Hillary Clinton's Disgraceful Exit*
"Denver! Denver! Denver!" chanted Senator Hillary Clinton's supporters in the middle of her "concession speech" in New York last night. Forget numbers! Forget reality! Forget the Democratic Party and unity! On to the Convention!
Presumably with some new criteria (states starting with the letters A-K, perhaps, or seniors who watch re-runs of Matlock).
For her part, Hillary Clinton gladly fueled her followers' desire for a fight.
In spite of the fact Barack Obama had won the necessary 2,118 delegates to secure the nomination, becoming the first African-American in history to be the standard bearer for a major party, she continued to speak of how she was the stronger candidate, how she won the important states, how she won more votes than any candidate in primary history (not counting caucuses and counting Michigan, where Obama wasn't on the ballot, of course).
I kept waiting for some kind of concession, some acknowledgment of what had just happened, some class and dignity, maybe, dare I say it, humility. This was no longer a matter of perspective or preference, after all. Barack Obama had won. Her chances of winning had gone from nearly impossible to impossible.
Yet instead of graciously accepting defeat , she told her 18 million followers to get on her website and tell her what they thought she should do next. Surely, in this way she might come to a rational, clear-headed decision for her political future. Here's a sampling of the pearls of wisdom being offered at HillaryClinton.com:
They have totally skrewed Hillary, lets get her on the ballot ourselves!!!We need each other not the DNC or Obama, I refuse to support him! [bb]
I sincerely wish that Hillary does not accept the second slot. I just cannot and will not support the Democratic party nominee. I will vote for McCain B4 I vote for BHO. The present DNC has stabbed Hillary in the back, I cannot continuing supporting the Undemocratic party. I will always support and Vote for Hillary but cannot support Chicago mafia(BHO) [bestpresident]
Let's take this to DENVER..........She is the only one. I will never vote for BO...Neither will my family or friends..We will either not vote or vote for McCain...Oh, today I just registered and my family and friends too as INDEPENDENTS....SCREW THE DEMOCRATES.... We love HIllary with all of our heart and we will always support and back her...but what the democratic party has done to her they have done to us....ENOUGH!!!!LET THE DNC HANG THEMSELVES........................DISGUSTING!!! [caspercat]
I say run as INDEPENDENT NOW!! Obama will want Hillary to campaign for him. Hillary is much greater than that. I hope Hillary goes with the "will of the people." She is the "People's President." I will never think of BO as my President. Nope, I just cannot do it. It is about the way they treated HILLARY. Call it whatever you like, dirty politics, etc. etc. She worked so hard, and every step of the way, they tried to diminish her, even when she won her landslide victories. I say, DENVER - DENVER - DENVER - DENVER [LillaBet]
Never mind that young people are dying in Iraq, that millions are struggling to pay the bills, that our policies on health care, education, and foreign affairs could sink even further under a McCain presidency. For thousands of Hillary supporters, it's been a long time since this race was about issues or rationality. It's been rather about a disturbingly insulated, narcissistic, monomaniacal candidate and a base (many of whom lack education) that has passionately followed her lead. (I recognize it's not "PC" to call people uneducated, yet that's what the statistics show and the historical reality is that uneducated voters are more prone to vote on emotion and fear, more prone to manipulation (see gas tax), and more prone to racism and bigotry (see West Virginia and Kentucky.)
In contrast to Hillary Clinton's "stoke divisions and rally the troops for civil war" speech, Barack Obama hardly spoke of himself in his victory speech in Minnesota. He thanked his family, campaign team and supporters, he spoke of the important moment we find ourselves in and how the issues are larger than any one candidate. And he generously complimented Hillary Clinton.
Continuing the trends of their respective campaigns, Barack Obama took the high road; Hillary Clinton chose the low one. When the Clinton's injected race in South Carolina, Barack gave Bill Clinton the benefit of the doubt and spoke of moving beyond our differences; when Hillary ran the infamous 3am ad, Barack continued to insist we act on hope not fear; and in the end, when Barack held out the olive branch, going so far as to say that Hillary's strength and tenacity paved the way for his own daughters, Hillary refused to show grace and help heal the party.
Regardless of what happens from here, Barack Obama's historic night will always be partially shadowed by a woman with an ego too large to do what every other candidate in both parties, including Mike Huckabee, understood was appropriate. Last night Barack Obama won the nomination. He made history. And Hillary knows he offers drastic change from both Bush and McCain. Yet instead of urging her supporters to rally in the name of larger principles, her message was much like another disastrous politician's: screw the pundits, the naysayers, the numbers, the facts. We can still win! Just stay the course.
For Clinton like Bush, it's the war that never ends.
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"How could a left-leaning person even CONSIDER a vote for McCain?"
Good question. I have noted the way far too many of HRC's supporters show exactly the same over-the-top, unwarranted sense of entitlement that those on the right routinely do. I doubt that very many of them are actually covert Republicans, but would not be surprised if many of them made the same trip to the right wing that David Horowitz made, and for the same self-serving, malign reasons as Horowitz.
I have noted the way far too many of HRC's supporters show exactly the same over-the-top, unwarranted sense of entitlement that those on the right routinely do.
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That's because most of the so-called "Hillary supporters" are actually republicans who are pretending to be her supporters to fan the flames of discontent with the Democrats.
""How could a left-leaning person even CONSIDER a vote for McCain?""
because any rational person recognizes teh Neolibs (Obama Kultists) are every bit as extremist and dangerous as their neocon brethren.
Yeah, well put.
