The truth is out about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders

Photo  by Andrew Burton via Getty image at Huffington Post.

Blogging at the Huffington Post, Peter D. Rosenstein, non-profit consultant, public speaker and political activist, responds to Donald Trump's attacks on Hillary Clinton and in the process, Rosenstein gets the truth out about Hillary Clinton and about the Left's favorite candidate, Bernie Sanders as well. The Dems  - especially the Left - will be better prepared to nominate a winner by reviewing Rosenstein's take on their two leading candidates:

In his maniacal rantings about Hillary playing the woman's card Trump ignores what is right before his eyes; she is a brilliant, experienced and passionate woman whose supporters, male and female, will be working hard to elect her President of the United States of America. Clinton is the most prepared person running for President in decades with the range of experience and knowledge few if any past Presidents have had. Before his ego ran wild Donald Trump agreed. But this campaign has seen whatever common sense and decency he once possessed go out the window. All his recent threats to launch attacks against Bill Clinton are symptoms of candidate out of control and one afraid to face the person who is actually running for President, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Should Republicans nominate Trump the country will see him for the hypocrite he is. The thrice married Trump has always been a wheeler dealer. The Village Voice chronicled some of his deals and political manipulation including those leading to the building of the Grand Hyatt on top of Grand Central Terminal in New York, built with a 40 year $60 million tax abatement paid for by the taxpayers of New York City. He has never done anything for anybody else that didn't benefit him. 

Those who have watched all the Republican debates and the three Democratic ones, Clinton backers now wishing there were more, have seen first-hand Hillary Clinton is far and away the smartest person participating in any of them. By dint of her leadership, experience and intelligence she is able to speak to both domestic issues and foreign affairs with an understanding and passion not evident in any other candidate.

Read more:

The Obama years: a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?

Obama points to the Kansas delegation while giving his address at the
Democratic National Convention in 2004. Via Wikipedia.

 

 

In 2008, Barack Obama preached hope, not cynicism, but anyone who knows me is aware that I was cynical from day one about the young, inexperienced senator’s qualifications for the presidency – and besides I was a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter in the primary. Now I feel something akin to pity for our graying second-term president as he’s since learned the magic of his personality on display in Boston 10 years ago has not been sufficient to cure the world’s ills.

But here’s the thing, all things considered, I believe Obama has done a credible job so far in the Oval Office. Politico goes into depth, however, highlighting Obama’s “hits and blunders” on the tenth anniversary this Sunday, July 27, 2014 of his keynote speech at the Democratic Convention.

Dovere and Nather write:

Barack Obama’s Democratic National Convention keynote delivered 10 years ago Sunday evening started his journey to the White House.

Those 18 minutes in Boston reshaped American politics. Obama spent a long passage of his speech extolling Democratic nominee John Kerry, but he wasn’t the one whose presidential prospects most people left the Fleet Center buzzing about. Caught by surprise by a convention keynote that was actually worth watching, the crowd went wild. Even Hillary Clinton and Jesse Jackson were spotted clapping for him.

A decade later, the speech remains a road map to the Obama agenda — and the many places where he’s fallen short in his term and a half so far.

The parts that hold up well: transitioning from a manufacturing base, the pursuit of enemies (like Osama bin Laden), a cooperative economy, voting rights, solving the “health care crisis,” “a road to opportunity” for the middle class.

But parts come across as the oratorical equivalent of an embarrassing hairdo in a high school yearbook.
The line most associated with the speech — “there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America, there’s the United States of America” — is the part that’s probably held up the least well over time.
 

Read more:

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to replace Tim Kaine as chair of the DNC

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Vice President Joe Biden announced President Barack Obama's choice of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to replace Tim Kaine as chair of the Democratic National Committee in a Tuesday evening email to committee members:

Friend - 

President Obama has asked me to share some important news with you about the future of the Democratic Party.

Today, Tim Kaine announced that he is stepping down as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee to run for the U.S. Senate from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Chairman Kaine has been an incredible leader for the Democratic Party and our nation - and our party is stronger today than it has ever been thanks to his leadership.

