I feel bad for Chelsea Clinton

[Bread and Circus]

I saw a clip of her tonight sort of shooting Sanders down in regards to health care policy. She lacked confidence and seemed to not really believe what she was saying, which are obviously a bunch of manicured talking points produced by the campaign message specialists. She seemed really ill at ease with what she was doing as if her conscience was bothered by it.

I know she is trying to help her mom and I am sure she really believes in her mom. I think that's great.

I just kind of feel bad she is put out there like this to be a political attack dog in a way that is unbecoming and seems to make her feel uncomfortable.

Just my 2 cents for the day.

Carry on.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I understand where you're coming from...

But she should really know better than to pull these sort of stunts.

[Uncle Joe]

2. I kept thinking of a tragic Natalie Wood classic.

"This Property is Condemned."

Thanks for the thread, Bread and Circus.

[madaboutharry]

3. It's hard to know how to feel about Chelsea.

She is very intelligent and she certainly knows the score when it comes to her parents, both of whom she obviously loves very much. But she has had such an abundance of privilege it is hard to feel sorry for her.

[840high]

5. I don't feel sorry for her.

[Marty McGraw]

21. Bless her

Hedge Fund Heart....

[winter is coming]

4. I don't fee bad about it. She's a grown woman, and chose to make those statements.

If she didn't have enough sense to realize that lying would backfire, she knows it now, and it's not like this blunder is going to render her homeless.

[SheilaT]

6. I only feel slightly sorry for her.

She's an adult. She needs to understand a couple of things.

First is that she should be completely independent of her parents.

Second, if she chooses to help her mother's campaign, all bets are off, and she opens herself to all criticism.

Third, she ought to be sufficiently independent as to be able to judge the validity of what she chooses to say.

[7wo7rees]

8. Agree with you on every point.

She just threw down the gauntlet and opened up a massive field.

[cascadiance]

10. Reagan's kids felt very differently on things than their parents did...

... and spoke on topics quite differently than Ron their father did. If they had tried to echo their father's campaign messages, instead of speaking their own minds on things, their messages would have not been heard, and their careers in radio, etc. would have ground to a halt. Chelsea needs to know that she's going to be measured on what she says. She lives in a country where she doesn't have to say what her parents want her to say.

Thom Hartmann's father was a Republican, and Thom talks about his father with love, but he doesn't echo what his father said as if it were his own words. He speaks his mind and at times talks about he interacted with his father or felt the earlier push by him to campaign for Barry Goldwater. I hope that Chelsea can at some point be honest with what her mind says, and not what others tell her to say. That will earn her respect and a platform where people want to listen to her. This situation didn't help her with that.

[trillion]

33. The she is an adult it the crux. She just lost her integrity. She's going to need to work hard to

that back.

[JI7]

7. it's fully her decision to do what she is doing

i don't think she feels ill at ease at all.

[LibDemAlways]

9. She's a well educated adult. There was no excuse for

spouting lies in front of the cameras. Instead of emphasizing her mother's positives, she took the low, untruthful road. No sympathy here.

[Skwmom]

11. She lied about his approach to healthcare and the 19 million.

Hard to feel sorry for a liar that has no problem misleading the American Public.

[CBGLuthier]

12. I don't. She willingly joined the machine when she took the money from NBC

They paid her 600,000 a year because of who she was. Once she made that choice she became just another component.

[840high]

60. yep

[bvf]

13. Money trumps conscience.

I don't feel bad for her in the least. I'm sure she'll be just fine.

[freeplessinseattle]

14. She sounded very shy and uncomfortable

Can't blame her, really, and admire her for trying.

[Cleita]

15. I dunno.

I seldom agreed with my mother about many things, especially politics. She was conservative. I'm not. But I would have been really conflicted if I had to support her on issues she believed in but I didn't if it was public. It would have been hard for me to disagree with her in public and there were times she made me take her side on things I didn't agree with her on but they were private and it was more about maintaining peace in the circumstances.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. I agree with your assessment

Chelsea did look like she was uncomfortable talking the way she did.

[Juicy_Bellows]

17. I would keep Bill and Chelsea out of it. I'm baffled that she doesn't. Nt

[Cleita]

47. It just points to her ability to make poor choices, which she has

displayed in the past in her public offices. I really don't consider her the best choice for President although she certainly is far, far better than any of the Republican candidates.

[Betty Karlson]

18. Poor Chelsea. And I feel especially bad for her child.

Because we all know that Clinton will force her grandchild to stump for her when she tries to win the nomination (for the 6th time) in 2032.

[winter is coming]

20. I don't think HRC will try again, which means things are gonna get real ugly this time around. n/t

[sabrina 1]

19. Chelsea is a very privileged woman. She will never have to worry about HER HC. She is not the best

spokesperson for any campaign that is arguing against HC for all the other people who are not as privileged as she is.

