Another "The Hillary I Know"
The street fighting that is happening online is intense. It seems to start with the goal of running Hillary Clinton out of town.
I liked Barack Obama even more on Tuesday night for not piling on. For recognizing that ultimately we Democrats will all be in this together.
But it seems he was acting alone. If I read one more time that Hillary Clinton's goal is to ruin Barack Obama's chances in the fall or that she won't do as she promised and work hard for the Democratic nominee or she doesn't care about the Democratic party or the issues I'm gonna scream -- or cry cause I am a girl.
A tool in the Clinton campaign arsenal was "The Hillary I Know". Testimonials from dozens of people whose lives Hillary Clinton has touched over the years. From her childhood friends to her colleagues in her work on children's issues to her time as First Lady and as Senator. All the stories were solid examples of why Hillary Clinton would be a great president.
No, it doesn't look like that will happen at this point. She has some tough decisions to make. I know she feels a strong is a commitment to complete the primaries and she doesn't want to be quit on those who have supported her.
Today, however, the blogosphere is in desperate need of some new testimonials. Because all I am reading today are stories about her motives and beliefs from people who have never liked her and don't know her.
Well, the Hillary I know doesn't get run out of town. She stays. She engages. She thinks and she cares.
The outcries today calling for her head remind me of the attacks on Al Gore during the Supreme Court deliberations and ultimate decision about the 2000 election. Gore's opponents could not have been nastier about his quest, claiming that he was damaging the country. They were certain that he would work to delegitimize the Bush presidency (of course President Bush ultimately needed no outside help in doing that!) before it started. Instead he surprised them, (but not his friends), with the classiest most patriotic exit possible.
I don't know what Hillary Clinton will do in the next few weeks. But I do know that she is not going to take an unwinnable fight to the convention and spoil the party. She wants to beat John McCain in the fall. And she sincerely believes that she has the best chance to do so and that she would be a better president. However, if a majority of the superdelegates tell her in the ensuing days that they are going to be for Obama, then she will accept their decision. And she will resolve her campaign the way she has lived her entire career -- with class, commitment and intelligence.
And if that were to happen, mark my words, she will be the MOST valuable surrogate Barack Obama has in the fall campaign.
Follow Hilary Rosen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hilaryr
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ATTENTION: HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON!
PLEASE GET OUT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOW AND RUN ON AN INDEPENDANT TICKET!!!!
YOU WOULD WIN! CAN IT BE DONE AT THIS POINT?
PLEASE!!! JUST DO IT!
living in a dream world--
(shakes head sadly)
nice to see you have feelings lizr!
I wish she would too. I might even contribute. She'd lose big-time, and we'd be rid of her.
Ms Rosen, how refreshing to read your post and KNOWING perspective which is actually rooted in a personal REALITY! .Deeply heartening. As staunch and loyal supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton we so RARELY see or read any healthy, positive, truthful ,intelligent, thoughtful and supportive words - about her and this historical candidacy! Instead, we have been sidelined to watch - yes, painfully endure as so many hateful and vindictive school yard bullies have had their way in distorting her life, her dreams, OUR dreams, and her extraordinary talents & brilliance!
This campaign has been a CLASSIC example of what goes on for most ALL women in the corporate world (STILL) and especially in the more competitive fields. And it has been profoundly painful to watch her face the flames of this old horrifying stake! She obviously has an extraordinary ability to see all of these political and personal attacks in their proper perspective or she would NOT have survived!
My own vision for her continued success is NOT now in the SEEN but in the UNSEEN. Should this vision fail to have a timely manifest and she then chooses to actually support and promote this party after sustaining such tremendous abuse and betrayal - well....I would ask you.....do you think she can convince as many as HALF of "We the People" in this party of which many would now prefer to completely move on to create a new, more intelligent and visionary - Independent Party with her as the leader??
We don't mind her fighting on. We mind the way fights. She fights dirty.
She fought a cowardly battle, casting herself as a middle of the roader by projecting her enemy's labels on to Obama. She lied, she spun, and she was silent when she should have spoken up. She did not fight for; she faught against.
To make such a battle work, she relied on red herrings--Reverend Wright, Bill lAyers--and other propagandist attacks on Obama's patriotism and character. She knew very well there was no black power, revolutionary bomber, terrorist- lover, double-speaking evil twin lurking under the surface of this affable, well established, quite morally correct, idealistic, and reasonable candidate. She even knew that Reverend Wright was not an America-hating, anti-semetic, reverse racist. She and President Clinton had him to the White House. She well knew his and Obama's reputation, accomplishments, and character.
