Buck Naked Politics

Why Bill ---and Certain Hillary Supporters --- Should Let Hillary Drive the Car

Posted by Damozel |  Don't get me wrong. In my opinion --- and as a Clinton supporter, I followed the exchanges extremely closely while they were happening--- Bill Clinton has every right to be angry about the way Hillary was treated by the Obama campaign.  I don't think his anger is productive, mind you; and I think he is undermining Hillary's chances.  But if Hillary values her political career, she needs to give Bill a time out. 

Hillary, as a mature woman, knows the best way to prove someone wrong is just to prove them wrong. You don't get there by sulking in your tent or complaining; you get there by rising above the slurs and gossip, as Clinton-supporter and lifelong civil rights activist Maya Angelou advised Hillary to do in this poem.  Bill used to know how to rise above the fray. Why isn't he doing it now?

To accuse someone of being a racist -- a vile thing for a person to be --- is, by definition, to accuse them of vileness.  It is a grave insult.  It seems to be these allegations that are fueling Bill Clinton's outrage and wounded feelings. Most of us would feel just the same.

U-N-I-T-Y! A Bloggerama

By Damozel | At The Moderate Voice, Joe Gandelman speculates that the wounds might be too profound to heal.  I personally doubt it.  A month in political time is equal to a year in real time.  And as the subsequent post shows, many Democrats were moved by the event and the speeches.  I can't see the sour feeling of some of the insiders having much of an effect on the average voter. 

Marc Ambinder likewise wonders whether unhappy Clinton donors can be brought into the circle and made to join in the unity boogie.  See above.

At The Reaction, Michael Stickings is optimistic that at last we're on our way:

The Long-Awaited Unity Event: 'We Are One Party'

By Damozel | Hillary pulled out all the stops for Obama at their first 'Unity' rally.  Obama said, 'She rocks.'  Well, for once in quite awhile, he's actually right.  Anyway, I'm glad they're going to pull together.  I'm not so sure they'll be able to pull the divided party together, but here's hoping they can:

Obama 'versus' McCain on the Supreme Court's Second Amendment Decision

by Damozel | I can't help giggling over the dilemma of poor John McCain, who is desperately trying to distance himself from Obama.. Via The Hill, McCain said in re: the Supreme Court's decision striking down the DC handgun ban:

Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today's ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right -- sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly.

As Todd Beeton says at My DD: 'Throwing at wall. Not sticking.'  Sadly for McCain, Obama supports the decision in Heller.

A Tribute to Senator Chris Dodd & 15 Who Stood Up for the Constitution in the Crucial Vote on Cloture

by Damozel | At Crooks and Liars, SilentPatriot writes:

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), who along with Russ Feingold has been the fiercest defender of Constitutional rights, took to the floor last night to deliver a two-hour impassioned speech in defense of the rule of law, and offered a scathing critique of the sham FISA bill about to become law....

Dodd’s sincere respect and concern for this country’s sacred principles and his passionate defense last night of those principles was the most uplifting yet depressing thing I have ever seen; uplifting because it proved to me that there are leaders out there who still give a damn, but depressing because, with rare exceptions, he is alone. When the history of the Bush years is written and future generations look back and wonder how we sank so low, how an abject failure like George W. Bush successfully transformed our national character, at least we can look back to times like these and know that there were some true patriots sounding the alarm.

Vertebrate Senators Gear Up to Resist Telecom Amnesty

by Damozel | Apparently, some Democrats in Congress can apparently still find their spines.  That's cheering.

Senator Harry Reid is supportive of efforts to strip the retro-active immunity from the new FISA bill.  This won't keep it from shredding the fourth amendment, but it's a step in the right direction.   Senators Russ Feingold and Chris Dodd have promised to do all they can to block it, including a filibuster.  They released a statement explaining their opposition to the current bill.  Via HuffPost:

This is a deeply flawed bill, which does nothing more than offer retroactive immunity by another name. We strongly urge our colleagues to reject this so-called 'compromise' legislation and oppose any efforts to consider this bill in its current form. We will oppose efforts to end debate on this bill as long as it provides retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that may have participated in the President's warrantless wiretapping program, and as long as it fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans.

