Letters to the Editor
Reality-based Liberal
Published Letters: 774 Editor's Choice: 100
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Re: Anonymous 1:51
[Read the article: Those uncompromising Democrats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Tim carefully points out that Hillary's operatives are not simply defending against attacks, they are implying that Obama's vow to take the high road is somehow violated by pointing out why his policy differences with Clinton matter.
This is a different story than the one you claim Tim is reporting. It is an important story because it speaks to the values of Clinton, and it is a well argued story that was served well by the 16 paragraphs dedicated to it.
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red rabbit: "Shooting fish in a barrel"
[Read the article: The politics of hope]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You said it. I think we need to find a principled Democrat because the election is the Democrat's to lose. Why not let pressure be applied to our candidates to test them? I want someone who doesn't need kid gloves to run in the general. If Clinton can't take the heat, that says a lot.
And I'll add, re Anonymous 2:10, that this story isn't about nothing. It's about how Clinton's people are claiming that Obama has broken his vow to take the high road by explaining why his policy differences with Clinton matter. That's f--ed up and speaks to her campaign's character, and therefore her character.
I in no way endorse Obama, but I applaud him for making the conversation about issues in this case. That's exactly what a high-road campaign should be about.
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Hey jdmf
[Read the article: The politics of hope]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Clinton had the guts to take on Obama's use of a homophobe in his campaign she could have said that's why she's attacking Obama. Yet she won't touch that and opposes gay marriage. So don't pretend to do the lgtb community any favors with your post.
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Take it easy
[Read the article: "It's Britney, bitch"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As Hannaham points out, Spears is a brand -- a package. I find obscene the whole process of our putting a semi-talented kid on a pedestal, applying the microscope, and then celebrating her collapse. She is a human that went through the ringer without the brains or experience to keep it together, and her life will ever be stained because of the ride. That sucks. And I'll add that not having the brains or experience to handle what she faced doesn't make her any dumber or less experienced than 90 percent of the population.
While I have never listened to her music by choice and can't claim to know all the ways in which she's screwed up, I am pulling for her to have the best life possible from this point forward.
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Too bad democracy and open government are weak
[Read the article: Jay Rockefeller channels Dick Cheney's fear-mongering to urge telecom amnesty]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The bottom line coming from Rockefeller and the rest of our government is clear: democracy and open government are too weak to deal with a handful of angry people with no army. They should be made to state explicitly not only that our founding fathers got it wrong by not accounting for blowback from international criminals, but that it's better to trash our founder's experiment than reexamine our foreign policy.
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Clinton and the truth
[Read the article: The Democratic duel of the race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Clinton said: "I am not going to balance Social Security on the backs of seniors and hardworking middle-class Americans."
Yet what she is opposing is a lift on the cap of the Social Security tax, which means that people who earn more than $94K would begin to pay THE SAME RATE as those who earn less than that. Was that clear from her statement? Was she trying to give the viewers a fair picture of the situation?
Clinton also said that she would take on taxes on the rich by freezing Bush's estate tax at 2009 levels. Yet the legislation that controls that tax cut brings it down each year until 2010 and then the tax rate goes back up to pre-Bush levels in 2011. So she is freezing the tax at the year in which it will be second lowest for the rich. In other words, she is EXTENDING Bush's tax cut for the rich. Was that clear from her statement, which implied she was taking on this tax cut?
These highly misleading statements matter because they make clear that Clinton holds the voters in contempt -- including her own supporters, who will be forced to explain away such bending of the truth on blogs like this.
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Disagree with you Nulla Sallus
[Read the article: The Democratic duel of the race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Because the Republicans work against the public pretty much all of the time, that means our whole democracy depends on what kind of Democrat we get. Therefore I think the primary is far more important than the general (which the Democrats should run away with if we get a strong candidate who can take punches -- and the voting machines work).
I endorse a rough primary. I want tested candidates. And I want our candidate to be someone I can wholeheartedly support in the general. I don't want to waste the only point in the election cycle where I actually get to choose by crowning someone who can't take the heat.
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Sorenreport
[Read the article: The Democratic duel of the race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Question: If Cheney ran as a Democrat and won the nomination, would you vote for him? Being a Democrat doesn't mean being good, or even being progressive.
Please note that many of us who don't like Clinton have raised specific concerns. We don't hate women. We don't want the GOP to win. We just don't want to vote for someone who represents values and tactics we consider right-leaning or right-wing (e.g. presenting tax policy that favors the rich as somehow helping the poor, promoting social programs that reward industry and do little to help the needy, supporting borderline racist congressional resolutions that could be used to justify illegal wars).
I will show any Clinton supporter respect so long as s/he doesn't make polemic statements about those of us who don't like her.
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Thelma
[Read the article: The Democratic duel of the race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have to admit I don't get it either. We all hate Satan, so let's just hammer on him. Or Hitler -- he's bad.
Attacking Bush gives me no information on which to base my vote.