Rangel hints at presidential run for Hillary Clinton

[Freddie Stubbs]

NEW YORK Congressman Charles Rangel, the lawmaker who urged Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for Senate in 2000, says the former first lady might want to return to the White House in 2008

Rangel made his suggestion while speaking at Clinton's fifth annual African American Heritage Celebration yesterday.

more: http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=2909382

[Walt Starr]

1. Sound like I may be voting Green in 2008

I will treat Hillary just like Republicans.

2008 could well be ABH.

[goddess40]

2. you're right, I'm tired of right wing dems running

we need a real democrat to run for once.

[FightinNewDem]

12. Banish the Unbelievers!

At the rate you guys are going, our ticket will have to consist of a planning board member from Berkely and a retired comparative literature professor from Vermont. Nobody else seems to qualify as a "real Democrat".

In just the last month or so, I have seen posts declaring each of the following to ideologically unacceptable as the Democratic nominee:

Hillary Clinton
Bill Richardson
Mark Warner
Evan Bayh
Joe Biden
Tom Vilsack
John Edwards
John Kerry

Basically, anyone whose initials aren't H.D. or D.K.

[Walt Starr]

16. On that list

Edwards is the only potentially acceptable option. I would go third party on any other person on that list. Kerry would be marginally acceptable had he not already lost. Losers are unacceptable and thus, voting Third Party when Kerry runs again is an acceptable option because Kerry has already proven himself to be a loser.

[FightinNewDem]

19. Good riddance

Just promise never to bitch and moan about President Frist.

[Walt Starr]

21. Like anybody on that list stands any chance whatsoever of winning

:eyes:

Losers all. They would lose BLUE States, for goodness sakes!

[paulk]

33. thanks for reinforcing the Republican meme

that Democrats are losers.

[Walt Starr]

34. If you honestly think Biden or Clinton, or Bayh would stand a chance

I've got a bridge I want to sell you.

[paulk]

38. I honestly think all of these people have a chance

even with one percenters like you voting Green. And calling them losers or otherwise trashing them every chance you get.

[Walt Starr]

39. I've voted straight Democratic tickets in every election for more than

two decades.

I'm done rolling over. If I don't think the Democrat stands a chance (which is the case for every one of those potentials listed above with the exception of Edwards) I'll vote third party because I don't want to throw my vote away on what I cosider to be a loser.

I did that this year. Never again.

[paulk]

45. you don't consider voting third party

throwing your vote away? A third party candidate, who pretty much by definition in our system has no chance of winning, is throwing your vote away, IMO. So I don't understand what your saying...


Why would the candidates listed upthread lose? What's your rationale?
Why would Edwards win? Are the others too moderate to win? Can a woman win the presidency? Give us more than a few sentences, Walt.

[Walt Starr]

48. Not any more

It's more of a throw-away vote on a dead loser Democrat. At least a third party vote gives a potential for the third party to get eneough votes to get matching funds which will make that third party a potential contender in furute elections.

So in the case where you have a Democrat that you've pretty much decided is going to lose any way, voting third party is the only way to not throw your vote away!

[VegasWolf]

63. I'm with you Walt! When the democratic "leadership" did not even

fight the vote count, that was enough for me. I'm
voting my consciense next time. I'm tired of
throwing away my vote on people sponsored by this
"leadership" commitee. I'll give Dean a chance, I
loved Dean. But if someone like Hillary emerges, I'm gone.

[Pallas180]

83. Hillary sucking up to the anti-abortionists did it for me-promise them any

thing but gie them the shaft...seems to be the motto of the DLC or whqatever its called.....the third way = repugnant lite....

I wouldn't support anyone of them unless it's Edwards or Gore.

[Freddie Stubbs]

64. I seem to remember someone making a very similar argument in 2000

His supporters never got the matching funds, but they did get President Bush.

[Walt Starr]

66. It's a valid argument if, in your judgement, one of the two

major party candidates is going to lose anyway.

In 2000, it was not a forgone conclusion.

In 2004, it was close to a foregone conclusion Kerry would not win.

In 2008, I would consider a hillary candidacy to be a throwaway.

