Hillary’s Voice

Bruce Plante (thanks to Bartcop)

Will Media Report Obama Seeing Dead People in Memorial Day Audience? (Newsbusters)
The gaffes continued this holiday weekend for the media’s presidential candidate. Having mispronounced the name of the Florida city he was speaking in on Friday, as well as erred about what president was in the White House when Hugo Chavez took over Venezuela, Barack Obama talked about seeing dead people in the audience during a Memorial Day speech in Las Cruces, New Mexico… “On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes — and I see many of them in the audience here today — our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.”
Did you see this, plastered all over?  No, and in fact Real Clear Politics scrubbed the flub from its version of Obama’s remarks.  Did Keith Olbermann do a “special comment” on it?  Don’t we even remember how the media covered up for George Bush?  Click through to watch the video.

Illinois Combat Veterans: Obama Wasn’t Available To Meet With Us (by Uppity Woman at No Quarter)
Looks like Barack Obama ignored another constituency when the cameras weren’t rolling. And now Democrats will have to pay. This is why we must nominate Hillary Clinton, our only chance to beat John McCain in the fall. Below [click through to watch] is a Commercial made by a nonpartisan not for profit organization named Vets for Freedom Political Action Committee. In it, an Iraq combat veteran from Illinois discusses how he and 12 other combat veterans were unable to meet with Barack Obama. This vet wants to know why it is that Barack Obama is willing to meet with despots and terrorist leaders but not with Generals or combat veterans.

On Memorial Day: Press Coverage Probes Suicides
On Memorial Day this year, many press reports focus on the fallout from the current war, not past conflicts, as was long typical. Much in evidence, after years of being virtually ignored, is the frightful surge in suicide among Iraq vets both here and in Iraq.

Dead Troops Remembered By President Who Had Them Killed (by Bob Geiger at the Huffington Post)
Yes, that’s a harsh headline for this piece. But I’ll ask you to forgive me because, as a Veteran, there isn’t a day on the calendar that causes my hatred — and I do indeed mean hatred — of George W. Bush to bubble over the top more than Memorial Day. “On Memorial Day, we honor the heroes who have laid down their lives in the cause of freedom, resolve that they will forever be remembered by a grateful Nation, and pray that our country may always prove worthy of the sacrifices they have made,” reads Bush’s official Memorial Day proclamation, issued by the White House on Thursday… According to the Defense Department, we have now lost 4,082 men and women in Bush’s war of choice in Iraq and we should not allow the man who sent them needlessly to their deaths to lead our nation today in mourning their loss. Make no mistake about it, George W. Bush is as responsible for the deaths of those men and women as if he himself had fired the bullet or set the IEDs that ended their lives.

I believe 2008 is the beginning of a transformative period. (by kateNC at Corrente)
HI don’t think things will go quite as planned. While our country has been dominated by the extreme right, it does not necessarily follow that we will move hard left. The pendulum will swing more left but no more than the vast proportion of our country is comfortable with… The rise of the Clinton wing of the Democratic party is misperceived by both its supporters and detractors as representing specific classes or demographical units. I argue that instead Clinton has tapped into a huge and growing, if ill-defined, movement in opposition to both political parties, to global business, and to the business of war… [W]hat I … see is seventeen million Americans standing up and shouting “NO!”.

Democratic Storm Warnings (by Patsy at TaylorMarsh.com)
Let me introduce myself. I am 29 year old female serving in the United States Army. I am black. I am proud. And I am a supporter of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. We have seen daily how Senator Clinton moves forward to speak for our loved ones, our families and our friends, despite the constant call for her to step down. She has gone forward despite the obstacles in her path and she has continued to fight. To attempt to destroy the reputation, the name of the former First Lady and Senator by falsely portraying her supporters as racist is one of the worst mistakes of the 2008 election process. To use the … history and the struggles in the black community to destroy another person’s political career is the worst form of politics imaginable…

For those of you who don’t know, there is a movement happening behind the scenes and it’s one that is moving fast and one that is strong. It was born from watching this historic election with our nation having its first viable female contender for the position of Commander in Chief take hit after hit, day after day, while she attempts to fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, when the party in question will not stand up and fight for her… The party I thought I knew ceased to exist the moment, the minute and the second they allowed the first most qualified female presidential candidate in our nation’s history to be attacked, destroyed, and ripped apart, which reached a tipping point this weekend. As of 24 May 2008 0930hrs, I no longer belong to the Democratic Party.

