Hillary Clinton -- A Lifetime of Walking the Walk
Hillary’s record on civil rights isn’t just about what she’s done throughout her 35 years of advocacy, it’s about what she’ll do as President. Throughout her life, she has worked to protect civil rights and expand opportunities for African-Americans.
During this campaign, Hillary has advanced specific plans for increasing opportunities and empowering communities. From cracking down on predatory lending to creating opportunities for young people to protecting the vote to restoring the Gulf Coast, Hillary is laying out a clear blueprint for how she’ll empower African-Americans as President.
Growing Up and As a Student
* As a teenager, Sen. Clinton was inspired by seeing Dr. King speak in Chicago. [Living History, pg. 23]
* In the wake of Dr. King's assassination, Hillary organized a strike at Wellesley aimed at increasing diversity in the staff and student body. [New York Times, 9/5/07]
* As a law student she volunteered at the New Haven Legal Services offices, providing free legal aid to low income people, in need of assistance. Hillary said, "I realized that what I wanted to do with the law was to give voice to children who were not being heard." [Living History, pg. 49-50]
* Hillary took a job with Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project in Washington, DC (later the Children’s Defense Fund). WRP couldn't pay her; she was awarded a grant by the Law Student Civil Rights Research Council. Later when she back to work for the Children's Defense Fund after law school, she worked on juvenile justice issues in South Carolina. [Living History, pg. 47-49; pg. 64]
* In the summer of 1972, Hillary challenged discrimination practices. (She gathered information about "Nixon Administration's failure to enforce the legal ban on granting tax-exempt status to the private segregated academies that had sprung up in the South to avoid integrated public schools.") [Living History, pg. 57]
* Hillary headed the voter registration drive in Austin, Texas for McGovern campaign, focusing on registering black, Hispanic, and young, newly-enfranchised voters. [Living History, pg. 58-59]
In Arkansas
* Upon moving to Arkansas, Hillary taught law and ran the University of Arkansas's legal aid clinic and prison projects providing legal assistance to the poor and incarcerated. [Living History, pg. 70]
* Hillary chaired the Educational Standards Commission to reform Arkansas’ education system to better prepare young people, particularly those living in low income areas, to thrive. [Associated Press, 1/27/93]
* She served as Chair of the Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors from 1978-80, a time of expansion for LSC. [Living History, pg.83]
As First Lady
* As First Lady, Hillary championed SCHIP which today provides health care to 6 million kids. [New York Times, 3/14/07]
* Hillary led new investments in child care, including Head Start. [PL 103-252, signed 5/18/94; The Washington Post, 10/7/98; USA Today, 10/27/98]
* Hillary fought to increase access to after school opportunities. [Chicago Sun-Times, 4/28/98]
* She worked on the Family and Medical Leave Act and later fought to expand it. [Christian Science Monitor, 6/24/99; The Post-Standard, 10/23/00]
* Hillary also worked on new initiatives to help families with long-term care needs. [Talking it Over, 1/6/99]
In the Senate
* As a Senator, Hillary co-sponsored the Count Every Vote Act with Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, a comprehensive reform bill that demands an electoral system that ensures that every voter is given the opportunity to vote and makes sure those votes are counted. [Clinton Senate Office press release, 3/7/07; S. 804]
* She's co-sponsored a number of measures to help the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, working to ensure that Katrina survivors get access to affordable health care, to protect the wages of workers in New Orleans, and to fill hundreds of teaching vacancies in New Orleans schools. [S. 2164, 12/21/05; S.1749, 9/21/05; S.808, 3/8/07]
As President
* Save the Civil Rights Division from eight years of the Bush Administration. Hillary will: Direct the Attorney General to submit – within 90 days of taking office – a report that recommends how to rebuild DOJ’s traditional role in defending civil rights and the rule of law, and that reviews charges of improper, politically motivated hiring to determine whether laws were broken. Restore professionalism and remove politics from hiring, case deliberations, and policy decisions across the Department of Justice. Increase funding for the Civil Rights Division by $30 million.
* Help local school districts pursue voluntary integration and reduce racial inequality, in the face of a reactionary Supreme Court. Hillary will: Direct the Attorney General to appoint teams of EOE (Equal Opportunity in Education) consultants and deploy them to advise local school districts who want to design the most effective and proactive voluntary integration programs permitted under the Supreme Court’s recent ruling. Provide $10 million to help school districts implement these plans.