[pokercat999]

61. Short and sweet, there is not enough of a discernible

difference between the aforementioned candidates and the repugs to the AVERAGE voter. To win an election today the differences must be stark and the candidate MUST be unequivocal and very outspoken in his ideas.

[retnavyliberal]

79. the only way TO win

is to select a moderate. Selecting ultra-lefts do nothing but alienate the center Dem's and the mod reps. Select a moderate Dem and we have a fighting chance. Now, as far as Hillary, I think she has burned too many bridges to be a viable selection.

We have to stop eating our own young! Do you think a RU website would have this much infighting?

[UCLA Dem]

42. i understand biden or clinton, but i think bayh would have a chance.

[Pallas180]

84. Bayh isn't even GP lite...he's q quieter Zell n/t

.

[Freddie Stubbs]

40. Bayh, Warner, and Richardson have all won in blue states

If Virginia and New Mexico were to flip, that would change the majority in the Electoral College.

[Wilms]

78. Would've been nice to see TN in 2000, and NC in 2004, "flip".

[UCLA Dem]

41. we have to work on building up the democratic party...

not abandon it. if all of us progressives defect than we're definitely stuck with whatever repuke slimebag comes down the line.

its looks like dean is going to become chair. we have to work within not against.

[Walt Starr]

44. I've got a line drawn now

ABB taught me a lesson. IF I honestly do not believe the Democrat can win, I'm going third Party.

I honestly believe Richardson, Clinton, Biden, Bayh, and Warner stand no chance whatsoever.

[goddess40]

28. we just want our party back

the DNC has taken over the spot vacated when the GOP went fascist.

I really don't think that is too much to ask

[paulk]

43. what's a real Democrat?

why do you, and not other "Democrats", who, by the way, have put people like Hillary Clinton into office as a "Democrat", get to define who is a "Democrat"?

Why do you think you have the right to define the Party?

[Walt Starr]

50. Every Democrat must make that decision for themselves

and vote accordingly.

[goddess40]

51. I always thought that Dems were liberal

fought for the little guy instead of giving in.

[bvar22]

62. You forgot....

...Joe Lieberman

Zell Miller

[Gyre]

80. You just keep running her up the flagpole, and

we'll just keep shooting her down. You bozos just don't appreciate how badly Hillary's ass will get kicked until it happens, do you? Do you have any idea how much she alienates democratic constituents (not in NY), let alone the rest of the country regardless of their politics?

Hillary is no Joan-of-Arc coming to save you. What she CAN accomplish is to keep any progressive out of the WH until you pin-heads are shown how much America doesn't care for her. That will cost the rest of us another 4 years of hell.

The DLC may love her, but there's a substantial percentage of us who are unimpressed by the DLCs efforts since '02, and believe the DLC; and it's politics of passive aggression, should shut up and sit down.

Gyre

[oasis]

81. Clark, Edwards, Hillary or Kerry will have the assist of Dean, DNC chair.

Dean's presence will change the party's direction. Many new voters will be attracted to the party and be welcomed with much enthusiasm.

Some disenchanted souls will be going Green,to them, I say farewell. To those Greens who will try to split us Dems, by discrediting our leading candidates, I say farewell.

[Divine Discontent]

74. I'll say this

like others have, don't speak ill will of a fellow self-titled "democrat" outside of the election cycle!

I truly believe (truly can't be emphasized enough since I'm not going to bash anyone's chances in different regions, and for who they are) that the BEST viable candidates we'll have are:

John Edwards
Wesley Clark (GO WES)
Evan Bayh (though bumper stickers saying 'buh-bayh' would get annoying)
and possibly, somewhat,
John Kerry (if he does some impressive things in the senate in the next 2 years)

I will vote for any candidate that has the BEST chance of beating the Republican even if it's not one of the above - all liberals, bush haters, anti-neocon crowd should feel the SAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Pallas180]

85. I'd vote or work for Kerry again when hell freezes over..stalking horse

tha's all he was.

[brainshrub]

4. Self Deleted.

"Never speak ill of a fellow Democrat outside the primaries."

Sigh.

When it comes to Hillary Clinton and Lieberman, I keep making these "Self Deletes".

