Who Will be Thrown Under the Clinton Bus Next?

[babylonsister]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-schmeltzer/who-will-be-thrown-under_b_97545.html

Eric Schmeltzer
Who Will be Thrown Under the Clinton Bus Next?

Posted April 19, 2008 | 01:32 PM (EST)


Back in the late 1990s, I joined a small but growing group named "Censure and Move On." At that time, when the internet was a relative toddler, Wes Boyd and Joan Blades had an idea. In the midst of the impeachment of President Clinton, they would use email and the internet as a tool to quickly and fiercely organize activists to give a dose of backbone to Democrats in Washington, to fight the Republican attempts to unelect Bill Clinton.

Some might not remember, but initially, the Congressional Democrats were stunned by impeachment, paralyzed with no idea what to do - defend this guy when he did what he did? Stay silent? They were embarrassing in their inaction. "Censure and Move On" quickly boomed into an effort that flooded Capitol Hill with phone calls, petitions, protests, which gave Democrats what they needed to fight. And thus, the group played a key role in saving the Clinton presidency.

That's why the tape, uncovered by HuffPost, of Senator Clinton slamming Move On and activists is so troubling. Without Move On, she would not be Senator Hillary Clinton. She would be the wife of disgraced-and-removed former President Clinton. If there is one group that doesn't deserved to be tossed under the bus by the Clintons, either in public or private fundraisers, it's MoveOn.

snip//

That Hillary Clinton is frustrated with activists who now are turning out for Barack Obama is not news. The news is that the Clintons apparently are still guided by triangulation - tossing key constituencies under the bus, deriding them and playing them off as the enemy, rather than reaching out and trying to work with them and understand them. It's a strategy that was called "amoral", somewhat ironically, by George Stephanopoulos.

Who's next? In a third Clinton term, who will be the next core constituency to be steamrolled when the Clintons think the situation calls for it? Labor? Latinos? Who knows?

But, if this tape proves anything, it's that, indeed, the Clintons learned the wrong lessons from the 1990s, and that everyone should watch their backs.

[tekisui]

1. The Clinton Bubble Brigrade is an ever shrinking one.

[SoFlaJet]

3. I think all they have left

is ironically, Fox news

[cliffordu]

6. ROFLMAO !!!!!

Exactly!

:rofl:

[SoFlaJet]

26. did you hear Ed Rendell

was making fun of Howard Fineman as being part of the Obama Network (MSNBC)?...hey at least they still have Taylor Marsh and her syndicated radio show....oh ...wait....nevermind

[KittyWampus]

21. GAH! hahahahahahaha I don't know why that struck me as so damned funny!

[Demeter]

27. I'm Thinking Bill

[dkf]

2. Yeah, who is the Judas now?

Thank God Moveon didn't turn into an arm of the Clinton operation.

[crankychatter]

4. Nixonian Siege Mentality

If I was her family...

I'd be gravely concerned

I can't imagine it... time for an intervention

[EFerrari]

5. Who's left?! Bill? Chelsea?

:shrug:

[patrice]

7. The Anti-War movement will be the first to be parsed out and used as political fodder if she gets in

Though they may not be allied with HC, whatever PNAC-ian resources are available may coincide with this effort to defuse the Anti-War movement, by staging another opportunity for war. Do you REALLY think PNAC is gone? Do you think they've forgotten their investments in Death and Destruction? No. They're going to be active no matter who is the pResident. The question is which one is going to be most receptive and accomodating to their machinations.

[babylonsister]

10. IIRC Clinton didn't treat CodePink or Cindy Sheehan too kindly

when they wanted some of her time. I do believe you're right. Anti-war groups are in her way, and she won't let that happen if she has anything to say about it.

[patrice]

13. And there'll be plenty of money out there looking to give her a "reasonable" excuse.

She'll be psychologically vulnerable, because she must justify her IWR vote, for herself and for others who supported. They've already got that "'we' will have to return to Iraq if __________" meme going. And mis-remembering Bosnia, clearly demonstrates her ability to color facts that she needs to reconcile somehow. If she did it to her Bosnia experience, how many other things in her brain have been or are being transfigured now or in the future?

