Rep. James Clyburn has been very vocal in the past couple of days about Bill Clinton’s remarks about Obama playing the race card. Clyburn works up to a righteous indignation:
House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, told CNN Friday that Bill Clinton’s comments on the “race card” before Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary upset him.
Clinton’s tone in a phone interview, said Clyburn, “caused people to say things to me [about Clinton] that I never thought I would hear.”
In that interview the former president said, among other things, that the Obama campaign “played the race card on me.”
After the phone interview but before he hung up, Clinton was recorded saying: “I don’t think I should take any s*** from anybody on that, do you?”…
Clyburn said he’s already noticing diminishing enthusiasm among younger voters, citing a difference in a visit to a college campus in January and a recent one.
“We have young people — African-Americans that are as enthusiastic about this party as they’ve been in the last 40 years, and we cannot tamp down that enthusiasm or we will not be successful in November if we do,” he said.
My Goodness! He certainly sounds sincere.
A lot of us were sort of expecting this. Yep, it’s a little less than 2 weeks before the next primary in a state with a large African-American population, North Carolina. No use rolling it out before PA. African-Americans don’t have the critical mass to put Obama over the top there. In this case, it almost seems unnecessary because African-Americans have been consistently voting their race throughout the campaign season. What makes Obama think he needs to poison the atmosphere between them and the Clintons now? Maybe Clinton is just too effective on the stump and some of the weaker members just start to drift away from Obama. Better to get their knickers in a twist over some alleged slur. And there will be monitors from Obama’s campaign, carefully checking Clinton surrogates for phrases that can be tortured into sounding like a racist remark.
It’s a pattern, one that didn’t even take an ULTRA to solve. But patterns can be deadly to those practicing the art of war.
Filed under: Presidential Election 2008 | Tagged: Bill Clinton, James Clyburn, racism |
The Confluence 
Clyburn was quoted yesterday saying that Hillary persists in the race knowing she can’t win because she wants to sabotage Barry’s chances (I mean, like he needs help.)
Rep. Clyburn is not a mind reader. He has absolutely no idea what Mrs. Clinton thinks about this race or her potential for getting the nomination. Eleanor Clift, who has been a big booster for Obama, has written in the wake of Obama’s humiliating loss in Pennsylvania that she thinks Hillary may pull this off and get the nomination. Poor Barack Obama: The only thing standing between him and the nomination is that so many Democrats prefer Hillary to him.
Rep. Clyburn is a concern troll. Thank you for your concern, Rep. Clyburn.
I think Barack Obama is determined to destroy Hillary Clinton’s reputation. However, he will fail. Beware turning off the older women in the Democratic Party. There are quite a lot of us and we aren’t confined to certain areas or parts of the country.
Exactly, exactly, exactly. This is all bullshit, invented out of nothing and given wings exactly when it’s needed to fortify Obama’s mine-mine-mine claim on African-American votes. And what do you expect? It takes the nuclear option to fortify the claim of the son of a Kenyan grad student and a white Kansan to inherit the mantle of King, Lewis, and (credit where credit is due) Clyburn. If I wanted to claim a monopoly of African-American votes, I’d have to resort to some pretty strong stuff too.
Where is John Lewis? I would like to see him mediate this thing. If he hasn’t been threatend. Obama and co. are pissing away the Democratic brand.
What else is new.
Once more Obama fails to close deal, worse in this case, he suffers a humiliating defeat in PA where he lost 90% of the counties, but there is an upcoming primary in a Sate with a very large AA population… So, it’s time to go back to the old tricks that worked so well last time around.
Craig Crawford nails it:
But Hillary Clinton is “dirty”, “vile”, “evil”. Obama just wants to bring us together.
John Lewis was blackmailed into endorsing Barack Obama. He said the experience was worse than what he went through in the Civil Rights Movement. Now that he is allowed to hold onto his seat in the House, I imagine he is hiding out somewhere waiting for the storm to pass.
BB,
You are so right. Don’t we older white women make up approximately 60% of the Democratic electorate…or is it the general electorate?
