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Now It's Weird

TUESDAY MAY 13 2008 6:00 AM

Submitted by FearTheReaper. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Democratic Primary

When the Democratic primaries began I was afraid the party faithful would pick Hillary Clinton as the nominee. She would have lost handily to any Republican nominee and energized the right wing base, creating coattails for GOP gains in Congress. As the primaries continued, it became apparent that Hillary probably wasn�t going to win the nomination. Yet, she continued. I then became angry at her campaign�s obvious racism and ugly tactics. Finally, she began attacking Obama like she was Karl Rove. At that point, I went from anger to hate. I despised the demon with every fiber in my body. But, again, my feelings have changed. Now I am bewildered and confused by her inability to face reality.

Her actions remind me of a couple of situations. The first is the execution of Ricky Ray Rector in 1992. Ricky killed a cop and then shot himself in the head. He survived, but was basically lobotomized. On the night of his execution, he set aside his desert (pecan pie) so he could come back and eat it when he returned from the electric chair. There may not be a more appropriate analogy for Hillary than Rickey Ray Rector. The only situation that comes close occurred in England during the time of King Arthur.

The race for the presidency was over in February. Then it was really, really over on March 5th, after the Ohio and Texas primaries. There was just no way Hillary would ever catch him in delegates after that day. But she kept on going. Six weeks later, she actually won Pennsylvania by 9 points, which only set her back further, and yet she continued on, in a delusional stupor. Finally, on May 6th, Hillary lost the nomination when Obama crushed her in North Carolina and tied her in Indiana. Now, everyone knows Hillary has lost - except Hillary.

The media declared the race over.

David Gergen, a former adviser to several presidents, including Mrs. Clinton�s husband: �I think the Clinton people know the game is almost up.�

Bob Franken, political analyst: �Let�s put it right on the table: It�s over. It�s over.�

Bob Schieffer, CBS News: �Basically, Maggie, this race is over.�

George Stephanopoulos, ABC: �This nomination fight is over.�

Yet, that did not stop Hillary. She has decided to continue on, despite this little thing called reality. And even though one of America�s main polling institutions has decided to just stop asking polling questions about her.

However, while Senator Clinton has remained close and competitive in every meaningful measure, she is a close second and the race is over. It has become clear that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee.

Even if every single Superdelegate was convinced that the former First Lady is somewhat more electable than Obama, that is not enough of a reason to deny him the nomination.

With this in mind, Rasmussen Reports will soon end our daily tracking of the Democratic race and focus exclusively on the general election competition between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

Well, that�s no reason to stop, is it? Hillary�s only hope is to convince the Superdelegates to overturn the will of the people and vote for her. She apparently is unaware that her 108 Superdelegate lead has evaporated and she now trails trails Obama in the party insider vote.

Sen. Barack Obama moved into the lead today in the last category that Sen. Hillary Clinton had claimed to have an edge -- support among the Democratic Party's Superdelegates.

The Illinois Democrat grabbed the superdelegate lead thanks to a switch by New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne and an endorsement from previously uncommitted Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Those two votes gave Obama a 267-266 lead over Clinton. That is a huge shift since the days when Clinton boasted about a 60-plus-vote lead among the party's pros back on Super Tuesday.

Since last Tuesday, Obama has picked up 20 Superdelegates and Hillary has picked up 1.5. And now Obama�s spokesman is sending out emails, seeking staff for the upcoming general election.

From: Dan Pfeiffer [mailto:XXXXX]

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 5:52 PM

Subject: Resumes and Recommendations

While Barack continues to campaign hard in the upcoming primary states, we have begun collecting resumes for communications staff for the general election. Pls send resumes of friends and colleagues who you would recommend to become part of our organization either in Chicago or in a state to XXXXXX.

Thanks,

Dan Pfeiffer

Just a guy who won the Democratic primary staffing up to take on the other party�s nominee, while a bag lady runs around in the alley screaming, �I�m the nominee, I�m the nominee.�

Obama has moved on. He�s no longer running against Hillary. Today he will fly to Michigan, where he will meet with state leaders to discuss seating the state�s delegates. Obama is doing so because he WON the Democratic primary.