* Strengthen our voting laws so that every citizen can fully exercise his or her constitutional right to vote. Hillary will: Sign the Count Every Vote Act into law. Combat voter ID laws that have a disproportionate negative impact on minorities. Extend voting rights to citizens of D.C.
* Combat ongoing racial and sex discrimination in the labor market by improving laws and expanding enforcement. Hillary will: Fully fund and reverse the staffing cuts to the EEOC and strengthen the employment section of the Civil Rights Division. Sign into law the Paycheck Fairness Act to end gender discrimination in pay.
* Modernize and strengthen the federal hate crimes law. Hillary will: Sign into law the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
* Rebuild New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, Hillary has ten concrete ideas for ensuring that the federal government doesn’t repeat the mistakes it made while redoubling rebuilding efforts including elevating the Gulf Coast Federal Rebuilding Director, expanding housing, building 21st Century school and revitalizing a lagging health care system. [Gulf Coast Recovery Agenda]
« The Crucible Of Racial Politics | Main | Updates » HRC Talking Points On Civil Rights12 Jan 2008 04:02 pm Comments (57)
Blah blah blah. We know what you're doing, Hillary. You'll likely win by doing so, but I'll do anything I can to make sure that the Republican takes the White House in 2008 if you are nominated. I will quit my job and campaign every day, and I'll max out my contributions on the first day of the general. I've never seen anything this vile in my life in politics. Your "talking points" literally bring a tear to my eye. You know EXACTLY what you're doing - dividing the country in the most hideously racist way that we haven't seen since Wallace. But at least Wallace was overt about it. The second you win the nomination - and you will, if you pursue this racist strategy - I will never be a Democrat for the rest of my life. Ever. 
In another story with racial overtones (given that it could lead to charges to Hispanic disenfranchisement), the Nevada caucuses are being dragged to court by a teachers union that wants to prevent hotel workers (who are backing Obama) from voting on their working site.
Additionally, I promise you that we won't forget this in the general and during your first term. I can make very few guarantees in life, but one that I am certain of is that history will NOT look kindly upon you and your husband for this. I guarantee you that. You will win the nomination, but you will be destroyed by history. But, I suppose you subscribe to the George W. Bush "eh, we'll all be dead" notion on presidential legacy.
I wanted to let you know that not all African Americans think that the Clintons are playing the race card. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that its the Obama camp that is bringing this information forward as the South Carolina primary approaches. It started on Wednesday, the day after the New Hampshire loss, when Jesse Jackson, Jr., Obama's co-chair appeared on MSNBC and said that "Hillary's tears melted the Granite state, but as we move on to South Carolina, where 45% of the electorate is black, we have to ask ourselves where were those tears during Katrina." I mean seriously, if that isn't the race card, then WHAT IS? Was Senator Clinton supposed to hold a press conference and cry after Katrina? As far as Andrew Cuomo's remarks, he isn't even a part of her campaign, while Jesse Jackson Jr. is his campaign co-chair. Has the progressive community reduced itself to advocating such blatant distortions? I admit that Hillary Clinton's remarks on LBJ/MLK were inarticulate at best, but in no way was she denigrating MLK Jr. and those who gave up their lives during the civil rights movement. Finally, Bill Clinton was clearly attacking the media for the fairy tale around Obama's Iraq War stance. He was in no way referring to Obama's candidacy as a fairy tale. I for one actually appreciate the Clintons getting tough on Obama, because it shows me that they view him as a legitimate opponent. I would be much more disappointed in them if they were going soft on him out of fear of what the Black Community would say. I was especially disappointed in Rep. Clyburn because if he wanted to endorse Obama, he should endorse him on his MERITS alone, and not out of punishment relating to the Clintons' distorted remarks, which was suggested yesterday in the New York Times. I feel that the Black community must move on past the politics of victimization, and that it would be best for Obama's campaign in the long run to get over this if he was to win the Democratic Primary. If you asked me what the most explicitly racist moment of the campaign is, it would be when Obama's campaign issued a memo declaring Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic Senator from PUNJAB. On the other hand, Hillary fired the guy who referred to Obama's past drug use, but the Obama campaign, although it apologized for the D-Punjab statement, never fired the staffers who produced the memo. I would hate for Obama to win the presidency because attacks against his experience or inarticulate statements about African Americans were viewed as PLAYING THE RACE CARD. Let him win on his MERITS, and his MERITS alone. If his campaign continues to do this, for me it will suggest that Obama himself is not confident in winning on his own record. Just my thoughts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNrlSn7ndAA
Looks like someone's playing defense. Did she really have to reference her own book for this: "Sen. Clinton was inspired by seeing Dr. King speak in Chicago"? Is this really supposed to make me forget all the crap her campaign has been doing?