Clyburn’s foolish remarks are only working with young AA support who are already in the tank for Obama. I have one AA friend who is already repeating the same meme. He told me today that the “bitter” Clintons are sabotoging Obama’s chances of winning the general election but it won’t work. I think this meme also plants the seed in some Obama supporters’ minds that if he loses the general election it is because Hillary tore him down in the primary. I have a white Obamabot friend in college who repeats the same thing. He says he’s “disgusted” with Hillary for not dropping out. It is easy to fool young people in the tank for Obama and/or really dislike Clinton for whatever reason. So in a way Clyburn’s lies harden certain Obama supporters but I can also harm Obama’s chances of winning undecideds. The latte liberal base are already in the tank for him. He’s not going to win working class and middle class whites with comments like this. Clyburn is not only hurting Obama but also the entire Democratic Party and our chances of winning in the fall.
Can we get some troll spray in here?
jac,
Please provide a citation for your claim that “Hillary wants to know why Obama stayed in Rev. Wright’s church.”
Thanks so much for the link to newmax, dear–such a lovely site…..
/snark
Please get jac outta here, I don’t have the nerves.
Go link to newsmax’s junk somewhere else, there are so many louse infestations out there for people like you.
DV: Your young friend doesn’t need to worry about what will happen to Obama in the general. He will be back in his day job in the Senate by that time.
MABlue: thanks for saying what I was thinking, lol.
I think we need to have a “we are not racists” rally or something. It has to target people with credibility like Jesse Jackson Sr and John Lewis. Not to threaten them but to get them to tone down the charges of racism. This should be independent of the campaign. The point should be to call out these malicious claims of racism.
Here is the memo Obama sent to fan the racial flames in South Carolina:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/12/obama-camps-memo-on-clin_n_81205.html
The memo even attacked President Clinton for preferring that Hillary lead the country instead of Nelson Mandela. Of course he’s going to say that, she is his wife – he’s obviously biased.
The other attack was after the SC primary over his Jesse Jackson comments (which the reporter asked him about and conveniently cropped out of the interview to make it seem like President Clinton brought it up by himself and to which Rev. Jackson, himself, was not offended).
Plouffe: McCain has the racist vote anyway
David Plouffe tells Linda Douglass that real racists are probably voting Republican in any case:
“[T]he vast, vast majority of voters who would not vote for Barack Obama in November based on race are probably firmly in John McCain’s camp already,” he says.
Like Anglachel said this has been my problem with Obama campaign from Day One. The voters are to blame for not being enlightened enough to come to Obama.
Just posted a link and synopsis of tonight’s BBC America’s NEWSNIGHT profile on Obama which focused on his Chicago ties. Interesting comments about his being a “political product” and also an interview with someone from his church…
BBC America’s Newsnight Profile on Obama Focusing on Chicago Ties
http://insightanalytical.wordpress.com/
Eleanor Clift had one of those one-page “profiles” in the New York Times Sunday mag after Bama’s “miraculous” win in D.C.
Clift said that even though she was a personal friend of Hill’s, and Hill had sent her a card when her husband died and arranged to have lunch with her, she (Eleanor) voted for Obama because she didn’t like the way Bill turned so racist in South Carolina.
It is sad that such clueless people can play “pundits” on TV. I wonder if she has listened to Bill Clinton’s “explanation.” How could anyone in her right mind accuse the Clinton’s of being racists? Now that Rev. Wright has surfaced again, it’s time for Typical White People to get another lecture on race from Barry. He seems as obsessed with it as a new convert to Catholicism. When friends from the U. of Hawaii visited Obama, Sr. years later in Kenya, he didn’t even ask about Stanley or their son.
The Obama campaign was able to twist South Carolina political history into a “racial” attack and trash Bill Clinton early on.
Kind of similar to to some of the “racism” that colors Obama’s biographies as the source of his despair, which in reality was caused by his missing parents.
Listen to Clinton:
Then read a bit about how Obama has recast his life story to emphasize race in retrospect:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0703250359mar25,1,6124597.story?coll=chi-news-hed
[an excerpt after the introduction]
But the reality of Obama’s narrative is not that simple.