But now he is embarking on a new journey. As Chairman Kaine departs, new leadership must come on. And the President wanted you to be among the very first to hear that his choice to lead the DNC is none other than Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Debbie has served the people of Florida - first in the Florida State Legislature, and more recently in Congress - for nearly two decades. During that time, she has fought for America's children, seniors, and men and women in uniform.

In selecting Debbie to lead our party, President Obama noted her tenacity, her strength, her fighting spirit, and her ability to overcome adversity. President Obama expressed great admiration for her as a leader, and he was honored that she accepted this important challenge on behalf of the Democratic Party.

No one should have any doubt that Debbie will work hard to strengthen our party and our country. I hope you will welcome her as President Obama's choice for the next Chair of the DNC.

-Joe

Wasserman Schultz has represented Florida's 20th district in the House since her election in 2004, and she will reportedly not give up her seat when she assumes leadership of the DNC.

Hillary Clinton supporters in the 08 primary recall Wasserman Schultz as an impassioned supporter of their candidate. In recent months, she has appeared alongside Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in support of their good friend Gabby Giffords, who remains hospitalized from a gunshot wound to the head.

Mobilizing Obama’s Hordes of Sexist Online Minions to Promote the New President’s Agenda

UPDATE:

Here's a quote from Althouse relevant to my post on this topic:

"We'll see how it works out. What was a campaign becomes a big propaganda machine. What proportion of the 13 million want to be on the receiving end of that? And as for new media, how many of us new media outlets will passively pass along the talking points? My idea of new media is that we take the raw material and do something with it. It needs to get out of the control of the one who's sent out the original message. You can distribute your propaganda, but you can't organize it. You can't organize us. The internet is self-organizing, and we will see how it organizes itself. It can't be according to the will of a President."


If you took the trouble during the Democratic primary to scan the readers’ comments on web sites such as Huffington Post and the Daily Kos, you had to be frightened by the unrelenting vulgar sexist and misogynist assaults by Obama supporters directed at Hillary Clinton.

Ever since the debate between then Senators Clinton and Obama hosted by ABC last April, I’ve found the power of Obama’s online shock troops troublesome. Described as mainly youthful, unemployed tech savvy males on the far left of the political spectrum, this demographic commanded an inordinate amount of power.

In the aftermath of the above debate, I posted at Katalusis:

“And heaven help the TV pundit who challenges Obama. It was common practice during the primary for debate moderators to ask Hillary Clinton tough questions while going easy on Obama. That changed on April 16, 2008 when ABC hosted the Philadelphia face off between the two remaining Democratic candidates. Moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos asked Obama several uncomfortable questions, which quickly put him on the defensive. By Friday morning, more than 19,800 comments were posted on ABC News' Web site, the tone overwhelmingly negative.”

ABC soon capitulated and issued an apology for having put the One on the spot.

Therein lies the danger: the possibility of the Obama camp continuing to mobilize its hordes of online minions to outflank the media in winning support for the new president’s programs.

Rutenberg and Nagourney in an article published yesterday at the NY Times wrote:

“WASHINGTON — Lyle McIntosh gave everything he could to Barack Obama’s Iowa campaign. He helped oversee an army that knocked on doors, distributed fliers and held neighborhood meetings to rally support for Mr. Obama, all the while juggling the demands of his soybean and corn farm.


“Asked last week if he and others like him were ready to go all-out again, this time to help President Obama push his White House agenda, Mr. McIntosh paused.

‘“It’s almost like a football season or a basketball season — you go as hard as you can and then you’ve got to take a breather between the seasons,” he said, noting he found it hard to go full-bore during the general election.

“Mr. McIntosh’s uncertainty suggests just one of the many obstacles the White House faces as it tries to accomplish what aides say is one of their most important goals: transforming the YouTubing-Facebooking-texting-Twittering grass-roots organization that put Mr. Obama in the White House into an instrument of government. That is something that Mr. Obama, who began his career as a community organizer, told aides was a top priority, even before he was elected.