She DID learn the WRONG lesson from her experiences. She has become too Rovian and she's been living in an environment that let her get away with it.

[EFerrari]

16. (A little OT. ) It occurred to me that Obama is benefiting from

our recent activism against the war. We've some "troops" that have learned to be active and pro-active in the last few years. These people have thrown in with Obama.

But, wait -- there's more. The Obama campaign will in turn fuel more activism, even though he himself might not.

Does that make sense? I don't have it thought through all the way yet, but there seems to be some good news in there, somewhere.

lol

[patrice]

18. That's one of the reasons I now support Obama.

Although, for me, it's ALL about this damned war right now, I hope at least as much to see new working relationships, on locally identified issues, created out of the effort to elect BHO President.

[babylonsister]

24. I think Obama benefitted from the get-go by not voting for the IWR.

And yes, by all appearances, many soldiers and vets are behind him now. This latest attack against MoveOn by someone who should have been grateful to them will surely sway some minds.

[Cleita]

8. I think that this time Hillary tripped and fell under the bus

herself. It's not going over well with either activists or the independent fence sitters who could go either way.

[JBoy]

9. Howard Dean.

She will start attacking him more viciously, and trying to show that he is blocking her rightful win.

[AllentownJake]

15. Good luck with that

You can say what you want about Howard...the man has a backbone..and he gets to appoint the people who make up the credentials committee. Go ahead...attack Dean...I dare you.

Hasn't she already tried firing some shots off with her donors always calling him? I guess she hasn't publicly attacked him yet.

[Lucky 13]

11. I must be slow, because I hadn't considered this...

I thought that yeah she was slamming "democratic activists", but so? She slammed Al Gore, John Kerry, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean, the DNC, etc etc. Par for the course. How is that news?

But this slow kid just was just reminded what MoveOn.org was created for initially. For Hillary to say nasty things about them just because they support the other guy? Disgusting.

If you don't support Hillary, you are the enemy. No matter who you are or what you've done for them.

If she can turn on MoveOn she can turn on anyone.

Every time I think she can't possibly go lower, she does. What's next? Seriously? I'm tired of being dumbfounded and having to pick my jaw up off the floor.

She's a horrible vile monstrous woman. The thought of her IN CHARGE with MORE power? TERRIFYING.

[Liberal Gramma]

12. It's not "What have you done for me?"

It's "What have you done for me LATELY?"

[Renaissance Man]

14. Judas

Carville's "Judas and 30 Pieces of Silver" comment about Bill Richardson is beginning to ring of a lot of irony, now.

[patrice]

17. BTW, I remember MoveOn in the early days. I was sooooo happy to see such a thing.

I remember going to their somewhat clunky website and posting in their topic threads and thinking THIS is what we NEED.

[WillyT]

19. I Remember As Well...

Both my mother and I joined in MoveOn's effort to fight back the RW in defense of the Clintons.

Both of us are now quite comfortably in Obama's camp.

:shrug:

[patrice]

25. Yep. That's why I went there. I thought BC was getting a raw deal and I wanted to help him.

I don't really need a reward for doing the right thing, but Ingratitude IS sad and disappointing anyway.

[WillyT]

34. Well... Now We Know... And At Least Thousands Of Us Took The Time And Did The Right Thing,,,

:shrug:

[msongs]

20. is donnie mcclurkin driving the bus? nt

[babylonsister]

22. Yet another hit and run by msongs. What a surprise. nt

[stillcool]

23. all of them one hit wonders..

[babylonsister]

28. Was her 'elitism' showing? Proof she's a flip-floppin' fool?

Some good comments from The Carpetbagger Report:

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15266.html#more-15266

Behind closed doors, Clinton blasts the ‘activist base of the Democratic Party’
Posted April 19th, 2008 at 10:40 am

snip//

But getting caught trashing the “activist base of the Democratic Party” is far more problematic, especially while running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Indeed, Clinton’s comments at the fundraiser reflect a certain disdain for liberal activists, and hints at a rift between the base and the Clinton campaign that will be difficult to repair.

