Clinton supporters: You are NOT helping your candidate when you bring up race

[ecstatic]

Have you noticed that the more you make your offensive comments regarding the race of Obama and/or his backers, that Hillary loses just a little bit more support??? And I'm saying this as someone who would be glad to see either of them win in November.

...But when I log on to DU (or read the news) and see all the offensive race baiting comments by Hillary Clinton supporters, I must say... that is a HUGE turnoff!

[sniffa]

1. Very much agreed

I used to be stunned by it, but I've grown to expect it now.

[my2sense]

2. It lost my vote n/t

[rinsd]

3. Yes low post count trolls must be Hillary supporters

:eyes:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

30. these cicadas are playing on both teams.

[Beaverhausen]

4. Obama supporters: Calling Edwards a "twinkie" is NOT helping your candidate

[Hill_YesWeWill]

5. I think they are republican plants, because, no Hillary supporter

would be insane enough to alienate blacks, there's no way she could win against McCain without them!

[ecstatic]

7. But even her black supporters do it

Bob Johnson, Andrew Jackson, 50 cent, etc... They are way over the top and it's getting old!

[KAZ]

13. I'm coming to the conclusion that you are correct.

I've been on the tube-boards too long. Too many tell-tale signs(fig leafs ignored, etc). I think we're being played.

[New Dawn]

6. I agree

The other obnoxious thing that I've seen some of the Clinton hacks do is accuse people of being "sexist" or "misogynist" because we do not want to vote for their right-wing candidate.

[Neecy]

8. agreed....

I remember after the 2004 election how much scorn was heaped on the gay community here because we apparently lost the entire election for John Kerry. It was hurtful and oppressive.

I imagine the African Americans here are feeling much the same hurt by these racist posts. NO ONE should come on a progressive board and be insulted from within, although I do suspect that most of these posts are trolling. But not all.

[KAZ]

9. Most of the heavy HRC posters seem like they are purposely

trying to spike their candidate.

[ShortnFiery]

10. It's also Clinton Operatives on the M$M.

I just listened to a Clinton operative on M$NBC who seeming BRAGS of a Black-Brown divide that "Obama can not erode within a month." I find this very smarmy of her staff - to seemingly savor the thought of "pitting one race against the other" in hopes of peeling off votes for HRC. :thumbsdown:

[Maddy McCall]

11. I see Obama supporters bringing up race pretty frequently.

Does that help or hurt Obama?

[HughMoran]

12. I was thinking the same

This post is a fine example!

[Big Blue Marble]

21. This OP is in response to two ugly race baiting threads you may have not seen.

These threads are claiming that black voters are only voting for Obama because he is
black. And that gives him an unfair advantage. They are ugly and unnecessary.
I alerted on one.

They do not belong on DU. I would hope that you too, would agree that those
types of threads are inappropriate here.

[HughMoran]

28. I guess I did miss those posts

I've been leary of posting here lately due to the excessive flaming, but now that the 3 thread rule is in effect, I thought I'd give it another shot. Thanks for informing me about the previous threads that I was unaware of! :hi:

[anamandujano]

36. Not racist to state facts, the same way you go on about women voting

for Hillary.

Mostly it's the Obama people who post inflammatory race remarks.

[KitchenWitch]

16. Thank you!

I have seen Obama supporters bring race up with far more frequency than the Hillary supporters.

Edwards was my candidate...I am floundering now that he is out.

[Darth_Kitten]

17. Agree

n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. Mm, no, I don't think so.

Seems to me it's only in response to another Clinton supporter foolishly bring it up.

[Maddy McCall]

22. Then explain this.

Obama is capitalizing off of his perceived "victimhood."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4579804

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. What about it? Proves my point.

The Clintons stick their feet in their mouths on race issues. The Obama team writes a memo documenting what happened. The Clintons then accuse Obama of playing the race card.

[NorthernSpy]

39. The Obama people were taking notes? NO FAIR!!!!111!!

:grr:

[emilyg]

37. I noticed.

[NorthernSpy]

40. mostly, we're slapping down those calling Obama the "Affirmative Action Candidate"...

As well as similarly delightful crap, such as the always popular "America Isn't Ready For A Black President", and "You Know He'll Probably Get Assassinated".


So yeah, we end up talking about race a lot.

[Darth_Kitten]

14. Boo hoo, playing the race card?

Yeah, whatever, okay, whatever turns your crank. It's all about race, gotcha!! :sarcasm:

Seems to me Hillary has lots of support left. But I guess when you don't want to talk about the issues, and want to deflect some criticism, go on the offensive about race. :eyes:

[sniffa]

23. Outstanding rebuttal

Race baiting: alienating likely Dem voters, one vote at a time. :thumbsup:

[TheDonkey]

15. It's not a coincidence that the margins have been expanding the more race baiting HC does

[Darth_Kitten]

18. What race baiting?

Good God.