That she knew better--about Obama himself, as well as about America's traditional divisions--and about the profound injustice and damage such a propagandist assault creates-makes many of us, we who spent many, many years supporting, defending, protecting and admiring the Clintons , feel betrayed. More important, we want the injustice and the damage, to individuals, to country, to party, to democratic ideals--to STOP. If Mrs. Clinton wants to fight fair and tell us about her real strengths--great. If not, we will continue to ask her to stop her destructive campaign.
Notonly that!
She herself was counseled by Rev Wright in the white house at the time of hte Blue Dress.
Her husband pardoned 2 Weather Underground members.
Honesty and fairness would dictate that she disclose these things. She did not.
Her operative, Barbara Reynolds, very tight with Maggie Williams, organized the National Press Club appearance by Rev Wright.
Lots of subterranean machinations, and backstory that the public does not get to hear.
It all adds up to unfair, below the belt, and we are SO TIRED of it.
Why would you want Mrs. Bill Clinton to lead your new, apparently feminist, party? She is the antithesis of a feminist, having relied on her husband's name for every bit of success since she applied to law school. Hillary cracked the glass ceiling standing on her husband's shoulders. That's no achievement at all.
Please read my comments to YOU above! And besides it all - you sound jealous of Hillary! Odd.
Hillary did not show she is intelligent. She took the wrong way to fight Barack Obama. She is a good actress, I have to say, but she did not convince me.
She doesn't care about the Democratic party, what matters for her is her. She has a big EGO. She would be a great president, but her lies and old politics, killed her.
At the begin I thought she was the one, and she proved she is not.
By the way, Say “No” to the war. Say “NO” to McCain.
McCain is against abortion, but he is not against kill people around the word.
HR makes sense and I agree with her. The non-stop smashing from here and GE's
media is simply awful. Hillary gets my vote no matter what the multitudes of maniacs
do. Their mission is to sink the Democratic Party so we have a McGovern, one state
carried election as per a Rovian plan endorsed by those who will profit as greed
continues to feed those who hate Hillary. When the seed money to Obama from
Exelon who contracted with GE on 12/11/07 for taxpayer funded nuclear reactors
sprouts via his nomination because Hillary said no to such waste, then the haters
will celebrate and wonder why Obama is not his mother's son, but the picked product
that GE owned media has endorsed. GOP folks are dancing in the streets as this
post and other blogs perform on cue. Listen to Stephanie -Tubbs Jones for truth.
WELL SAID. The media has been engaged in a non-stop smashing of Hillary. I am so glad that she has remained in the race and proven her strength. There are interests behind the scenes who are fighting to put Obama in office.
Their agendas are extremely suspect and dangerous. This is why I will not vote for him. We need to know more,
And there were NO interests behind the scenes fighting to put Hillary in office. She's gottenm ore money from the war industries than McCain.
Please stop and read what you just wrote. The truth is that Barack has over 1,5000,000 donors with the average donation of $96.00 There is no way that a conspiracy can happen with over 1 1/2 million people involved..
Go ahead and vote against your best interest. Go ahead and vote for McCain, and you will get 100 years of war, more torture, not wiretaps, more money for the wealthy, and you will get anti-choice judges. YOu say that you need to know more, I suggest that with McCain you already know more that you need to.
Nice try, Hilary. And very well said. But as you can see - and I'm sure you're not all that suprised to see it - these dogs smell blood and they're not going to stop barking and biting until there's nothing left. This has been the most dispiriting campaign I have ever witnessed. But then, this is the first presidential campaign I have witnessed through the lens of political blogs. With anonymity comes freedom from the constraints of civility. And like dogs running in packs, bloggers feed off the excitement of their pack, their hunger for the kill growing out of propotion to their innate appetites.
HuffPo, I wish I could quit you!
THIS is the FIRST time we have seen a woman candidate tdbach! NO SMALL DEAL quite obviously! And those without insight cannot see that these political and other bullies have done everything possible to symbolically burn this woman candidate at the stake! This has become a MUCH LARGER issue than Hillary Rodham Clinton in MANY minds and hearts and whether ALL women appreciate it or NOT - THIS BRAVE AND EXTRAORDINARY woman has offered her heart and soul to the cause of our EQUALITY! Bless her because FEW could have actually survive and despite it ALL - she is still standing AND smiling??! WOW! So grateful to you HIllary!
