Letters to the Editor
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Why people hate her
Out here in Flyover Country, out here in the 19th century, out here where Bush Can Do No Wrong, there are several reasons why people, both men and women, hate HRC.
New York Lawyer - Yes, she is a carpetbagger. But that fact won't change the impression of New York Lawyer. That image is one that will never be positive around here.
Outspoken woman - The city where I live has a female mayor. But that dog won't hunt in the majority of the state. There are lots of professions that are "acceptable" for a woman. Outspoken executive is not one of them.
Butt ignorance - While looking for a baseball game on AM radio last month, I heard a caller from my city on a frothing-at-the-mouth talk show say we should have caught bin Laden when he came to the US to vote for Kerry. People around here think Sean Hannity is a "Great American." They think right wing hate speech is "truth" and "wisdom." Rush Limbaugh has been demonizing HRC for 14 years now. This is the "perceived wisdom" of who she is: she is an evil woman who wants all our children to be gay islamofascist communists.
Apparently HRC has the ability to turn almost anyone into a supporter, if they hear her in person. She doesn't have time to turn the whole country into supporters. Although maybe she has time to turn enough states blue to win the electoral college. I don't know.
What I believe very strongly is that she will get out the vote for Anybody But Hillary in vast numbers. Whether or not she manages to win the White House, she will probably lose the popular vote by a landslide.
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I say wait and see...
I am willing to put aside my concerns about HRC's politically chequered past, though they are myriad. While her ongoing acceptance of the catastrophe in Iraq troubles me greatly (even Kerry is now willing to admit it was a mistake), I would not rule her out on that basis alone, or for anything else she's done up to this point. At the same time, she has done nothing to win me over lately, either.
I am deeply suspicious of the Clinton approach to politics. While both she and Bill are smart folks who, I believe, really do want to make the world better, they put politics first. That makes a certain amount of sense, because if you don't get elected, you can't lead. But if you compromise all your principles to get elected, then what kind of leader are you?
We need a real leader in the White House. The next few years are going to be very trying, as we try to undo the damage caused by the neo-con nightmare. My sense is that calculated triangulation is not going to get the job done. There is always a need for some compromise and bipartisanship, but we also need someone who is willing to fight for the kind of progressive principles that, I believe, are the only chance for humanity to avoid self-destruction: cooperation, environmental protection, economic justice, tolerance -- true democracy.
Compromising on these principles may win an election, but it will doom humanity. We need someone who can win the right way. I will need to see if Hilary is able and willing to fight for the right things before I can support her candidacy. So far, I don't see it, but I'm willing to suspend judgement for now.
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Can you say Monarchy?
Um, so let's see we have a Bush 41, Clinton 42, Bush 43, and now are considering another Clinton as 44. Who is next, Jed, Jenna or the other Bush daughter? Maybe, Chelsea? Sorry, my ancestors left England for a reason. Shouldn't we all be a little more skeptical?
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it is entirely possible to disagree with HRC's candidacy without being far right
Duh.
Of course Rush, Hannity, etc. are morons and hate Hillary simply because she is a powerful woman. They hate all women, and girls as well.
That doesn't make Hillary Presidential material. I voted for her husband twice and supported them through those awful years...and I believe Bill should have resigned simply because he disgraced the office, not because the far right has something against oral sex.
I would never vote for Hillary. She lacks experience, she lacks a steadfast center, she has gone out of her way to support causes for which I have firmly drawn my line for any candidate.
I'll vote as I always have when I feel I've been given two lousy choices: I write-in my name. I did that for Dukakis/Bush. I'll do it again if it's Hillary v. any Republican...unless there's a Republican out there who actually, honestly is a fiscal conservative who also believes invading and occupying a sovereign nation is a war crime, that torture is not our foriegn policy, and that Rush--regardless of his weight--is still a big, fat jerk.
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farnsworth (Hilary, Flyover ignorance),
Out here in Flyover Country, out here in the 19th century, out here where Bush Can Do No Wrong, there are several reasons why people, both men and women, hate HRC.
Are they also giddy at the sight of the Wells Fargo Wagon? ;)
Slightly off subject, but I have nothing but admiration for you and others who continue to fight the Flyover Country ignorance. Here's a hearty "thank you" from those of us safely ensconced in the urban jungle. You have a type of energy that, for all my traveling, exposure to cultures, and bringing of people together, I could still never fathom. Rest assured you're greatly appreciated!
I was rewatching "Donnie Darko" the other day, and the time period before the Bush-Dukakis election in that kind of environment is still a powerful memory (I'm the same age as the main character). There was an ominous feel to the time in which you were surrounded by hostile conservatism (yes, I can differentiate) while volunteering your ass off as a teen Democrat that was both hopeless but still exhilirating. The big evening at headquarters was followed by several of us smoking a substantial joint (yes, I'm old) in a gazebo by the river. Staring at the stars, dreading the onslaught of decidedly undelicate Republican meatheads the next day at school sealed my decision to get the hell out of there.
It's funny, a lot of the religious folk in these parts accuse people like me of not having a soul; it's because they already sucked it out of my dry shell during my teen years, like gravity to a pinpricked raw egg before decorating.
To summarize, Hilary might not be the "best" candidate, but certainly not the worst. It's the conservative Flyover reactions that chill me to the bone (traced, of course, to gender). I think the violent right-wing sentiments are indicative of more serious problems.
And now, I must get back to researching my trip to France!