Obama will meet with leading Democrats and campaign in Michigan on Wednesday, staking a claim to vital general election turf and working toward a compromise that would seat Michigan's disputed delegates at the Democratic National Convention in August.

The Obama campaign will not be fighting too hard for the final Democratic delegates. They don�t need to. They have decided to turn their attention John McCain � mostly because he�s the only opponent left.

"Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests, but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall. John McCain has gone unchallenged for far too long and we're going to make sure that voters in competitive states know the choice in this election between changing Washington and the third term of George Bush's failed policies that McCain is offering."

Nothing to worry about, Hillary. Don�t pay attention to the fact that Obama is ignoring you and campaigning in Florida and Missouri.

This is the point in the movie where drunk brother keeps trying to fight sober brother, who wants nothing to do with it.

EXT. LAWN.

The brothers square off on the law. Sober Brother slowly backs up. Drunk Brother lunges and swings wildly at Sober Brother. Sober Brother easily ducks the blow.

I�m not going to fight you.

You think you�re better than me?!

Stop. Dad wouldn�t want this.

Drunk Brother lunges again. Sober brother steps to the left. Drunk Brother misses and collapses face down in the flowerbed.

Sober Brother takes Drunk Brother�s car keys out of his pocket.

Dad loved me more.

You can wash up in the bathroom. I put some sheets on the couch.

Sober Brother enters the house he alone inherited from their father.

I�m sleeping right here. In my flowerbed! Forever!

FADE TO SADNESS

Like most drunks, Hillary isn�t so good with her money, either. She�s $20 million in the hole � and her enablers are telling her to keep the party going.

Clinton aides continued to insist that she will remain in the race even while confirming that she is $20 million in debt. "The voters are going to decide this," senior adviser Howard Wolfson said on "Fox News Sunday," acknowledging the $20 million figure. "There is no reason for her not to continue this process."

Right, no reason � except she lost. And she�s broke. And 11-year-old kids are selling their bikes to keep the party going.

When Hatfield presented former President Bill Clinton with a check for $440 after Friday's rally at the Williamson Fire Station, the man who was once the leader of the free world seemed to nearly come to tears.

"You sold your bike to get this?'' Clinton asked.

The reply was "yes'' and a whole lot more.

Hatfield feels so strongly that Hillary Clinton should be the next president he not only sold his bicycle, but video games and anything else he could find that "I could make money with'' to donate to the former first lady's bid for the Democratic nomination.

"I was thinking one day how could I make money for the campaign,'' he says. "And I just went through my closet and found things I didn't need.''

The result was a donation that for the most part left the former president, who is known as a great communicator, speechless.

This has moved from distressing to absurd to pathetic. Hillary Clinton is a walking, talking joke. Every time she enters a room, people should say, �Dead man walking.� Maybe then she�ll start to figure it out. I mean, I doubt it, but at least it's something.

112 Comments

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coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JUN 04, 2008 07:29 PM

motorfirebox said:

SockPuppet said:
Then you understand that these observations are best handled via blogs.

yes, because a discussion board is certainly no place for opinions.

bald_eagle said:
The thing that I notice is that they were initially expressed as facts, not opinions.

When challenged for the basis of his assertions, he said they were based on personal observations. In other words, he couldn't give a cogent basis for them as opinions, much less as facts as he originally presented them.

his statements were obviously subjective, and should be taken as such. to view them otherwise is to be deliberately obtuse.

and i'm still wondering what's so offensive about these observations.