I for ONE DO NOT want her at the bottom of any ticket! I'd rather see her on an Independant ticket! I suspect she would win and we'd finally have a THIRD PARTY!
What is the difference between voting for someone because they are a woman, and not voting for some one because they are a woman? I worked with my women friends in the '60s and '70s for women's rights, but when I see how the idea has devolved into blind, mindless support for Mrs. Bill Clinton I'm very sorry I did.
To Grammy and all those Clinton supporters who feel under attack, I would like to remind you that you can't believe everything you read and that most of the candidate bashing that gets into blogs comes (unedited) from people who are fanatic about something or other (me too -- I'm a democracy, free speech and honesty fanatic), and most of the candidate bashing in the MSM is twisted by the bias of the reporter, the source, the editor and the publisher/producer.
I will vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination. I wish with all my heart that if Obama wins he will continue to be gracious and build bridges, that no Clinton supporter seriously plans to vote against Clinton's party, and that Clinton goes on to be as strong and capable a senator as she has been to date. I do support Obama, but like many others, I don't like being called an Obamamaniac or Obama fanatic -- any more than you would like being called a Clintonista. This is beneath us all. Grammy, keep hope. We're a pretty good country when it comes to forgiving, forgetting, and pulling together.
God bless you.
The Hillary you describe sadly disappeared with the John McCain we once knew. The current versions seem to have been hatched from body-snatching alien pods.
She never disappeared, she was always under the piles of media entertainment. This blog alone has attacked Hillary more than McCain...h
It's just sad that, instead of bowing out gracefully and magnanimously, she has stooped to the rankest of racist appeals...
I wish we could really blame it on pod people, but the stark truth is that Hillary and Bill (who has observed a few racist campaigns in his career) have chosen to pursue a frankly racist appeal.
If that doesn't shock the conscience of the Hillarati, what will?
the hillary I know has few, I any, principles that she won't sacrifice to get elected and /or further her career. I she doesn't get out on June 3- she really will be showing that the party and winner in novemeber (between obama and mccain,it won't be her) don't matter to her.
the only argument that she has left, implicit in recent months, is that obama can't win because he is black.
god help us if he somehow must choose her as a running mate.
If Obama wants to win in November he will need the center of the Democratic Party. The segment of the Party he has alienated time and time again. He has treated Ms. Clinont as shabbily as Bush treated McCain in 2000, yet she has promised to work for a Democratic victory in November. As I recall from reading a number of Obama supporters' postings there was always the threat of leaving the Party if Ms. CLinton could win.
It is a lie to charge Ms. Clinton with being a racist. And it is indicative of the mindset of Obama supporters to spin and distort in order to attack Ms. Clinton.
While you weren't looking the center moved! And the charge against Hillary isn't that she herself is necessarily racist, but that she is cynically exploiting racist rhetoric, which might be worse. That this vile strategy failed speaks well of our country, our party, and our citizens, don't you think?
The Hillary I know has been driving wedges in the Dem Party by race-baiting. Actually, to call her latest rhetoric race-baiting is an understatement. She's been race-chumming.
The Hillary I know has been vilifying the educated in America. The educational disparity in America can only be fixed be expanding education, not by vilifying it.
The Hillary I know has been pitting blue collar workers against what she pejoratively calls "latte liberals." Dems cannot withstand her polemic parsing if they are to survive. We need latte drinking Prius drivers just as much as every other faction of the party.
The Hillary I know took more money from Washington lobbyists than all the main candidates from both parties combined.
The Hillary I know has shamefully used guilt-by association tactics to exploit racial tensions in the Dem party to try to split the vote in her favor.
The Hillary I know is pushing for FL votes to count even though there was no campaigning, and there is no such thing as a legitimate election without campaigning.
The Hillary I know is SO shameless that she is pushing for the MI vote to count, where her opponent's name wasn't even on the ballot because he took it off at the DNC's request.
The Hillary I know has proven that she puts her own ambition ahead of the good of the nation.
I think Hillary is bent on spoiling the party.
She thinks she is entitled to the nomination and that Obama has not really paid enough dues to 'steal' it from her. She is going to make sure that Obama pays for this .
If that costs the party the presidency then so be it. According to her, if Obama is as good as he thinks he is (or his supporters think he is), he should be able to handle it. If he can't - tough. But she is not going away without her pound of flesh.
Senator Clinton's continued pursuit of the nomination does not need to be damaging to the party if she ultimately is not the nominee ... so long as she does not base her campaigning on the assertion that only she is (a) electable or (b) genuinely competent to act as chief executive.
