Why Hillary Makes My Wife Scream

My wife Barbara has begun yelling at the television set every time she hears Hillary Clinton. This is abnormal behavior since Barbara is a meditative practitioner of everything peaceful and organic, and is inspired by Barack's transformational appeal.

For Barbara, Hillary has become the screech on the blackboard. From First Lady to Lady Macbeth.

It's getting to me as well. Last year, I was somewhat reconciled to the prospect of supporting and pressuring Hillary as the nominee amidst the rising tide of my friends who already hated her, irrationally I thought. I was one of those people Barack accuses of being willing to settle. I even had framed a flattering autographed message from Hillary. But as the campaign has gone on and on, her signed portrait still leans against the wall in my study. I don't know where she belongs anymore.

At least Hillary was a known quantity in my life. I knew of the danger of her becoming more and more hawkish as she tried to break the ultimate glass ceiling. I also knew that she could be forced to change course if public opinion was fiercely opposed to the war. And I knew she was familiar with radical social causes from her own life experience in the Sixties. So my progressive task seemed clear: help build an anti-war force powerful enough to make it politically necessary to end the war. Been there, done that. And in the process, finally put a woman in the White House. A soothing bonus.

But as the Obama campaign gained momentum, Hillary began morphing into the persona that has my pacifist wife screaming at the television set.

Going negative doesn't begin to describe what has happened. Hillary is going over the edge. Even worse are the flacks she sends before the cameras on her behalf, like that Kiki person who smirks and shakes her head at the camera every time she fields a question. Or the real carnivores, like Howard Wolfson, Lanny Davis and James Carville whose sneering smugness prevents countless women like my wife from considering Hillary at all.

To use the current terminology, Hillary people are bitter people, even more bitter than the white working class voters Barack has talked about. Because they circle the wagons so tightly, they don't recognize how identical, self-reinforcing and out-of-touch they are.

To take just one example, the imagined association between Barack Obama and Bill Ayers will suffice. Hillary is blind to her own roots in the Sixties. In one college speech she spoke of ecstatic transcendence; in another, she said, "our social indictment has broadened. Where once we exposed the quality of life in the world of the South and the ghettos, now we condemn the quality of work in factories and corporations. Where once we assaulted the exploitation of man, now we decry the destruction of nature as well. How much long can we let corporations run us?" She was in Chicago for three nights during the 1968 street confrontations. She chaired the 1970 Yale law school meeting where students voted to join a national student strike again an "unconscionable expansion of a war that should never have been waged." She was involved in the New Haven defense of Bobby Seale during his murder trial in 1970, as the lead scheduler of student monitors. She surely agreed with Yale president Kingman Brewster that a black revolutionary couldn't get a fair trial in America. She wrote that abused children were citizens with the same rights as their parents. [75] Most significantly in terms of her recent attacks on Barack, after Yale law school, Hillary went to work for the left-wing Bay Area law firm of Truehaft, Walker and Burnstein, which specialized in Black Panthers and West Coast labor leaders prosecuted for being communists. Two of the firm's partners, according to Treuhaft, were communists and the two others "tolerated communists". Then she went on to Washington to help impeach Richard Nixon, whose career was built on smearing and destroying the careers of people through vague insinuations about their backgrounds and associates. [all citations from Carl Bernstein's sympathetic biography, A Woman in Charge, 2007, pp. 67,69,70,75, 83]

All these were honorable words and associations in my mind, but doesn't she see how the Hillary of today would accuse the Hillary of the Sixties of associating with black revolutionaries who fought gun battles with police officers, and defending pro-communist lawyers who backed communists? Doesn't the Rev. Jeremiah Wright whom Hillary attacks today represent the very essence of the black radicals Hillary was associating with in those days? And isn't the Hillary of today becoming the same kind of guilt-by-association insinuator as the Richard Nixon she worked to impeach?

It is as if Hillary Clinton is engaged in a toxic transmission onto Barack Obama of every outrageous insult and accusation ever inflicted on her by the American Right over the decades. She is running against what she might have become. Too much politics dries the soul of the idealist.

It is abundantly clear that the Clintons, working with Fox News and manipulating old Clinton staffers like George Stephanopoulos, are trying, at least unconsciously, to so damage Barack Obama that he will be perceived as "unelectable" to Democratic super-delegates. It is also clear that the campaign of defamation against Obama has resulted in higher negative ratings for Hillary Clinton. She therefore is threatening the Democratic Party's chances for the White House whether or not she is the nominee.