"How could a left-leaning person even CONSIDER a vote for McCain?"
Good question. I have noted the way far too many of HRC's supporters show exactly the same over-the-top, unwarranted sense of entitlement that those on the right routinely do. I doubt that very many of them are actually covert Republicans, but would not be surprised if many of them made the same trip to the right wing that David Horowitz made, and for the same self-serving, malign reasons as Horowitz. I also wonder how many of HRC's supporters privately refer to males by the technical term for the male sex organ. (I originally actually used that term, but someone at HuffPo must have wimped out.)
"For Clinton like Bush, it's the war that never ends."
Good post Joe. They are so very much alike... in so many ways. The Clinton Party embraced Republican principles as soon as the calculus proved that she had lost the contest... so long ago.
You call her lack of sincere and meaningful concession a "disgrace". Perhaps on Party, National and Global levels. But I would suggest to you that the Clinton's do not accept disgrace as a meaningful metric on a personal level. That neither one of them has ever shown any real remorse or humility for the nasty behavior they have inflicted upon the body politic over the years, demonstrates to me that they are beyond accepting a verdict of "disgraceful" as having any meaning to them whatsoever. So I don't use that word.
I believe that what they have been subjecting all of to is disgusting. That judgment doesn't require any kind of Clinton affirmation or denial... just a gut check on our part.
Hillary and Bill - putting the "nasty" in Dynasty since 1992
Yup.
I went to the Hillary web site to leave her a note asking her to bow out gracefully and fully support Obama. Interestingly enough, all I saw at her site was a comment section and a request for money. Is she just playing all her supporters in order to raise money to pay off her debts? Would she really stoop that low?
I did the same thing. So my "comment of support" basically told her that she had the opportunity for greatness last night, and instead, her conduct was shameful. It was much longer than that and covered a lot of the points in this article (I couldn't have said it better myself, Joe!). After submitting it, I was, of course, asked to donate to her no longer existent campaign (tempting as that was, I managed to restrain myself) I'm sure the comment will never see the light of day, but it made me feel a little better, just the same :-)
BINGO!!!!! No one wants to talk about the bottom line for HRC and her husband for that matter. She wants POWER and MONEY.
Even if you wanted to, you cannot go to Hillary's website and suggest that she concede. The blogs are heavily edited and any "negative" comments would not be allowed. In the bubble, everything is beautiful. Unfortunately it is neither real nor true.
"How could a left-leaning person even CONSIDER a vote for McCain?"
Good question. I have noted the way far too many of HRC's supporters show exactly the same over-the-top, unwarranted sense of entitlement that those on the right routinely do. I doubt that very many of them are actually covert Republicans, but would not be surprised if many of them made the same trip to the right wing that David Horowitz made, and for the same self-serving, malign reasons as Horowitz. I also wonder how many of HRC's supporters privately refer to males as "penises".
As annoying as it can be, her poor behavior only highlights the class and grace that Senator Obama has maintained throughout this entire race.
Even if she never concedes, one fact will never change - she is NOT the winner.
Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.
My post@2:14 PM was CENSORED. Re-posted at 3:38 PM
God save the United States if Obama suffers such a gross lapse in judgement as to name HC as his VP. She is a crass and hard core CORPORATIST and has fully revealed her classless and predatory determination to win her selfish goals at any cost. THE CLINTONS ARE AT THE CORE OF THE CORPORATE CABAL DEDICATED TO REPLACE OUR DEMOCRACY AND ITS GOVERNMENT WITH A DESPOTIC INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE HEGEMONY.
Just watch what follows if Obama refuses to yield to her graceless tantrum. There will be a internal war fomented by the Clintons and their mindless robots to conquer our nation by corporatism that will be more vile and destructive than even than or Civil War of the 1850s. The electorate has no clue about this.
It would be consistent with her demonstrated values to demand to sleep in the White House, but graciously allow the Obamas to sleep across the street at Blair House and join her for breakfast and dinner, as well as permitting them to also retain an official residence at the Naval Observatory.
SLEEPERS AWAKE!!!
Would it have killed her to simply congratulate Obama?
yup
I was so ashamed of her. I really used to like HRC until this campaign. She's never failed to disappoint. How arrogant she is! And disgraceful.
let's just pray that obama doesn't give her the VP slot.
Even if you're not religious pray for that..beca
From the desk of Sen. Clinton,
Note to self: Have my campaign strategists pick out "New Clothes" for the convention
Senator Clinton's stubborn narcissism should be of no surprise to anyone. Both her and her husband's reprehensible behavior throughout begs for serious therapy.
No truer words were ever spoken.
I still like "deranged narcissism" better. Being stubborn is okay to a point. If you are stubborn in the face of a disease that is trying to kill you, then being stubborn is merely survival instinct. "Deranged" now there is a term that really puts some focus on the issue. Much of what she has done since Texas/Ohio has drawn her darn close to being out of balance to practically delusional. Last nights speech was maybe the worse thing I have seen a politician do since Goldwater's acceptance speech. Funny how these things all tie together.
there is no cure for sociopaths, they are just wired wrong.
Most of these "Hillary supporters" are republicans trying to create "chaos". They know their only chance in November is for the democrats hard feelings from the primary never to go away.
I have to disagree. While I do suspect the republicans have affected this process slightly; the people I saw at the DNC meeting; the people who blindly follow a multi-millionaire who believes in convenants as means through which power and God's will is passed; the masses who cling to the erroneous belief that the color of their skin makes them superior; the groups who judge by genetalia over character.
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