All Posts Tagged With: "Hillary Clinton"

It is no surprise that my mind is preoccupied with feisty ladies. The biggest one, of course, is tropical storm Fay who will be passing close to my home later today. Unlike the three hurricanes which went right over my roof during a 6-week period in 2004 this one will be more ladylike. As of this morning, Fay is taking her time as she dawdles up through Florida leaving a trail of minor wind and rain damage.

The other feisty ladies are four groups I happened to find while surfing the internet. I would look for these ladies to be raising their voices next week in support of the feistiest lady of the land, Hillary Clinton. According to The Stiletto, these different groups are now all coming together into one group, The New Agenda, to promote a variety of women’s issues.

It is more interesting, however, to look at the individual groups. I think the largest group is PUMA, which stands for Party Unity My Ass. Ever since Obama won the Democratic Primary, Howard Dean and Barack Obama have been continuously lecturing that all Democrats must now come together as one party. The name of this pro-Hillary group pretty much sums up what these women think about that!. As Hillary supporters they are demanding a roll call of votes during the DNC Convention next week to remind everyone how many votes Hillary did have and just how close Obama came to losing plus they wanted Hillary to have a prime time slot for her speech.

I Own My Vote is a group of Hillary supporters who argue that their votes do not belong to any party or candidate and that they will vote however they like. See a trend here? In fact their website http://www.iownmyvote.com/ would make a McCain staffer proud. They are also demanding a roll call of votes during the DNC Convention to remind everyone how close the race was etc.etc.etc.

Just Say No Deal appears to be a group of PUMA bloggers who are demanding a roll call of votes to remind everyone blah blah blah. Together 4US is a group of 8,739 women who have signed a pledge requesting that the DNC Convention have a roll call of votes yadda yadda yadda. You get the picture.

Four different groups of women, all furious with the Democratic primary, all continuing to support Hillary and not only wanting Hillary to be recognized during the DNC Convention but to remind Obama that he just barely won. For many, they are not only pro Hillary but have become anti Obama as evidenced by their stinging rhetoric in their websites and by their “NOBAMA” signs. Apparently some of these women have reached the tipping point where they are so angry with their party that they are actually voting for McCain. This is making an impact as the polls have been showing that Obama is not doing as well as expected in the “white women” group.

Now all these pro Hillary groups are merging together. Tropical Storm Fay might be causing havoc this week but it sounds as if these other women might do the same during the DNC Convention . I think that Howard Dean just might have his hands full if these women come out in force in Denver. I also wonder what would happen if they all start to chant for Hillary, especially if they do so while Obama is standing by himself in that stadium. Fay may have moderately high winds and even throw off some tornadoes but nothing will come close to what Dean and Obama might have to face as they are reminded of that oh so true statement: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…

I’ve waited to write a recap of the Hillary Clinton campaign until the feeding frenzy was over.

In nearly every article I read, the author was quick to point out that it wasn’t the media’s horrible treatment of Hillary Clinton that caused her to lose. I agree. However, the reporters and pundits who had a field day attacking Hillary Clinton on personal grounds rather than policy issues do not get a bye on this one. Maybe they can justify their actions in their own small minds, bit I do not think we should. Women, in particular, should view this as part of a broader attack on our participation in government. Here are some of the more brilliant comments issued during the Clinton campaign that represent an affront to all women:

“There’s just something about her that feels castrating, overbearing and scary.”

-Tucker Carlson

“Mrs. Clinton’s testicle lockbox is big enough for the entire Democrat hierarchy, not just some people in the media.”

-Rush Limbaugh

“The reason she’s a U.S. senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around.”

-Chris Matthews

Now, if you can believe it, all of these political hacks have their own shows. That’s right. Somebody considers these gentlemen (and I use the term loosely) worthy of broadcast status. However, nobody ever said they appealed to anyone’s intellectual side and it is certainly clear that the three of them have issues with women in general that they projected onto Hillary Clinton.

