Letters to the Editor
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@ Uncle Fester: Crossover Republicans
There have been a lot of figures bandied-about re: Republican crossovers in Ohio and Texas. However, according to factcheck.org, there are always a certain number of crossover votes in states where you can switch parties. And they've pretty much debunked the numbers reported in The Boston Globe
Here's the link:
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_10_percent_of_hillarys_votes_come.html
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@ Xrandadu Hutman: Wow! You're Burning Up The Keyboard
I read your list of things you have against Obama. Do you have a similar list for Hillary Clinton? Or do you just give her a pass for everything?
I've posted before that I don't agree with Clinton on everything she has done and that I am more liberal than she is. I'm not going to re-post it here.
RE: The "problems" you recite and provide replies to, I didn't copy them over to this post. But I will try to reiterate what I remember that you raised.
Inexperience: As impressive as Obama's state senate experience may be (and that remains questionable in my mind, as well as in others' minds), it is not national experience by any stretch. And in the U.S. Senate, I don't know how you can say that Obama has done more than HRC, because that is questionable. HRC is ranked 9th out of 100 in the U.S. Senate for a) leadership; b) ability to get things done; c) her legislative accomplishments. (Congress.org).
Clinton's Foreign Policy Experience: You keep bringing up Clinton's lack of foreign policy experience (and the Bosnia trip) and yet, even her own staff has noted the danger of that trip (see HuffPost, for example).
She has also been given enormous credit for her work in Northern Ireland peace process.
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19398210&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=
And she participated in numerous efforts around the globe re: aid, education, human rights, diplomacy, children's/family concerns:
Clinton’s Foreign Relations experience (from 11,000 pages of Hillary Clinton’s records released for the Clinton Library, Thursday, March 20, 2008):
China
• Sept. 5, 1995: HRC traveled to Beijing and spoke out for women’s rights and human rights despite efforts by the Chinese government to discourage her visit and pull the plug on her speech.
Macedonia
• May 14, 1999: Hillary traveled to the Balkans while the NATO-led air war against the former Yugoslavia was still under way as part of a broader U.S. effort that led to the reopening of the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, permitting thousands of Kosovar refugees to flee to safety. She met separately with Prime Minister Georgievski and President Gligorov, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia Christopher Hill, to emphasize America’s support for the stability and security of Macedonia.
Northern Ireland
• Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 1995; Oct. 31, 1997; Sept. 2 – 3, 1998; May 12 – 13, 1999; Dec. 12 – 13, 2000. Hillary traveled to Northern Ireland five times as First Lady and gave what Northern Irish leader and Nobel Laureate John Hume recently described as “decisive support” to the peace process in Northern Ireland. She focused especially on encouraging the emergence of women in the political process. In addition, Hillary's work at the grass roots and behind-the-scenes helped cultivate the conditions necessary for the peace to take hold and last.
Africa
• March 17, 1997: HRC traveled to Senegal and met with Senegalese President Abdou Diouf. As she recounts in Living History, Hillary lobbied President Diouf to support legislation banning female genital mutilation and lent assistance to a grassroots campaign against the practice. Soon after that meeting, a law banning the practice was passed. [Living History, p. 400-01].
• March 27, 1997: Hillary also traveled to Tanzania and met with President Benjamin Mkapa. As she recounts in Living History, Hillary encouraged the president to eliminate laws that limited women from owning and inheriting property, restrictions that not only were unfair but hobbled the economic potential of half the country’s population. In 1999, Tanzania passed the Land Law Act and the Village Act, repealing and replacing the laws that had previously discriminated against women. [Living History, p. 403]
• March 23 – April 2, 1998: After her 1997 trip to Africa, Hillary lobbied President Clinton to go to Africa. They traveled to Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana, and Senegal.
RE: Obama's POTUS ambitions and U.S. Senate effectiveness:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
RE: Rezko - this has not been fully answered by any stretch. The entire transcript of his interview last week is here and I actually find it more troubling than I did prior to this Q&A session because of his "I don't recall" and "I can't really remember" and "I really don't know" comments-as-answers:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844597,transcript031508.article
And, as I understand it, there's a new wrinkle about "influence peddling" by another of Obama's "friends":
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3602710.ece
RE: Michelle's unfortunate comments - I don't think there is anything of a "reach" about bringing these up. They raise questions about how he will be/is seen by voters.
You can continue to reply to the concerns I raise and have raised many, many times. That doesn't mean the concerns disappear. They haven't and they won't.
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Momentum
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/03/23/endorsing-obama.aspx
Salon behind the curve.
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VOTE SUPERCOWARDS VOTE
The superdelegates are the same cowards too scared to stand up to Bush. These are the same people who have given us recession, a constitution in tatters, and war without end.
They probably lack sufficient gonads to stand up to the Clintons, alas.
I'd rather leave it to the rank and file. I would prefer a democratic system to the Democratic system. But the system is what it is, and has always been stacked against the last states in the queue. Reform it next time around.
Right now, we have a candidate, not to mention any names (Clinton) who is increasingly a monster. Not Hillzilla--something more poisonous like Hilldorah. Save the earth, supers. The time is now.
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How About...
1) all Democratic primaries being held on a single day across the country? Sunday would be perfect, as in many European countries, so most voters could participate.
2) making the primaries winner-take-all with no delegate-splitting? No need to drag this thing out ad infinitum.
3) eliminating "super delegates"? To paraphrase Shakespeare, "a delegate is a delegate is a delegate."
4) eliminating endorsements of one candidate or another by elected Democratic officials such as Governors, Senators and/or Representatives? Having one of them support one Democratic candidate over another Democratic candidate seems, to me, to be divisive. Granted, this one is a pet peeve, but, still...
5) setting a ceiling on how much each candidate can spend on the entire primary process? Obviously, the general election against the Republican/Independent candidate(s) would be an entirely different matter in funding.
Anyone like to weigh in with their thoughts? Thanks...