“His aides — including his campaign manager — have created a group, Organizing for America, to redirect the campaign machinery in the service of broad changes in health care and environmental and fiscal policy. They envision an army of supporters talking, sending e-mail and texting to friends and neighbors as they try to mold public opinion.

“The organization will be housed in the Democratic National Committee, rather than at the White House. But the idea behind it — that the traditional ways of communicating with and motivating voters are giving way to new channels built around social networking — is also very evident in the White House’s media strategy.

“Like George W. Bush before him, Mr. Obama is trying to bypass the mainstream news media and take messages straight to the public."


Read more of this disturbing development here.

Ethical Questions Posed by a Hillary Supporter Encamped in Denver

Heidi Li Feldman, a law professor at Georgetown University, is probably one of the more knowledgeable Democrats when it comes to party rules and procedures. She’s also unafraid to call Dr. Dean and members of the DNC to account. She posted from Denver this morning to Heidi Li’s Potpourri:

“The DNC, Dr. Dean, Speaker Pelosi, et al. are learning, the hard way, that faux unity is no unity; that when you try to create your own reality, real reality tends to get in the way.

“So now here we are in Denver and Dr. Dean's and Speaker Pelosi's preferred candidate is dead even with John McCain in the polls; it is quite clear that delegates to the convention understand their rights and responsibilities and want to have to opportunity to elect Senator Clinton as the Party's nominee; the DNC seems to be in a panic over its decision to enter Senator Clinton's name in nomination; the DNC and DNCC still will not confirm that they will hold a straightforward, transparent, regular roll call vote as specified in the Call for The 2008 Democratic National Convention, the Party's own official convention governance document.

“Forget about making it seem like the Party is unified. At the moment, Dr. Dean and Speaker Pelosis cannot even make it seem like the Party - or at least its top officials - are honest.”

The New Agenda Takes Up Where Democrats and Old-Line Feminist Organizations Failed

We’re finally getting to the real issue fueling the resistance of Hillary Clinton’s supporters to get in line behind Barack Obama in the general election. As Froma Harrop points out at RCP, It’s No Longer Just About Hillary. Mature women who have lived through decades of ugly gender discrimination are still outraged by the sexism and misogyny Clinton endured during the Democratic primary.

Harrop explains:

“After hearing her name placed in nomination at the Democrats' convention next week, Hillary Clinton will no doubt urge her followers to support Barack Obama. What good that gesture will do for the Obama candidacy remains to be seen. Clinton has already made it several times, but a new Pew Research Center poll shows that 28 percent of her primary voters do not intend to vote for Obama, a number virtually unchanged from June.

“Of special concern are women, particularly older ones, whom in the past could be counted on to vote for whatever Democrat was running for president. Many remain scandalized by the sexist attacks on Clinton during the recent campaign. A stubborn 18 percent of Clinton's female voters vow to back McCain, according to a poll for Lifetime television networks. Another 6 percent plan to support neither major-party candidate.”

Harrop suggests:

‘“Perhaps Clinton does not possess the magic wand to move her troops. The storyline goes that many women disappointed by Clinton's loss or angry at the nasty campaign just needed time ‘to heal.’ Once Hillary gave them the nudge, they'd get with the program.

“Thing is, it's no longer about Hillary for many of them. I sat in on a group of high-powered Clinton supporters gathering in New York last week to create a nonpartisan group called The New Agenda. There was little discussion of the current campaign.

“The New Agenda's agenda is to look out for women's political interests where the Democratic Party and old-line feminist organizations had failed. The attendees reserved special fury for the Democratic National Committee and its passivity before the misogynistic carnival. One of their specifics is getting MSNBC jester Chris Matthews fired -- and if he intends to run for the Senate from Pennsylvania, to end that idea.

