In NY - Hillary Pilloried

[Laura PourMeADrink]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/422082p-356248c.html

Hillary pays a price



BY DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


Sen. Hillary Clinton and husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, share a moment, and later stand at attention during Memorial Day parade in Chappaqua.

Some Manhattan Democratic clubs are launching a backlash against Sen. Hillary Clinton amid some of her recent shifts toward the right. Once a liberal favorite, Clinton is being shunned in her reelection bid by four local Democratic groups furious over her vote in favor of the Iraq war and her newly cozy relationship with conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

"She is not in Arkansas anymore," said Yayoi Tsuchitani, campaign chairwoman of the Village Independent Democrats, which voted this month to back Jonathan Tasini, Clinton's little-known Democratic challenger for her Senate seat.

"This is New York we are dealing with, and the majority of New Yorkers are against the war," Tsuchitani added.

The defections among the activist left of the city's Democratic Party — long considered a loyal chunk of Clinton's political base — suggest that her recent rush to the political middle ground and beyond may exact a price.

snip

[Swamp Rat]

1. Yes, she left ArKansas a long time ago - she is now living in "Oz."

[Hubert Flottz]

29. You'd think that after the Calamity of being Bushed and reBushed

America would be sick and tired of dynasty...The Repubs would love to see her become the "Frontrunner" in 08. I don't think it will EVER happen.

[Buzz Clik]

2. It's the price you pay for moving to the middle.

If she wants only to be Senator from New York, she should maintain all aspects of her liberal base. However, if she wants to be president, she must gently let go of the fringe elements on the left.

[Neecy]

3. excuse me, but...

Most of the country now shares the views of the 'fringe left'. Read any polls lately? Notice how most of the American people view Iraq as a disaster, a fact lost on Hillary?

[Buzz Clik]

12. Well, I sort of agree.

I don't like her waffling on issues and changing stripes on others. But to say that most of the country can now be characterized as sharing the views of the fringe left is optimistic at best.

[ixion]

4. the 'fringe elements'

oh, that's a good one. Like Hillary is a radical or something. :rofl:

[Buzz Clik]

10. Never said that...

However, Hillary is clearly liberal. To win the Presidency, you must be near the center. You cannot do that without losing some of you base. It happened to Bush, McCain, Bill Clinton, etc.

It's not a criticism of Hillary, just the way it is.

[ixion]

15. "you must be near the center"

uh, if that's true (as the DLC would like you to believe) then a) why was an extreme right-wing government elected (in the past three elections)?

and b) in that same time as the right has been moving ever rightward, and the 'left' has been moving towards the 'center', then why have dems been losing ground over the last 20 years? It was at that time when the DLC proposed the thesis that the 'center' was was being 'liberal' was all about.

I'm an independent. I make decisions based on the information I'm able to glean from a variety of sources, and adhere to no political party, as such.

In my lifetime (I'm over 40) I've never -- NEVER -- seen a progressive candidate actually make it to the primaries. That's why I laugh. :hi:

Hillary Clinton is not a progressive, IMO. Even in her "It takes a village" days, she was no progressive. She's always had a tendancy to lean to the right.

Just my two cents. No offense taken. :hi:

[Buzz Clik]

24. No progressives?

Eugene McCarthy and Dukakis come to mind. However, their political orientation depends upon one's perspective. Viewed from the center, they most certainly are liberal/progressive.

Hillary's health care plan was flirting with the boundaries of socialism, and that's pretty friggin' left.

As for me, I'm an odd hybrid of ragingly liberal mixed with a heavy dose of libertarianism. Not exactly centrist.

[ixion]

26. it's funny... I'm the same mix as you

I consider myself an independent, but I've got a healthy amount of libertarianism and green enviornmentalism that keep things lively. :hi:

[Buzz Clik]

30. interesting...

It can make for some internal conflicts. For example, the true libertarian believes in a minimum of government interference in all things. However, an environmentalist must have governmental regulation to aid in the advancement of environmental causes.