If Clinton were simply annoyed with MoveOn.org, it might be easier to understand. After all, when a major group endorses a candidate’s rival, it’s not surprising that the candidate would harbor some hard feelings towards the group. (That is not, however, an excuse for mischaracterizing MoveOn’s positions — the group did not oppose the war in Afghanistan — and repeating a bogus attack levied by Karl Rove a year prior.)

But Clinton’s comments went considerably further, dismissing the “activist base” of the party, rejecting their positions on foreign policy, and accusing them of intimidation tactics. What’s more, she adopted a rather elitist attitude: “{T}hat’s what we’re dealing with.” Who is “we”? The party elites who find the “activist base” an annoyance? And why, exactly, is high turnout among Democratic activists in primaries and caucuses a bad thing?

And when Clinton said, “I don’t agree with them” in relation to the foreign policy and national security positions embraced by the party’s base, what was she referring to? Presumably, this has to go well beyond Afghanistan, since most Dems supported the launch of the war in 2001.

Worse, Clinton, at least publicly, has had very complimentary things to say about MoveOn.org, which her comments at the fundraiser contradict. In April, at a MoveOn-sponsored town hall event, Clinton praised party activists who refuse to back down: “I think you have helped to change the face of American politics for the better, both online, and in the corridors of power. So although some of your members may be a little surprised to hear me say this, I am grateful for your work.”

more...

[Cha]

29. Hay Soose! By Jove I think they

have a Valid POint! What the heck! How many did hilary & bill throw under the big bad bus when they held court?

[bigtree]

30. MoveOn put her off of their bus long ago.

When they get back to policy advocacy instead of primary politics, then they'll find more than enough support from Clinton and others they've put at odds with their strident campaign for Obama.

[Swamp Rat]

31. Liberals...... The Democratic Party....... Americans.

You jump in front of my car when you,
You know all the time that
Ninty miles an hour, girl, is the speed I drive
You tell me it's alright, you don't mind a little pain
You say you just want me to take you for a ride

You're just like
Crosstown traffic
So hard to get through to you
Crosstown traffic
I don't need to run over you
Crosstown traffic
All you do is slow me down
And I'm tryin' to get on the other side of town

I'm not the only soul who's accused of hit and run
Tire tracks all across your back
I can see you had your fun
But darlin' can't you see my signals turn from green to red
And with you I can see a traffic jam straight up ahead

You're just like
Crosstown traffic
So hard to get through to you
Crosstown traffic
I don't need to run over you
Crosstown traffic
All you do is slow me down
And I got better things on the other side of town

Yeah! Yeah!
Crosstown traffic
Look out
Look out baby coming through
Crosstown traffic
Yeah!
Look out crosstown traffic yeah look out
Look out look out baby
Crosstown traffic yeah, look out
What's that in the street?
Crosstown traffic
Yeah, look out
Crosstown traffic
Yeah look out

[Two Americas]

32. I agree with her

I think the party needs to distance itself from Moveon, Code Pink, and the other liberal organizations that have controlled the discussion and steered the party for the last 30 years and moved it to the right on issues of economics and power - if only by disappearing those issues - and that have catered to a relatively small and upscale and demographically limited segment of the population at the expense of the success of the party and the traditional left in general. Any chance at a comprehensive and coherent narrative, a strong political program tackling the true political challenges that the left should be tackling, has been replaced by a grab bag of positions on issues, all personalized and emotionalized, all tainted by the prejudices and biases of a narrow demographic, isolated and disconnected, that have more to do with the culture wars than with politics. This it the prime cause for the ascendancy of the extreme right wing to power, as it has crippled and marginalized the political left.

[dailykoff]

33. Roe vs. Wade.

If it came down to the general (thankfully, it won't) and Hillary needed the right-to-life vote, the bus would be doing wheelies on abortion rights, and Hillary supporters would just pretend Bill was driving.