But Why DID 94 House Dems Change Their FISA Votes?

by Damozel | In March, the House passed an amendment that rejected retroactive immunity for telecoms that assisted the NSA in illegal wiretapping.  Most of us have wondered what happened to change the minds of 94 Democrats.  What happened between June 20 and March 14 to change 94 Democratic hearts and minds?

The answer might well be simple:  money. 

MAPLight.org has published a breakdown of contributions received from Telco PACS by the 94 Dems who experienced the change of heart.  [Maplight.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Berkeley, California. Its search engine at MAPLight.org illuminates the connection between Money And Politics (MAP) via an unprecedented database of campaign contributions and legislative outcomes.']

Bullet-Proof Faith in Barack: Conversations I was part of Last Week

by D. Cupples | During separate conversations with three friends last week, I witnessed live in the flesh what I've seen in the media for months: unquestioning faith in Barack Obama that remains intact despite evidence that should have a shattering effect -- or at least cause a few hairline fractures.

I have not witnessed such bullet-proof faith since those few years after 9/11, during which millions of Americans (led by Limbaugh and Fox) believed that President Bush could do no wrong: a time when True Believers would point and bellow and maybe key the car of anyone who mentioned facts that might test their faith in Their President.

While lunching at a restaurant last week, a friend asked me this:

"So, Deb, have you gotten over Hillary yet?"

Doyle Hire: Was It A Big F*** You to Clinton & Her Supporters?

by Damozel | Hillary's being gracious about it, but her supporters are construing the Doyle hire as a slap in the face.  According to The New York Observer, a Clinton loyalist said that Clinton loyalists are 'livid.'   

Clinton loyalists view her with deep suspicion and believe that she is shopping around a book deal and acted as a background source for an extremely harsh Vanity Fair piece about Bill Clinton...."Either one of two things happen," said the bundler. "Hillary is selected as vice president and they fire Patti, or Hillary is not going to be the vice president."

Kevin Drum writes:  '[T]he developing conventional wisdom is that Team Obama is sending the same kind of message to Team Clinton that the Tattaglia family sent to the Corleones in The Godfather:...If this is true, it's beyond bizarre. Obama has every incentive in the world to make nice with Hillary...'   

Gore Endorses Obama; Patti Solis Doyle Joins Obama Campaign (and What that Means for Clinton)

by Damozel | Now that the dust has had time to settle (well, some of it), Al Gore is making a debut campaign appearance with Obama and --- in a break with precendent --- has asked supporters of AlGore.com to contribute to the Obama campaign.  Ya'll know I love Al, and I can't say no to anything he asks of me, so I guess the time has come.  It was bound to come sooner or later. After all:  I want the Dem to win, simple as that.  From The Caucus:

“Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges — including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis,” Mr. Gore said. “Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.”

Obama thus receives the Environmentalist-in-Chief's endorsement.  Let's hope he is prepared to deserve it.   

A Note to Hillary Supporters: Obama vs. Nobama --- How Punishing Him May Punish Hillary

by Damozel | First, let me emphasize that I am speaking only for myself and not for any of my cobloggers.

I'll say it again (and again and again):  I wanted Hillary to be the Democratic nominee and I certainly haven't cared for the way Obama's campaign and supporters have comported themselves during the primaries, but I am not going to cut off the nation's nose to spite David Axelrod's face.  Obama's political goals are more or less consistent with mine and that matters more to me at the end of the day than whether or not he's my ideal candidate.

So I am astonished that some Hillary supporters think it's more important to punish Obama than it is to repudiate the Bush administration and the GOP. Eight years, people!  Look at what eight years of GOP dominance has done to our standing in the world and our sense of ourselves as a people.  A few months of intraparty squabbling and Obama's very special brand of 'new politics' doesn't begin to compare.