Since no one in the party leadership seems able or willing to intervene against this self-destructive downward spiral, perhaps progressives need to consider responding in the only way politicians sometimes understand. If they can't hear us screaming at the television sets, we can send a message that the Clintons are acting as if they prefer John McCain to Barack Obama. And follow it up with another message: if Clinton doesn't immediately cease her path of destruction, millions of young voters and black voters may not send checks, may not knock on doors, and may not even vote for her if she becomes the nominee. That's not a threat, that's the reality she is creating.


Tom Hayden is with progressivesforobama.blogspot.com and author of Writing for a Democratic Society [City Lights, 2008].

Comments

[DeSwiss]

"...millio­ns of young voters and black voters may not send checks, may not knock on doors, and may not even vote for her if she becomes the nominee. That's not a threat, that's the reality she is creating."

Yep. You said it.

[DRPike]

Many who are not young or black will join them.

Signed: 48 year old white guy.

[EliotWare]

Please, oh please, tell me that you were just saying you're not black and not that you weren't young.

Signed: 50 year young (dammit) black guy.

[missjabez]

Tom, I sympathize with your wife. I rarely watch the news anymore, but when I do I yell at Hillary, and I flip her off, too. Her concealment of her involvement in 60s cases exemplifies her hypocrisy. Bush is an idiot, but at least he doesn't pretend to be something he is not. Anyone with a conscience or a semblance of integrity should do everything they can to stop this woman. I wish I could go to NC and canvass for Obama, but will be unable to do so. So I will have to show my support through my pocketbook, and either stay home or vote for Nader if Clinton steals the nomination.

[Dimikats]

Gawd, I love this post and these replies! I don't really yell at the TV, but I do tell Hill to f**k off and flip her a bird. And I would mute the TV except that it's a new one and there's apparently only one spot on it where the remote works to mute...I'm not always in a location where I can hit that spot. I'm a 50-year-young white woman and I don't know ANYONE who supports that harridan!

[LeJax]

Thank you for sharing your experience of witnessing the arc spanning from human Hillary to candidate Hillary.

And my husband thanks you for explaining he has company witnessing a spouse aberrantly screaming at the television.

[faithfully]

Long ago I liked Hillary and Bill. I thought she was a good mother and a smart woman. Over the years, I came to dislike her-I found her polarizing. Now I am also yelling at the tv-and I am downright scared of her; I am not sure whether she is just plain evil or mentally ill. whatever, her lies, her ability to divide and infuriate people and then laugh it off is frightening. As a mental health professional for 25 years I see real pathology here which could harm us all is she stays in any sort of position of power.

[Melkor]

What if its not the politicians that degrade the society, but the society that degrades the politicians? We on the Left love to look for the moustache-twirling villains that oppress the common man. But as Hayden pointed out very clearly in his post, Hillary was once a young idealist herself. Politics corrupted her and the older I get I'm becoming more and more critical of the "we the people" bloc in our democracy.

Obama said it himself, Clinton is using the same tactics against him that were used against her. Why? They work. We the People allow it to work. So here is Obama preaching hope and change and she is tearing him to shreds with race baiting and patriotism questioning - she even pulled out the old red scare tactic. And its WORKING. So after the ambitious idealist is chewed up by that machine what happens? The idealism dies but the ambition remains. Obama is already starting to hit back with manipulative attacks of his own. Who knows what kind of creature he'll look like in a decade.

So Tom, maybe your wife would be better screaming out the open window at the world in general. We the People - the hidden villain of democracy.

[buske]

Lucky you. That turns me on. Unfortunately, my girlfriend only screams _at_ me.

[newshawk14]

I very much liked your article and felt it was a fair assessment of your reactions. I happen to be
an engineer and supposedly as such am totally left brained and rational. Actually I'm quite good
at reading people and their degree of honesty. My sister is even better, she's been the head of
human resources of 1000's of people for a number of different organizations. Our reaction is
exactly the same, we do not trust this woman. I happen to think America is poised on an abyss,
mainly a descent into fascism, Reagan started it, and I'd say G. W. Bush has us 80% there. Of
the three candidates, Obama, Clinton, or McCain, who do you think might pull us back from the
brink and began to reverse direction. I'd recommend reading the leading article of Greg Palast
at http://www.gregpalast.com/index.php if you think my thesis is to radical.