I'm really sitting here in tears right now. I gave my money, sweat, and total effort to the Clintons in both 1992 and 1996. I defended them vigorously against the rabid attack dogs during Bill's tenure as president, and subsequently in the Bush years. I just can't believe that for all of that effort, for all of those hours, for all of that hard earned money...I received this. I just can't even process how thoroughly I was played. I like to think of myself as very street wise, but you guys really did get me.
Voters who are not Clinton Haters want to know her experience. Here's her experience, detailed. Instead of spewing venom (while complaining that the Clintons are the divisive ones), why don't you just post YOUR candidate's work for civil rights? That would be the intelligent response.
I know how you feel Bill. Clinton apologists like to call people like us haters, but the truth is that we used to be apologists just like them. I was a supporter of Bill Clinton's way back when he was a Governor in Arkansas no one had heard of. After watching his actions in this election, however, I've lost all the respect I once had for him.
I support Obama, but I still think Hillary is an impressive person. Which reminds me that Obama should work more stories of his community organizing days, and his work as a civil rights lawyer, into his events. He alludes to them, and there are stories about those days in his first book. But telling a story or two about his achievements would both make him seem more empathetic and also remind people that his experience does not begin and end with the Senate term he started serving in 2005. The Clintons have done a remarkable job framing the experience debate as "35 years" (which takes Hillary all the way back to law school, or just after it) and "one year in the Senate," which isn't even accurate, and of course ignores Obama's two decades prior to Washington which are in some ways more impressive than Hillary's pre-Washington career.
"As a teenager, Sen. Clinton was inspired by seeing Dr. King speak in Chicago." im sure she was inspired, but isnt it just resume padding to say he inspired you? he inspired pretty much everyone who wanted to see equality and justice in america... im not sure that should count as part of her "record"
Isn't "racial slur" a little harsh? It's more like political opportunism... http://www.political-buzz.com/
I am less than impressed - "Hillary was instrumental in promoting SCHIP" - give me a break! And she quotes an article in NYT as evidence...yes probably a quote by herself saying she did it is now evidence that she actually did it. SCHIP was created in 1997 as a bipartisan effort. Hillary was not even an elected official then - what exactly did she do...? For Obama's record, read a pretty good article in WaPo sometime back: Judge Him by His Laws By Charles Peters People who complain that Barack Obama lacks experience must be unaware of his legislative achievements. Since most of Obama's legislation was enacted in Illinois, most of the evidence is found there -- and it has been largely ignored by the media in a kind of Washington snobbery that assumes state legislatures are not to be taken seriously. I am a rarity among Washington journalists in that I have served in a state legislature. I know from my time in the West Virginia legislature that the challenges faced by reform-minded state representatives are no less, if indeed not more, formidable than those encountered in Congress. For me, at least, trying to deal with those challenges involved as much drama as any election. And the "heart and soul" bill, the one for which a legislator gives everything he or she has to get passed, has long told me more than anything else about a person's character and ability. Consider a bill into which Obama clearly put his heart and soul. The problem he wanted to address was that too many confessions, rather than being voluntary, were coerced -- by beating the daylights out of the accused. Obama proposed requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped. This seemed likely to stop the beatings, but the bill itself aroused immediate opposition. There were Republicans who were automatically tough on crime and Democrats who feared being thought soft on crime. There were death penalty abolitionists, some of whom worried that Obama's bill, by preventing the execution of innocents, would deprive them of their best argument. Vigorous opposition came from the police, too many of whom had become accustomed to using muscle to "solve" crimes. And the incoming governor, Rod Blagojevich, announced that he was against it. Obama had his work cut out for him. He responded with an all-out campaign of cajolery. It had not been easy for a Harvard man to become a regular guy to his colleagues. Obama had managed to do so by playing basketball and poker with them and, most of all, by listening to their concerns. Even Republicans came to respect him. One Republican state senator, Kirk Dillard, has said that "Barack had a way both intellectually and in demeanor that defused skeptics." The police proved to be Obama's toughest opponent. Legislators tend to quail when cops say things like, "This means we won't be able to protect your children." The police tried to limit the videotaping to confessions, but Obama, knowing that the beatings were most likely to occur during questioning, fought -- successfully -- to keep interrogations included in the required videotaping. By showing officers that he shared many of their concerns, even going so far as to help pass other legislation they wanted, he was able to quiet the fears of many. Obama proved persuasive enough that the bill passed both houses of the legislature, the Senate by an incredible 35 to 0. Then he talked Blagojevich into signing the bill, making Illinois the first state to require such videotaping. Obama didn't stop there. He played a major role in passing many other bills, including the state's first earned-income tax credit to help the working poor and the first ethics and campaign finance law in 25 years (a law a Post story said made Illinois "one of the best in the nation on campaign finance disclosure"). Obama's commitment to ethics continued in the U.S. Senate, where he co-authored the new lobbying reform law that, among its hard-to-sell provisions, requires lawmakers to disclose the names of lobbyists who "bundle" contributions for them. Taken together, these accomplishments demonstrate that Obama has what Dillard, the Republican state senator, calls a "unique" ability "to deal with extremely complex issues, to reach across the aisle and to deal with diverse people."