[crispini]

13. I'm adopting this!

But can I amend this to: "Never speak ill of a fellow Democrat outside the primaries in a public forum where the Republicans might find out."

So, DU would count (sigh) but still allow me to get together and gossip like a bandito with my fellow activists.

[brainshrub]

27. The rule is hard to stick to.

The "Speak Ill of No Dem" rule is a hard rule to impose on yourself. I probably have the most number of "self deletes" on DU... and I still fall off the wagon.

Don't worry about the Republicans finding out what you post during primaries, they already know all about you. Go ahead and Google your screen-name, you'll be surprised at how often they talk about you. Keeping tabs on people is what the conservatism is all about. (Well, that and cheap labor.)

[crispini]

30. Actually, I'm a glass-half-full kinda girl.

So that kind of thing is pretty easy for me.

ESPECIALLY if one accepts my amendment of "just not in public." Whaddya think? I don't think I could do it full time, but I can certainly not do it on DU. Most of my political life is IRL and I don't think I could LIVE without a little judicious bashing .... when it's just us Ds at the bar and we've had a few and we need to gosssip. :evilgrin:

My screen-name is commoner than dirt; I don't think the rethugs pay too much attention to me, but I always think that it's a good habit, to keep in mind that DU is really NOT "just us Dems in private," it's the "town square."

[goddess40]

52. Are you saying we should adopt the lock-step approach

that works so well for the republicans? That we shouldn't question the DNC, just blindly follow along.

[crispini]

73. Well, they ARE winning, aren't they?

But mostly I'm saying that we shouldn't wash our dirty laundry in public.

[Southern Dem 2005]

26. Hillary can't win

Simple as that. I'd love to see her win but it wouldn't happen. Too little appeal across the spectrum. She would get destroyed in the press regarding all the old scandals. Additionally, the right-wing would stir up a fever pitch among the base. I'd like to see Bayh or Edwards. I think both have a decent chance (Bayh probably more so than Edwards).

[Bridget Burke]

3. Let any Democrat who wants to run in 2008....

Prove their worth by opposing Bush & company until then.

[Walt Starr]

6. You mean like, "If you want to oppose them in 2008, you had DAMN WELL

BETTER OPPOSE THEIR ASSES NOW!!!!"

But, but, but....that might actually WORK!!!

[truthseeker1]

22. Well then, with that said, Barbara Boxer is the only qualified candidate

BOXER IN '08!!!!

[AlGore-08.com]

31. You gotta at least list Al Gore among the qualified then

Because he's the only one who's consistantly opposed Bush & Co. policies - - he even had the guts to speak against the war when he was the front runner for the 2004. At that point the closest Dem to him in the primary was Hillary, and she was over 20 points behind him.

In the past four years alone, he's spoken out about Republican vote fraud (many times and way before this January), the right wing spin machine and their media dominance, the corporate corruption of the Bush admin, the looming global warming crisis, the need for the Democratic party to stand up and fight, the erosion of our civil rights, and the Bush admin's sham religiousity.

A big part of his 2000 campaign was opposing the corporate control of government - - remember all that "failed populism" that the corporate media hated so much?

Pretty much everything he's warned us about in the 2000 election and afterwards has come to pass.

Gore is the best possible candidate because he'd be the best possible President.

[yinkaafrica]

47. I like your style

[JNelson6563]

93. Anything less is cult mentality

For anyone to be declaring someone as THE person for 08 is thinking like a cultist. We have a few years between now and then for all to show us their true mettle. I will support whoever fights the hardest against the fascists now in power, I should hope all here would do the same.

Hope springs eternal.....

Julie

[never_get_over_it]

5. I was one of the Clinton's biggest supporters

because of what the repunks did to him with the impeachment - but after Hillary's latest performances with the faith based crap and the choice speech last week - she will not get my vote - she voted for the Iraq war resolution she, she voted for Rice - I have Clinton fatigue - she won't ever get the nomination anyway the MSM will have a field day with her.

[bowens43]

7. I said before and I'll say it again.,

Rangel is a fucking nutcase.

If Hillary runs, she loses and Rangel needs to STFU about the draft.