[Yossariant]

20. Race is an issue in this campaign, as is gender. If you are an Obama supporter, as has been posted,

then I'm gonna say that this thread is just one more of the 50 threads a day by your team trying to use censorship as a political weapon.

[Big Blue Marble]

26. And I call you on your claim.

I have yet to see any attempt at censorship. Race baiting is dangerous.
And if Obama is our candidate, will you tolerate it or fight it?

Show me examples of censorship and don't give me examples of callling HIllary's supporters
on using race to attack Obama.

[Yossariant]

29. You are your own example. This thread is an example.

You're telling me what I can or cannot say in response to your post!?

~ Classic censorship and, always, the kind engaged in by Team Obama in this forum.

"Don't say this. Don't say that."

You don't get to dictate what I say or what I don't say.

Thanks.

[flordehinojos]

24. obama is the one who has tried to bury race as an issue ... by doing so, he invites it to come up

again, and again and again. and when it does his only solution is to whine and complain that it has.

a real leader would be race is a fact ...and the fact is that if america wants race will not matter.

but please ... the emperor has no clothes. ... or is he trying to stop the hole in the dyke with only one finger.

[DemGa]

27. More "race baiting" based on supposition

Like the attacks on Clinton accusing same -- Bogus.

[Big Blue Marble]

31. You guys are really weak charging us with race issues.

Give examples it you are going to make claims.

Just saying you do it too or you do it just as much.
Sounds like kindergartners.

Surely if you have substantiated charges, you can do better than that.

[DemGa]

32. C'mon, Bill Clinton has been repeatedly slammed for race-baiting

in S.C. It's epidemic among the Obama groupies.

[Big Blue Marble]

34. And plenty of African Americans think he did use race

to reframe this election. They will never be as comfortable with him again.

To call WJC on his inappropriate use of race as many black politicians,
Edward Kennedy and DU's did, was quite appropriate.

It would have been wrong to ignore it.

[ecstatic]

35. I don't consider myself to be an

Obama groupie. I've said from the beginning that I want both of them to be president, if possible. However, Clinton only has himself to blame for the way blacks turned on Sen. Clinton in SC and then onward. Bill Clinton was always admired and revered before those comments.

[stillcool]

42. supposition?

I know many see nothing wrong with the Clinton style of campaigning, and I feel their pain. Unfortunately there are those who do not appreciate their tactics.

Clinton Surrogate Compares Obama Ad to Nazi March
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080201/cm_thenation/45278988_1
Fri Feb 1, 2:23 PM ET

The Nation -- On a media conference call organized by the Hillary Clinton campaign today, Clinton surrogate Len Nichols compared an Obama health care ad to Nazis. The ad features a couple at a kitchen table, which some Clinton supporters said was reminiscent of "the famous insurance-industry-financed 'Harry and Louise' ads against the original Clinton plan," as The Politico reports, and Mr. Nichols said it "personally outraged" him.


Accusing political opponents of Nazism is an outrageous smear. Raising the specter of a Nazi march in response to a health care mailer that evokes the insurance industry is so absurd, it would be hard to take the attack seriously, were it not launched from a high profile national campaign conference call in this crucial stretch of the presidential race. And political observers know, of course, that the Clinton Campaign regularly arranges opportunities for surrogates to launch these kind of smears, which are later followed up with apologies. (See: Bob Johnson, Bill Shaheen, Bob Kerrey, and Francine Torge, to name the most recent offenders.) For his part, Nichols did not immediately return a call requesting further comment.
-------------------------
Len Nichols, Director of New America's Health Policy Program, stated, "For nearly 17 years I have worked tirelessly to reform our nation's struggling health system. Today my passion overwhelmed me. I chose an analogy that was wholly inappropriate. I am deeply sorry for any offense that my unfortunate comments may have caused. I made unfortunate comments that do not accurately reflect my bipartisan conviction, political philosophy, or most importantly, my opinions about Senator Obama and his historic campaign for the United States presidency."

Clinton adviser steps down after drug use comments
Earlier Thursday, Clinton personally apologized to rival Obama for Shaheen's remarks.
Obama accepted her apology, according to David Axelrod, the top political strategist for the Obama campaign.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/13/clinton.obama/index.html

January 6, 2008, 5:18 pm
Edwards: No Conscience in Clinton Campaign
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/edwards-no-conscience-in-clinton-campaign/
By Julie Bosman
KEENE, N.H. – John Edwards angrily took on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at two news conferences in a row on Sunday, saying that her campaign “doesn’t seem to have a conscience.”

