Tasini at HuffPost: Exposing The Clinton Charade (Part I) --->>>

[Stephanie]

Jonathan Tasini blogs regularly at HuffPost. He posted this piece today, the last day of the petition drive to get his name on the ballot for U.S. Senate in the NY Democratic primary. Buckle your seatbelts.



www.tasinifornewyork.org

Exposing The Clinton Charade (Part I)
by Jonathan Tasini

Tomorrow, I am going to deliver two to three times the number of signatures I need to qualify as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in New York. And, beginning tomorrow, New Yorkers will finally have a real political choice: a chance to choose between a Democratic Party with spine and principle versus a political charade based on spin, polls, triangulation and the pursuit of power.

***

But, some of the most fascinating dialogue took place with people--surprisingly, a relatively small number--who said that they supported the incumbent. I asked each one, "are you for the war?" They all said no. Well, I pointed out, your candidate voted for the war and, as Bob Herbert pointed out recently in The New York Times, you need a magnifying glass to find any difference between her position and the position of the Bush Administration.

Moving on from that "single-issue" pesky war and occupation, I asked: "Do you believe in the death penalty or discriminating against same-sex couples or criminalizing flag-burning," all positions that Hillary Clinton supports. Again, almost uniformly, the answer was "no." Well, "would you support Medicare For All," I asked. Absolutely, they answered. Sorry, I said, the incumbent opposes a single-payer, Medicare For All system. A bit of uncomfortable silence usually followed. And, then, we would wish each other a pleasant day.

Almost to a person, my opponent's supporters could not point to any POLICY issue they agreed with her on. Most of those people walked away from the conversation looking deeply confused. Cognitive dissonance--the psychological phenomena of a person struggling with the contradiction between facts and what they would like to believe--bursts out in full display when it comes to my opponent. A few people, after walking down the street, perhaps wrestling with their conscience or simply believing that there needed to be a democratic debate, not a coronation, in the election, turned around and walked back to sign our petitions.

It became quite clear that many supporters of Hillary Clinton have no idea what she actually believes in or what she has actually done. Her support is the prime political example of celebrity culture in America: we know nothing about what someone believes or who they really are; the media helps spin an image, carefully managed and orchestrated by our celebrity's handlers; and, then, we are shocked, shocked when we find that JenLo or Brittany or Hillary aren't what we expected. I suppose we can have a bit of tolerance for fiction when it comes to actors and athletes. But, when we are talking about war and peace, our economic future and basic principles like the First Amendment, the celebrity charade must be challenged.

(more at link)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-tasini/exposing-the-clinton-char_b_24936.html

[msongs]

1. hillary's issues- without the bashing - good read even if u like her

after all, it is media spinning to the max when she is asking for money from people in CALIFORNIA on a weekly basis for crap sake!

why is she pimping for cash from people 3000 miles away who cannot even vote for her?

Msongs
www.msongs.com/6for2008.htm

[Stephanie]

2. Rupert Murdoch is hosting a fundraiser for her on Monday

:shrug:

[mom cat]

42. And she attended the Bilderberg confab in Toronto this year.

The elite have picked their Democratic candidate for 08. We the People need to pick our own.

[itzamirakul]

10. She is "pimping cash" simply because she can. She has an

extensive campaign war chest but along with the name recognition and the general love for Bill among Dems, she can raise cash pretty easily among the less well informed.

[mdmc]

3. if he gets on the ballot, i will vote for him

even with 30,000 nyc sigs, it ain't gonna be easy.

[leftchick]

4. blind supporters

I will never understand them even though Mr. Tasini does an excellent job of explaining them. Damn They are just fucking dumb I swear! Hil is a Shill!

Thank you Stephanie! This is Excellent!

:hi:

[LeftCoast]

5. I really find this kind of behavior reprehensible

If Tasini is going to be a Democrat then he shouldn't be flinging mud at another candidate in the same party. If you want to see how that turns out, just look here at CA where all of Westley's attack ads against Angelides are now being used by Arnie.

This really makes me angry.

:thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

[Stephanie]

7. He's discussing her voting record.

How does that relate to mud?

[LeftCoast]

9. One does not 'discuss a voting record' by 'exposing a charade'

This is just spin. If he's such a great candidate why does he have to tear down his opponent?

[Stephanie]

12. How is it spin? It's factual.

Nobody knows her record. That's the problem.

[LeftCoast]

14. You've never heard facts spun?

[Stephanie]

15. Not in this article.

[LeftCoast]

16. Not even the title?

[Stephanie]

17. No. Try calling her office to get an answer to a simple question.

She wants to be all things to all people, so they won't give you a straight answer. Ask them a question. Try it.

[WilliamPitt]

18. Seriously?

It's a primary. This is how it goes...and, in truth, is the only way cemented incumbents have a chance of getting bounced. We're all for change around here. Unfortunately, this is how you get it sometimes.