If you want to talk about the fact that Hillary Clinton was one of the members of the Senate who saw fit to give President Bush unprecedented war powers as a reason she should not be elected, then I’m behind you. That’s one of the reasons why she wasn’t my number one candidate. If you don’t agree with Clinton’s immigration policy, then by all means call her to task. If you think her economic policy is doomed to fail, then say so. However, the line should be drawn when the banter borders on verbal abuse. The fact is that Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh or Chris Matthews would never treat John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney with such utter disrespect and disdain.

When NBC Political Director Chuck Todd was asked if the media covered Clinton fairly he said, “You can only cover the campaign that is in front of you. And the fact is the campaign that was in front of us was one that was being presented as somebody who was running for Bill Clinton’s third term.” Honestly, Todd should consider going into politics because his answer had nothing to do with the actual question he was asked. If the media raised this issue, one could at least argue against that premise. You could argue that Hillary Clinton was her own person. However, let’s take this comment at face value because even this is a bunch of blarney.

Many will argue, myself included, that John McCain is running George Bush’s third term campaign. How do we know that? John McCain is in 100% voting agreement with George Bush over the last year from tax cuts, to war funding, to torture and beyond. His campaign employs high-powered lobbyists and fund-raisers, many of who worked on the Bush campaigns. You know, the guys he has taken a public stand against. Neither NBC nor any of the other mainstream media have chosen to address these issues. Instead, they insist on presenting John McCain as an anti-Washington, straight-talking, special-interest-battling maverick. Hillary Clinton would never have been given such a break by the media.

Rather than discuss her policies and positions, the media focused on such pressing national issues as her cleavage, her wrinkles, or her choice of clothing. Prior to the Democratic primary kick-off, Fox News Channel conducted focus groups to determine what kind of campaign the voters wanted to see from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Fox consultant, Frank Luntz, was aiming high on the intelligence scale when he conducted these focus groups. “How many of you want to see them really argue,” he asked. “And, how many of you want them to make love to each other?” Can anybody figure out what’s wrong with that picture? It’s no wonder then that we have men in the audience at Hillary Clinton events yelling, “Iron my shirt!” The media’s total lack of responsibility in presenting objections to Clinton’s presidency in fair, balanced and truthful terms goes a long way toward fostering such a bigoted response from the general male population.

When you put the pieces of the anti-Hillary media coverage puzzle together, it is pretty obvious that the majority of the bashing comes from conservative news outlets and commentators. Now, I understand that people will argue that point where Chris Matthews is concerned. He did work for Jimmy Carter and Tip O’Neill. That was then, however, and this is now. Matthews admitted voting for George Bush in 2000, and he has done absolutely nothing but present the president in the most respectful, glowing, positive terms, no matter what transgressions the man has committed. The popular misconception that Matthews is from the ‘liberal media’ gives MSNBC an advantage, allowing the network to present itself as being balanced.

Those who employ the ilk of Matthews, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Carlson are conspicuous by their silence. Of course, the mainstream media has been thoroughly ‘corporatized’ and aren’t the least bit interested in being credible news outlets. Those days are gone. When David Schuster made a degrading remark about the Clinton’s “pimping out” Chelsea to campaign for her mother, MSNBC apologized and gave Schuster a token suspension. However, they allowed mad dog Matthews to remain on the loose to regularly attack Hillary Clinton on everything but the issues. While she was actively campaigning for the presidency, his fixation on Clinton neared obsessive proportions.

And while we’re talking about the flak the Clintons took for having Chelsea campaign, let’s remember that Mitt Romney employed all of his children in his bid for the White House. While he was actively campaigning for the presidency, Romney was asked why his children weren’t serving their country in Iraq instead of campaigning for their father. Romney’s answer was steeped in sheer entitlement and arrogance. According to Romney, his sons were indeed serving their country by helping their father get elected. The mainstream media barely mentioned Romney’s comment, even though it was worthy of a thrashing for its total lack of sensitivity for the families whose members are in harm’s way every day fighting a war that is both unjustified and illegal.