[Hattie]

Ho hum. Who cares about a bunch of losers like Tom Hayden and his childish new agey bride. Honest to god.

[givetruthachance]

Hillary has become "the screech on the blackboard" indeed.

[snarkopolitan]

My friendzzzzzz--- do you love this phrase? Get used to hearing it. For at least four years. Blast away at each other. Try to count up which side has more venom, that's just what you can expect from those people, you'll never,ever vote for Hill/bama, not after the things she/he/they said/did!
Even though I now scream at Hillary the way my Mom screamed at Nixon, if she by hook or by crook wangles herself the nomination, I'm voting for her. Or the other guy, or whatever is not McCain. Because McCain's policies are Bush's policies, and they're ruining the country.
Hillary and Barack's policies are VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL. Either candidate is electable, if their respective followers don't pout their way to mutually assured defeat.
Actually, since I live in New York, I'm not voting for Hillary ever, ever, again----unless the Presidential election is hanging by 1 New York vote. In which case, Hillary's my Homegirl!
But since Hillary's gone all Nixon on us, I can't wear my Hillary's my Homegirl shirt. For which I'm very sad.

[Annette]

I agree entirely,For me the supreme court is too important to let the Repubs stack it some more. McCain has already said he plans to put more judges on the bench like Scalia. Not just the supreme court but all the federal courts are in danger of becoming a Bushie legacy that will live on long after Bushie is gone. With the courts becoming corporate stooges under Bushie rubber stamping the expansion of Bushies power it isn't just abortion that is threatened. I will vote for Clinton if she by some disaster becomes the candidate. But to be honest it will be difficult. Having McCain stack the courts is just too much of a risk, especially now that he has decided torture is just dandy. Yes I want out of the war, I have major doubts wheather Clinton would get us out. I KNOW however McCain would not and plans even more wars. If the congress gets a veto proof majority they might summon the guts to cut off the funds. As it is now it won't happen. Along with president we need to get every dem running for the house and senate elected.

[Blaheleven]

AMEN!!!! I completely agree with every syllable. If the Presidential election is hanging by one Arizona vote, you'll need to send me one of those t-shirts. Can't stand Hillary anymore, but would vote for her in a heartbeat over McCain!

Anti-McCain '08

[booksnmore4you]

She gotten intolerable for me, too. Like with Bush, I just can't listen to her.

With Bush, it is his ignorance that makes me turn him off. With Hillary, it is her lack of integrity.

[SamEllison]

Tom, I hope Barbara will get over what we call TV Tourettes at our house. I usually reserve my own attacks for the Sunday morning news blather and my own Barbara suffers the affliction for the 39 weeks of NASCAR.
I would strongly recommend that if Hillary does indeed become POTUS you for your wife's sake USE THE MUTE BUTTON.

[clevelandchick]

I've already had to use the mute button for the last 7 plus years, I was looking forward to having a POTUS whose speech I could actually tolerate. But Hillary's Rovian campaigning has alienated so many D voters that there's no way she can win in November. A Democrat going after another Democrat like she has is damaging to the party and hurts the chances for either of them to win the POTUS.

Hillary can't beat McCain and she's taking Obama down with her. If she thinks she's going to get a shot in 2012, she's crazy; everyone is going to remember her as the Nader of 2008 - the spoiler.

So yeah, Barbara and I will be stuck using the mute button again but it won't be to silence Hillary, it will be to silence McCain.

[Meteor]

Tom's last paragraph is spot on:

Since no one in the party leadership seems able or willing to intervene against this self-destructive downward spiral, perhaps progressives need to consider responding in the only way politicians sometimes understand. If they can't hear us screaming at the television sets, we can send a message that the Clintons are acting as if they prefer John McCain to Barack Obama. And follow it up with another message: if Clinton doesn't immediately cease her path of destruction, millions of young voters and black voters may not send checks, may not knock on doors, and may not even vote for her if she becomes the nominee. That's not a threat, that's the reality she is creating.

[Amminadab]

You mean the children will throw a tantrum if they don't get their way?

Bah!

[fridayjones]

Only if you old people promise to have heart attacks if you don't get your way.

Nyeah.

[gloryoski]

Yes. This pretense of unity and civility being pushed on us has not gotten us anywhere. (They would NOT "both make great presidents­." ) Hillary feels free to go back to the old mode (and then some) when it really counts and thereby keep herself alive, alienating most of us even further. This needs to be over.