Bill - - I think you'll have some help in trying to prevent Hillary from becoming president. See below.
Hillary Clinton might win the nomination, but there are a number of problems with selecting her: (1)Recent polls have shown that 50% of the country won’t vote for her in the general election under ANY circumstances, so she’s already playing on a really short field. It’s tough to win if half the country has turned its back on your candidacy and you don’t know for sure if you have the full support of the other half. (2)The republicans want to run against her because they have 20 years’ worth of dirt against the Clintons to regurgitate in swiftboat ads during the general election. (3)She needs independents to win, and Obama polls better than her with independents in general election match-ups. (4)Bloomberg’s group, Unity08, has made it very clear that unless the parties nominate candidates that are NOT polarizing, they will place a very well-funded independent candidate (i.e. Bloomberg – who has up to $1 BILLION to spend) into the race. In other words they will throw in a SPOILER. Bloomberg is Ralph Nader X100. Hillary is the most polarizing candidate in either race, and she’s the one who 50% of the country won’t vote for in the general election, and who has a greater problem attracting independents – and the polls show this is in a two-party race WITHOUT a spoiler. So, the presence of a spoiler in the race is going to hurt Hillary (i.e. democrats) the most. Given these facts, I think Unity08 has been formed to stop Hillary from becoming president. I think if democrats insist on nominating Hillary, we will for sure be in for 8 more years of republican rule.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNrlSn7ndAA who really is playing the race card I mean Jesse Jackson, between accusing Hillary Clinton of crying about her appearance, and not crying during Katrina, blatantly points out that we move on to South Carolina where 45% of the electorate is black. THERE IS A CALCULATED strategy here to paint the Clintons as racist. Whatever.. Grow up and stop victimizing yourself.
Wait! There's more. While Camp Clinton is trying to put out some fires arising from perceived racial insensitivity, the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza is reporting that a Clinton pollster, Sergio Bendixen, said this: “The Hispanic voter—and I want to say this very carefully—has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.” This is an on-the-record quote from a paid Clinton adviser, so no more excuse making, please. The Clintons will destroy any ideal, any aspiration if it gets them elected. It seems to me like Hillary was inspired by MLK, Jr., and would follow his ideals as long as they don't hurt her. The Clintons are principled, but their principle is expedience.
Wait! There's more. While Camp Clinton is trying to put out some fires arising from perceived racial insensitivity, the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza is reporting that a Clinton pollster, Sergio Bendixen, said this: “The Hispanic voter—and I want to say this very carefully—has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.” This is an on-the-record quote from a paid Clinton adviser, so no more excuse making, please. The Clintons will destroy any ideal, any aspiration if it gets them elected. It seems to me like Hillary was inspired by MLK, Jr., and would follow his ideals as long as they don't hurt her. The Clintons are principled, but their principle is expedience.
Hillary CLinton D-Punjab WORSE THAN MACACA
Thanks, guys. And now we have the inevitable (D-Punjab) reply, as if it's a) morally equivalent and/or b) remotely recent. It was in very poor form, and Obama acknowledged the memo as such. But, yeah, an overeager moronic staffer's memo is exactly the same as an obviously concerted attempt to race-bait (see the numerous examples over the past month). I suppose moral equivalence from Clinton's supporters is befitting of their campaign, and, to my great distress, what looks to be their political careers.