‘“Every member has her own plans for November, including for a few, voting for Obama. Co-founder Amy Siskind, a former Wall Street exec and Clinton fundraiser, told me, ‘I won't vote for Obama, but I'm not sure what I'll do.’ Cynthia Ruccia, a Democratic activist from Columbus, Ohio, who twice ran against Republican John Kasich, is supporting McCain -- and organizing other Democrats in her swing state to do likewise.

“The McCain camp has noticed. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and McCain's adviser, met with Siskind in New York. She flew to Columbus to confer with Ruccia, Nancy Hopkins, another New Agenda founder, and 75 other miffed Democratic women. (Hopkins is the MIT biologist who famously protested a suggestion by then-Harvard University President Lawrence Summers that boys might be innately better at science than girls.)

‘“DNC chairman Howard Dean has called Ruccia twice. ‘He was just waking up to the thought that women around the country were upset over the treatment of Hillary,’ she told me. Ruccia tends to doubt that putting Clinton's name to a roll-call vote will mollify many of the female holdouts. ‘The train left the station a long time ago,’ she said.

‘“The New Agenda wants to become a women's-voice alternative for the National Organization for Women and NARAL, which they see as moribund and appendages of the Democratic leadership. Members note that when rapper Ludacris sang a pro-Obama ballad calling Hillary ‘an irrelevant b-,’ the president of NOW didn't get out of bed to complain.

“For many of these women, whatever nice things Clinton says about Obama in Denver won't matter much. They have decided that they can live with McCain, and they're already inoculated against the crude anatomical references that left-wing bloggers will send their way. (There's not one they haven't heard.) Hillary can't do much to change their feelings -- even if she wanted to.”

Listen Up, People: Symbolic Votes Are What They Have in Iran?!

Marc Rubin, co-founder of the Denver Group, speaks out in response to the suggestion that the roll call vote for Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Party’s convention will be a “symbolic gesture.”

Rubin writes:

“Yesterday's news that Senator Clinton was going to have her name placed in nomination (as it should have been in the first place) was completely undermined by a degree of political stupidity by Obama and the DNC so stupefying that one would think it was beyond even the most inept politician.

‘“A few hours after the announcement that Senator Clinton's name would be placed in nomination, someone in the Obama campaign or the DNC, at the behest of the Obama campaign, put out a statement saying that Clinton's name in nomination and the subsequent roll call vote will be ‘a symbolic gesture’ reducing it to something as fake as Obama's ill fated Presidential seal.”’

Read more.

Yes! Let’s Eliminate the Caucus System in Favor of Primaries

The Minnesota Democratic caucus was held one evening after dark in early February. I had recently changed residences and so had to participate at an unfamiliar location. I took a drive during daylight hours to check out the site’s accessibility for a woman with arthritic knees who has difficulty negotiating slippery sidewalks. One glance and I knew it would not be safe for this devoted Clinton supporter to attend the caucus.

The point was raised repeatedly throughout the Democratic primary that by not allowing absentee ballots, the caucus system excludes shift workers and those who are serving in the military. And it also makes it difficult for seniors and those who suffer physical disabilities to participate.

I was gratified to come across Lanny Davis’ post this morning urging the Democratic Party to eliminate the caucus system in favor of state primaries. A prominent Washington lawyer and political analyst for Fox News, Davis points out even more flaws in the caucus system. He begins:

“It's time for Democrats to kill the undemocratic and elitist caucus system for selecting national convention delegates for the presidential nomination. Instead, all delegates should be selected in primaries.

“The 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver -- the national party's supreme governing body -- can do it - or at least take the first step to doing it by passing a resolution establishing a new "Presidential Selection Rules Reform Commission." Such Commissions have been established many times before, beginning after the 1968 convention, to change the delegate selection rules. A new one is needed more than ever.”

Read more:

Is the DNC Still Paying Howard Dean $100,000 per Year?

Posting at Heidi Li’s Potpourri this morning, Heidi Li wants to know whether or not DNC Chair Howard Dean (see above) is still getting paid $100,000 per year, since it appears Dean has turned over many of his responsibilities to Barack Obama’s aides.

Read more here.