Vermont Leads the Way for Progressives (by Chris Hedges at TruthDig)
The rise of the Vermont Progressive Party, which has six members in the 150-member Vermont House, is another indication that Vermont, which has battled back everything from Wal-Mart to urban sprawl to billboards, may be one of the few sane states left in the nation.
For those of us who have started to think about a third party.

“Ella nos conoce mejor” (by garychapelhill at The Confluence)
Simply put, “she knows us better”. When it comes to working class voters, like those that Clinton spoke to in Puerto Rico, it is the same as we have seen with voters in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia. They feel like she understands their concerns. They believe that as President, Hillary will be a voice for them. They believe that she has a specific plan to make their lives better, not just empty slogans promising hope and change.

What Krugman said (by lambert)
I’ll bet my first Early Girl tomato that none* of Krugman’s wise suggestions will be adopted. That is, the demonization of the Clintons will continue, Hillary’s supporters will continue to be written off as hicks, and Hillary will not be offered the VP slot.** Nor will Obama address the deficiencies in his health care plan. My views are based on Obama’s past performance in the campaign. If Obama has made no gestures of respect when he hasn’t won, why would he do so after he has? His base won’t demand it of him, nor will his handlers, nor will our famously free press, and so it won’t happen. If it were going to happen, it would already have happened; it’s not like there haven’t been opportunities.

What Hypocrite Obama Should Have Discussed in His Wesleyan Commencement Address (by Truthteller at No Quarter)
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) – “Filling in for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and tying himself to the family’s legacy, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama urged college graduates Sunday to ‘make us believe again’ by dedicating themselves to public service….[and] urged students to focus on more than ‘the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy.’” The rest of the 25-minute speech should have been dedicated to urging students to focus on “the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy,” for this is the life Barack Obama actually pursued. Indeed, Obama should have offered Wesleyan students instructions on how to find and secure political and financial godfathers in the mold of Antoin “Tony” Rezko. After all, this is how Obama climbed the political, social and financial ladders of Chicago, Illinois.

Barack Obama proposes fairer UK partnership (The Telegraph, U.K.)
Speaking to supporters in London by telephone link, he said the relationship needed to be “recalibrated” amid concerns among his campaign staff that dealings between the two nations were unequal, with the US benefiting most from the so-called “special relationship”. “We have a chance to recalibrate the relationship and for the United Kingdom to work with America as a full partner,” Mr Obama was reported to have told a fundraising event at the home of Elisabeth Murdoch, the television company owner and daughter of Rupert Murdoch, the media baron.
HIS STAFF is concerned.

Gary Varvel

Special report: When hacks take your side! (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
“JOE KLEIN (5/19/08): It seems the only way the neoconservatives are able to attack Barack Obama’s foreign policy proposals is to exaggerate and misrepresent them. The evidence? On Friday, I promised to check into whether Obama had ever said that he would negotiate—specifically, by name—with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Indeed, according to the crack Time Magazine research department and the Obama campaign, he never has…” Except Obama has said—specifically, by name—that he would negotiate with Ahmadinejad… Using Nexis, it took us roughly a very few minutes to find the event last September where Obama was asked about this matter—and answered… We’d like reporters to do their jobs. It seems that just isn’t an option.

Liz Trotta Apologizes (by Bill W. at Crooks and Liars)
Trotta: I am so sorry about what happened [Sunday]. In a lame attempt at humor I really just fell all over myself in making it appear that I wished Barack Obama harm or any other candidate for that matter. I sincerely regret it and apologize to anybody I’ve offended. It’s a very colorful political season and many of us are making mistakes and saying things we wish we hadn’t said. Not to excuse what she said [Sunday] on Fox News, because everyone should know there’s just no excuse for it even if it was meant as a joke gone awry, but for someone who had gotten herself into this kind of a situation, this is exactly what needed to be said. Good for her.
Click through to watch the video.

