Hillary’s Voice

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Pat Racimora at No Quarter (reposted)

Follow the Money: Pringle: Curtain Time for Obama (Short Version Part 1)  (Rezko Watch)
Evelyn Pringle has written a condensed version of Part 1 to her May 13, 2008, article “Curtain Time for Obama”… In her introduction to Part 1, Pringle wrote: “Republicans have enough damaging information against Barack Obama to knock him off the ballot before the November election. Those at the top of the Democratic Party know this by now and voters need to recognize that if they nominate him they are throwing the election. Nothing else can explain why they would allow this disaster to happen.”
By the way, I was apparently wrong by saying Obama is beholden to both Illinois Democratic machines.  According to Evie, I wasn’t inclusive enough.  He’s part of the COMBINE that includes the Illinois Democratic machines AND Republicans.  If that’s not enough to give America pause, I don’t know what is.  The Texas Mafia will move out and the Illinois Mafia will move in, if Obama becomes president.

Curtain Time for Barack Obama - Part II (by Evelyn Pringle, posted at Scoop, N.Z.)
Curtain Time Part II will show that Obama was the inside guy in the Illinois senate as far as setting up the Health Facilities Planning Board to extort contributions from companies in exchange for the approval of applications to build medi[c]al facilities.

More of Evelyn Pringle’s articles posted at Scoop:
Barack Obama - The Wizard of Oz
Barack Obama - Operation Board Games for Slumlords
Barack Obama - Subplots of Operation Board Games Part I
Curtain Time For Barack Obama - Part I

Clinton wins most West Virginia delegates
WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won most of the delegates in West Virginia’s Democratic primary Tuesday.

According to Obama, Hillary is Winning (by Joyan and Bud White at No Quarter)
The Obama campaign has argued that Super Delegates ought to vote in accordance with the “will” of the people. Really? Then let’s run the numbers. Under that metric, who would have a lead in Super Delegates? The Super Delegate total from the states that Hillary has won thus far (including FL and MI) is 418, to Obama’s 372. If the MI delegates are split 50/50, Clinton still wins 403.5 to Obama’s 386.5. If Super Delegates are counted according to Barack’s formula, Hillary wins the nomination. Period.
Click through to see the state by state count.

The DNC Rules and the Case for MI and FL (Operation Independent)
According to Rule 11, Iowa could hold its caucus no earlier than January 14, New Hampshire no earlier than January 22, and South Carolina no earlier than January 29… It is well known by now that Florida violated Rule 11 and moved the primary up seven days previous to February 5, while Michigan moved their primary up 21 days early. The story we rarely hear is that Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina also violate Rule 11 by moving their caucuses/primaries up to January 3, January 8 and January 26 respectively… “… [T]he Rules Committee stripped Michigan of its delegates, [but] waived the rules for New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina, each of which had also moved up their primaries.”…

But here’s the crux of the issue - even if the DNC and Dean can supply any reason for the failure to apply the rules to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina while stripping the entire Florida and Michigan delegations, there is nothing whatsoever in the rules that nullifies the popular vote totals in Florida and Michigan… The popular vote totals in Florida and Michigan must be honored unless a revote is done. The DNC has no, nada, zip authority to discount the popular vote. That the media, the DNC and the Obama campaign have been complicit in this clear misrepresentation of the rules and blatant attempt to silence voters is reprehensible and wrong.
New rules:  Whatever is an advantage to Obama is what’s fair.  Whatever is a DISadvantage to Clinton is what’s fair.  Because the objective is to get Obama nominated, no matter who is kicked to the curb.

From a member of the Hillblazers08 message group, via email:
Check out those numbers - she beat B0 on all his constituencies:
College Graduates: Clinton 57%, Obama 40%
Postgraduates: Clinton 49%, Obama 49%
Independents (16%): Hillary 54%, Obama 32%
Liberals (35%): Hillary 66%, Obama 33%
Very Liberal (13%): Clinton 74%, Obama 24%
18-29 (12%): Hillary 57%, Obama 41%
Source

Analysis: Maybe Obama should worry
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama is in hot pursuit of general election voters, hoping America won’t notice he got his head handed to him in West Virginia.
West Virginia shows that we need a national revote for the Democratic primary.  Too many people in the early primaries didn’t know who Obama was when they voted for him.