One Woman Speaks Out: “The Democratic Party Can Fend for Itself”

So why didn't Democratic Party leaders speak out against the sexist assaults on Hillary Clinton by the liberal media throughout the primary?


Once again I have Tennessee Guerilla Women to thank for linking to an important article. Titled the Democratic Party Maybe Presumes too much - about Women, this one was written by Robin Lakoff, professor of linguistics at UCC Berkeley and published at SFGate, home of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Lakoff discusses “the failure of party leaders to comment on the sexism rampant in the media, especially the liberal media, for months on end;” and she wants to know: “Why did the superdelegates move in such numbers to support Obama? Why did this occur, especially after Clinton victories?”

Lakoff concludes:

“I am reminded of a particularly chilling passage in Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita." Humbert Humbert, after raping the 12-year-old, is pondering why she has come back to his bed. "You see," Humbert tells the reader, "she had absolutely nowhere else to go."

“That's just how I feel. And they want my enthusiastic support? The Democratic Party can fend for itself.”

Defining “Open Convention” for the DNC

Since I’m no longer a member of the Democratic Party, I didn’t receive the email from the DNC that Heidi Li Feldman responded to yesterday at her blog. Reading this latest outrage from Democratic Party officials confirmed the wisdom of my choice to register this time around as non-affiliated.

It was necessary for Heidi Li, a law professor at Georgetown University, to define “open convention” for the DNC.

To read the DNC’s email to party members and Heidi Li’s post titled The DNC stoops to new lows in latest propaganda, go here.

To read Marc Rubin’s response to the same email from the DNC, go here.

The DNC and Dr. Dean Blowing It in Denver, Too!

Well, what else could one expect from the crew that ignored the sexism and misogyny throughout the Democratic primary, did its best to force Hillary Clinton out of the race after the Iowa caucus, and handed the nomination to Obama on a silver platter even though Clinton won the popular vote?

It stands to reason the DNC, led by Dr. Dean, would overspend on renting plush offices for themselves in Denver, mandate the colors of the organic food to be served, and otherwise screw up the planning and blow the budget for the Democratic convention.

To read the gruesome details of the DNC’s mismanagement in Denver published in today’s NY Times, go here.

In the meantime, as the party elite continues to dither about whether or not to abide by democratic procedures with an open convention guaranteeing Clinton’s name on the ballot, fair-minded people can take heart: The Denver Group, led by Heidi Li Feldman and Marc Rubin is dedicated to keeping the Democratic convention democratic; check out the Denver Group here.

Confronting Al Gore’s "Deafening Silence" in the Democratic Primary

In her post at No Quarter yesterday, Ani confronts Al Gore in an open letter about his “deafening silence” throughout the Democratic primary and in the process, she effectively and cogently nails each of the major offenses of the media, party leaders, and the Obama campaign in their abusive treatment of Hillary Clinton, the obviously better qualified candidate in the race.

Ani starts out like this:

“When so many of us begged you to run for office again this year, you jokingly stated you were a ‘recovering politician.’ Certainly, you have more than earned the right to walk away from what you consider to be a toxic environment. However, much as I appreciate your desire to remain neutral in this nominating contest, as you have sent me a fund raising letter on behalf of the DSCC, I feel I must now question your deafening silence in this most critical of primaries.

“You of all people understand what it is like to be the far more qualified candidate and be on the receiving end of ridicule by the drive-by hit squad media. You have rightly stated that television is a one-way medium, not encouraging discourse, critical thought or active participation. This year, we see even more clearly the influence and effect that favoritism of one and vilification and misogyny toward another has on the voting populace, as junk food is fed to a citizenry struggling to make ends meet, at points overwhelmed by their own responsibilities, without time to dig deeper for the truth of the story.”

In the following paragraph, Ani addresses a point that infuriated me every time I witnessed Obama deceitfully presenting himself as the candidate who opposed the war from the beginning, while never once explaining that he was not a member of the U.S. Senate when the vote on the Iraq War Resolution was taken.