[sundancekid]

8. hillary, dickery, ... d.o.a. duck

[LiberallyInclined]

9. I'd like to see Hillary run for prez in 2008...

as long as she switches to the repuke party she belongs in first.

[LibDemAlways]

10. If Hillary returns to the WH in 2008

it will be as an invited guest. Repukes hate her and will continue to hate her no matter how many times Bill appears with chimp senior. She's raw meat for the corporate media. Progressives aren't impressed with her voting record.

If the DLC decides she's the one in spite of all of the above, we're screwed.

[shamalama]

98. ... we're screwed

The DLC is looking for "win-ability" again, not looking for the best person to fill the role. They're pandering to power and $$$, and not listening to the people.

[Mizmoon]

11. No one thought she'd win senator either

:headbang: Hillary Rules

[Greybnk48]

14. She has my vote

And my husband's and all three of my kids and my son-in-law.

[Southern Dem 2005]

29. Getting elected as a Democrat in NY

is a good bit different than running for national office.

[Mizmoon]

37. You mean the state with the repub governor?

The mayor of the biggest city is a repub too.

[Southern Dem 2005]

46. And the governor of CA is a Republican, which is irrelevant

She can't win a national election.

[makhno]

55. Against Rick Lazio?

You gotta be kidding me ...

[Dinger]

15. The Timing Just Isn't Right

Not now anyway. I like Hillary, a lot, but it seems like the repugs are salivating at the chance to run against her.

[Mari333]

17. How lame. What a waste of PR.

No woman, in the US, will , in my lifetime, ever become president. This is far too patriarchal a country, filled with chest thumping dolts and stepford wives. Its not going to happen. Only rich impotent white males need apply.

[Freddie Stubbs]

18. Rich impotent white males?

Bill Clinton wasn't rich, and as for the impotent part, his reputation speaks for itself.

[Mari333]

20. Thats why they hated him so much

He could do what they couldnt do..

[d.l.Green]

24. Ummm, what happened to our hero, Ms. Boxer all of a sudden? /nt

[Mari333]

32. Ms Boxer is still a hero

she , and other women, will never be able to be president of the United States, however..women in the US who are strong and brilliant are considered threatening in an adolescent chest thumping patriarchy..soon to be a theocracy if the repubs have their way.

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. Unfortunately, I don't see how that's going to be possible for Hillary.

I don't see how anyone from New York City is going to have broad appeal in the U.S. Not for Democrats and not for Republicans. They just don't really understand the rest of the nation; and in Hillary's case, she may understand it too well, and too willing to compromise to the right to get away from the appearance that she's liberal in any way. That's going to alienate her from her base.

[phylny]

94. What do you mean, "From New York City"? n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

97. Metropolitans in the country.

People from the big city don't really understand that whatever civility or protocol that city life gives them to deal with diversity, doesn't exist in the Southern, or Western states. You might as well assume that the civil war was fought and won yesterday, for the political atmosphere that you will find south of the Mason-Dixon line.

I'll talk about Florida, because that is what I know. Land is the beginning, the middle and the end. Land that has been owned by families who have grown in political clout over the decades, so much so, that they can hide in the shadows and let others do their dirty work. It's all about development of those properties. So, these kinds of people are not going to be too thrilled to have northerners come down and tell them that their laws are not consistently applied across Florida, because these old families live and breath property rights. And property rights to them means anarchy. No laws, no rules, bigger profits. They love the present situation. City government is often their co-conspirators. They're striving to build tax bases, so they look the other way on building codes fully knowing that a future homeowner will get stiffed because of poor construction. But they don't really care, because they'll be long gone when that happens. In fact, many will get bonuses near the end of their careers because of the secrets they know.

And what do northerners do when they come down to try to get some political foothold? They blend and more. They become worse than the good ole boys. Tom Feeney is a good example. They come down here and see the shadow government and awe the good ole boys by going even further.

So, in the end, nothing changes in Florida, except to get worse. The average person doesn't really understand why things happen the way they do. Those who are intelligent enough to see the strings and try to do something about it either get gagged by the courts, or ostracized. The good guys never win.