If Slashed by the GOP, Obama, Channeling The Untouchables, Says He'll Fire Back

by Damozel | Obama has made it clear that he isn't going to be available for swift-boating, channeling Sean Connery in The Untouchables. "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," Obama said at a fundraiser in Philadelphia Friday...' (The Hill's Blog)

Though no great fan of Obama's, I'm glad to hear it.  The Democrats must wrest the presidency from the GOP.  I still have crescent-shaped scars in my palms from my nails digging into my flesh during the swiftboating stage of the Kerry campaign.  'Goddammit!  Don't just stand there like a department store dummy --- say something! TAKE THEM DOWN!'  I remember screaming at the TV. 

Joe Gandelman remembers:

Michael Dukakis let the Republicans portray him as a kind of robot, define him with the infamous Willy Horton ad and later run an ad that used footage of him in a tank looking like Snoopy. His campaign tried to ignore the negative campaigning and paid the price. John Kerry waited so long before he condescended to respond to the Swift Boat attacks that by the time he did his own boat sank.

Further Proof that the Obama Campaign Needs to Grow Up

by Damozel | Obama has a lot of passionate people working for his campaign. That's a good thing.  But now that we're past the intrafamily infighting, it's time for them to start comporting themselves as reasonable adults. 

Here in Florida, where a lot of Democrats would have preferred Hillary, what's desperately needed is some Obama supporters willing to reach kindly, warmly, and compassionately across the great divide to pull those people across into Obamaland.  Some of them are lost forever.  Some aren't going to go willingly.  But some probably will eventually agree that the issues are more important than one's preferences for a candidate and agree to join hands --- if the surly whippersnappers and angry Hillary-baiters who all too often are held out as Obama's representatives would just learn some basic diplomacy or even just some basic good manners.

For example, consider this exchange between superdelegate Jon Ausman and Obama Florida finance chair Kirk Wagar.

Fox & 'Baby Mama' (Updated)

by Damozel | Fox News scores another, and you don't have to be an Obama supporter to find it offensive --- just a reasonably evolved human being.  At Salon, Joan Walsh wrote:

An alert reader wrote in just a little while ago to let us know about something he'd spotted on Fox News Wednesday afternoon. During a segment discussing conservative attacks against Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the network described the former as "Obama's baby mama." ...  In fact, that description was displayed on-screen several times during the segment, which featured anchor Megyn Kelly and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, an FNC contributor.

You can see the screenshot here.  Yep, that's what it says.  Cute!

More Hypocrisy Within the Obama Campaign

by Damozel |  Once again, a person holding a position of responsibility in Obama's campaign turns out not to share Obama's stated values. I am still not sure exactly what this means about Obama.  Is he frighteningly disingenuous? Worryingly gullible?  Or is he really as big a hypocrite as some of my former fellow Hillary supporters allege?  So it ain't so.

It seems that Obama campaign official Jim Johnson has $7 million in loans (i.e., a 'sweetheart deal')  from Countrywide Financial Corp. the same company which Obama has said --- and he gets no argument from us --- 'is as responsible as any firm in the country for the housing crisis we're facing today.'   And who is Jim Johnson?  I'm glad you asked.  'Jim Johnson...[is] the disciplined, discreet and obsessively meticulous vice presidential vetter for Barack Obama.' (Chicago Tribune)  And according to Obama, there's no need to 'vet the vetters.'  (Chicago Tribune) 

In other words:   'The problem is, as Obama critics say, perception and hypocrisy,' Jake Tapper remarks.

Scott McClellan to Testify before Judiciary Committee; a GOP footnote on Rove & his Tactics

by Damozel | In an interview for Newsnight last week, the BBC's Kirstie Wark asked Scott McClellan if some of his current candor might perhaps have saved citizens of the US who were not shills for the Bush Administration a certain amount of war, devastating expense, corruption, outing of CIA agents, etc.?  (Well, she didn't use exactly those words, but that was what I thinkshe meant.)  McClellan said he didn't know, didn't understand, failed to put 2 and 2 together, and so forth.  Further proof, I guess --- that is, if you believe him --- that neocons and those who support them  just aren't that bright.  How could McClellan, who was right on the scene, not know when even I knew?  Even my 80-year old mother knew. 

Anyway, he is now supposedly trying to make amends 'so that we don't make the same mistakes again.'  Next on his to-do list:  testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Valerie Plame leak. 