[Blaheleven]

Am I the only person left who would be ecstatic to have either Obama or Clinton in the White House? Forget the dirty, negative tactics perpetrated by BOTH campaigns, because such is politics. (In fact 4 years from now, we will have long forgotten these machinations, and we will more than likely sit flabbergasted (once again) at the campaigns' smear-tactics as if we have never seen them before.) At the beginning of this primary, I stood among my fellow Democrats in awe of the panel of candidates we had to choose from--especially in relation to the bedraggled Republican selection! Now I feel as though I am the only one left standing who still feels this way. Obama supporters blame Hillary, while Hillary supporters blame Obama. If WE cannot see the forest through the trees, then we will surely be devastated by another president who can't see the forest either--and that is the nightmare.

[Zeusthunderbolt]

You obviously fail to see the implications of kitchen sink politics. The slimeness in throwing the whole African American community under the bus to gain the 10 percent racist while blue collar votes. We all started the same way. We committed a sin and supported senator obama over her. So we were labelled a cult. If we lived in a Caucus state , we did not matter any more. if we stayed up all night to vote in the caucuses , we became activist bullies, out to win by mob tactics. Senator obama suddenly was no more then a black candidate who was no good. Our hopes and dreams were made fun of in front of millions. Suddenly no one wanted to be labelled a cult member, stupid, and join the stupid dreamy eyed kids. Words were attacked as empty and the inspired called fools. No republican candidate would have had the audacity to attack and laugh at Senator obama's followers. She did. If we, the obama kool aid drinkers , have any self respect, we will actively campaign for Mccain against her. And as far as you are concerned, if you are an uneducated woman , postmenopausal, bitter, and blue collar who despices, educated people, because we do not support a liar, go to hell. if you on the other hand you are a neutral democrat, with no views then why am i wasting my time.

[KDH]

A bitter elitist? Maybe you need to buy larger argyle socks. The ones your wearing now may be too tight, and the discomfort has taken a toll.

[Donald]

I can't decide if you're merely a parody, or your own best parody.

[Blaheleven]

You seem to have missed my point completely. Let me preface this response by putting some of your concerns about me personally to rest. I am a female, college-graduate who voted for Obama in the primary. I'll ignore your concern over my menopausal status and give you the benefit of the doubt that this was said out of anger or exhaustion (and surely not because you were reaching for some sort of sexist/age­ist/"kitch­en sink" rebuttal with your educated-s­elf.) Furthermore, while I am not familiar with the term "neutral democrat," I identify myself as a Democrat (it's a value-thing) and I vote for candidates based on their political positions, strategic plans, and overall presentation (rather than, say, what his reverend said or when she released her tax returns.)

Point of my Original Comment for one Zeusthunderbolt:

I "obviously see the implications of kitchen sink politics" during this prolonged primary ...the implications being a McCain presidency. Zeus you say that you will "actively campaign for McCain against" Hillary if she is the Democractic nominee. Several Hillary supporters feel the same way if Obama is the nominee. Is this type of spite really worth at least 4 years of a McCain presidency? (Zeus, I'm hoping that you are familiar with McCain's politics and plans for this country if he is elected. If you do end up supporting him out of spite, please prepare yourself for whole different league of "kitchen sink politics")

[globalmusing]

Amen.

[utd]

Tom, it's not that she doesn't "get it", Hillary understands "it" just fine. We just define the "it" differently. The problem is, we as progressives believe her issues are ideological, and to her they're not. To her this is not about anything besides money and power. I feel sorry for all the women who would follow her into hell just to have a woman hit that last glass ceiling regardless of what it will mean. The day she took a position at Rose Law Firm, she sold herself out. The 6 years she spent on the board at Wal Mart and didn't bother to help the women or unions she so reverently talks about now, she sold herself out. Bartering her health care plan behind closed doors, she sold us and herself out. Fosters files, she sold. Her lying, sold.

The Clinton's have made lots of money in the past couple years, and a lot of new friends. Should have been a slam dunk. Too bad for the corporate giants, and foreign governments who have been betting on them as their horse. She will hang on, but not for the good of some lady who was denied medical care and died. I wish I could believe she really cared, but I know she doesn't. She and Bill haven't for a long long time.

Maybe I will forgive them for the grievances they have caused America in time, but considering I still think Jane was a capitulator I doubt it.