America, nobody gets less sympathy than sore losers.
Harriet Christian types will always get the attention and publicity, but do little to advance their cause, and most probably hurt it.
Hillary says 18 million voted for her (we know it's not 18 million, but whatever) yet ONLY 250 PUMAs showed up for a convention strategy rally this week.
MS. DUBOIS, WE'RE SHAKING IN OUR BOOTS.....
250, that's five per state. I've registered close to 50 new voters in NC, so no worries!
This fixation on caucuses is fascinating. I think caucuses are kind of dumb myself, but PUMA logic implies that caucuses were a recent invention meant to give an unfair advantage to Obama. Say what?? They've been around for a long time. I don't believe any new caucuses were added this primary season.
The party establishment didn't invent any new rules to help Obama get the nomination. He simply did the best he could with existing rules. Neither did the party establishment didn't force Michigan or Florida to break the primary rules.
To the bitter PUMAs, I can only say, none of these things mattered until your candidate lost.
And don't think young people don't vote. I've voted in every election since I was 18..I'm 40 now. Even the locals..
Good for you- keep it going.
Okay, I understand that many women who voted and worked for Hillary Clinton feel that they (and her) have been disrespected by Obama supporters (not Obama - just people around him). They were essentially told "drop dead," and that Obama didn't need them to win, This is not true. However, if Hillary Clinton supporters think that somehow she could win this election if she could somehow just get the nomination, THEY ARE WRONG.
Almost none of Obama's voters would vote for Hillary Clinton at this point. There would be a mass exodus of the young people working for Obama from Democratic grass-roots offices all over the country. Yes we might pick up a few older voters (who don't seem to understand that McCain is out to cut their benefits and raise their Medicare premiums), but probably almost as many older Americans would just walk away. I want Hillary Clinton to get her due. I think she shoud be nominated, "receive" her votes and then, have them switch to Obama. Any other outcome is ludicrious at this point.
The part that irritates me to death is that none of this had to happen. If the conversations between the camps had been more civil, there would be fewer hurt feelings and less of a need to punish each other. But I can't understand why she/her supporters would sacrifice everything she has ever worked for by taking a chance on McCain. If nothing else, he will end a woman's right to choose.
As an Obama supporter I welcome Hillary's supporters warmly, but I don't see a need to crawl around on my knees and woo or beg them. There is work to do, and I don't work on my knees.
WoooHooo..
Well said.....b
You go girl!!
Yohomegirl, I agree with you! No one is going to beg, crawl, and grovel for the support of the Clinton PUMAs. This group is so disrespectful to Senator Obama and even to Hillary Clinton. How can they think that their attitudes and actions are helpful to Clinton? They certainly are not looking ahead at the big picture. Clinton should shut these groups down; she should speak up and let it be known that they don't speak for her.
Ms DuBois reminds me of the Rev. Hagee's approach to Israel: hoping that his support will bring about its total destruction, resulting in Christ's return. Support McCain; let him destroy the Country and bring about the second coming of the Clintons. Maybe Ms. DuBois will be 'raptured' into the Hillary administration.
It'll be interesting to watch a couple hundred Hillary protesters show up at the convention. This PUMA stuff is nothing more than a GOP group that is continuing their operation chaos.
Most of the PUMA noise makers will be supplied by the Republican party. True Democrats are smart enough to know that HRC and BO are fine even after a loss; it is the poor people of America, that are left with the fear of our civil liberties being violated and the draft. So, expect to hear a lot of noise from the republicans pretending to be Dummycrats.
I think you captured part of the thinking, but not all.
A lot of people were absolutely shocked at several telling moments in the primaries and how the insiders used their positions to influence the perception and the outcome. Unfortunately, it became clear at the end just how much O was selected by insiders in WA.
Right now, the focus is on nothing more than a simple roll-call vote, which has been the perogative since 1884. We are fighting for the Democratic Party process. We do NOT support coronation ceremonies.
Call it catharsis if you like. I personally don't agree with Hill about that one. I think it's about the rightful process of the party, it's objective, and it's got nothing to do with working out "my" feelings.
I am simply unwilling to watch the Democratic Party become the Obama Party. He's a nominee. Not a king. He's not even the nominee yet. That is what the convention is for.
I am also unwilling to stand by and watch dissenters have their blogs destroyed by those working for his campaign, have reputations of people who worked lifetimes on behalf of civil rights destroyed with nothing more than a smear tactic, see hard-working people who have supported Democrats for a lifetimes called racist simply because they disagree, or see entire states laughed at by OUR party leaders. That is appalling.
I was always proud to be a Democrat. I intend to remain proud of supporting principles I cherish.
tell us about 1992....pa
tell us all about the dem party and coronations
share your thoughts on that simple roll call vote and what had to be secured before hillory would allow it?
share...
You share it. I am Independent and didn't follow either party's primary that year. What happened?
It's you're rght to create your own facts, however, I don't think you'd find MCCaine using negative soundbites spoken by Obama in his campaign ads had Hillary been the nominee.
coronation? Last time I checked Obama played by the rules and won the delegate count and the popular vote. How exactly is this a false coronation?
Yes, it was truly amazing how the bar continued to be raised for O bama and the fiction created by the media that Hill still had a chance when the math clearly didn't add up. But as you said there came a point when even the media had to report the FACTS.
Her response to Hillary being VP makes no sense! On one hand, it's all about "what's in it for her." Which is crazy! If she "helps him" wouldn't that help US? In the same breath she said Hil is the most qualified choice?!?
And she's obviously not paying attention if she believes abortion is the only wedge issue Republicans can come up with. The possiblities are endless and creating wedge issues is their speciality.
I just finished reading about the Clinton's being upset about the caucuses (about which they weren't upset when Bill won them - but then there I go making a fair point. And as we know "fair" and "Clinton" are words that usually don't go in the same sentence.) Now this. Hillary set all this up. The Clintons are trying to try to throw this election. I would bet money on it.
These people don't admire Hillary. Not as a candidate. She is to them a Diva. It's like the people who follow Cher concerts or would listen to Barbara Streisand gargle and spit and swear it was an angel singing. Joan Crawford is their Dearest Mommy. It's a Diva complex. And Hillary knew this, she has fed this.
And after reading about John McCain's fundraisers tapping into a perfect doner base - old people who are wiping out their life savings in their 90s because they get confused - I don't want to hear another word about McCain as an option.
Real piece of work. I knew this was coming all through the primaries. I used to shout it at the tv. It's no comfort being right.
Freesia, my theory all along as well. So that means get out the vote. We're registering here in NC. 26 K new Dems in the last week. OBAMA08! It's in the can, but work like we're behind.
Yes. You're right. Oh Yohomegirl, this is so appalling.
Wow! I hope I never understand what these women are about. Do they really think HRC is thinking about them when before she sleeps at night? No way! All she is thinking about is how a punk junior senator won, not stole, but won this thing. How far away from reality are we that we can't recognize that these people are politicians!
Seriously, Hlry people like this woman? GO AHEAD AND VOTE FOR MCCAIN! Just do it. I'm tired of hearing from you. We all are. I wouldn't take you on our side if you begged. You can get into a trench with the rest of the republicans and we'll let the bulldozer of history just push the dirt over you after the election.
My mother and grandmother worked tirelessly in the women's movement and you're a disgrace to everything they fought for.
I'm with you seatea, I'm registering new voters to replace the old skanky ones that show their true colors and vote McCain. Obama 08!
You keep registering those new young voters. Too bad half of them will forget to vote.
Us old skanky voters ALWAYS vote.
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