It's not too early to start a 'Dump Hillary' movement
Every one of the Sunday morning news talk shows devotes at least a few minutes of their broadcasts to speculating on the front-runners for the 2008 presidential race.
Inevitably, when it comes to leaders of the Democratic pack, the name Hillary Clinton comes up time and time again. It seems apparent that the media want to proclaim Hillary an unstoppable juggernaut on her way to coronation as the Democratic pick to head the 2008 ticket. Meanwhile the right wing is slavering and drooling at the prospect of campagining against another Clinton.
Forget for a moment that I used to adore Bill Clinton. Forget also that I came to despise him as a shameful opportunist who would say anything to maintain his power and not hesitate to jetison those he no longer needed once he retained his power. And forget, too, that I lost all respect for Bill when it was revealed he advised failed presidential candidate John Kerry to speak out in favor of anti-gay marriage amendments to pick up support in the Red states.
Even in those moments when I manage to forget that Hillary is married to Bill, Hillary still makes my skin crawl.
It's not so much that a Clinton on the campaign trail would serve as a lightning rod for conservatives who were part of the "vast right-wing conspiracy" (Hillary's words, not mine) against Bill. It's more a question of Hillary playing footsie with the radical right that has me concerned.
Consider that last month Hillary spoke out for finding "common ground" with the anti-abortion folks.
Then just this past weekend The Times of London wrote that Hillary was firing the opening shots in a "morality war" against violent video games. Granted, it's hard to wave the banner of the first amendment when you find yourself defending games such as Grand Theft Auto where players earn points by picking up prostitutes, having sex with them and then blowing them away. But the whole episode smacks of the Parents Resource Council's attempt to regulate music a decade ago. All that crusade managed was to put labels on CDs with violent or sexually explicit lyrics ... thus making it easier for teens to pick out music their parents and the government didn't want them to hear.
What's particularly worrisome over the video game issue is not the idea of censorship, but the "strange bedfellows" Hillary as chosen to rub elbows with. From the Times article:
"Clinton, who is expected to seek the Democrats’ presidential nomination in 2008, has teamed up with two archconservative Republican senators, Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback."
Shudder!
Associating with Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum (remember when he compared gays to those who engaged in man-dog sex?) and Kansas' Sam Brownshirt - oops! I mean BrownBACK! - can only add yet another layer of sleaze to the Clinton name.
I posted my concerns about Hillary's pandering to the right wing on the Democratic Underground website the other day and a poster told me not to worry, that Hillary was just dodging to the right to pick up votes and would move back to the left once she's safely in the White House.
Somehow that scares me even more. Call me a purist, but I'd rather have a candidate who tells me where he or she stands than one who will play one side while slyly winking to the other.
It all reminds me of something Harry Truman is reported to have said: "Given the choice, voters will pick a real Republican over a fake one every time."
With her dash to the right, Hillary is giving her best imitation of a fake Republican.
Inevitably, when it comes to leaders of the Democratic pack, the name Hillary Clinton comes up time and time again. It seems apparent that the media want to proclaim Hillary an unstoppable juggernaut on her way to coronation as the Democratic pick to head the 2008 ticket. Meanwhile the right wing is slavering and drooling at the prospect of campagining against another Clinton.
Forget for a moment that I used to adore Bill Clinton. Forget also that I came to despise him as a shameful opportunist who would say anything to maintain his power and not hesitate to jetison those he no longer needed once he retained his power. And forget, too, that I lost all respect for Bill when it was revealed he advised failed presidential candidate John Kerry to speak out in favor of anti-gay marriage amendments to pick up support in the Red states.
Even in those moments when I manage to forget that Hillary is married to Bill, Hillary still makes my skin crawl.
It's not so much that a Clinton on the campaign trail would serve as a lightning rod for conservatives who were part of the "vast right-wing conspiracy" (Hillary's words, not mine) against Bill. It's more a question of Hillary playing footsie with the radical right that has me concerned.
Consider that last month Hillary spoke out for finding "common ground" with the anti-abortion folks.
Then just this past weekend The Times of London wrote that Hillary was firing the opening shots in a "morality war" against violent video games. Granted, it's hard to wave the banner of the first amendment when you find yourself defending games such as Grand Theft Auto where players earn points by picking up prostitutes, having sex with them and then blowing them away. But the whole episode smacks of the Parents Resource Council's attempt to regulate music a decade ago. All that crusade managed was to put labels on CDs with violent or sexually explicit lyrics ... thus making it easier for teens to pick out music their parents and the government didn't want them to hear.
What's particularly worrisome over the video game issue is not the idea of censorship, but the "strange bedfellows" Hillary as chosen to rub elbows with. From the Times article:
"Clinton, who is expected to seek the Democrats’ presidential nomination in 2008, has teamed up with two archconservative Republican senators, Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback."
Shudder!
Associating with Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum (remember when he compared gays to those who engaged in man-dog sex?) and Kansas' Sam Brownshirt - oops! I mean BrownBACK! - can only add yet another layer of sleaze to the Clinton name.
I posted my concerns about Hillary's pandering to the right wing on the Democratic Underground website the other day and a poster told me not to worry, that Hillary was just dodging to the right to pick up votes and would move back to the left once she's safely in the White House.
Somehow that scares me even more. Call me a purist, but I'd rather have a candidate who tells me where he or she stands than one who will play one side while slyly winking to the other.
It all reminds me of something Harry Truman is reported to have said: "Given the choice, voters will pick a real Republican over a fake one every time."
With her dash to the right, Hillary is giving her best imitation of a fake Republican.
posted by Van | 12:12 PM
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