COMPTON, Calif. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and her campaign tried to mend ties to black voters Thursday when a key supporter apologized to her chief rival, Barack Obama, for comments that hinted at Obama's drug use as a teenager. The candidate herself, meanwhile, praised the Rev. Martin Luther King and promised to assist with the rebirth of this troubled, largely black city.

Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, apologized for comments he made at a Clinton campaign rally in South Carolina on Sunday that hinted at Obama's use of drugs as a teenager.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-17-johnson-apology_N.htm?csp=34

December 10, 2007
Third Clinton Volunteer Knew Of Smear E-Mail

A third volunteer for Hillary Clinton's campaign was aware of a propaganda e-mail alleging that Barack Obama is a Muslim who plans on "destroying the U.S. from the inside out."

"Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential Candidacy," the email reads. "Please forward to everyone you know. The Muslims have said they Plan on destroying the U.S. from the inside out, what better way to start than at The highest level."

Two Clinton volunteers, Linda Olson and Judy Rose, have already been asked to resign from the campaign for their roles in forwarding the e-mail. The AP reported yesterday that Olson, a volunteer coordinator in Iowa County, sent a version of the e-mail to 11 people, including Ben Young, a regional field director for Chris Dodd's campaign. Young passed it on to the AP.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/hillary_adviser_harold_ickes_t.php

Hillary: Sorry for Any Offense Campaign (Bill) Has Caused
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB65wJ6Rcfs

Bill Clinton Asks for a Second Chance
By Liz Halloran
Posted February 11, 2008

The morning after his wife, Hillary, was routed in three state contests by Sen. Barack Obama in their dead-heat battle for the Democratic nomination, former President Bill Clinton made his case for her before a packed Sunday service at one of the largest black churches in Washington, D.C.
But first he offered an apology of sorts for racially tinged comments he made about Obama and his candidacy that have triggered a backlash in the black community and among many other Democrats.

Clinton invoked his "worship of a God of second chances" in pronouncing himself glad to be at the Temple of Praise, which claims nearly 15,000 members. His invocation of second chances echoed comments he made early last week at black churches in California, where he campaigned for his wife before that state's Super Tuesday primary, which she won.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/02/11/bill-clinton-asks-for-a-second-chance.html

Bill Clinton To Apologize At LA Black Churches
Once again, Bill Clinton is ready to repent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/02/bill-clinton-to-apologize_n_84573.html
On Sunday the former president is scheduled to visit black churches in South Central Los Angeles, where he's expected to offer a mea culpa to those who "dearly loved him" when he was their president, Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) says.

Watson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), tells us she'll usher the former president to more than half a dozen churches in her district where she says he needs to "renew his relationship" with congregants who were turned off by his racially tinged comments in the days leading up to and following the South Carolina primary. (Such as when Clinton compared Sen. Barack Obama's landslide victory to Jesse Jackson's wins in 1984 and 1988.)

Source: Hillary Adviser Harold Ickes Tells Surrogates To Refer To Super-Delegates As "Automatic Delegates"
By Greg Sargent - February 12, 2008, 11:43AM

In a sign that the spin war over the significance of super-delegates is underway in earnest, Harold Ickes told assorted Hillary supporters on a private conference call yesterday that the campaign wants them to start referring to super-delegates as "automatic delegates," according to someone on the call.

The person I spoke to paraphrases Ickes, who is spearheading Hillary's super-delegate hunt, this way: "We're no longer using the phrase super delegates. It creates a wrong impression. They're called automatic delegates. Because that's what they are."

The worry appears to be that the phrase "super-delegates" implies that "they have super-powers or super influence when they don't," the source says, describing Ickes' thinking. In other words, the phrase suggests that they have greater than average clout and that they have the power to overrule the democratic process, giving it the taint of back-room power politics
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/hillary_adviser_harold_ickes_t.php

[goclark]

33. Agree

[emilyg]

38. Your OP proves who's bringing race up.

[NorthernSpy]

41. gee, what about all those "don't vote for Obama -- America isn't 'ready'" threads...

You have a VERY selective memory, emilyg.

[DiamondJay]

43. whos the one who said "black america will wake up" and vote for her candidate?

her name is Michelle Obama. She is the racist. you know it always gets me how minorities can be racist and escape the label, but as soon as a white mentions race, the drive-by media jumps all over him.

[emilyg]

44. Exactly.

And it gets old.