More than 40 interviews with former classmates, teachers, friends and neighbors in his childhood homes of Hawaii and Indonesia, as well as a review of public records, show the arc of Obama’s personal journey took him to places and situations far removed from the experience of most Americans.
At the same time, several of his oft-recited stories may not have happened in the way he has recounted them. Some seem to make Obama look better in the retelling, others appear to exaggerate his outward struggles over issues of race, or simply skim over some of the most painful, private moments of his life.
The handful of black students who attended Punahou School in Hawaii, for instance, say they struggled mightily with issues of race and racism there. But absent from those discussions, they say, was another student then known as Barry Obama.
In his best-selling autobiography, “Dreams from My Father,” Obama describes having heated conversations about racism with another black student, “Ray.” The real Ray, Keith Kakugawa, is half black and half Japanese. In an interview with the Tribune on Saturday, Kakugawa said he always considered himself mixed race, like so many of his friends in Hawaii, and was not an angry young black man.
He said he does recall long, soulful talks with the young Obama and that his friend confided his longing and loneliness. But those talks, Kakugawa said, were not about race. “Not even close,” he said, adding that Obama was dealing with “some inner turmoil” in those days.
“But it wasn’t a race thing,” he said. “Barry’s biggest struggles then were missing his parents. His biggest struggles were his feelings of abandonment. The idea that his biggest struggle was race is [bull].”
[read more if you care to]
So what’s new? If memory serves, Michelle implied Bill was a racist on national tv. Barac invented a Clinton staffer’s racist gaff in his glorious race speech. Etc, etc… He’s played the race and victim cards from the get go. It works with democrats because we love African Americans. It will won’t work in the ge because republicans and independents could care less.
We have a ton of political capital now, and our candidate will probably win. But we need solutions for real problems in order to advance the progressive agenda. And Obama will waste our capital on dated liberal cliches and crude insults for the red States.
I don’t see how this is a plus for Obama. Hillary Clinton is so much more powerful that she can destroy him…?
That AA people are worried about this because
Bill and Hillary Clinton and about half the Democrats in the country are the great (and mostly white EVIL?)
So tonight on KO Clyburn says he was only saying what he heard, not that he believed it or anything. But hey, just keep repeating it, get that story out there.
Wow.
I don’t think these are Obamabots. Surely no one left of extreme right-wing would be so absurd.
Btw, what was so offensive about my last post?
I agree completely with everything quoted from Bill. He shouldn’t have to take this sh*t from anyone. It’s absurd.
gqmartinez: It’s bizarre seeing so many people getting conclusions out of totally inconclusive evidences, and saying the conclusions and citing the evidences authoritatively.
Here’s something for Senator Clinton, just thought it’s appropriate for this election:
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
— Mother Teresa
it was bad on so many levels – how to count them?
I think you should take some time and think about it.
“Clyburn said he’s already noticing diminishing enthusiasm among younger voters, citing a difference in a visit to a college campus in January and a recent one.”
He gives no reason why this is somehow Hillary’s fault.
that was a post for gqmartinez..
Maybe he’s upset Hill won the white youth vote in PA. Maybe he’s referring to deminishing enthusiasm for his chosen candidate.
gqmartinez: If the offending comment had to do with the rally suggestion…I’m ignorant, so I don’t know exactly what horrible thing was there.
The problem with calling Bill or Hillary racist is that the label is impossible to shake because they can’t directly attack the perception. Any attempt to indirectly deal with the racist charge will be misquoted to begin the next news cycle 24-7.
The purpose of the Clyburn remarks are to distract everyone from Wright and from Obama’s loss in Pa.
People need to keep in mind that only 12% of this country is black. Most are Dems, but in the GE they are a small minority, much smaller than working class whites or women. There are more Hispanics than blacks now.
That is the point Bill was making about SC. 40% of the Democratic party is black in that state and Obama won most of them. But he lost badly among white Democrats, getting only 24% of the vote. That has happened in several states, but the media overlooks it. If he is losing white Democrats (and no I do not think this is because of racism) what are the odds that he will win in the GE? Is he really going to get that many white swing voters or Republicans? It seems much more likely that Hillary would get a good number of the women in both these groups – if her own party would stop demonizing her.