I mean, really, this is the EXACT same stuff we've heard from the Bush supporters since 2000. They'll engage in a far-reaching Swiftboating, but they'll defend these actions by pointing to some random stupid remark from a Gore or Kerry adviser/staffer. "See you do it too! It's equal! In fact, you're worse!" This is one of the main reasons that Swiftboating is so effective.
What the hell is Obama doing recently? All your latest are about HRC.
Don't forget this example. She is too deliberate and smart for it to be an accident. AP: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton apologized for joking that Mahatma Gandhi used to run a gas station in St. Louis, saying it was "a lame attempt at humor." The New York Democrat made the remark at a fund-raiser Saturday. During an event here for Senate candidate Nancy Farmer, Clinton introduced a quote from Gandhi by saying, "He ran a gas station down in St. Louis." http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/06/elec04.s.mo.farmer.clinton.ap
Anyone who knows anything about the Clintons knows how desperate these attacks by Obama are. He really has sunk pretty low. He does not seem to care if he tears the party apart to get to the Whitehouse.
As some folks want to bring the D-Punjab story into this conversation, it should be pointed out that Senator Clinton referred to herself as such, and it was after her remark that the Obama campaign put out the memo.
CarolinaGirl, You mean how desperate the attacks by Clinton are? She is the one tearing the country apart into divisive lines, by asking women to support her and then making racially insensitive comments about MLK.
A question to all! How the hell Hillary said that she was inspired by MLK while she was a Goldwater republican whom we know opposed Civil Rights Act? Can someone please explain this to me?
The Clintons are every bit as sleazy as the Republicans. Every bit. I will never forgive the Democrats if they nominate her instead of Obama.
Marc, Why are you just posted Hillary's talking points? Are you a journalist?
Marc, Why are you just posting Hillary's talking points? Are you a journalist? Or just interested in advertising her positions?
Bela! I was just going to congratulate you for posting Obama's record, like I challenged all the others blabbing here to do... And then I get to the bottom of the posts and you're a Clinton Hater! BELA! Do you see the utter hypocrisy in Obama promising us to believe that he's a uniter, and then you making personal attacks on my candidate, Hillary Clinton? Stick with advocating for your own candidate instead of attacking mine and I'll believe in your candidate's leadership abilities, rather than his beautiful promises of "hoping" to bring us all together.
Here is the rationale for Clinton attack machine going after Obama: 1. We hurt this guy. We may get some bad press. We may lose some core support. We may burn some bridges, but not all. Thus, we win. 2. We try to reach out, especially low-education women and men. HRC will wear the cross on all clothes. 3. We win the nomination. 4. In the general, we just scare voters. We talk about Supreme Court, Right Wing Conspiracy, Fox news. 5. We win. Bottom line: The Clinton Attack Machine Axiom: The voters will vote for us no matter what. We will win. Always. We are the Clintons.
Having stolen the election in New Hampshire, Hillary is now trying to suppress voter turnout in Nevada. George W Bush in a pantsuit.
Has anyone seen Blazing Saddles? The western spoof. There is Hadley who is telling a his hired hand: Let us get crooks, thugs, pugs, etc. The list is amazingly long. Funny. That is how Clintons will win the General. The Carville, etc. will say: Let us get the pinkos, etc. each and every group. Let us scare of them all into voting for us. The bridges they burn in primary (hurting Obama) will be re-generated back in the original form. You have to admire the Clintons. They are the best couple on this Planet. The entire human history has no one other manipulative/power-hungry couple like this one.
So as a law student in Hillary Clinton volunteered at the New Haven Legal Services offices, providing free legal aid to low income people (ie african americans), in need of legal assistence. But Barack Obama while in law school focused on polishing his resume by becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Now who am I supposed to believe did more for blacks again?
Ken, Umm...maybe all those years as a community organizer on Chicago's south side? Or Obama's voting rights efforts?
I doesn't matter what HRC did for civil rights in the past if, when crunch time comes, she resorts to a racist smear campaign against her opponent. And when it was crunch time for health care? She failed. And when it was crunch time for deciding about Iraq? She failed. A bunch of baby steps forward, and multiple large leaps back.
As if this matters. It doesn't matter. She engaged in Dogwhistle Politics. The only folks this tripe matters to is the apologists telling those of us who point it out that it's in our 'imagination.'