Does that ever trouble you?

[ixion]

33. nah, no trouble

I understand that it's a bit of a Utopian view, but I'd like to think you could find a happy medium between keeping the planet happy while not stifling business.

[Armstead]

6. Fringe elements?

You mean the nutjobs who are against the Corporate Takeover of America? Or those fruitcakes who saw from the beginning that the Iraq War was a huge mistake based on a lie? Or those bubbleheads who do not believe that getting into bed with Rupert Murdoch is a great idea? Or the malcontents who believe in quaint concepts like the rights of workers? Or those perverts who believe that gays should be treated as equal citizens?

[Buzz Clik]

11. No offense meant, but it was clearly taken.

I used the word fringe as a neutral desriptor, not as an attempted insult.

For the record, I am part of the fringe that she left behind, and I am totally pissed off.

[endarkenment]

17. say what?

"I used the word fringe as a neutral desriptor"? you have got to be kidding. Fringe is pejorative. It marginalizes those described as 'fringe elements'.

[Buzz Clik]

31. I guess I'm guilty of some level of self-loathing.

:evilgrin:

[Armstead]

21. No offense taken -- But I'd suggest you use better terminology

Rather than "fringe" you might consider using the term "stuanchest liberals and progressives."

It is not as marginalizing as "fringe" and is also more accurate. I believe the views of liberals and many progressives are solidly mainstream....It's just that the political elite either haven't noticed or don't care.

[Buzz Clik]

25. Okay -- I'll change the terms rather than marginalize. n/t

[Cha]

7. She hasn't done that

since the IWR vote..seems like a political ploy now more than ever.

[Joe Chi Minh]

9. Who was it said, "If you stay in the middle of the road....

you get run over"?

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. Not sure, but I heard it as

"there's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and possum pancakes."

[heartofthesiskiyou]

28. that would be one of my heros Jim Hightower

former Secretary or Agriculture state of Texas (back when the place was sane they used to be dems)

"It's time to get out of the middle of the road. There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos".

[Joe Chi Minh]

35. The best of all!

[Joe Chi Minh]

32. A bit more colorfully expressed!

[Cha]

5. "She's not in Arkansas anymore"!

I wondered when someone was going to state how she's not representing New Yawk!

[jsamuel]

23. She isn't representing Arkansas either

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. This article reflects my sentiments, and being a NY Democrat, I will be

hard pressed to pull another lever for her again. I feel as if she has betrayed my values.

While NYC voted in a resolution to oppose the War in Iraq, Hillary was voting for it. She has yet to disavow her decision and I cannot forget this.

She has also locally done nothing in regard to the second attack on NY after 9/11. That was the attack that the WH made when they lied about the air quality in NY after the first attack. People are suffering and dying from respiratory sickness and I have yet to hear an utterance from her on this.

Another thing she has dropped the ball on. A NY Reserve Unit returned from Iraq and many seemed to be suffering from what appeared to be symptoms of Depleted Uranium poisoning. She made a big splash in the beginning..and Now Nothing.

Instead she is backtracking on her ProChoice stance and trying to censor video games...

She is worthless.

[Pierre.Suave]

13. Agreed

She is worthless and I am glad to see some NY'ers planning a run against her.

[Cornus]

14. That's why I'm now supporting Tasini nmi

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. I'm supporting Tasini too. eom

[im10ashus]

27. Ditto! Tasini for New York!!!

:hi:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

34. im10ashus

:hi:

[MissWaverly]

20. don't forget she's attacking our youth as lazy

while Bushco is shoving this huge deficit onto their backs

[endarkenment]

16. "recent rush to the political middle ground"

Is editorial bullshit. It ain't recent and it ain't middle. It is a consistent pandering to rightwing bullshit.

[kaygore]

22. We need a candidate that stands up and speaks out

Most Americans are tired of pandering. Hillary panders. Hillary is not a good candidate for national office.