Calling either Clinton racist is a sorry excuse to sever ties and vote for their ethnic candidate. Very sad since smearing them for the sake of political expediency is character assassination. I am saddened to see my party moving in this misdirection.
Why is Rush Limbaugh motivating his listeners all over the country to vote for Hillary? How many of the “white” vote consists of right-wingers in sheep’s clothing? The man has 14 million listeners. And why do you think Rush wants her to win?
Obama got nearly 90% AA vote every state, media have to report that. I think that is pretty racist. WO, 90% all the time.
mhughes3500:
I know I am wasting my time informing you, but Obama’s problem is not the handful of bozos who’ll get into a voting booth because Limbaugh asked them to.
If you can read the breakdown of votes, you may be able to understand that Obama has been losing DEMOCRATS. In OH I think it was 16 points. Obama has been winning the Republican vote in every primary, I think with the exception of MS.
Somebody at mydd has compiled the numbers throughout the primaries.
Do your homework before you come here to make an imbecile out of yourself.
I guess is this, no matter what Bill said, AA was going to vote for Obama anyway, that was just their excuse. they would find other one if not this one.
they vote for skin not policy.
Rush AFAIK is being a big blowhard in order to pretend he is giving orders to significant numbers of voters and can take credit for the primaries going on as long as they have. It’s just a stunt to entertain his audience because they mostly hate McCain. Obama’s the one out there registering “Democrats for a Day” to support him and winning those new registrants so if they’re taking orders from Limbaugh to vote for Hillary their brains must have gotten scrambled along the way.
Don’t you just love it when a super delegate decides to announce his choice and runs to the nearest camera to tell us all the good news? And you sit there and wonder, who is that person? Like I know the rep from the 256th district of Nebraska and I should be impressed. Is it me or is it just getting late?
also..
Obama Snubs Black Media
Obama ditched out on Tavis Smiley’s event, didn’t provide money for the Philly wards.. I don’t know.. is some of this starting to look like, now that he’s already got your support.. see ya.
The thing is Obama camp’s trump card is racisim and this is the card Obama camp uses whenever they see him falling behind.
They used this card previously to demonize Bill Clinton, they are using it again ahead of NC primary to consolidate their AA base. I am really amazed at how Obama camp is getting away with such divisive tactics and yet Hillary gets taken to task by the MSM because she used Bin Laden in a advt.
I heard Ann O’Leary speak about her experience working with Senator Clinton at a fundraiser. O’Leary said that Clinton is best prepared to face the nation’s challenges.
“I saw her first-hand grapple with the issues,” said O’Leary, who worked as Clinton’s senior policy adviser and legislative director from 1999 to 2003.
Watch this video of Ann O’Leary describe Hillary’s leadership on 9/11. (A friend’s son (a young film director) filmed this last weekend.)
I can see that Barry is in a lot more trouble than I realized, based on the obamadroids that are starting to pop up here in our threads. I wonder why they haven’t taken advantage of Riverdaughter’s threads for Obama supporters? Odd, isn’t it? Their candidate hasn’t won for a long time, has he?
MABlue: Obama was defeated humiliatingly in about 93% of Pennsylvania counties.
For whoever repeated that “Limbaugh wants Hillary” myth, read this. Hint: the right-wing wants Obama–desperately (hence, them talking about him in glowing terms until quite recently, all the while ruthlessly bashing Clinton).
What a joke. Regardless, look at Survey USA polls: Obama is tanking–before the media and GOP has truly set their sights on him.
BB: I toss rude, offensive and republican talking points comments into the spam bucket. You get one opportunity to be a troll here and after that single gig, you’re out forever.
I can tell you that Obama supporters are VERY HARD on African Americans who support Clinton. I’ve canvassed here in N.C. for Hillary, and black voters will whisper to me that they’re voting for Clinton and ask me not to tell anyone. They don’t want to be confronted by friends and family who believe that they should vote for Obama just because he’s black.