Also, he's discussing her record. He's doing that because he's running against her. How can he do that without discussing her record?

[Stephanie]

22. without this primary challenge she has no opposition at all

so she gets a free pass. she never has to explain why she voted for the war, why she still supports the war, why she won't support a timetable for withdrawal, why she still claims she was misled when Kennedy, Boxer, Kucinich et al. knew better. why she refuses to renounce her IWR vote as Kerry & Edwards have. and that's just one issue.

[BurtWorm]

44. The higher the Tasini vote, the less comfortable she can be

with her bizarre position on the war.

She needs to be made verrry uncomfortable.

[Terran1212]

28. Um, that's what they do in all primaries n/t

[cynatnite]

47. Eating our own only hurts the Democratic Party

I'm with you. The more divided we are, the more it helps the repukes.

[texasleo]

6. NY has a Ralph Nader. How cute.

[Stephanie]

8. Jonathan Tasini is a Democrat.

There are no spoilers in this race.

[WilliamPitt]

19. Not a fan of primaries, I see.

You should probably avoid American electoral politics if that's the case. 435 primaries happen every two years all across the country for national House races. 100 more happen every six years for the Senate, plus those 50 governor's races, plus all the statewide races. And then there are all those primaries every four years for the White House.

Tasini isn't a "Ralph Nader" because he's running in a Democratic primary, for the love of crumbcake. Obtain thyself a grip.

[Terran1212]

27. He's running in the DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY!

You're insulting him for challenging a warmonger, is that it? What is that all about?

[readmoreoften]

31. So you're against PRIMARIES? How about voting? That still OK with you?

Why are you labeling a DEMOCRAT running in a primary against an incumbent as a "Ralph Nader"? Do you know what a primary is? Do you also support Joe Lieberman over Ned Lamont?

[autorank]

36. Well...

:sarcasm:
I don't know...primaries, those are good; but I'm not sure about all this voting. You never know, pretty soon we'll go from "we pretend to vote, they pretend to count" (Michael Collins) to "we voted and you're out of here!!!" What would happen if the public will prevailed...chaos, perhaps, or worse. Moderation in all things. How about practice voting with our leaders making the final choices. We get to vote, they get to rule...makes sense doesn't it...

[Old and In the Way]

11. Primaries are good, it provides a platform for real conversation and

choice to represent our core values. I just hope we are smart enough not to trash our own in the process. It's not the GE....

[zulchzulu]

13. Democracy can be a little messy and kind of ugly on the side...

Let Tasini run. See who wins. See who doesn't. See who gets people out to vote. Just keep it civil and offer solutions as well...

[zalinda]

20. One of the things he does not understand

is that central and upstate NY can be pretty red. He has to play to those people too, and that's where Hillary shines. She can get NY repub votes, and that's why she wins.

zalinda

[Stephanie]

21. Zogby: 38% wd vote for HRC, 32% for an "unnamed anti-war candidate"

that's an across the board poll, not just Dems.

http://www.zogby.com/NEWS/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1118

[jsamuel]

23. wow, I really didn't know she was that vulnerable

However, that was back on May, 30th, so it may have changed a little since then.

[Stephanie]

24. why would it?

she hasn't changed her positions. she is vulnerable if people find out where she actually stands on the issues. that's why she doesn't want you to know her stance.

take her position on the flame-bait flag burning amendment. she voted against it. at the same time she introduces legislation to criminalize flag-burning. so she can have it not both ways but ALL ways.

1) to liberals she can say she opposed the amendment, 2) to moderates she can say that she does not believe we should amend the Constitution but she is against flag-burning, 3) to conservatives she can say that she introduced legislation to criminalize flag-burning, 4) she's off the hook no matter what because her legislation to criminalize it is unconsitutional!

[jsamuel]

25. yes, I know all that, I complained about that back in December

I just know that Lamont has gained significantly on Lieberman over the past month alone, so something similar could be happening to Hillary. Or possibly the opposite. I would like to see a more recent one. Do you think Tasini has a chance?

[Stephanie]

26. i think he does

He just needs to be heard. He's actually a much better speaker than she is, and he speaks from the heart.

[readmoreoften]

32. I think Tasini will get a lot of the union vote too.

The Joe Six-Packs upstate are still often pro-worker, pro-union. I spent some time up in Albany lobbying with the UAW and republicans were really working hard to show how pro-union they are to distinguish themselves from Bush-style Republicans.

I know that my local endorses Tasini. Shit, he's a MEMBER of my local. But I'm not sure if the international will endorse him. If they do, that might play well in the purple areas upstate.

