Hillary Clinton 'touching, feeling, and learning' in the Appalachian foothills

[bigtree]

Clinton Unveils Anti-Poverty Plan in Appalachia



Feb. 29, 2008 — It's doubtful that the Clinton road map to the presidency included a pit stop in Pomeroy, Ohio, a small town nestled in the Appalachian foothills.

Appalachian Ohio is a place where poverty blankets the air, at nearly twice the national average. It's the same region where more than 40 years ago, President Johnson declared his so-called 'War on Poverty."

That is why Clinton focused her campaigning here on childhood poverty, unveiling her own anti-poverty plan.

With so much at stake, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton spent the morning in Bryan Holman's trailer. Three generations of this Ohio family gathered to welcome Clinton, her daughter, Chelsea, and the state's popular governor, Ted Strickland, who has endorsed Clinton for president.



"Well, I'm focusing in particular on child poverty, because I think it's a disgrace that we have so many poor children," she said. "And I would like to see us end childhood hunger by 2012, and I'd like to see us cut childhood poverty in half by 2020."

She says the country can reach these goals by prioritizing how money is spent in Washington. "You know, there is so much waste and giveaways that go to people who are wealthy and well-connected or are a result of the government, frankly, not being held accountable and being very efficient."

About 45 minutes down the road from Pomeroy, in Gallia County, Clinton was greeted like a rock star by patrons at a Bob Evans Restaurant. Going behind the front counter of the restaurant, she said jokingly, "I was going to take a few orders in case this other endeavor doesn't work out."



"I'm having a terrific time. I mean, from the outside, campaigns look as hectic and grueling as they are. But, on the inside, it's a really intimate experience in a lot of ways," she said. "You feel like you're invited into people's lives in a way that is very precious to me."

Clinton says she stays upbeat. "Well, I never believed those polls," she said. "I don't pay attention to polls. I mean, I try very hard to stay focused on what I'm touching and I'm feeling and I'm learning, because I have found, over many years, that that gives me a better sense."

Clinton is optimistic about the next set of contests. "It is not over yet. You know, Tuesday is a really important election. And we're going to see what the voters think."

And the message she says she hears from her friends and supporters is clear: "Don't give up. Don't give up. I'm with you. Stay in this."



article: http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4362837

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Those are some wonderful pictures. Thanks for posting. K & R

:kick:

[rodeodance]

3. she always does the picture threads--love it.

[JVS]

2. K&R because this is a positive thread about an important issue

:thumbsup:

[elixir]

28. Thanks for the support. Agreed, this is a very important issue.

[rodeodance]

4. I had two theads about this yesterday--glad to see the follow-up.

[bigtree]

31. right on

fight on :kick:

[rodeodance]

5. REC

[Enrique]

6. isn't that a Journey song?

:dunce:

[leveymg]

7. Seems familiar? Recall this famous visit by RFK to Hazard, KY ('68):

Sorry, HRC. You are no RFK.

[bigtree]

11. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the former New York senator, thinks so

RFK Jr.: (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iuypM0fHL7WjvFC5zvGCFLGb53CQD8UHQJHO1)

"My father tried to be a voice for the most alienated and disenfranchised members of our society — from Watts, to Appalachia, to the migrant farm workers. Today, Hillary Clinton is the champion of the voiceless in our society. That's the kind of leadership we need in the White House — leadership that will represent the people's interests and not the special interests."


Today, Hillary Clinton is the champion of the voiceless in our society."


Robert Kennedy Jr. describes how Hillary has inherited his father's legacy of speaking up for the disenfranchised.
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/video/121.aspx

[susankh4]

17. I really enjoyed seeing this today!

And the two photo essays!

Thanks to everyone.

[leveymg]

23. Perhaps, you're right. RFK was largely unfulfilled promise, himself.

We might not love Bobby and Jack so much, today, if they hadn't been taken from us. There are some things that we can never know.

It's pretty clear that Mrs. Clinton and her advisors have very carefully crafted her career to follow that of Bobby, right from their roles as closest ear to the President in the White House, to their choice of Senate seats from to launch a Presidential bid of their own.

Every candidate, openly or not, evokes the hallowed memories of departed heroes.

I will grant, Hillary Clinton does resemble Bobby Kennedy in some ways.

I've long thought about how different America would be if in 1968 the Democratic ticket had been Kennedy-King, and Secret Service protection had been better.



I weep for what we've become since their passing. But, maybe there's still redemption.

My apologies if my comment above seemed harsh.

[bigtree]

25. Sen. Obama has many of the same characteristics, minus the family money

. . . he has the populist, youthful appeal.

You know, Bobby was a complex pol . . .

[leveymg]

27. Absolutely agree. Neither candidate has a monopoly on that legacy.

I guess what I was reacting to above was the use of evocative imagery. I felt like I was being manipulated, and quite transparently so.