When Hillary came to Fayetteville last month, I stood in line with four black women who said that they had “been put down” for going to see Hillary. One outspoken lady said that she told her son that she would vote for whomever she pleased, and he wasn’t going to tell her who to vote for. Good for her!
Oh, one more thing. Our demographics are slightly different than S.C. Our AA population is 20%, S.C.’s is 26%. Our Hispanic population at 21.3% is slightly larger than the AA percentage. We also have a larger Native American population than S.C. Both of these groups lean toward Clinton. I don’t know how much that will change things, but I do believe that the race in N.C. is going to be very close.
Riverdaughter,
But isn’t is strange that these commenters haven’t taken you up on your offer of a place to provide convincing evidence of Obama’s superiority as a candidate?
I should add that I’d like to see some substantive discussion of Obama’s actual policy positions. Despite months of good faith effort to find out about him, I still don’t know what he really believes in or which policies and principles he would go the mat for.
All I know is that his dogwhistling to the right has led me to believe that he will try to privatize social security, prevent universal health care, and in general work with corporations and lobbyists to thwart progress in these areas and more.
I don’t know what I did wrong in my last comment, but it’s in the spam filter. It doesn’t have any links or swear words or anything.
BB: Not so strange, actually. Some, like billd, seem reasonable enough. Others, like jac, are still living in the 90’s. I’m just concerned with the Obama supporters for whom the glamour is wearing off. Where do those people go? We have to be careful who we alienate. The genuine trolls are easy to spot. The sleepers awakening a little less so.
BB: It had a trigger word and got dumped in moderation queue, not spam. Didn’t I give you priveleges to approve comments in the moderation queue?
You’re right. I hope I haven’t alienated anyone. Sorry if I said anything untoward.
I personally know a number of people who support Obama and are quite sincere and not at all the angry types seen at DK, TPM, etc. Some are close relatives of mine. Basically, I have just not tried to argue with them and not even mentioned that I now support Hillary. I know it wouldn’t do any good.
My mother is planning to vote for Hillary in Indiana, but she feels kind of uncomfortable talking to her friends about it too, because a lot of them support Obama (they are academic types). From what she tells me it’s clear they haven’t followed the campaign closely enough to see some of the baggage he is dragging behind him.
My niece, also in Indiana, has been very inspired by Obama and by his books. She is not a fanatic. I want to encourage her interest in politics, so I haven’t argued with her at all. I think people have to come to their political views on their own. When I was at DK, I never tried to convince people to change their support of Obama. I just wanted to be able to freely express my own views and not be called names.
So again, I hope I didn’t say anything rude or offensive here.
RD–
I don’t know if you gave me privileges to do that. Where is the moderation cue? I could go see.
BB, on your dashboard do you have a tab labeled ‘Comments’ there’s a section within that tab for moderation and spam.
(Good Morning everyone!)
Lucinda, I think the Hispanic number in NC is at 6.7% and AA at 21.7%. SUSA predicts 30% AA turnout in one poll, 32% in another.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37000.html
Keep working NC for Hillary!!!
Oh, and Rep. Clyburn is also one of those “neutral” politicians just like Donna Brazile. Who is he kidding?
RD, I see it now. Thanks! Good morning to you and to the whole gang.
Sorry, Katiebird, that was you. Anyway, now I see it. Good morning to you!
If every one is saying the Clintons are playing the race card ,when is some one going to ask Obama what he meabt when he said typical white person?
I’m a real progressive–or at least I think I am, since judging from some “progressive” bloggers these days it can get confusing–and I was part of the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement during the late 60s/early 70s. I voted for Hillary Clinton in my primary. I hope to vote for her in the general election.
But, I am feeling increasingly disturbed and angry by the narrative coming from the Obama campaign now: If you don’t vote for Obama, you’re a racist.