Very sad to watch. It will most certainly backfire.

[synergie]

27. What a good thing that she's not arguing against any such thing, nor is the

campaign she's representing.

[sabrina 1]

37. What a sad thing that she is lying about Sanders' policies of Single Payer which clearly the

campaign she is working for opposes.

As a Dem I have always supported Single Payer, clearly Chelsea and her Mother, and it was this that caused me NOT to support her in 2008, do not support a Single Payer system.

I remember well Hillary's push for Mandated Ins, sadly the candidate I supported because he did not agree with her THEN, once in office, abandoned his campaign promise to fight for Single Payer and went with Hillary's and Romney's Mandated Ins policies.

Iow, we were screwed.

I have no HC, can't afford the premiums, am furiously angry at the idea that I will be fined for not purchasing a 'commodity', who ever heard of such a thing in a democracy, from a Corp I despise, but would rather pay that fine, which would be way less than the premium they demand and worse, I could not pay the deductible anyhow

So obviously Chelsea, who I'm sure has excellent coverage, and her mother no doubt has the coverage all of our Reps have and maintain, which is of course WRONG, they should have what we have, is opposed, as is her mother to a Single Payer system.

How nice it must be to be so privileged and to feel you have the right to tell others they should not have what you have.

Well, not really. I could not imagine lying about someone who wants all Americans to have what Chelsea, he and Hillary have.

But then, I'm not part of the ruling class. Just one of those people who work for a living

[Cleita]

48. We only need to go to his website to see what his stance on health care is, which

has been consistently for Medicare for all, a federal program not a state one. These candidates on both side of the aisles need to acknowledge that telling lies about their opponents on the campaign trail can be fact checked in seconds in this day of the internet. It's 2016 not 1916.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. I imagine she's way too smart to actually believe the stuff that she's out there saying.

[Feeling the Bern]

23. I don't. She can always have said “Mom, I really don't want to get involved."

She didn't, spoke her piece and is enjoying the results. She isn't a child anymore. She isn't off limits, especially when she stump for a candidate.

Can't take it？ Get out of politics

[MattSh]

24. America's royalty loves it when you feel sorry for them...

It make it that much easier to impose austerity on the rest of us.

[Duppers]

25. I think Chelsea has been taught to be very compliant.

There was never even a hint of any roudy, if independent, behavior from her that the Bush twins exhibited.

Can you imagine the pressure and family dynamic involved in growing up in the Clinton household?! I think her parents love her and she in turn loves them so much that she'd do and did anything for her mom, even lying.

Some folks can't seem to find the kind of healthy autonomy from their parents that they should have.

Yes, I do have some sympathy for this young woman of "privilege." I agree that she was not truly comfortable doing what she did.

My 2 cents.

[senz]

36. Yes, I thought of the rebellious Bush twins

and the Johnson daughters (one jubilant , one dignified), the Nixon daughters who seemed a little repressed but also distinct individuals, the very shy but self-possessed Amy Carter, and now the extremely well-behaved but, as far as I can see, entirely normal Obama girls. Hm, can't think of any boys except little John John Kennedy. Of them all, Chelsea seems the most repressed and even kind of sad. It's painful to behold, but there's nothing we can do about it. If her mother knew people were discussing this, she'd probably hit the ceiling. Except, we're just a bunch of nobodies.

[Cassiopeia]

26. Bullshit

Here's the clip.

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/58341105#58341105

She's just selling it. Chelsea has been groomed for this her entire life.

Here's a much longer video

Take in her entire manner of speech. She may not believe that bullshit lie she stood up and told about Sanders, but there wasn't one damn second of shame in her soul when she said it aloud.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

28. Maybe she was distracted....

It's not easy dealing with decorating a ten million dollar New York condo.

There's paint and wallpaper samples and picking out carpeting, drapes and curtain rods. That's before you even have to deal with the furniture. That's a lot of stress.

[Geronimoe]

29. Don't feel sorry for her at all

She has been richly rewarded for doing little. Golden spoon in the mouth. Instead of helping others, she chose to work for hedge fund.

[Fuddnik]

34. Golden Spoon?

The poor girl grew up in Public Housing fer crissakes!

[senz]

30. She most certainly did look uncomfortable. She often looks uncomfortable.

When you love, really love, someone, especially someone young, trusting, and dependent on you, you do not make them do things that are unnatural to them and bring them discomfort. It seems that somebody has leaned on her a little too hard for a little too long. What can make it even more difficult is if the child feels sorry for their parent's (or parents') suffering and would feel guilty refusing them. This gets into the realm of emotional blackmail.

I hope Chelsea has someone with whom she can be completely natural and open and honest.

[Duppers]

39. Exactly! Emotiinal blackmail.

It happens. I hope Chelsea becomes emotionally mature enough to stand up to these iconic manipulators. Somehow I doubt it's in her.



