Letters to the Editor
banyantree
Published Letters: 184 Editor's Choice: 3
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grand openings, cont'd
[Read the article: Obama sets another fundraising record]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]the necessity of hitting the ground running is apparent in PA.
Obama's folks might be losing steam...they are losing the standard bearers who dress in ordinary clothes and have a few hours a week, and cash in their pockets...by relying solely upon the 20/30- something burrito and beans set...they need a bit of both...and visibility of both...too much scruff , not enuff gruff...and buff...
the Hillary Clinton machine has connected with established democratic operatives, whose politics and policies do not necessarily align with many in the state party and the state; but no real and present presence by Obama and co. means no opportunity to establish differentiation early. Already, Clinton is taking the lead. Bill is in State College this week-end or thereabouts.
Obama needs more than a fish and chips cheap snacks shop if he wants credibility, which translates into capability.
We know the man can raise money; can he spend it wisely is the question...
In the size matters category, PA is a lot like Texas...and Hillary and company know how important the "T" bone of the state is to a big win on April 22.
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Central PA, Part Deux
[Read the article: Obama sets another fundraising record]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dear Dad, send money.NOW!!!
Any commander who plans a battle strategy based on the last engagement is doomed to failure.
PA is different than Ohio and other previous battrle grounds. So, plan a strategy that takes into acccount the local lay of the land.
Spend some money. You need campaign signs, at the least. What about one to identify the office? Is the location a secret?
Or is it that you would prefer that we attempt to convert Hillary signs? (We have magic markers because we've had to prepare signs free form.)
BTW, the staffer on the ground is great, but she needs help.
She doesn't know we're collectively blogging on this...
Dad, send money, please!!!NOW!!!
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A strange
[Read the article: Ferraro resigns from Clinton campaign]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]and sad reflection of what we can only hope is a bygone era.
Ms. Ferrarro's comments represent what many are working fervently to make the vestige of our society's 200 plus years obsession with race. I am pleased that so many, even many Clinton supporters, spoke forcefully and unhesitantly against such retrograde rantings, even if Hillary Clinton did not. And, she did not.
My phone has been abuzz all day with Democrats, black and white, wondering not about the politics, but about the morality of potentially casting a vote for Clinton given her reaction to the Ferrarro flap. One friend, a life-long Democrat, said he couldn't sleep last night because of his distress over the injection of race, race, race, everywhere...He said - it made him sick.
We talked about how it feels to have one's vote reduced by pundits across America's airwaves, to something less than that of any other Americans, merely because we are black people who have chosen to vote for a black man. The three -fifths of a man American historical analogue has been our reference point for much of the discussion. Our hope that the Clintons would be decent has also been a strong reference point, as has our disappointment with their use of whatever it takes tactics..the winning at all costs strategy.We know the approach- win and then make amends.
However, the breach has widened so considerably that there may not be sufficient time, or words, or resources, or trust, to make amends. And, no, Maggie Williams' presence is not, in itself, sufficient to ameliorate the degree to which these feelings run. Her presence is old school, appearing totally contrived and inauthentic.
The good news is that we appear to have reached a watershed moment in the Democratic party, where no one's vote, not even those of blacks and Latinos can ever be taken for granted again. The injury inflicted in getting to this point, however, has left the party scarred to a degree from which it might not recover for a very long time.
Winning at all costs is not the answer. Ever.
A continuation of this bloodletting will result in the Clinton campaign perhaps having won the battle but lost the war. I, and others, see it.
Pundits call it Clintonian resilience. We see it as yet another sad manifestation of the same old song. And, we are tired.
The Republican Party might ultimately be the winner in this. Again, it is our election to lose. And, we might.
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Surprided as well
[Read the article: Ferraro resigns from Clinton campaign]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]that nothing appeared in yesterday's Salon about this situation. Odd. What gives? Oh, yes, and where was Joan Walsh?
Equally odd. And noticed.
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Walsh's opinion
[Read the article: Introducing 5 Things!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]on Geraldine Ferraro was one of the "five things" Salon should have brought to us a few days day. Not to have done so showed cowardice of a sort that has diminished the stature of Salon.
Strong words, sure. But necessary.
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Salon missed
[Read the article: Reexamining the Ferraro fracas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]the opportunity to explore this issue in a reasoned manner. The tin-eared, dilatory and defensive response is indicative of larger insensitivities within your organization. I suggest you listen to your readers. Also, I suggest you hire some people of color. No doubt you have one or so, such as Debra Dickerson. You need more. Hire some writers and editors who are nuanced and smart and have lived long enough to have something to say and the chops to back it up.
They don't have to be seriously senior, but old enough to have at least lived through some of the Affirmnative Action wars, and to have been told they were in an academic institution because of race, as opposed to intellect. You, Alex and Salon, have no idea how deeply this cuts. No idea.
Please refrain from attempts to rationalize your way out of this. That behavior is standard response mode for these sorts of matters.The fact is, we expected more of you, and you disappointed a whole segment of readership.
Accept it, and do better.
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whew!
[Read the article: David Paterson's quote of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I like this guy thus far. His humor will surely help us all through recent political miasmas- local, stae and national. He is surely onto something, and I hope it holds...