“It is both amazing and unconscionable to me that some educated people, possessing a master’s degree no less, actually believe that Senator Obama ‘voted’ against the war. They are clueless to the fact he was not even a U.S. Senator at that time.”

Ani continues her analysis of the Democratic primary:

“Yet, with all of the advantages he had going into this year: the DNC clearly gaming Michigan and Florida in his favor, the media offering pillow fluffing soft stories about him, rather than vetting him, while exaggerating Senator Clinton’s every step to negative effect, he still was not able to close the deal until the Super Delegates raced to forcibly shut down this process.”

I urge Katalusis readers to go here to read Ani’s post in its entirety.

Note: Feedback from readers is always welcome at Katalusis. I try to find time to reply to each of your comments as well as any email messages I receive.

It's a Fact: The DNC Couldn’t Even Wait for the Body to Cool

Photo credits: AP

Paul Krugman is right; this is definitely the year the progressive movement lost a lot of its innocence - if not the movement in its entirety, certainly a few of its long-time members. My lost innocence has to do with the jarring realization that news sources such as PBS, the Washington Post, and the NY Times and their respective pundits are liberal in every way possible except when it comes to granting equal rights and respect to women. And I’ve not even mentioned the vulgar talking heads at MSNBC and CNN.

Actually, I was more offended by comments I heard from PBS’s NewsHour cast than from the likes of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. Shouldn’t Jim Lehrer or Mark Shields have known better than to visibly display contempt week after week for the first viable woman candidate in a presidential primary?

Indeed it has been a whole week since Hillary Clinton made her concession speech, and I’m still simmering in outrage at the way she was treated by the Obama campaign, the DNC, and the media, a shameless triumvirate of good old boys that carried the less qualified, limping Obama over the finish line.

Simmering outrage aside, I actually have been looking for a viable way forward that doesn’t require swallowing the vicious strain of misogyny that erupted in our culture throughout the Democratic campaign and passively falling in line behind “Sweetie” Obama, who supposedly represents the lesser of two evils for women voters in the general election race.

Yesterday, I stumbled on Ellen Goodman’s op-ed invitingly titled, The Best Revenge: Get Even. Ellen acknowledged:

“This has not been an easy week for ardent Hillary Clinton supporters, who are being told to move on and move over to the Barack Obama camp. The woman who looked improbably energetic and strong as she bowed out last Saturday reinforced both the respect and disappointment of her core supporters.

“Mourning is not too strong a word to describe what I've been hearing in the last few days. No sooner had the speech ended than a Clinton fund-raiser received an e-mail from the Democratic National Committee asking her to raise money for Obama. She said, tersely, they didn't even wait for the body to cool.

‘“Women have had the idea of her being president in their heads for a decade or more. So the level of disappointment, anger, discouragement is that much stronger,’ said Marie Wilson of the White House Project. As Dianne Feinstein said, ‘the nerve endings have to be healed.’”

As you may have noticed, I’m one blogger whose nerve endings are still pretty raw. But I’m listening, Ellen:

“Well, fair enough. But in the early stage of the mourning process, those supporters who have been dismissively pegged as Angry White Women should take another adage from politics: Don't Get Mad, Get Even.

“This is not a revenge fantasy, especially not against Obama. I cannot imagine the core of Clinton's female supporters turning to McCain, a man who voted against equal pay, let alone abortion rights. So I'm not talking about payback; I'm talking about pay it forward. I mean ‘get even’ in a very different sense: Even the playing field, even the odds.

‘“Get Even in the Media.* Every Clinton supporter I talk to heatedly brings up the media. Women who have never let the word ‘misogyny’ slip from their lips now pair it alliteratively with media. If you have five minutes, go to the website of the Women's Media Center (womensmediacenter.com) and be aware that this is just a Whitman's Sampler.