Obama May Have His Work Cut Out for Him to Draw Independents (Wall Street Journal)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Barack Obama can’t rest should he soon win Democrats’ presidential-nomination marathon. His next big challenge: to introduce himself to the independents who may well decide the November election, and dispel the doubts and misinformation that have taken hold among many. A focus group of independent voters here Monday night suggested that the Illinois senator is largely identified by his association with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose much-publicized sermons have been called racially divisive and anti-American. Yet Sen. Obama is also identified by many — incorrectly — as a Muslim, and suspect for that as well… [A]ll but two voters cited the Wright controversy as one of the most memorable things, and worried that Sen. Obama might be influenced by his former pastor. Several noted Sen. Obama’s gaffe describing some small-town Americans as “bitter” at politicians’ failed promises and clinging to their guns and religion. They concluded he may be elitist.

3-1. Three to One. THREE to ONE. (by ronkseattle at The Confluence)
74.3% to 25.7%. THREE to ONE. That’s how badly West Virginia rejected Barack Obama, when John Edwards 26,000 votes are included. 173,000 votes, and counting. That’s the raw margin by which West Virginia rejected Barack Obama… one number that sticks out like a sore thumb? That +37, in among the +60’s, +70’s and +80’s. Obama’s margin among African-American voters in Massachusetts.  What’s special about Massachusetts? Deval Patrick is what’s special. His campaign, his candidacy was a clone, an off-Broadway opening run of the Obama candidacy. The same David Axelrod slogans, the same Change and Hope and Yes We Can on the same short resume, the same old school ties and then … dismal results in office. They’ve heard it before, they’ve seen it before, and a lot of them have seen through it a long way back.

The Deeper Racism in Iowa: Beneath the White Obama Craze (by Paul Street at the Black Agenda Report)
Barack Obama’s January 3rd Democratic Caucus victory in Iowa demonstrated that a Black man - or, at least, this particular Black man - could attract winning numbers of white voters. The candidate’s supporters claimed Iowa signaled a new day, that “race doesn’t matter” anymore in the United States. They are in a fantasy of denial. Not only does race remain imbedded in American social relations, but Iowa is especially afflicted with the compulsion to throw African Americans in prison more frequently than any other state. “Liberal” Iowans, proud that their state began a cascade of Obama victories, find it more difficult than ever to face up to the racism that distorts all cross-racial interaction in their cities and towns.

Maybe We Can’t: The black case for Obama-skepticism (by Cinque Henderson, The New Republic)
[L]et me fully disclose my predispositions. I disliked Obama almost instantly. I never believed the central premises of his autobiography or his campaign. He is fueled by precisely the same brand of personal ambition as Bill Clinton. But, where Clinton is damned as “Slick Willie,” Obama is hailed as a post-racial Messiah. Do I believe that Obama had this whole yes-we-can deal planned from age 16? No, I would respond. He began plotting it at age 22. This predisposition, of course, doesn’t help me in making the case against Obama, especially not with black people. But, believe me, there’s a strong case to be made that he isn’t such a virtuous mediator of race. And it’s this skepticism about Obama’s racial posturing that has led us, the 10 percent, into dissent.

Edwards Ups the Ante In Kentucky: Thread Four (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
John Edwards gave a great rousing speech … for Democratic values. He spoke very gracious and respectful words of Hillary Clinton. And he endorsed Barack Obama. It was a very impressive performance by John Edwards. There were some effects though. Some intentional - to step on Hillary’s huge win in West Virginia and to vouch for Obama among white working class voters. One was not - upping the ante in Kentucky. John Edwards, populist hero with a proven record of connecting with white working class voters has vouched for Barack Obama. Does Kentucky buy it? The Kentucky contest, previously a foregone conclusion for the Media, now becomes a test. For Barack Obama.
Okay, North Carolina went for Obama, and that’s Edwards’ state.  Obama has been saying that Superdelegates should vote the way their constituents voted, and I agree.  Therefore, Ted Kennedy, Bill Richardson, and Jay Rockefeller, among others, must switch to Clinton.  Which puts her ahead among superdelegates.  See below.  Oh, and add Edwards to the Losers for Obama tshirt.

