I have some questions to supporters of Hillary Clinton
This came out of the mouth of one of Hillary Clinton's surrogates, the governor of Pennsylvania :
Gov. Ed "Don't Call Me 'Fast Eddie' " Rendell met with the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week to talk about his latest budget. But before turning the meeting over to his number-crunchers, our voluble governor weighed in on the primary fight between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama and what the Illinois senator could expect from the good people of Pennsylvania at the polls:
"You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate," he said bluntly. Our eyes only met briefly, perhaps because the governor wanted to spare the only black guy in the room from feeling self-conscious for backing an obvious loser. "I believe, looking at the returns in my election, that had Lynn Swann [2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate] been the identical candidate that he was --well-spoken [note: Mr. Rendell did not call the brother "articulate"], charismatic, good-looking -- but white instead of black, instead of winning by 22 points, I would have won by 17 or so."
I know I have a habit of sometimes zoning out in these meetings, but it sounded to me like Mr. Rendell had unilaterally declared Pennsylvania to be Alabama circa 1963.
On a mailing list I am part of, people made this point about the Clinton campaign : if it is not mysogyny, then it must be the latinos who'd never vote for a black man or, as in Rendell's Hillaryland, white people who would never vote for a black man.
Now, here's some questions I have :
1. As a supporter of Hillary Clinton, how can you not agree with the fact that many of her surrogates insist in selling non-black voters as closet racists --and using that as political capital?
2. This question is particular suitable for Armando (Big Tent Democrat) over at Talk Left* : If this is coming from her campaign, how do you expect Obama supporters to blindly support Hillary in the event she became the nominee?
More important to me is the cognitive dissonance I get when I hear Armando's argument that either candidate would be a good nominee :
3. Without using the questionable "experience" meme,
a. If as a Hillary Clinton supporter you believe Obama and Clinton are the same in policy and politics, why would you not support Obama now?
b. What's keeping you back?
c. And how can Obama supporters really know that what is keeping you back now will not play a role in not questioning and supporting Obama's candidacy once he becomes the obvious front-runner for the nomination?
Discuss.
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* I won't link to the site because it makes my browser crash every time I've tried to view it. It's title "The Need For Unity".
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Politics | Prejudice | Racism | Triangulation | 2008 Presidential Elections | Barack Obama | Ed Rendell | Hillary Clinton | Pennsylvania | Primaries
Obama is winning all these states but
Submitted by liza on 13 February 2008 - 10:11am.
In the event he doesn't get the nomination, I want to be able to go in there and say, "Yes, I want Clinton for president". I don't want to have that feeling I had when Kerry was nominated and I was like ... oh this is the guy I have to vote for.
It's bizarre because I actually wasn't hot for Obama AT ALL.
Yep
Submitted by mole333 on 13 February 2008 - 12:38pm.
There are still some big primaries coming up...and the superdelegates...and the question of MI and FL. The race is still wide open, though Hillary has gone from "inevitable" to second place. It is now Obama's to lose.
Obama didn't inspire me at first. But looking at record turnout in state after state, mostly people pumped up to vote for him even in the whitest of white states, I have to be impressed. I also have been impressed by how quickly he learns. He learned to be an orator, and became a damned good one. He learned how to fundraise like a Clinton. He learned how to win, in essence. My original prediction was that he'd climb too high too fast and fall flat. That never happened. So I have stopped underestimating him and figure he is doing exactly what America needs: inspiring and uniting. But Hillary is almost as good, just not really as inspirational and unifying a figure.
Both will be despised by bigots and I personally would like to prove those bigots wrong.
Answers
Submitted by Actor212 (not verified) on 13 February 2008 - 12:36pm.
Since I endorsed Hillary, I'll take a shot with these:
1) I might agree with that, if you'll agree that Obama's surrogates threw the race card into play by overreaching on Bill's comments about the "fairy tale". He said it about Obama's Iraq comments, not his candidacy. When he put it into play, Hillary's people were smart to point out the ethnic and gender differences.
2) One would think that, given the fact that he attacked her first, Obama (should she win) would make that clear to his supporters. Are you suggesting his charisma and influence is that spotty?
3) a) I will, if he wins. Until then, Hillary has my vote. A better question is, why should I change my mind just because you think he's better?
3) b) Ditto. Convince me he's the better candidate on substance, which of course, you can't.
And I'll throw one more reason into the mix: why are so many Republicans rushing to welcome an Obama nomination?
Sigh
Personally I have never been one to make my decisions based on the views of bigots. If people are not "ready" for a black (or a woman) as President, then they are not people I consider worth listening to. And anyone who does would have refused to stop slavery because it would be unpopular, or would have refused the Civil Rights Movement because it would lose us the South. Sometimes you just gotta do the right thing.
Their arguement could just as easily be turned against Hillary as well. People who aren't "ready" to vote for a black probably aren't likely to vote for a woman either, though there are exceptions.
So let me just borrow a phrase: if we aren't ready now, when will we be? If we aren't the ones to finally accept a black (or woman) president then who will be?