‘“It wasn't just the ugly stuff coming out from under the rocks – ‘Life's a B - -, Don't Elect One.’ Nor was it just the sleazy shout-outs of the new boys' blogosphere. What shocked even the slur-hardened feminists was that, as Ellen Malcolm of Emily's List said, ‘it seemed to be so acceptable. And it was shameful.’ Where was the DNC's voice of protest? Where were the big feet and CEOs of the media? Why do sexist slurs get a laugh while racist slurs end careers? Getting even is, finally, shaming the media messengers.

‘“Get Even in Politics. First lady Hillary Clinton made the water safe for ‘uppity’ wives like Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama. She may well make it easier for the next woman running for the West Wing. But how different would this race have been if there were three women in the mix? Women of varied opinions and backgrounds? Women are still lagging behind in the profession of politics, and are reticent to run. For all those mourners who fear there won't be a woman in the White House in their lifetime, getting even is building - sports metaphors be damned - the farm team.

“Get Even as Voters. Until now, Democrats have taken our votes for granted. Where else would progressive women go? Democratic leaders have often seen these women as a one-issue, pro-choice group. It's not enough.

“I'm not saying that Clinton's world will be appeased by offering her the vice presidency. To some this would be a proper reward, but others would see it as only a consolation prize. More important, Obama needs to talk directly to women in this fragile, slip-sliding, backsliding economy. Getting even requires winning respect.

‘“It would break my heart,’ said Clinton, ‘if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.’ Well, I'll hold the half-full cup lightly in my hand. But let's remember how good women are supposed to be at multi-tasking. It's not so hard to root for Obama and work on leveling the field for the next women.

“Getting ‘even’ is the best revenge.”

Um, okay, Ellen. Give me a few more days, and I’ll consider rooting for Obama.

About leveling that playing field for the next woman? I officially left the Democratic party the other day and registered as an independent. Yep. Independent. It has a nice ring to it. As I’ve noted elsewhere, I no longer have any obligation whatsoever to the sexist political hacks of either party and if it appears the Dems have not yet learned that misogyny no longer cuts it, I’ll remember in November to vote present.




*Bold emphasis on subheads is my added touch.

For Clinton Supporters, It’s Too Little Too Late

Five days after Hillary Clinton’s concession speech, it still comes as a surprise to read an op-ed piece acknowledging the historic implications of her campaign despite the repulsive wave of misogyny she faced from Obama surrogates, Democratic party leaders, and the good old boys network that continues to dominate the media.

The Washington Post’s David Broder concluded his column this morning titled “Clinton’s Remarkable Run” with these words:

‘“In the future, she {Clinton} said, ‘it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable.’

“It truly is. And whatever the fates have in store for this woman, in 2012 or any other year, it is certain that this campaign will be seen as a major step forward for her -- and for other women. With Ted Kennedy's illness, she has no rival as the most influential Democrat on Capitol Hill. She came closer to breaking the White House barrier than any woman in history. Someday, she or some other woman will go all the way. Whoever that is will owe Clinton's 2008 run a huge debt.”

In response to his column, readers comments from Clinton supporters suggest that Mr. Broder’s tip of the hat to Clinton is too little and too late. Here’s a sampling:

cashmere1 wrote:
Finally, a WaPo article about Hillary Clinton that is NOT trashing her.... thank you.

However, I knew that once Hillary was out of the race, you "journalists" will start to throw Senator Clinton a few bones in order to ease your own guilty consciences!

It is so typical of you misogynists!

Of course, some of you, like Dick Morris and Jack Cafferty of CNN will NEVER have a positive word to say about Senator Clinton. THEIR hatred of her is eternal, it shows in their twisted faces!

flygirlc1722003 wrote:
CLINTON SUPPORTERS ARE YAWNING DURING THIS PORTION OF THE CAMPAIGN. NOBODY CARES ABOUT OBAMA. WE AREN'T LISTENING ANYMORE. WE KNOW WHO WE ARE VOTING FOR AND IT IS NOT OBAMA. HE IS SPENDING A 1/2 BILLION DOLLARS JUST TO LOSE IN NOVEMBER.