New Hampster at No Quarter

Edwards Told Aides He Would Consider Veep Role (Political Wire)
Though John Edwards said last month he would decline a vice presidential nomination, the New York Times reports that “privately, he told aides that he would consider the role of vice president and favored the position of attorney general, which would appeal to his experience of decades spent in courtrooms as a trial lawyer in North Carolina; and his desire to follow in the footsteps of Robert F. Kennedy, one of his heroes.”

NARAL Endorses Sexist Obama (by Truthteller at No Quarter)
Washington, DC, elites convinced yet another Democratic interest group, NARAL “Pro-Choice” America, to endorse Barack Obama… And on the same day a group that ostensibly supports the rights of women endorsed a male candidate for President, that candidate decided to refer to a woman who holds the professional title of Reporter as “sweetie.”

I Can’t Imagine Why He Doesn’t Do Better with Women Voters (by BDBlue at Corrente)
Yeah, this guy is going to wear really well for another six months. Let’s see, he’s insulted white working class voters, lectured pro-choice forces on about how they don’t understand the moral choices of abortion, and now for the second time, he’s called a woman he doesn’t know “sweetie.” I’d say not only is Obama not asking for my vote, he’s going out of his way to make sure he doesn’t get it. Update: Per the comments…, Obama has apologized. In doing so, he claimed that he calls “all kinds of people” sweetie. By people, I’m betting he means women. Because he sure wouldn’t call Mike Tyson “sweetie.” Also, while I saw the link in some comments somewhere, this apparently or originated with Taylor Marsh. So h/t to her.
He also called Barbara Boxer a “cutie.”

Pro-Choice Women’s Group Says NARAL is Wrong (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
Press Release from the National Women’s Political Caucus: (received by e-mail) “The National Women’s Political Caucus is disappointed to learn of NARAL Pro-Choice America’s endorsement of Senator Obama today. The Caucus knows Hillary Clinton to be a clear leader and a consistent champion of the issues that NARAL and NWPC have in common. We believe that this announcement at this time will divide the choice community at a time when we need to stand united.”

Clinton supporters push back against NARAL endorsement (War Room, Salon)
After a prominent pro-choice group endorsed Barack Obama on Wednesday, some women — including more than a dozen congresswomen — strongly condemned the decision.

Matthews: Clinton “almost like… the Al Sharpton of white people” (War Room, Salon)
While interviewing Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., a supporter of Barack Obama, Matthews began to get worked up about elitism in the Democratic race… [H]e referenced a recent interview Hillary Clinton gave to USA Today in which some believed that she had implied the only “hardworking Americans” are “white Americans.” “How do we get back away from this, where these people like Hillary Clinton so loosely say hardworking white workers?” Matthews asked Casey. “It’s almost like she’s the Al Sharpton of white people. I mean, how do you get away from that?”

Elitists Say the Darnedest Things (Pagan Power)
Some elitist knucklehead named John Aravosis at AMERICAblog wrote one of the stupidest things I have read in quite some time… In his stupid diary Go away you horrible human being [Aravosis claimed that] Hillary caused a civil war in the Netroots… The Clintons don’t give a damn about our party… [S]he’s hurting fundraising at the DNC… Message received loud and clear. Coronation of Obama: Good. Voters having their full say in it: Bad.
John Aravosis is a former staffer for Republican Senator Ted Stevens. I’m sure that his head was filled with Clinton hate during that time. We see here how successful the 16-year multi-hundred-million-dollar campaign by the right wing against Hillary Clinton has been.  If Obama is nominated, it will be a victory for the right wing, along with the Democratic elitists.