Instead of Celebrating, Markos Promotes Bitterness and Misleads Readers (Update)

by Deb Cupples |   I understand that Daily Kos's Markos Moulitsas has been emotionally invested in Barack Obama's campaign.  It shows in what Markos writes in (and omits from) his blog posts.  I understand that Markos disagrees with Hillary Clinton on some issues -- though, obviously not an overwhelming number of issues, as Hillary 's and Obama's U.S. Senate voting records are very similar.

Tonight, Obama hit the magic delegate number (Time via Memeorandum).  Markos should be happily celebrating and -- one would hope -- touched by the generosity of spirit that often comes with victory. 

Instead, Markos is still bashing Hillary and using disprovable statements to do it.

Why Count Only 50% of Florida's Delegates? To Keep the Magic Number Lower, Perhaps?

by Deb Cupples | The Democratic Party and Barack Obama's campaign have been fixating on the concept of "party unity."  Basically, they want Hillary supporters to happily jump on Obama's bandwagon so he'll have a chance to beat McCain in November (if Obama is the nominee -- yeah, I know it's likely but it hasn't happened yet).

I think the unity ship blew up before it even had a chance to sail, partly because a Democratic candidate (Obama) fought to reduce the vote strength of the 2+ million Democratic voters who turned out in Florida and Michigan.

While watching the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing on Saturday, I kept wondering why Obama's campaign representative -- Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida -- kept insisting on counting only 50% of his (and my) state's primary votes.

As I explained here, Florida's Republicans (not Democrats) were responsible for moving the primary election to a date earlier than the rules allowed: that and DNC rules allowed the RBC to not strip any delegates of a state whose Dems acted in good faith to stop the primary from moving to an un-allowable date.  In short, Wexler had a good argument for not stripping any of Florida's delegates.

The proportional effect would have been the same whether 100% or 50% of Florida's votes were counted.  That and Obama's pledged-delegate lead would have withstood the counting of all 211 of Florida's delegates.

The "Unity" Shuck and Jive: Obama Campaign Opposed Counting 100% of Florida's Votes -- But Tried to Avoid Saying So

by Deb Cupples |   The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) decided on Saturday to count only half of Florida's primary votes -- despite the fact that all candidates' names were on the ballot and Florida's Democratic legislators had no power to block legislation that moved the primary election to a date that violated the DNC's rules.

Make no mistake: Barack Obama and his campaign opposed counting 100% of Florida's Democratic primary vote.  At the same time, the campaign wants public relations points for appearing to want to enfranchise Florida -- enough points to get Floridians' votes if Obama becomes the nominee.

This I learned from watching the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing today (part of it anyway, as the live video streaming conked out several times). 

At one point, RBC member Tina Flournoy point-blank asked U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler whether the Obama campaign supported making100%  of Florida's primary vote count (instead of 50%).  Wexler was the Obama campaign's chosen representative for that hearing. A simple "yes" or "no" would have sufficed.

Did Mr. Wexler directly answer the question?  No.  Instead, he said:

Video: The DNC Meeting at Which Florida's Delegates Were Stripped

by Deb Cupples |   I've repeatedly explained that Florida's Republican leaders were responsible for moving Florida's primary election to an earlier date than DNC rules allowed.  Florida Democrats have absolutely no power in the legislature: today, Republicans control the State House by 76 to 43, and Republicans control the State Senate by 26 to 14.

The video below shows Florida Democratic Party leader Karen Thurman explaining that and more in August 2007 at a hearing of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee.  It also shows that multiple members of the Rules Committee (apparently) had already decided that they wanted Florida to lose all of its delegates (though the rules call for an automatic stripping of only 50% of a state's delegates for scheduling a primary date too early).

It's sad, disgusting, and outrageous. Some people describe that hearing as a "kangaroo court," and the video seems to confirm that.

The more I learn about the DNC's inner workings, the more I consider registering as an NPA (Florida's version of Independent). Let's hope that today's DNC Rules Committee meeting goes differently -- and that the Committee decides to give back Florida's votes.  Thanks to No Quarter for posting the video.

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