The media’s assault on Hillary Clinton started months ago back in Iowa. They were calling for her to quit then. She showed true grit and determination for many months beyond that and, frankly, whether or not she was your choice for president, you should be proud of her efforts as a woman competing in what has historically been a man’s world. In the final analysis, Barack Obama didn’t win by a landslide. He didn’t embarrass Hillary Clinton. In fact, neither would have gotten to the necessary delegate count without the superdelegates thrown in. Carol Jenkins, president of The Women’s Media Center, said of Clinton, “All women have gained from her ability to go the distance and not be turned into a quitter.” Jenkins also rightfully pointed out that each woman would have to judge for herself whether or not she’d be willing to go through what Hillary Clinton went through.

Poor Hillary. Talk about open mouth and insert foot! Maybe I am naive but I honestly don’t think she meant that she was staying in the race hoping that Obama might be assassinated in June as was Bobby Kennedy. I know it sounded that way and the media and pundits jumped on her but I really think it was more of a case of not being more careful of how she was saying something.

She was trying to defend why she should stay in the primaries and was simply giving examples of other primaries that were still being contested in the summer months. She said that her husband didn’t wrap up his first primaries until June and that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June. Again, she was only trying to point out that Bobby was still campaigning in the month of June, not that she was waiting for someone to assassinate Obama.

What is interesting is how everyone immediately thought the worst of her. It says a lot about her character or at least how others perceive her character that they would even think she might be hoping her opponent was shot. And more than anything else that is why she should never be president. How could you possibly trust Hillary when you believe she is capable of doing almost anything to obtain her goals? And some would say that she has done the unthinkable before to protect herself (think Vince Foster).

Even though Hillary might not have meant she was waiting for Obama to be assassinated I am nervous that there are some who might take her up on that. God forbid, if Obama were to be shot, Hillary could not be the candidate for too many people would remember this statement and say she was the cause. One bright spot is that the majority of Hillary’s most ardent supporters are middle aged white woman. That is the least likely group to pick up a gun and go after somebody. But as they say, it only takes one crazy person and no matter what the demographics every group has at least one nut case.

On the other side, John McCain should be on his hands and knees thanking Hillary for her controversial statement. Late Friday he published his medical records and his wife’s tax returns from last year. It is a typical politician’s tactic to provide potentially damaging information on the eve of a three day weekend when most people have the TV’s turned off and aren’t paying attention to the news. Clinton’s faux pas combined with all the continuing weather related disasters and stories on the high gas prices dropped McCain’s news to the bottom of the stories being reported.

Most people, though. aren’t paying much attention to politics right now. And I must admit that I love this weekend. As a child it meant a big parade in my small town where if I wasn’t marching in my Girl Scout uniform then I could be found with my family under the big tree waving my little flag. And then regardless of how cold it still might be you just had to take a dip in the pool even if it was just a quick in and out. As an adult this was always the first big national holiday since February and I really looked forward to the much needed three day weekend.

As you enjoy your holiday here is a final fun political thought. In addition to parades, pools, beaches and cook outs, this weekend also marks the start of the summer movie season. For me, as for many others, I can’t wait to go see the new Indiana Jones movie. But keep this in mind as you watch Harrison Ford in this action packed movie – this vibrant, energetic man is just 7 years younger than John McCain!

“…just terrible, absolutely dreadful,” a prominent supporter of Barack Obama said Monday morning after listening to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s screed at the National Press Club. Obama is hemorrhaging so badly that he is metaphorically simply bleeding to death politically. NPR reporter-Fox commentator Juan Williams, himself black, told Robert Novak Wright’s demagoguery is “ridiculous. I never have heard that in church.” The damage has been severe with Obama’s unfavorable ratings jumping up and his polling numbers falling.