And because the good guys never win, nothing changes in the cultural atmosphere either. Intolerance to other races continues as it always has, because (1) it's a way that northerners can quickly bond with white southerners and (2) it cuts down on competition.

But white poor crackers and other white mysteries are not stupid either. There are a lot of Democrats here, who might vote for Bush, but who will never vote for a Hillary Clinton. It's because, even though they've been screwed over by other white crackers, it's THEIR white crackers. Northerners come and go, but crackers stay in the bedsheets. And before northerners came, like Feeney, there were codes. Communities were built, not just real estate. Land was set aside for parks and other amenities were made to make everyone happy, but those days are long gone. We're just one privately owned plat after the other. Make your money and run.

I fear a shrewd northerner running for government, because they won't really change anything of importance down here. Their first strategy will be to side with the movers and shakers in this state, and change will be slower than if we throw our own bums out.

[phylny]

99. OK, you know that Hillary is not from New York City, right?

You understand that she's a senator who represents the entire state of New York, correct?

I'm still confused.

BTW, I don't think Hillary can win, but you have a shrewd Texas-wannabe President, and it ain't helping matters, either.

[The Backlash Cometh]

101. Do you really think that southerners will say:

"Oh, Hillary is not representing just NYC, but the entire state of New York?" Where does her campaign donations come from, from within the city? I think most people can figure that one out; and that's where her loyalties will lie.

But thanks for ignoring the rest of my rant! I should have figured out the outcome of this subthread. It's all about New York. It always is.

[phylny]

103. You haven't answered my question.

Should I become rude and state that you're unable to stay on topic?

[Kimber Scott]

25. I'd vote for Hillary in a minute. nt

[D C]

35. I'll Vote For Hillary

I would definately vote for Hillary Clinton.

[slor]

36. Color me GREEN...

if she is the choice. I want a progressive, non-right tilting candidate, thank you very much.

[shantipriya]

49. Hillary for President?

If a country cannot accept a NE liberal like Kerry as president, what chance a woman liberal has in this male dominated,"family values",dumb-downed populace!!!It would be suicidal for the Democratic party to even think about letting Hilary run for the presidency.

[Mizmoon]

53. So many new posters who don't want hillary to run

How shocking.

[Bridget Burke]

56. What a coincidence!

Perhaps it's the phase of the moon....

[KingoftheJungle]

54. HIllary is a shill for the same forces behind *. Read Madsen's new articl

http://www.insider-magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm

"One of the more interesting affiliates of the Fellowship is Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). A former “Goldwater Girl” in the 1964 presidential campaign, Mrs. Clinton seemed to have partially recovered some of her earlier conservative underpinnings. According to her autobiography, Living History, after her husband became president, Clinton paid a visit to a women’s meeting at the Cedars on February 24, 1993. Present were Susan Baker (wife of the first Bush’s Secretary of State, James Baker III), Grace Nelson (wife of Florida’s Bill Nelson), Joanne Kemp (wife of former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp), Linda LeSourd Lader (wife of Clinton ambassador to Britain and founder of the Renaissance Weekend Phil Lader – the Renaissance Weekend in Charleston, South Carolina is billed by Lader as a “spiritual” event<3>), and Holly Leachman of the Falls Church Episcopal Church (one of the churches taken over by the Fellowship). Leachman and her husband Jerry had been involved in 1997 with a Cleveland, Ohio Fellowship adjunct called the Family Forum. The Leachmans were interviewed by ABC’s Nightline on February 25, 2004. They extolled the virtues of Mel Gibson’s controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, along with other evangelicals, including some Jewish converts to Christianity.



Senator Clinton admits to having a continuing close relationship with Susan Baker, through Baker’s visits to Capitol Hill and the letters she and other Fellowship wives wrote her during the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. Even Bill Clinton seemed to have been taken in by the Fellowship. In his autobiography, My Life, Clinton brags that he never missed a National Prayer Breakfast. In his autobiography, Bill Clinton erroneously writes that it was not until 2000 that Coe invited the first Jew, Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), to speak at the breakfast. However, New York Mayor Ed Koch spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1981 Senator Jacob Javits in 1984, and Arthur Burns in 1986.