Well, I am increasingly annoyed by people forcing me into a box labeled “white voter: racist.” I am increasingly irritated by the parade of black guests on talk shows who constantly remind me that having Barack Obama as president would be the most wonderful ever–because he’s black! I’m not a working class voter, but I am white, professional, and upper-income. I don’t support Obama. And I am not a racist. But, I’m beginning to feel like I am being forced to carry the burden of white guilt on my shoulders and I feel increasingly resentful about it. And, you know what? I recoil at their nasty narrative about me. I resent it. I reject it. And, it makes me outraged. This meme is not conducive to a civil political discourse; nor is it conducive to a civil racial society. If this meme is making ME feel angry and resentful, I imagine it is making working class white voters even more so. It is the worst tactic imaginable for a black candidate. But it also is the worst tactic imaginable for the Democratic Party. If I am to be considered a racist simply because I won’t vote for Barack Obama, then so be it. They have now turned me into a racist. I really resent that, since my entire life has been about not being one. And, I didn’t even get to make the choice myself. Obama made it for me. How outrageous!
WS, I was looking at the N.C. Census reports by county, and you’re right. I clicked on projected growth instead of actual figures.
Lucinda, you are right that the Native American population and the Hispanics will help Hillary in NC . I read in an article that the Hillary NC campaign will target Hispanics and a tribe of Native Americans (probably the largest in the state – the tribe’s name started with a T) for NC GOTV.
I fear the Hillary Clinton takedown is beginning.
From The Washington Post (via http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24320557), “Democratic party fears racial divide.”
“There are signs that the anger voiced by some African Americans is beginning to extend to the Democratic donor base. Campaign finance records released this week show that a growing number of Clinton’s early supporters migrated to Obama in March, after he achieved 11 straight victories. Of those who had previously made maximum contributions to Clinton, 73 wrote their first checks to Obama in March. The reverse was not true: Of those who had made large contributions to Obama last year, none wrote checks to Clinton in March.”
One New York City lawyer who gave $2,300 to Clinton was quoted as saying, “’I think she is destroying the Democratic Party.’ ” And he gave $2,300 to Barry.
I think the racism charge against the Clintons will be the excuse for superdelegates to give the nomination to Barry. After all, Barry ate molded Jell-O as a kid, just like the rest of us white folks.
Yes, Pennsylvania was the turning point. And the Democratic Party is going to be sticking us Hillary supporters in the eye with a very big stick. (And I hope I’m wrong!)
It is hard to have a civil discussion anymore. I objected to the use of using the KKK initials in relation to Hillary Clinton (Klinton) on a poster at my university and got pilloried. I was merely suggesting that this kind of discourse helped no one, including the candidate the students were supporting. I am all for free speech, but then expressing outrage at this kind of hate got me labeled a closeted right wing Aryan nations type. I don’t even understand this. I have been telling myself this is not Obama’s fault, it’s his supporters and they don’t speak for him, but he must know what they are saying. I am not saying you can control everyone out there campaigning for you, but I never him hear him say “Enough!”
This IS about RACE. When 90% of the black voters support the only black candidate, then IT IS racist (good or bad is another conversation).
If you spilt that black vote 50-50, What would the vote-delegate totals be? Who would be leading?
Me, I’m voting my team colors in November!
No, it is not about race. African Americans are understandably proud of a candidate who is a credible challenger for his party’s nomination. I would have liked a 70-30% split just like white women, but Obama politicized race in South Carolina. Had he not done that, I think Hillary would have gotten more African American women.
WS: Yes and no. Hillary was not my first choice. My first choice was Edwards and I flirted with Obama, even going as far as pledging money to his campaign. It wasn’t until I saw her and heard her in person that I was convinced that she was the better candidate and since I saw Obama at the same event, I was able to compare the two side by side. There was no contest. I think it’s great that the best candidate is a woman but if she were as unprepared as Obama, she wouldn’t get my vote, I’m sorry. I don’t vote my gender. And there are a lot of white female Democrats who don’t either or Obama wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did in Iowa, Idaho, Utah, Wisconsin, etc.
AA’s on the other hand, clearly *are* by and large voting their race. To 90% of the AA population in PA, it was about race. Oh, sure, a lot of people like and admire him, but 90%? If it weren’t about race, you would expect the breakdown to be a lot less skewed. And Obama recognizes this and is exploiting it. Well, who can blame him? It’s just galling when we have to listen to the media go on about how Hillary is tearing the party apart. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s Obama.