I found it offensive because he said, without any qualification, that all people in the North are racist. Simple as that. I quoted it more than once. And not only is that an offensive charge, it is completely unsupportable. Yes, he meant it as an abstract generalization based on his limited observations. But it was such a worthless observation that it should be attacked.

motorfirebox

Pittsburgh, PA

March 2004

JUN 04, 2008 07:33 PM

he used a conversational shortcut that is quite common on this and most other internet forums. the only motive i can conjure for haranguing him for it after he has admitted his mistake is a desire to avoid discussing the subject.

coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

JUN 04, 2008 07:47 PM

motorfirebox said:
he used a conversational shortcut that is quite common on this and most other internet forums. the only motive i can conjure for haranguing him for it after he has admitted his mistake is a desire to avoid discussing the subject.

What was the subject? I forget.

LostLucy

USA

December 2006

JUN 04, 2008 07:47 PM

What was unclear here?

There were some broad sweeping remarks made here that are shocking. Are you discounting the interacial marriages in the north when you say"Whites in teh north do not like individual blacks", for instance.

Move on. we discuss race in context but need not waste time trying to explain.

coyotemike said:

Domo_Kun said:

Toku666 said:

Domo_Kun said:

Uglynproud said:

Alfaduetto said:
Being a rehabilitated Yankee [PA]myself, I was really taken aback by the evolution of the new racist states. They ain't in the south no mo they're up North. That's the great circle of life I guess Simba.

I moved from the North to the South 6 years ago, and that was the first thing I noticed. Friends in New York still don't believe me. The North is a way more racist than the South, but the media keeps perpetuating the old Southern Racist stereotype.

There's a different dynamic in the North. In the North, white people do not like individual black people, but love them as a group. In the South, racism is manifested by hatred toward black people as a group, while many white racists may like individual black folks.

For example, a white man living in Chicago is more likely to express an opinion against racial profiling and in support of Affirmative Action, but is also more likely to draw his children closer to him if he encounters a black man on the street, or move out of his neighbourhood if a black family moves in.

So please link us to the abstract for the intensive sociological study you are either citing or have conducted yourself.

...because otherwise you're talking complete shit.

We can certainly all hypothesize about the characterization of racism in the North versus the South, but without something solid to go on, we're (at best) talking about personal experiences. And don't ever forget that plenty of racists know they're not "supposed to be" racists, and don't ever let anybody know how they really feel.

Where the fuck did I cite any sort of study? It was purely conjecture based on my own observations, and was supposed to be taken as such.

Your own observations are bullshit. White Flight hasn't happened in years, and unless you observed how your hypothetical white guy on the street with his kids reacts to EVERY stranger they encounter on a daily basis (and discounting the possibility that the probable 1 person you saw do this isn't an individual racist) you have really said nothing.

motorfirebox

Pittsburgh, PA

March 2004

JUN 04, 2008 08:14 PM

coyotemike said:
I found it offensive because he said, without any qualification, that all people in the North are racist. Simple as that.

i read it as a description of what racism is like in the north. to say that all people in the north are racist would be fairly confrontational; since Domo_Kun's tone was not confrontational, my assumption was that his statement was intended to be applied only to the group being discussed--namely, racists. ie, it should not have been taken as a blanket statement concerning all northerners.

LostLucy

USA

December 2006

JUN 04, 2008 09:57 PM

motorfirebox said:

coyotemike said:
I found it offensive because he said, without any qualification, that all people in the North are racist. Simple as that.

This is an interactive internet forum where everyone tries to discuss current events. It is debate at times, a cocktail party at other times.

You will note people wanting a civilized discourse generally tend to, try to express opinions with qualifiers and facts with sources. You will also note that people try to stay on topic in conversations.

He did make broad sweeping generalizations without qualifying them, and people did take umbrage, and here you are a day later trying to explain and defend these remarks, and here I am trying to say ...

Negative racial stereotypes stated as facts can and do hurt feelings.

Here in this thread we were discussing Hilary Clinton leaving the race, and how she wouldn't.

SO when he inserted his feelings as fact...

everyone walked away from him at the cocktail party.

Not because we aren't intelligent people looking to have civilized discourse, but because perpetuating these stereotypes is not helpful and dated.

People tried to explain this. I'm sorry if you don;t understand where the hostility comes from. You missed something. Go back because even your friend understood to let it die...