Ironically, it was Susan Baker’s husband who served as the political fix-it man for Clinton’s Vice President Al Gore in delivering Florida’s 25 electoral votes to George W. Bush in 2000, costing Gore the White House. In fact, Senator Clinton wrote that all of her relationships with the Fellowship began with the luncheon she attended in 1993. In her biography, Senator Clinton writes of Douglas Coe, “ is a genuinely loving spiritual mentor . . . Doug Coe became a source of strength and friendship.” Of course, Clinton is referring to the period of time when her husband was being harassed by conservative Republicans out for blood – the Whitewater investigation and impeachment hearings brought about by what she called the “vast right-wing conspiracy” against her husband. It is amazing that Mrs. Clinton would have established such a trusting relationship with people who were the “vast right-wing conspiracy” that she complained about so vociferously.



Nevertheless, Mrs. Clinton remained close to Coe, who she invited to accompany her as a member of the U.S. delegation that attended Mother Theresa’s state funeral in Calcutta in 1997. Mother Theresa had spoken at Coe’s National Prayer Breakfast meeting in Washington in 1994. From that platform, Mother Theresa launched a verbal broadside against President Clinton’s pro-abortion policy. For Coe, being at Mother Theresa’s state funeral was a strange juxtaposition from his reported attendance at Bohemian Grove meetings of San Francisco’s elite Bohemian Club – festivities that are replete with pagan rites. But as one senior Pentagon official said, “the Fellowship has nothing to do with God or Jesus, it is a capitalist cult.” One of the major members of the Bohemian Club is former NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe, who is also close to conservative Christian Representative Tom Feeney (R-FL), the former Lieutenant Governor running mate of Jeb Bush in the 1994 Florida gubernatorial election, a major political operative in 2000’s fixed presidential election when he was Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, attorney and registered lobbyist for Yang Enterprises – the NASA contractor accused of creating rigged election software and spying for China, and the politician accused of helping to launder large sums of money through the Florida Department of Transportation – the agency that controls one of Florida’s biggest cash cows – the toll turnpikes."

[oasis]

71. Make sure you repost that again before 2008. Maybe the tinfoil would

have worn off by then. :tinfoilhat:

[Pallas180]

86. Oasis - he's not off base. Hillary has softened on pro-choice and

is running around (as of last week) saying she understands the anti-abortionists view.

I'm wondering if that includes understanding their shooting and killing doctors.

Hillary ain't gonna get my vote, she's too busy moving toward the right and gop-lite.

The democrats trying to imitate, appease, and make-up with the republicans is what has got us into a no checks and balances government.

[oasis]

100. Attempting to "understand" the other side doesn't mean she totally

agrees with their policies, beliefs or practices.

When we meet in the middle through understanding, both sides come away with something.

[cabbage08]

57. hmmmmmmmm

[davidinalameda]

58. Hillary can't win

she has way too much baggage, and the biggest piece is her husband

[KittyWampus]

59. AND The Mediawhores Play DU'ers For Chumps Yet Again. No QUOTE

provided. There's no indication of exactly what Rangel said or didn't say, is there?

Maybe someone asked him if Hillary should run in 08 and he diplomatically answered "yes she'd be a swell candidate".

It's not like the Mediawhores would fabricate stuff, take quotes out of context, or twist the meaning of a Democrat's words....

:eyes:

[pokercat999]

60. Sorry Charlie, starkist wants candidates that are Democrats. n/t

[tblue37]

65. I think Al Gore is considering running again.

[VegasWolf]

67. Why does Hillary hate the democratic party? n/t

[davidinalameda]

68. ego perhaps?

or maybe the Clintons are just power hungry

[oasis]

69. That's great. Remember Bill saying "you'll get two for one" in '92?

We get the same deal in 2008.

[Laurab]

70. Fix the election fraud

THEN talk about who's running in 08.

[apple_ridge]

72. Exactly. It's a moot point otherwise.

[The Animator]

75. Of all the Candidates in the 04 primaries, I'd have to say...

That I was most impressed by Sharpton.

He hit the nail on the head every single time I heard him speak. He wasn't afraid to call people out on their bullshit, especially Bush.