And as an undergraduate Hillary Clinton organized students to demand more African American professors be hired and African American students be admitted. Years later when Obama was an undergraduate at Occidental College in Los Angeles and then Columbia University in New York he did what? He did nothing. Upon graduation Hillary went to Yale Law School where she volunteered her time to provide legal aide to the local minority community. Meanwhile Obama, upon graduation went first to do some three years of community orgainizing work in Chicago, then on to Harvard Law where worked on polishing his resume by winning the presidnecy of the Harvard Law Review.
“Hillary Clinton -- A Lifetime of Walking the Walk,” unfortunately political advisor Sidney Blumenthal wasn’t so lucky. At 12:30 am. Monday morning, one day before the New Hampshire state primary (Funny we didn't hear about it.) Mr. Blumenthal’s rental car careened through Greeley Park at speeds in excess of 70-mph., in a 30-mph. zone. Nashua police apprehended Sidney. Sid failed to walk the walk - the field sobriety test - got arrested. Kind of like Dee Dee Myers does every so often. Sidney Blumenthal, longtime friend and senior adviser to presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. was intoxicated. Sidney, who refused the Breathalyzer test (burp), was booked for Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, DWI: http://theseedsof9-11.com
The last few posts from Hillary supporters are very revealing of how twisted their logic is. They say that Hillary volunteered at a clinic while in law school, and that this is superior to Obama's service as editor in chief of the Harvard Law Review, as if it is impossible in law school to do law review work AND community work in clinics. I'd be surprised if Obama did not volunteer at clinics in law school, and by the way, many law students put in a few hours a month, so if Hillary did what is typical, it's not a big deal. Second, the Hillary supporters laud Hillary's efforts to work for a more diverse faculty. But guess what, folks? I worked on faculty diversity at my law school, and the best way to diversify faculties is to find African Americans and Latinos who performed work in law school that most closely approximates the work of a faculty member, and that work is -- of course -- working on and editing a law review. If Obama and other African Americans like him had not done the law review work that you Hillary supporters denigrate, the pool for diversifying law faculties would be smaller and the work of diversity committees would be for naught. Oh, and by the way, Obama diversified the University of Chicago's own law school faculty by being part of it, you morons! I hate to throw out this kind of invective; I'm usually more restrained. But saying that Hillary's work on a student committee in favor of diversity is superior to Obama's actual embodiment of what it takes to diversify faculties in the best possible way, is just rank blind partisanship.
It seems Obama partisans cannot follow simple time lines but can make fallacous inferences. Hillary's undergraduate years at Wellesey preceded Obama's undergraduate years at Occidental and Columbia by about two decades. During Hillary's time at Wellesey she prepared the ground for more minority faculty and students by organizing students to demand more diversity. Years later Obama may have himself benefited from similiar efforts undertaken by Hillary like efforts at Occidental and at Columbia by students who preceded him to those campuses. But what did Obama do while he was there, perhaps due in some measure to the efforts of others who proceeded him, to further help those who may come after? He did NOTHING. But he did, as one Obama fan point out, plan assidously to take full advantage of the diversity efforts opened up to him by people like Hillary Clinton by polishing up his resume with the Harvard Law Review. And low and behold, what Hillary Clinton had worked for so many years earlier and in a different setting, Obama made it to the faculty of Chicago Law School, thereby adding to the diversity of the faculty, just like Hillary wanted. Obama is a good man but he is standing on the shoulders of those who went before him and made it all possible. Hillary Clinton certainly deserves some credit for that. Don't you all think? Obama is not running against someone who stood in his way. He is running against someone who worked to open the doors to talented people like Obama so he could reach his full potential. Yet Obama supporters treat her like she has turned a fire hose on him and is denying an entitlement. Get a clue. Obama is not entitled to the nomination. He has to earn it. The door is open but just because he chooses to walk through it doesn't mean anyone else has to step off the sidewalk to let him pass.
I would think with 35 years experience (that's what she says right?) she might have actually accomplished a little more than this. When you have to put down being inspired as an achievement your in REALLY bit trouble.
RaymondA, your rank partisanship is showing, while you accuse Clinton supporters of rank partisanship. We have before us a detailed list of what Hillary has done for civil rights. Other than being a black man, we're asking what Obama has done. Give us the list instead of just calling us partisan hacks! This is the very complaint the Clintons have: Why is it that the only thing Obama supporters can see is the first thing on the list -- that MLKJr inspired her? Is that a problem all the sudden, that she marks the year and gives you a reference to the story of how he inspired her???!!!??? Has anyone even read her book??? You're like rabid dogs. Instead of just stopping and making fun of the very first thing on her very detailed list... Then let's see OBAMA's detailed list of the *WORK* he's actually done for civil rights! Let's stop with the personal OPINIONS about Hillary Clinton and go on with the FACTS about Barack Obama's WORK in civil rights. Yeah, we know; he's a black man.