Oh yes, when pressed with a direct question, Senator Clinton says "Oh sure Obama is qualified and oh sure I'll work to get him elected ...." But day after day the Mark Penn element of her campaign still seeks to distinguish her from Senator Obama not on policy, but on competency. She has mistakenly listened to bad advice in this regard time and time again, and for this reason it is hard to maintain confidence that her continued pursuit of the nomination will not be bad for the party and the chances of electing its nominee.
By all means stay the course and finish your campaign (on your own dime) Senator Clinton, but only if you can say no to the advisers who think the nomination should be yours *at any cost*. I'd like to have confidence that such a change will occur, but the last few months have not been confidence builders in this regard.
I'm not so prone to listen to people's words, but to judge them by their actions. And Clinton's actions are clear:
Voting for all major war legislation--and then claiming to be against the war (illegal plunder).
Voting for NAFTA--and then claiming she didn't.
Making up heroic stories about her bad self that were utter lies.
Using race in her campaign--probably the lowest, most despicable thing she could've done.
Working for Wal-Mart.
Using Republinazi talking points to attack Obama.
And on. And on. And on.
Do I judge Billary? Hell yeah, I do. And I'm certain "The Hillary I Know" is a vile, hateful, power-hungry shrew.
Good riddance to her.
Yes, Hillary might well have been a great President. There are however many many others who sincerely believe that Barack Obama would be a fantastic President.
Considering where we are at in the process and unless I have missed it, your entire blog was all about Hillary's personal needs. Those of us who see her continuing believe this to be a character flaw if for no other reason but a lack of judgement.
Many lament that she just came up against a candidate like Obama. But the stars are aligned differently.
As Democrats, we value equality, freedom and a government for of and by the people. To carry these values forward, and prove that they are worthy values, we have to be the exemplars of civil dialogue. What are your values?
Freedom: Freedom allows us to meet our needs, fulfill our potential, realize our dreams, and help others to do so as well.
Open Communication: Open communication is at the heart of empathy and responsibility. To know how to care for others, we must communicate with them to understand their needs. Cooperation relies on two-way communication.
Fairness: When we care for others, we want to treat them fairly, help them to treat others fairly, and ensure that others do treat them fairly.
Cooperation: Responsibility to others requires cooperation and empathy. Cooperation is the basis for community, and requires open communication, honesty and trust.
Trust: Trust is needed for open communication and cooperation. We are trustworthy when we treat others fairly and responsibly.
Honesty: Honesty is the hallmark of open communication, and is necessary for trust and cooperation.
Community: Healthy communities are based on cooperation, honesty, trust, and open communication. (Values from Rockridge Institute).
We do not want to fall in the trap of hurting each other, which shows that our values don't work and that we really should be ruled over. We must practice the values we wish to see used in the world. Unite!
"What are your values?".
Pretty much what you laid out. Was I being overly offensive? Any ideas on some of the more offensive postulations by Sen. Clinton..e
I've been a Democrat all my life, (Sixty-six years), and I've never been more proud of or excited by my political party. Yes, we constantly shoot ourselves in the foot. Yes, when we form a firing squad, we all get in a circle. Yes, we sling mud pies at each other. That's what we do! That's what we've always done! That's what we will always do! My fellow Democrats, would you really have it any other way? Just look at those idiots on the right. They are the original Borg Collective. They march in lock-step to the orders of a ruler. The ruler has a thought; the whole collective has the same thought at the same time. And, of course, they are the largest groups of anti-Americans in our country. They don't believe in America. They don't honor the Constitution. "It's only a piece of paper" says the ugliest idiot to sit in my White House. That's right, it's MY White House. It's YOUR White House. Not theirs.
Should Hillary drop out of the race? Hell No! I'm an Obama supporter. Have been since day one. But it is Mrs. Clintons right to stay in this race until she exhausts every avenue. That's why we are still a Democracy, regardless of what the ugly people in the Republican party want to turn us into. We will win in November. Whether our next president is a woman or a black man, we WILL have our country back.
Hillary has but one party and that's a party of two, she and Bill. They lie, they cheat, and if the dark layers were peeled back, they have also killed.
Oh, come on!
Running an inept campaign? Guilty. Pandering shamelessly? Guilty. Not knowing when to throw in the towel? Guilty. Lying and cheating? Guilty. But they're not monsters, and they're not serial killers. Sheeeesh!
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