I have an idea:
Every time a troll comments, Sen. Clinton gets $3. From each of us. Troll to be determined by our very own RD, who rocks. In sum:
troll talk = $3 to HRC
I know not everyone can afford it and all and it adds up. So how about:
Troll talk = one phone call on behalf of HRC
You can volunteer to phonebank—it won’t cost you anything and every call helps. See http://www.hillaryclinton.com for volunteer opportunities.
Sen. Clinton getting money and support may keep the troll talk to a minimum.
And if trolls decide to do their little dance, she benefits. See? You can get good from ill.
Just takes the intertubules.
rd, yes, Obama aided by the media is the one that hardened African Americans against the Clintons during the South Carolina campaign. The first sign of trouble was Michigan when we learned 80% voted uncommitted and that was during the start of the MLK/LBJ and “fairy tale” faux controversy that Obama called an “unfortunate” comment. Before South Carolina, Brazile and Clyburn piled on with nebulous “concerns” about “racial code words” that certain African Americans (like Brazile and Clyburn) know and no one else can decipher.
I don’t think we would see the 90% AA rate for Obama had it not been for his race strategy in January.
How can the DEMs win if they are split 50/50. Obama’s camp accuses Clintons camp to be throwing up race but if we vote for CLINTON we are labeled as racists. Here is a thought. The blue collar workers have the most to gain or lose from this election. So we are not voting on inspirational words and a lot of charm. We vote because Clinton has a wonderful healthcare plan. There is no reason every American should not have coverage. If you pay taxes you help pay for the uninsured now. SO why not redirect those funds to help lower insurance cost for all groups and insure the uninsured. Then there is the economy, gas prices, jobs and Iraq. To us the one that has been the strongest in all these catagories is CLINTON. How is that racists? She has a lot of IND and REP women too in her arena. Together the two have an amazing amount of voters and together we can pull off an over the top W-I-N. But divided we fail. Obama has a large group of African American supporters and this is an emotional election for them. Clinton has a large group of women and they are emotional for her. That is why this race to the White house is so intense. I think there are a lot of Clinton supporters really hurt by how the media paints her. The race/gender cards should go away on both sides.
Thank you for posting a link to my blog post “How much spin will it take to save…”
I notice a lot of folks on this thread reassuring each other that not only are they not racist, but their candidate isn’t either. I believe that all of us who are white and raised in this society are most certainly racist–meaning that our attitudes and beliefs were shaped by a white-majority culture. By contrast, I don’t believe that this means we are all bigots. I think this is an act of conscious hatred or repression based on the differences one perceives between ethnic groups.
That said, I do believe that some of the actions taken by the Clinton campaign have been bigoted in terms of discounting black voters and their concerns.
I have a newer blog entry regarding some of these, including info on voter suppression in Arkansas during President Clinton’s years as governor. This involved judicial findings that Clinton’s administration had violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This, in itself, doesn’t prove present actions are racist in tone or bigoted in intent, but it does give a solid basis for examining the possibility without prejudice.
I voted for President Clinton during both of his runs for the Presidency. I thought that Hillary Clinton was the only real choice (electable) until late January. I have come to the conclusion that many others have that she is seeking the nomination at the expense of maintaining a real mandate after a general election–should she capture the nomination.
I also ask you to examine the posts in which some involved in this thread have attempted to marginalize black voters by claiming that the “AA” votership will be smaller in the general election and that “Hispanic” (Latino?) voters are a larger minority which can be counted on by the Clinton campaign. I would say that this, while it is the language of today’s campaign strategists, is patently racist, divisive and, in substance, states that there are real political reasons to disregard the needs and wants of one in eight Americans.
Thanks for the forum,
rationalpsychic
hmm we all supposed to listen to this bull and then be oh so pc when we are being insulted by the obama campaign right and left. i don’t know about the rest, but i sure don’t want to hear i am a racist everytime i criticize obama in the next four years. heck of a job barry!