Jan, Fair point - I admit I am not 'above the fray' and admire Senator Obama for not giving into the urge to slam HRC. I guess I was ok with HRC before she intertwined her campaign with Bill's presidency. That brought back memories of all the sex, lies, and scandals of the period (especially the public humiliation and smearing of Paula Jones, Monica L and other women, who were just victims of a powerful, predatory man). And now, seeing how Clinton is conducting the campaign, I wonmder how anyone who believes in democracy can stay quiet or support HRC(please see http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/) Jan, please read the WaPo link above (the article is called: Gone From the Granite State, But Tactics Not Forgotten) and help me understand how a Clinton supporter views/supports these tactics
Jan, Barack Obama and Civil rights below: Barack Obama's Plan Combat Employment Discrimination Expand Hate Crimes Statutes End Deceptive Voting Practices End Racial Profiling Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support Eliminate Sentencing Disparities Expand Use of Drug Courts Barack Obama's Record
When I see Hillary's Clinton's record laid out, I want to ask what she did for the other 34 years. This is a pretty thin, even unconvincing resume for someone who touts herself as experienced. All I can see is some lightweight resume building (volunteering at a law school clinic, for heaven's sake!), for which others did the heavy loading. And where, exactly, is the mention of "leading the healthcare initiative during my husband's first term"? Or does the most significant political initiative of her life not count? But of course, we can't talk about abject failures, not in a candidate of experience, not in the case of a woman who is now playing the victim card to mask incompetence, corruption and relentless self-promotion. As for the Count Every Vote Act, to take another "achievement" - has it been passed into law? Hmmm? Shall we talk about some actual achievements, rather than the bills which HRC sponsored - and which went nowhere. Where are the real, substantive achievements rather than the resume prettying and the rhetorical manipulations to hide a mediocre record? If this is the "beef", well, we definitely have a candidate who is all talk and no cattle.
Ken and Jan...in an effort to elevate the conversation a tad, I'm hoping to engage you and other Clinton supporters in a real conversation. I have a daughter in college right now. We come from modest means. She volunteers for causes she believes in as time allows, but it is imperative that she work 20-30 hours a week to afford school. She understands that her first priority is to get educated (3.7 GPA 16 credit hours a semester), work to pay for that education (20-30 hours a week), and with what time (not a ton and certainly not as much as she wants) she has left engage her volunteer work (women's transit, achieved varsity status..allows for scholarships to be given.. for a newly formed lacrosse team that she started two years ago from scratch, holds a senate seat on the student body government to work for more equity on campus, volunteers for CASA fundraising (an organization for court children advocates) to name some. I wonder if HRC was forced to work in college? Perhaps you could enlighten me there. I understand Obama came from very modest means and may have had limited time for volunteering, although I don't know if he did or not. I also wonder if you have any qualms at all with a former President of the United States campaigning for any candidate with the candor WJC has? I know Carter gets quite a bit of flack as behaving in an unPresidential manner when he throws his sometimes very controversial comments out about subjects close to him. I know we would all sort of snicker if GWB came out as vociferously for a candidate as WJC has...course GWB has so little credibility, we probably wouldn't blink. I rather admire GHWB for his restraint when his son ran...he wore his Presidential manner well, don't you think? What about Ford or Reagan? I don't think it does the Dems any good as a party, nor our nation as a whole when a former President is out calling other candidates campaigns fairy tales, "not even close in experience" when their experiences have been different so not wholly comparable, "rolling the dice" implying ?, etc. As the supposed titular head of the Dem party, and a former President of the United States of America, is it not incumbent on WJC to come out very publically and very loudly that we should all stop the race implications? Isn't that what leaders do? Perhaps you could fill me in on these things to START a real conversation about the REAL differences in these two candidates? Thank you.
Bill Clinton is criticized for not voicing criticism loudly enough against a sitting president in the case of the war and criticised for being an advocate for his wife and candidate. The real problem now with Obama is that his followers are just like deans: too much whining. If they want to run a third party candidacy they should know many americans don't agree with them: its not racist or old fashioned to distrust someone who is running against a candidate you support. Obama supporters are prima donnas already.
its not racist or old fashioned to distrust someone who is running against a candidate you support. Obama supporters are prima donnas already Michael...do you not see the dichotomy with this statement? Obama supporters are prima donnas but HRC supporters have every right to *distrust* Obama? See...this doesn't start a dialogue. It just perpetuates the back and forth, we -v- them stuff that all of us need to stop if we ever want to address the really big problems this country faces.