[jsamuel]

33. Does NY have closed primaries?

[autorank]

35. Great point Stephanie...Zogby is right on the money.

New Yorkers are very smart politically when they pay attention and they've been paying attention for a while. If Pataki had not faced a highly vulnerable candidate, he would have been tossed. New Yorers looked at their choice and played it conservative. However, they went right back to disapproving of Pataki (he hasn't looked at the memo yet).

New Yorkers are in the vanguard of anti-war sentiment. Sure Massachusetts and Vermont might be a few points higher but not much.

Iraq costs American lives, American good will, a fortune in expenditures now and down the road, and now, grotesque scenes that few can imagine.

New Yorkers know that everybody in the Senate knew the deal on * lies pre-war including WMD. Her vote yes has no basis in fact and it's an accepted truth by the majority up there.

It's her time to go.

On edit: Stephanie, check out this web page for resources: www.ElectionFraudNews.com ;)

[Terran1212]

30. Red-staters HATE Hilary

I'm not sure why, but they just do (maybe because she's the wife of Bill). They'll go for Tasini in a heartbeat.

[Terran1212]

29. GO NEW YORK! GET OUT THE ANTIWAR VOTE!

You New Yorkers can topple a titan if you try hard enough! You can really win for Tasini and for YOUR values, not the values of a Clinton who does what she, not the people of NY, want!

[autorank]

34. Tasini...Lets send a double message Joe 1st then Hillary

Tasini has an excellent record, substantive ties to labor, and is a New Yorker, not a transplant (like I was but I didn't run for Senate). He's a Democrat first; not a conciliator, mediator, "states person," and "national figure." He will represent the people of New York and the interests of the nation.

How does it do New York any good to have a Senator who votes for and supports the war in Iraq. New Yorkers just have to worry more about all those new terrorists, as do the rest of us.

How does it do New York any good to have a Senator who is preoccupied with getting elected President? New Yorkers need a Senator who is serious about governance more than being the "governor" of a larger body, i.e., the USA.

How does it do New York any good to have a Senator who will not accumulate any seniority or experience? It's off to the races between now and 2008. What good will that do for New Yorkers.

Tasini for Senate - New York

[readmoreoften]

37. Thank you! I'm not a big campaigner. But Tasini is amazing.

He is an old-school progressive labor DEMOCRAT, it is an insult to the roots of our party to call him a "green" or any other nonsense. Normally, I'm not terribly opinionated during primary races. I vote my favorite and keep it to that. But Tasini would be an amazing representative of the people of NY. And I mean that he would actually REPRESENT New Yorkers. Even the idea of having Tasini in office gives me this strange feeling: wow, a politician that would be representing *me*, my values, my needs.

I also know a lot of people who know him really well. These are people who I respect and who really do a ton of good for average NYers. Tasini knows the meaning of solidarity. I know that, for sure.

[autorank]

39. That's quite an endorsement.

When I lived there, the pols still tried to keep in touch with the people. I arrived in NYC just at the end of Lidsays administration. He was great, the elite, elegant man of the people. It was like that for a bit longer than BEAM, yuck and Rocky went around the bend with those drug laws and the slaughter at Attica. That was it, other than the occasional Bella or two.

I too admire Tasini. I've read about him and talked to a couple of people who support his campaign. All great feedback...and then there is Ms. Hillary. Oh boy, there's a little lacking there.

Good luck. September right, go for it.

[readmoreoften]

45. Well, he went to jail with me for my cause, so, that's an endorsement!

I guess maybe it's because Tasini came and walked our picket line in the winter and went to jail with us. And this is at a time when everyone was afraid of showing support for our union because it would take them out of NYU's graces. Finally after 5 months, Hillary and Schumer wrote a letter saying that NYU ought to negotiate with us. But Tasini was on our picket line. He also has gotten arrested and gone to jail for us twice. Now he and the president of my local and a few others (including clergy) are facing up to 15 days in jail for some minor procedural issue involved in the civil disobedience. So the rest of us who got arrested are standing in solidarity, saying that if they get 15 days, the jails will be full because all of us will go to jail in solidarity with them. So the next time I see Jonathan Tasini, it may be in front of a judge for doing what's right. And like I said, this is at a time when very few politicians or even NYU professors had enough guts to stand up for us. So, you know, Tasini's out there trying to help us get the job done.

[mhr]

38. Hillary Supported The War - I WILL NOT Vote For Her!

eom

[im10ashus]

40. Excellent!

Thanks for posting! This NYer is for Tasini!

K&R!

:kick:

[WA98296]

41. Great article. About time someone had us face the facts.

[SaveElmer]

43. Tasini is running against a left-wing caricature of Hillary...

That caricature will be exposed during the primary campaign and Tasini will be nothing but a footnote by the end!

[Stephanie]

46. What does she stand for?

She might be a caricature if she could actually be pinned down to a position. She doesn't stand for anything except her own ambition.