I am getting a little tired of hearing about Clinton playing the race card. Lets just think over a few things. Everytime Obama gets in trouble some one brings out the race card. This seems to be a habit with the black people. O.J. Simpson did it, the mayor of Detroit did it. as many other blacks in trouble ,even Obamas Rev Wright has played the race card. (this comming from a man that preaches hate and daming america)Well I for one think no matter who your are if you did something wrong then take it like a man. Your mistakes are your responsibility with no one else to blame. Unless you are mentally inpared.
When Obama was on the hot seat over Rev.Wright he made a speech on race,not on the issue of what his church believesor the statements Rev.Wright made.. Everyone has a right to attend the church of choice. But if you attend and beleive in that church you should stand up for it. Not speek on race.
So I really don’t care to hear about the race card. Anyway no one can play it as well as the blacks can..
Great, the trolls are here and they’re even pretending to be Hillary supporters.
If I am a troll,so be it. But I’m brave enough to say what I think and beleive. And I didn’t need a race card to do it.
MABlue: settle down, chief.
Question for you MABlue: if Obama wins the nomination who will you vote for in the general election, and why?
Ex- president Clinton has seriously damaged his reputation and character. It is sad that his true feelings about blacks in America have come out so late in history. What a shame to utters the African Americans don’t have the critical mass to elect Sen. Obama. However that was that population that put him in office.
Ron, what are you talking about? Dude, you’re deluded. And I don’t have to tell you that. Enough with the talking points already. Go actually get BO elected and stop wasting your time trashing the last two-term prez since FDR.
“she is seeking the nomination at the expense of maintaining a real mandate after a general election–should she capture the nomination.”
Let’s see: Clinton overall tends to wins Democrats, women, Catholics, Latinos, Asian Americans, Jewish Americans, and working class voters.
Obama tends to win African Americans, Republicans (who will mostly vote for McCain), wealthy voters, and his key demographic, bloggers.
Who has no mandate? That’s kind of why not only willl he not be able to govern, he is not going to be elected. You need to attract voters for that.
sickofthis: Barack Obama leads in the popular vote and delegates. The demographics have worked out so far.
The bottom line: Hillary had won most big states in primaries not in caucuses, even in Massachuset where Kennedy, Kerry and their crowd came out for Obama. How many Had Obama won beside Illinois?
I am absolutely agree with Bill Clinton because is the true. In my view the comments of Mr. Clybum sounds like ingratitud after so many years that President Clinton support the black community and still doing the best to help. In this country some ethic group have a huge sensibility for every word; I see for instance, the white people not make protest or be angry for Obama’s pastor comments, Mr Wright, about racism or anti american words! Sen. Obama now are taking the leadership over Bill Clinton in black community and everyone can understand, but at the same time, others communities groups will do the same, look PA results….who are doing the best to bring americans together?
dick morris, former friend and emplyoee with the clinton campaign, was asked whether bill and hillary were racist. he said absolutely not. while he may not like their tactics and disagrees with their ideas, you can nvere get him to believe that the clintons are racist. i dont like dick morris but i also believe that the clintons are the lest likely to be racist in words or actions. reverends and black community leaders and organizations are responsible for giving 90% of the black vote to obama. the clintons didnt do this and neither did obama. its a shame though that this group of peole quickly forgot who has spent decades trying to assist them in overcomeing their trials. so if anybody made this race abot race it was the black community themselves. cant blame the white folk on this one. and news for clyburn, the AA’s were going to vote ofpr obama anyway so dont blame clintons non racist remarks as the cause for the huge exodus.
lyn5,
please dont think for a moment that the super d’s and the DNC are not aware of the “race memo” that was leaked out by obama back in january. if read, the super d’s and dnc will see that it was, in fact, obama and his camp that played the race card first and then insisted that by playing this card at strategic times, the AA population would eventually and completely turn away from the clintons and call them racist. nope cant vote for someone who claims to be the great uniter.
Regency
I don’t have to trash Bill Clinton he is doing a good enough job by himself.
I hope you are talking about Dem. two trem presidents, because there have been alot of Rep.Prez.since FDR.