I really liked Dean's energy, he would have been a great Pres; however I think he is sorely needed as DNC chair and will provide a backbone to this so far invertibrate party.

I know I'll be called crazy for this, but desperate times call for desparate measures. The Bush dynasty has established their empire, I think the only way to defeat the forces of darkness is with the power of a rekindled Camelot. We need Ted Kennedy.

I know that even the suggestion is laughable. His political suicide was before my time, something involving a DUI and the death of a female companion, but that was a long time ago. I never saw him in his prime, but the fire in the eyes of that old bulldog as he tore into the Iraq War Justifications tells me there's alot of fight left in him.

Anyway, that's my wish, but like the old saying goes: Fill one hand with wishes, and the other with shit and see which one fills up faster.

[Pallas180]

87. Teddy must be nearing 70 if not there already - an old lion - yes, but

he'll never run. Any Kennedy who has ever run has been assassinated... and he knows it..

I think he knows he's fighting the people now who killed Jack.

He says things that are dangerous as far as these people are concerned....others have said less and are no longer with us.

I think in a way he's almost daring them...

He's a marvel. He's one of the few who has the guts to speak out against them and really tell what they're doing.

And we should let him know we appreciate and revere his courage.

[leesa]

76. STOP pushing her at us. If the GOP wants it this much I have huge

suspicions about anyone jumping on that train. How's the draft legislation going Charlie? This guy is a little too fond of all this war stuff.

[oasis]

77. Charlie's being FOR a draft doesn't mean that he's "fond of war". He wants

all Americans to share in the protection of this great land of ours. Not just the poor.

When the privileged class of America has to fight in wars, they will think twice about accepting "flawed intelligence".

[IndianaGreen]

90. Rangel's draft will only lead to the conscription of the poor

and it will lay the blame on the Democratic Party. Rangel can be very shortsighted at times, as he is when he pushes Hillary as the nominee for '08.

Explain Hillary's vote for Condi, Charlie, or her kissing up to Sharon and the Likudniks.

[fujiyama]

95. Agreed

This draft bill is just getting old. IMO he's making a mockery of the seriousness of the draft.

And Hillary would be a disasterous candidate. I can't see any red states flipping for her - but I can see plenty of blue states going red.

[DeaconBlues]

82. I'd rather see Rangel run n/t

By the way, people, Rangel wants to reinstitute the draft so we no longer have the mercenary system we have now that ensures that only the poor and the powerless die in our wars. A fair draft would be the greatest insurance that we would never fight another unnecessary war.

[Pallas180]

88. You realize these great orators and liberals are all old and dying off????

then the democratic party is really finished.

Byrd is 87.

Teddy and Rangel must be 70 or so ....

We need to reconnoiter and make a new party when they're gone....cause they won;t be there to be the conscience of the Democratic party anymore.

And we'll be f____ed out here.

[Ice4Clark]

89. It's not going to matter who we have on the ticket unless the

votes cast are actually counted for the candidate. ELECTION REFORM SHOULD BE PRIORITY THIS NEXT YEAR, before the midterm in 06. We must expose how this last election was manipulated and institute change. The media is another major concern and we must demand "real" journalism and accountability. Let's not let them "soundbite" the candidates to their demise.

[mtnester]

91. Clark-Gore 2008

That is the only team that stands a flying chance in 08, especially if we are still in a war, which we WILL be...somewhere

It was a huge mistake by the Kerry team not to pick Clark as VP. Huge.

Hillary's vote on the Omnibus Bill killed it for me. The vote for Rice sealed the deal.

[The Animator]

92. What about Barrack Obama

Sure, he's green as hell, but I've heard he's got passion. See him picking up the torch in a few years?

[fujiyama]

96. He wouldn't have even finished

one term, plus I think it's better to give him time. I'm not impressed thus far with the whole Condi vote and autograph stunt at the SOTU.

[Montanan]

102. Marin County CA Dems nix Hillary

Wife and I were having an informal discussion with a group of our very progressive Marin County friends about who should run in 2008. To our surprise, nearly all of them recoiled in disgust when Hillary was mentioned. I'm not kidding. I think she's a no-go.