i heart molly ivins
from "Molly Ivins: Not. Backing. Hillary."
"Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds.
The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."
Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/20/ivins.hillary/index.html
it's spectacular. read the whole thing.
chibs, i expect to hear from you on this one.
posted by stefanie @ 10:39 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
The last line "Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite." is head-on. The Democrats are so fucking scared of losing another election that they're attempting to meld their positions to be more of what they think the country wants based on the Presidential 'choice'. Why they don't realize that just because W is the president doesn't mean that most of the country prefers him to a Democrat is beyond me - these aren't stupid people.
So instead of following Ivins' advice and presenting a new, brave Democratic party, a REAL political choice, they pull the moderate card and try to sneak in that way. Well, it's not going to work. If people have to choose between an incumbent Conservative party or a challenger that's basically Moderate-blah, what kind of choice is that? To fight the incumbent party you need something new, you need to really present that what we have now isn't working. They need to listen to the polls quoted in the article and trust that the majority agrees with them on those issues and will support them when a brand new and different choice is offered against the current administration.
Obama, can you save us?
Looks like Chris beat me to the punch. Chris, you are right on the money with your comments. I do not like Hilary Clinton at all. I get so tired when people tell me, "She's my hero!" or "She's so smart!" and then you ask them what they like about her, politically or ideologically, they can't tell you a goddamn thing. The only reason she is so popular is because the MSM (main stream media) puts her face on everything and because Dick Morris thinks he can get control of the country again by writing about her, like he did when he worked for Clinton in the White House.
Hilary is not a viable option for the Democrats. The Democrats need someone who has a liberal, progressive, and strong record on issues. Hilary changes her mind all the time and moves way, way too close to the center. I would like to see Barack Obama as much as the next guy, but he's still too inexperienced. We need to let him stay in there for a term or two before he runs.
Right now, for 2008, I'm liking Russ Feingold and Mark Warner. These guys have great liberal records, stand up for what they believe in, and know how to lead. People will say, "Yeah, but they've got no shot at winning." And I say, "Did you think Howard Dean had a shot this early in the process?" Plus, when people say that a candidate has no shot, that's a completely relative term, because if the person who said that would just support that candidate, then the tide starts to change.
Voters are so often impressed with people based on: who's on t.v. and who the polls show has high numbers. If they've never seen or heard from a candidate, then they won't vote for them. Let's the get the word out on alternatives to Hilary.
Remember: you should always back the candidate who SHOULD win, not the candidate who WILL win.
Ok, my bad. I thought both entries were written by Chris. I got the whole "C" thing mixed up. Carin, you get credit for writing that post. Sorry for the mixup.
honestly, i don't understand the animosity for Hillary. I will vote for her with a damn sight more enthusiasm than I voted for Kerry or Gore. Or when I voted for Dick Durbin or Claire McCaskill, for that matter. Hillary had a 100% record for voting with the public interest, according to uspirg.org's method of tracking. Better than Feingold, Kennedy and the majority of liberal powerhouses. yes, i look forward to obama running, but not until 2028 or so. and i fear no one can maintain his vigor for so long. i predict (cynically, while praying i'm wrong) another, albeit darker, ted kennedy figure out of obama.
true, hillary clinton is by no means as liberal as i would like, but she IS smart and she IS a savvy politician.
i too am hungry for systemic change, and i know that it won't come from hillary, but i doubt the ability of dean or obama to bring it either.
Another problem with Hilary: she's too polarizing. She's got lots of support, but also people who are ready to taker her down.
Ruth, you make good points, but remember this: Feingold was the only senator that voted against the Patriot Act. He also was heavily involved in making sure CIA agents could not torture prisoners. He's also committed to campaign finance reform...REAL REFORM. These are all issues that Hilary didn't make much of a stir on. Feingold really does stand up for what he believes in, but Hilary is so middle-of-the-road when it comes to the war that it makes me sad.
I'll vote for her if she's the nominee, but I'm not voting for her in the caucus. On an unrelated note, I'm in Iowa now, so I'm on the frontlines of voting. I'm really excited!
yeah, what dan said.
if she's the nominee, i'll vote for her, but i don't want her to be the nominee. i'm sure she'd make a fine president, but as a nominee, what a disaster. first of all, everything she does is completely calculated, and i hate that she's trying to "move to the center," especially on the war, and is completely taking her far-left base for granted. that offends me.
given the complete corruption of the current administration, the 2008 candidate is going to have to run on a platform of reform, and of transparency in government. the skeletons in hillary's closet (it makes me sad to list them - whitewater, vince foster, cisneros) will prevent her from being as forthcoming as she needs to be.
so i like mark warner, though i don't know all that much about him. and russ feingold, of course. i don't know what will happen.
This is unrelated to the post, but I will call you today!
Post a Comment
<< Home