I also had pity for the Roosevelt children, privilege aside.

[merrily]

31. She is an adult with a child of her own and one on the way.

On the one hand, a parent never entirely loses influence over you and the parent/child relationship is fraught in both directions. On the other other Chelsea is intelligent, well-educated and of age.

[davidpdx]

32. Generally kids of presidential candidates are off limits, but she is actively campaign

and thus makes herself a target for criticism. She made that choice (whether she was pushed into who knows). That is all I'm going to say about the matter.

[frizzled]

35. Opposing universal health care kills people. She's no better than a tobacco lobbyist.

In short, I can't think of any reason Hillary and Chelsea Clinton can't be called evil.

[democrank]

38. Feel sorry for Chelsea Clinton?

Not me. She`s an adult who chose the same deceitful path her parents did when they campaigned against President Obama.

[RedCappedBandit]

40. She is super wealthy and has never and will never have any real worries.

And she is using her position of extreme power to hurt real people in a pathetic attempt to secure even more wealth and power for her family.

Nope. Don't feel bad.

[99Forever]

41. Feel sorry for her?

She's a grown woman who chose to step up and shoot her mouth off.

The very least she can do now is own the legitimate blowback for LYING about Senator Sanders. Don't worry tho, I'm sure her bankster, hedge fund manager husband is giving her a thumbs up.

[Motown_Johnny]

42. And her mom says she wants to add a 4% surtax to her income above $5 million a year.

Not a good week for her at all.

[CharlotteVale]

43. I don't. She knew what she was doing and seemed

to relish it. She's much softer spoken than her mother. But she is following in her lying footsteps.

[cali]

44. Her choice. She's 35, not a kid.

[Puglover]

45. I felt sorry

for her when Rush Limbaugh called her the White House dog. No child should have to endure that shit.

But now when is an adult and makes her own choices. I would be happy to campaign for my mom IF I believed in her positions.

If they told me to trot out a pack of lies I'd tell them to jump off a cliff.

So no, not feeling it.

[sabrina 1]

50. Reagan's kids didn't go out and promote policies they believed he was wrong about. So no,

not sorry for her at all, and it's quite likely she is stating her own opinion anyhow.

[noamnety]

46. This seems sexist and paternalistic.

I can't imagine any of us feeling sorry for middle-aged Dubya or Jeb Bush for speaking lies in support of bush Sr.

[kath]

49. I don't feel the least bit bad for a THIRTY-FIVE-year-old who willfully goes out and tells egregious

lies.

[CoffeeCat]

51. Strategy wise, they should have used Chelsea, but in a positive way

You don't send your daughter out to sling shit.

I'm sorry, but that was a horrible decision that makes the Clintons look like bad parents.

Chelsea speaking to small groups of college students or in coffee shops would be appropriate and probably help to solidify Clinton to voters who were probably leaning her way anyway.

To throw Chelsea out as an attack dog, was really an overshot. To add insult to injury, the things Chelsea was asserting about Sanders' healthcare plan were false. The media is having no trouble calling Chelsea's words "lies."

Really bad mistake by the Clintons.

Everyone knows that they are panicking and sinking in the polls. This makes them look even more desperate, and frankly, flailing to the point where they have lost their minds.

[NCTraveler]

52. One of the last people in this world I would feel sorry for.

And I have great respect for her.

[SamKnause]

53. I don't.

She is a grown woman.

She should not lie for her mother.

[bklyncowgirl]

54. I don't. She's a grownup. She knew what she was doing.

If she was still the little kid we all fell in love with when Bill was in the White House, that would be another story. Chelsea is a mature, well educated professional woman who grew up around politics. She knew what she was doing and chose to do it. She's loyal to her family and family.

If Poppy Bush had sent W or Jeb out to attack a political opponent would you feel so bad about it?

[Todays_Illusion]

55. Chelsea's lies about Sanders health care plan reveals the kind of organization that is behind

Hillary Clinton's campaign. That was pure conservative/Republican style attack, mostly lies built around a truth (Sanders plan is different than ACA.) that is first twisted then the lies piled on about it.

I don't support Hillary because she is too conservative, it is that simple.

[Zen Democrat]

56. I don't feel sorry for her. She's a smart woman and knows that was she was saying was untrue.

She's lying for her baby's grandma.

[Dem2]

57. I met her once

...and she was very demure, apologizing profusely for accidentally standing within the forbidden radius for candidates at a polling station. Your description of her unease at the situation she was put into aligns with my initial impression of her.

[Beacool]

58. Please save us from the fake concern.

Chelsea is a lovely person, thoughtful and caring. She's also as smart as her parents. The crap I just read here about her would be more fitting on a RW site. Then again, most Clinton attacks on this site would feel right at home on any RW site.

[cali]

59. She lied. And she's opened herself to criticism by doing so.

[840high]

61. Seems she lies just like her parents.