Nobama’s Response to a MyDD diary demanding, “We Gotta Pull It Together Dems”
I speak for millions of Hillary supporters when I say, forget about it. Obama and his campaign behaved abominably toward the Clintons and Hillary’s supporters and we won’t forget. The sleazy Chicago smackdown tactics, the disenfranchisement of voters, the bullying tactics in the caucuses, the brazen violations of the caucus rules, the appeals to Republicans to be a “Democrat for a day” to vote for Obama, the busing of voters from other states–NO, these tactics will not be forgotten or forgiven. The treatment of Hillary supporters on the blogs won’t be forgiven or forgotten, either. Bullying, name calling, hounding, derision–NO, it won’t be forgiven or forgotten. Obama’s “friends” and associates, his puny record, his collusion with Chicago scum–nope, we can’t support such a man. Obama is a liar or any synonym you want to use to describe that character flaw. We can’t support him because we don’t trust him. First, we don’t think he’d ever get elected but if he were to get elected, he’d likely be a horrible disaster. No thanks.

Obama Featured With Farrakhan MANY Times on Trinity’s “Trumpet” magazine cover (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)

Obama on Zionism and Hamas (by Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic)
The Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef did Barack Obama no favor recently when he said: “We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election.”… Obama and I spoke [recently] about Hamas, about Jimmy Carter, and about the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. He seemed eager to talk about his ties to the Jewish community, and about the influence Jews have had on his life. Among other things, he told me that he learned the art of moral anguish from Jews… And, speaking in a kind of code Jews readily understand, Obama also made sure to mention that he was fond of the writer Leon Uris, the author of Exodus.
Moral anguish is an ART?  And you LEARN it?  It’s not innate?  Notice the dog whistling.

Obama advisor: Jerusalem must be included in peace talks (Haaretz)
Daniel Kurtzer, former ambassador to Israel and advisor of U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama, said Tuesday that Jerusalem must be included in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. “It will be impossible to make progress on serious peace talks without putting the future of Jerusalem on the table,” Kurtzer said in a conference organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI).

Isn’t this how they sold George Bush?
Obama and the Cross (by David Brody, Christian Broadcasting Network)
I have been telling Brody File readers for months that if Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee he will make a pitch to win over independent/moderate Evangelicals. Well, we now have evidence. Look at the flyer below:

Obama’s Iraq, Afghanistan Slip Ups (The Page, Time Magazine, thanks to No Quarter)
ABC News: The Illinois Senator incorrectly says Arabic translators deployed in Iraq are needed in Afghanistan (but Afghans don’t speak Arabic). Later corrected mistake. Obama also stressed need for agricultural specialists in Afghanistan to help develop other crops than heroin poppies (but oil fields not poppy fields are a major source of U.S. technical assistance).

DNC chooses its ‘State Blogger Corps’ (On Politics, USA Today)
Fifty five blogs that will be embedded with the delegations at this summer’s Democratic National Convention have been chosen. Howard Dean, chairman of the DNC, announced the news about the party’s “State Blogger Corps” [Wednesday].

McCain will pledge to be bipartisan; sees most troops home in 4 years (On Politics, USA Today)
“If I am elected president, I will work with anyone who sincerely wants to get this country moving again,” presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain plans to say today during an address in Columbus, Ohio.
According to excerpts distributed by his campaign, McCain also plans to say that he will:
• “Ask Democrats to serve in my administration.”
• “Hold  weekly press conferences.”
• “Ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the prime minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons.”

McCain’s merchandise goes ‘eco-friendly’ (On Politics, USA Today)
There aren’t any sandals made from recycled soda bottles or shade-grown coffee beans on the list, but Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign is reinforcing his message of the week — that something more needs to be done to protect the environment — by offering “eco-friendly” merchandise at its online shop.

GOP Stunned By Loss in Mississippi
In a major blow to national Republicans, a Mississippi congressional seat that once voted for President Bush by a twenty-five point margin elected a Democrat on Tuesday by a 54%-46% margin; a startling wake-up call for a party in dire straits. 

Quinnipiac Poll: Dissatisfaction Rate Hits All Time High (Political Wire)
A total of 82% of American voters are “somewhat dissatisfied’ or “very dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the country today, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, while only 17% are “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied.” This is the lowest national satisfaction rate since Quinnipiac began asking this question in 2003.

Lots more really good stuff at MakeThemAccountable.com.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com