canaldoc wrote:
We need to have this conversation about misogyny. It pervades our culture like air-difficult to see but everywhere. I used Chris Matthews' show all last summer as a teaching tool for my youngest son on bias in the media. And, as Hillary began to come on strong, Keith Olbermann lost all perspective and I can no longer watch him. Tim Russert said the night of the WVa primary: "We need to listen carefully, like criminologists to what Hillary Clinton says tonight" David you think there is "some" sexism? Try 43, soon to be 44 male presidents with one woman nominated to a national ticket in more than 2 centuries. When there has always been competent women (can you say Abigail Adams?). I call that damning sexism and the media just displayed itself as more of the same, unable even to identify this pernicious, unconscious bias.

judy64 wrote:
Alas Mr. Broder, too little too late.

graced8669 wrote:
Bloody but unbowed, Senator Clinton.
You have represented us (women) well. I am proud to be counted as one or your many supporters!

truthtime wrote:
Of course Hillary Clinton couldn't acknowledge the "gender" issues during the campaign. That would have cost her dearly, and would have been portrayed miserably by media forces already aligned against her.

It is amazing really, that most of the punditry, even Obama's biggest shills, now talk of Hillary Clinton in a kind way.

Somewhat akin to a serial spouse abuser, the perpetrator of gender abuse is full of remorse after.

The media magnified every suggestion that someone may have played the race card, usually in an exaggerated way, while ignoring the endless examples of gender bias in their own coverage of the campaign.

Chris Matthews' thrill going up his leg for Obama was a wonderful symbol of the gender preferences exhibited by too many in the media in 2008.

It is time for some serious self-examination, with some hard decisions by management on who should continue "reporting" "news" in this post racial and, hopefully, post gender-biased society we all want to live in.

How Else Can Clinton Supporters Let the DNC Know That Sexism and Misogyny Are No Longer Acceptable?

Photo credits: AP

According to Monday’s US News and World Report, “A major topic for speculation in the media this morning is the extent to which Clinton's supporters will now rally around Obama.”

Noting that although Clinton endorsed Obama and urged her supporters to rally behind him in her speech on Saturday, she kept her 1915 delegates, the above article cites comments from several other news sources:

‘“The Wall Street Journal says ‘questions linger’ about ‘how soon and how sincerely her campaign and her supporters will rally behind’ Obama. USA Today reports Obama's campaign ‘says female voters will respond to Obama's life in a ‘female-centric'’family, as he discusses the influences of his mother, grandmother, wife and mother-in-law.

‘“However, McClatchy reports that many Clinton backers remain embittered, and have ‘said they thought that unfair news coverage’from sources such as MSNBC's Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann put Obama over the top. Other ‘common culprits were the Democratic National Committee and the party superdelegates, who helped swing the nomination to Obama in the last few weeks.”’

Personally, my most acutely painful memories of the Democratic race for the nomination are of repeated attempts by party leaders, allied with the good old boys network in the media, to pressure Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race before millions of people had been given a chance to vote.

I couldn’t believe the headlines declaring Obama the nominee the day after his win in North Carolina on the same evening that Clinton won Indiana. And I’ll not soon forget that CNN could not project Clinton’s win until after midnight due to the deliberate withholding of the city of Gary’s results by its mayor, an acknowledged Obama supporter.

In the final analysis, I know I am not alone among Clinton supporters who feel the only effective way to let the DNC know that sexism and misogyny are no longer acceptable is to exit the Democratic party and register hereafter as independents.

Some of us may even choose to vote “present” in November.

Tell the DNC Michigan and Florida Voters Count

Just got this note from Maggie Williams. Please follow the link to support the voters in Michigan and Florida.

Dear Virginia,

Thank you so much for sending your message to the DNC. The voters of Florida and Michigan are depending on us to help them make sure they have a voice in this race, and your action is going to make a difference for them -- and for Hillary.

If you haven't already, please take a moment to forward this message on to your friends, and urge them to join you in standing up for Florida and Michigan voters. Tell them to visit our website and send their own message to the DNC today.

Again, thank you.