Rev. Wright’s rants, as Obama now calls his pontifications, are simply wrong. Joe Conason says, “So long as a religious or political leader sounds sufficiently “militant” and seems to outrage white people, he (or she) must be not only accepted and excused but celebrated. That is why Minister Louis Farrakhan — the Nation of Islam leader who shares responsibility for the conspiracy to murder Malcolm X and whose theology of hovering spaceships and evil big-headed scientists is highly eccentric, to be polite — enjoys fulsome admiration from the likes of Wright. That is why the Rev. Al Sharpton — who was paid and financed by Republican dirty tricksters in 2004 — still somehow wields influence in the media and politics. And that is why Wright himself can insinuate that the government purposely invented AIDS, and claim that the brains of white and black children function differently (a notion that would rightly be dismissed as racist idiocy coming from a white academic or preacher).”

In contrast to Obama tawdry performance Hillary Clinton was on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor looking the reasonable, measured, thoughtful candidate with good judgment.

The question writ large is, “Can Obama escape his toxic mentor or more specifically be excused for what has turned into a history of a dishonesty about ongoing relationships with the likes of Rev. Wrong?” So far the answer is an emphatic “No.”

The Clinton’s should probably swap memos more often. Bill supports one thing, Hillary supports another. Bill says one thing, Hillary says another. Of course, we could also talk about the rest of her entourage that supposedly speak for her, but generally seem to say the opposite of what she’s declaring.

This past weekend, we had the gaffe by her Chief Campaign Strategist, Mark Penn, who went to Columbia, wearing his lobbyist hat to broker a deal with the Colombians, that, apparently, Hillary is against. Well, it turns out that Bill was all for it.

Now, it appears that Bill and Hillary are at odds about whether or not folks should boycott the Olympics in China. Hillary just came out declaring that President Bush should not go, while last summer, Bill talked Steven Spielberg out of boycotting the Olympics as their “Overseas Artistic Director”.

It seems that Hillary, the presidential candidate, should have the last word on what comes out of her campaign, but, with people who claim to speak for her, coming out and contradicting what she says, one has to wonder if her presidency will be just as incoherent.

Nothing irks me more than when my husband speaks “for me” and I have to contradict him and essentially embarrass him and presumably, myself because we aren’t of one mind on an issue or an idea. This usually happens in a business context and it’s confusing to my customers to have these contradictions floating around so we had to come to an understanding. Only I speak for my business, so hubby has to be sure that whatever he says has been green-lighted (or red-lighted, as the case may be) in prior conversations or he’s supposed to say, “I’ll have to get back to you on that one” or “Call Dizzy, she would know more about that than I do”.

Shouldn’t presidential candidate Clinton be having that same conversation with her campaign staff?

I realize that Mark Penn wears many hats and Bill, well, he’s Bill…but, during this most tumultuous of primary races in the Democratic arena, you would think that with the public and the media, all eyes and ears being on “their” campaign, that maybe, just maybe, they all could speak with one voice and maybe sound more presidential.

I hate to think what would transpire if that 3AM phone call ever came through.

crossposted: I’m Jus’ A Lil’ Dizzy

As the primary continues to unfold I can’t help but think about Hillary’s life. People forget that it was Hillary, not Bill, who was the “rock star” when they first met. But she gave it all up to move to Arkansas and help an unknown lawyer run for governor in one of the most backwards states in the nation. Her friends were appalled by her decision. I can’t help but think of the song from Chorus Line “What We Do for Love”.

It wasn’t all terrible. Arkansas is in the boonies but being a governor’s wife isn’t a bad deal. Then there were the ensuing connections and how that helped her career (and checkbook). Bill might have strayed but Hillary knew he loved her and Chelsea, and he always came back. So she stayed and ended up in the White House. Again, not a bad trade off. Then he cheated there and this time publicly humiliated her and her child.