Twisted little people (by Lance Mannion)
The AP’s Calvin Woodward declaring the era of the Big Clintons over: “There’s been a Clinton running for the White House or living in it for approximately forever. Bill, it could be said, was born to run. Running became Hillary’s destiny, too… Soon, though, there will be no Clinton running for president or about to. Imagine that.” Yeah.  Imagine that.  It’s so difficult to do, isn’t it?  Like, what would it have been like in 2000 with no Clinton running for…oh wait. Well, then…in 2004 when a Clinton just missed defeating George W…

These twisted little soulless people [in the media] have hated Bill Clinton forever.  They hate him more for having escaped impeachment than they feel anything for George W. Bush for having ruined, well, everything.  They hated Al Gore for having been his Vice-President.  They hate Hillary for being married to him… Our National Press Corps’ long nightmare is coming to an end.  Pretty soon there will be no more Big Clintons “in our face.”  The Insiders will no longer be trapped in 1998.  They will be free to start covering the news again. Just in time to learn to hate Barack Obama.

Gotta sing, gotta dance (by Avedon Carol at The Sideshow)
I really look forward to the day when I don’t get up in the morning and find my formerly favorite blogs littered with so many stupid posts attempting to twist statements by Hillary Clinton into Proof of Evil. When the Republicans say stupid things about Obama, everyone is perfectly capable of seeing through it and tearing it apart - in fact, y’all do it so well that I have little to add. Why can’t we do that for Hillary? And why is it that when I try to do that, I get attacked as a “Hillary supporter”, even though I’ve made it clear that I can’t choose between her and Obama? What’s wrong with you people? Do the Republicans spend half their time trying to destroy the reputation of the Reagans, or Gingrich, or any of their standard-bearers? Do you think they would spend five seconds doing this kind of self-immolation? Pull yourselves together - you’re just joining in with a favorite Republican sport, and you are not helping clinch the nomination for Obama.

In McCain Campaign, a Lobbying Labyrinth
Rick Davis, the manager of Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign, is a typical Washington insider in many ways, having long worked as both a lobbyist and a political operative along the intersection of politics, policy and money. Now Mr. Davis is overseeing new lobbyist-related guidelines that the campaign has issued in an effort to safeguard Mr. McCain’s reputation as an opponent of special interests. The plan, among other things, bars “registered” lobbyists, those who must file disclosure reports listing their clients, from working on the campaign.

Obama’s Lobbyist Connection (by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek)
When Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison wanted state lawmakers to back a hefty rate hike two years ago, it took a creative lobbying approach, concocting a new outfit that seemed devoted to the public interest: Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity, or CORE. CORE ran TV ads warning of a “California-style energy crisis” if the rate increase wasn’t approved—but without disclosing the commercials were funded by Commonwealth Edison. The ad campaign provoked a brief uproar when its ties to the utility, which is owned by Exelon Corp., became known. “It’s corporate money trying to hoodwink the public,” the state’s Democratic Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said. What got scant notice then—but may soon get more scrutiny—is that CORE was the brainchild of ASK Public Strategies, a consulting firm whose senior partner is David Axelrod, now chief strategist for Barack Obama.

Dan Wasserman

Former Ga. Rep. Barr picked as Libertarian candidate
The Libertarian Party on Sunday picked former Republican Rep. Bob Barr to be its presidential candidate after six rounds of balloting… Barr endorsed Wayne Allyn Root, who was eliminated in the fifth round, to be his vice-presidential nominee. Barr left the GOP in 2006 over what he called bloated spending and civil liberties intrusions by the Bush administration.

‘Everybody hates George Bush.’ (Think Progress)
[T]he Dallas Morning News reports that “even Texas Republicans such as Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions are distancing themselves from President Bush”: “The president, Mr. Sessions told a group of eighth-graders visiting the Capitol last week from Akiba Academy in Dallas, ‘is doing everything he thinks is correct,’ and yet ‘the American people are fed up…. we’ve lost the House and Senate, and everybody hates George Bush.’”

Plan for military Internet voting sets off controversy (McClatchy)
TALLAHASSEE — A small county in the Florida Panhandle that is home to one of the world’s largest air bases is embarking on a sweeping experiment in Internet voting that could transform elections in the 21st century.

Toobin Calls Voter ID Laws ‘A Clear Attempt By Republicans To Stop Democrats From Voting’ (Think Progress)
On April 28, the Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s voter ID law, which guards against supposed fraud by requiring voters to show identification. The decision came despite the fact that “the record contains no evidence of any such fraud actually occurring in Indiana at any time in its history” — and despite the fact the law tends to suppress voter turnout by minorities and poor people. Commenting on the decision on … “Bill Moyers Journal,” legal scholar Jeffery Toobin explained that the “real agenda” behind voter ID laws is “to help Republicans”.
Click through to watch the video.

Lots more really good stuff at MakeThemAccountable.com.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com