But doesn't that make it seriously incumbent on him to also be *loud and proud* about the core principles of his party by condemning ALL remarks with even the slightest tone of race or race baiting? I happen to think that one of 43 people in HISTORY to hold the most powerful position on earth should use more decorum...but I guess we can disagree on that if you like. And if HRC is convinced she is the best and most prepared to lead this country, isn't it even more incumbent on her to outright decry any remark made by anyone that would pit race against race, gender against gender, generation against generation, income class against income class? Serious inquiry.
1980-1992 looks a little thin, doesn't it?
Dear G. Davis-
re: "And if HRC is convinced she is the best and most prepared to lead this country, isn't it even more incumbent on her to outright decry any remark made by anyone that would pit race against race, gender against gender, generation against generation, income class against income class?" Excuse me? There were no remarks pitting race against race, gender against gender, generation against generation, or class against class... G Davis, Obama is the one who promised to bring us all together under his leadership. It is now obvious that he can't even bring Democrats together under his leadership.
Hillary should also bring up Bill's illegitimate half black baby and his many "visits" with black women in Arkansas. He's been a HUGE supporter for years.
It MUST be a slow news cycle, because I can't believe that this non-story has become a real "story". I know that some in the media want to believe that all black people should be for Obama, but guess what, I don't need you to tell me how "historic" this election is, nor, do I need you to tell me who to vote for. The Clintons have a long and successful record on causes that are sensitive to civil rights so that in itself makes me skeptical of those who've tried to manipulate Sen. Clinton's words to fit their own political agenda. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather see a sermon than hear one, anyday & I've been watching with admiration that both Bill and Hillary's sermon for years. Now back to the issues that really matter...
2 bullet points for 8 years in the Senate? These are things I remember and place at the feet of the Clintons--Bill or Hillary, doesn't matter. They're the power-hungry power couple. And HRC loves to be close to the power.
NEWS FLASH ! (SPREAD THE WORD) A March 12, 2007 article written by acclaimed Washington columnist Robert Novak sheds a very revealing light on the true sentiment of Hillary Clinton during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. In an attempt to attract black support Hillary Clinton regularly shares her 'civil rights experience' during every speech given to black audiences. Novak writes of one such speech at Selma's First Baptist Church on the 42nd anniversary of the "bloody Sunday" freedom march there, where Sen. Clinton declared: "As a young woman, I had the great privilege of hearing Dr. King speak in Chicago. The year was 1963. The fact is, in 1963, not only was Hillary Clinton a republican, but she was also a staunch supporter of republican Senator Barry Goldwater, well known as a segregationist and one of the most vocal senators adamently against the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is why he lost in his presidential bid to Lyndon B. Johnson. Novak writes "...how then could she be a 'Goldwater Girl' in the next year's presidential election?" He continues, "...she described herself in her memoirs as 'an active Young Republican' and 'a Goldwater girl, right down to my cowgirl outfit.' Novak adds, "As a politically attuned honor student, she must have known that Goldwater was one of only six Republican senators who joined Southern Democratic segregationists opposing the histo ric voting rights act of 1964 inspired by King. Hillary headed the Young Republicans at Wellesley College. The incompatibility of those two positions of 40 years ago was noted to me (Novak) by Democratic old-timers who were shocked by Sen. Clinton's temerity in pursuing her presidential candidacy." To Read Novak's original article simply Google ' Hillary, King, Goldwater '. His article is everywhere. Then SHARE THE TRUTH. We've had a liar in office long enough. NO MORE !!!!!
NEWS FLASH: Blacks Learning A March 12, 2007 article written by acclaimed Washington columnist Robert Novak sheds a very revealing light on the true sentiment of Hillary Clinton during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. Clinton recently was found to have minimized the great and monumental strides taken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by stating that it was Lyndon B. Johnson, then president, who should receive the credit for civil rights progress including the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
|
Subscribe to this blog by Email Twitter || On Facebook || QIK Live Channel  Recent Posts
Monthly Archives
|
| 
"I'm Hillary Clinton and I approved this racial slur"
Posted by Hillary | January 12, 2008 4:08 PM