Letters to the Editor
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The Toxic Democratic 'Left'
I for one am sick and tired of having to 'hold my nose' while voting...
Basically as long as the Republicans put forward candidates that are so far to the right they might as well be running under a Christian Nationalist party, any candidate the Democrats run looks better, it's really depressing and could be why at least 40% of the country doesn't vote at all (either that or the Republican candidates aren't right wing enough - how scary might that be?)
So I have no idea if Hilary is the Democratic candidate if I'll vote for her, it's either that or not vote at all, because really what is the freakin point? The country is in a dark dark place right now and it's going to take a lot more than elections to get us out...
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The Defining Moment
I have no enthusiasm for Hilary. I cannot help but hold her personally responsible for the triumph of the right-wing conspiracy and the present distress and disgrace of this nation. Whether considered from the POV of principle or of pragmatism, it was Hilary's patriotic duty as First Lady to protect the office of the presidency and the constitution her husband took the oath to serve. She wasn't able to persuade Bill either to abstain from hanky-pank during his term of office or to conduct his affairs with a discreet, mature, and loyal mistress. Everyone--except Bill, apparently--knew that his enemies were poised to take him and the Democratic party down if he slipped from the straight and narrow. If she could not avoid this predictable train wreck, how can we trust her to steer the nation?
Once Bill was caught, there were two courses open to true patriots: her husband must resign and apologize, or-- better-- make the ultimate sacrifice: quickly court assassination or a fatal accident. A martyred president, killed while trying to serve in spite of the harassment of a gang of power-mad hypocrites, would have been followed by a successful Gore presidency, with moderates or even liberals appointed to the Supreme Court. Republicans in congress would have served as watchdogs against Democratic corruption, instead going on a spree of greed, warmongering, and corruption. As a tragic widow Hilary might well have been appointed Vice President, and after her excellent service in that position (or as senator) she could easily have won the 2008 election. Our beloved country would have been spared the impotent last years of the Clinton administration and whole Bush II disaster-- a disaster which may well spell the end of not only the America we know and love, but of the habitable planet itself. Mrs. Clinton and her husband chose to hang on to the office and put the country though the humiliating ordeal of impeachment, to the detriment of everything we elected Bill Clinton to preserve and protect. For the good of the nation, she must step aside and throw her support to the Democratic candidate who best represents the values she might once have represented herself.
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Not so easy
You can not effectively attack the Republican candidate on the Iraq issue if you are just saying "Oops I made a mistake". The Republican candidate can say the very same thing, and you've merely scored a draw on the most important issue.
None of the Democrats who voted for the war would make good candidates. Neither Kerry nor Hillary Clinton are suitable.
The current president has a very low approval rate because of his disastrous war. None of his other disasters have a similar impact. It would be absurd to select a candidate who can not capitalize on this issue.
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Dictatorial Feminism
At the core of feminism is a belief that rights to opportunity, power, and self-determination should not be qualified by gender. Nor should the right to vote according to the complex matrix of one’s personal values and opinions. Blindly voting for a woman just to break another political barrier, regardless of how important that barrier is, essentially just means we’ve bowed to a different autocrat. In considering presidential candidates, my pacifism trumps just about any other value I hold, and would make it hard for me to vote for Hillary. If she ends up being the Democratic candidate, I will vote for her – but only because my values skew far to the left of any conceivable Republican candidate’s agenda. The primaries are a different story.
But even putting that aside for a moment, I’m not altogether convinced Hillary’s presidency would de facto create a better socioeconomic climate for women. What’s “feminist’ about her statement quoted in the beginning of this piece that starts with "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas..” ? Nothing like slinging a bit of ridiculing, stereotyping, demeaning rhetoric toward full-time mothers! It hardly qualifies as the kind of respectful phrase a true feminist would utter about her sisters.
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Whoedom in D.C,
I believe the Republicans are enthusiastically pushing Hilary's nomination because they know she is absolutely unelectable. She is merely a right wing republican in her democratic clothing. I could never vote for her...it would be the same as voting for John MaCain. They not only stand for nothing they legislate evil. Six hundred and fifty thousand,that'six hundred and fifty thousand Iraqi citizens slaughtered and not a friggin' peep out of her. Russ Feingold or Al Gore need to get on with their campaigns now. Oh and to call her a feminist disgraces feminists. Sheila Burke
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Objective Reporting
Is it a coincidence that the " Editor's Favorite's postings are all adamantly pro Hillary? (while most of the fifty others are adamantly against her) And that one of your prominent staff members now works for the Hillary Clinton campaign ? How dissapointing
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Political Balancing Acts
What sticks in my craw about Hillary is her support of the Iraq debacle. Perhaps she had to vote for it for political reasons and that does soothe my rumpled feelings a little, but it was such a monumental blunder to go into that country...and so many of us knew it at the time. I guess the question here is whether it would have been political suicide for her to be against the war. And that may have been true in New York. Still, it is very hard to forgive blatant pandering of this nature. I expect firm leadership on certain issues, going to war being one of them, but at the same time, I don't want Democratic politicians committing political suicide either.
If she is the candidate, I would, of course, vote for her; however, I would just as soon have a candidate without so much baggage. On top of that, I am not convinced that America is ready for a woman president. So much is at stake...surely, there is some other Democrat who is appealing and charismatic.