But, I'm old enough to remember the original events. That was media manipulation, too, but somehow it seemed uplifting at the time. Maybe, I'm just too jaded to still enjoy American electoral politics.

Again, my apologies for being grumpy.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. What an .......

:eyes:

[Radical Activist]

47. Wellstone did the same tour. So did Edwards.

Its cliche by now. Of course, Obama doesn't need to go on a sight seeing tour of poor communities. He worked in them as an organizer and represented them as a State Senator for years.

[cali]

8. great pictures, great campaigning and great story

I'll happily k & r this.

[Straight Shooter]

9. Thank you, cali. Nice to see an Obama supporter taking the high road.

Unlike the snarker posted above you.

I lived in the Appalachians for 15 years, worked there, shuddered at the poverty, especially when you get down into the back roads and the hollers, the small towns off the beaten path.

[cali]

12. I live in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom

where unemployment is sky high and where many people still eke out a hardscrabble existence as loggers and farmers and mill workers at the Ethan Allen plant, or work at ski resorts. Lots of poverty here, lots of actual hollows and tiny villages. I live in one. I know these people. My son grew up with them. They count.

[Straight Shooter]

15. I just checked out the NE Kingdom on the 'Net.

Looks like some absolutely breathtaking scenery.

The area I live in now has a lot of poverty, also, and stunning scenery. It's amazing how much in terms of dollars that people will give up to stay close to the land they love.

[cali]

18. I've traveled a fair amount and this is still the landscape that

Ilove best. It's incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately, our young people are leaving. There's so little opportunity. And oh, what a winter it is. Most snow on record. I should really post some pictures. I had to have a guy with a bucket loader come in to deal with my driveway. The snowbanks are far over my head and the drifts are halfway up my first floor windows. It's amazing.

[Straight Shooter]

21. It sounds like we're living in nearly parallel worlds.

Young people leaving, little opportunity. I hate to see them go. Sounds like you have a lot more, but we have a tremendous amount of snow here, too. Last year I wore my snowshoes once; this year I've worn them quite a bit, hiking. Bridge rails are buried so deep in snow, they're at ankle height. I moved here for the snow, I love it, but one day I caught myself saying, "Oh, no, snow again!" :o

Now we've got a warming spell and the avalanches have arrived. One of them came down a chute with such force that the avalanche continued across the trail and traveled up the opposite side, taking out a lot of trees, before sliding back down to level ground. Spring is going to be a real witch.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. Thanks for posting. Great pictures, by the way.

[LiberalAndProud]

13. Awesome. What an incredible woman she is! (nt)

[rodeodance]

61. SHE'S OUR NEXT PRESIDENT

[KAZ]

16. Great post and pics! K&R from me! Thanks Bigtree! n/t

[mtnsnake]

19. Hillary is not only competent, but a wonderful person, & this is another post that reinforces that

It's amazing how this great woman gets torn apart by so many rightwing assholes across this country. Oh well, they're just all jealous.

:thumbsup:

[Beacool]

33. Hillary IS a wonderful person.

I wouldn't support anyone who I thought was not a good person and had a kind heart.

Hillary has been unfairly treated by so many for so many years that there are too many people who don't know who she really is and the things that she has done without any fanfare for a lot of people.

- There are many who encountered Hillary walking the streets of Manhattan after 9/11 with only one SS guy to protect her. She wanted to see for herself what needed to be done and how she could help. There are countless people who tell stories of seeing Hillary and talking to her about their needs.

- Anybody who lives in this area of NJ/NY knows stories of Hillary aiding someone to obtain help for their sick relatives who needed expensive procedures and had no insurance, or of speeding visas so that family members could see terminally ill loved ones. Also, little stories that have won the hearts of many in our area. Like the fire dept. captain remembering how a very busy Hillary took 15 minutes of her time to sit and talk to his young daughter, knee to knee, while answering the little girl's questions.

- I remember the story of the woman whose husband broke his back and was left a quadriplegic. When Christopher Reeve died, her online community was devastated because they had lost their biggest advocate. The group decide to have a rally. The woman describes the first rally as being pitiful and no media could be bothered to cover it. Guess who showed up? Hillary. No media, no flash, she spoke to the attendees and then made a point of stopping by every single wheelchair and talking to each one of them. The woman made a point of saying that Hillary wasn't running for anything at the time and didn't need to attend. She also mentioned that Hillary attended the following year's rally and the one after that, winning the eternal respect and admiration of her group.

When I feel down about her prospects, I just remember the last line of the NY firefighters endorsement and feel much better:

She is our hero.............

[mtnsnake]

57. Nice post!!

That is so worthy of its own OP, Beacool.

:thumbsup:

[Beacool]

58. Thanks!!!

I feel strongly about Hillary. She's a terrific woman who I feel is underappreciated in this country. Some day we might regret having shoved her under the bus. I think that she would make a great president and it saddens me how she has been vilified by too many people who are not even near her intellectual level.

Oh well, it seems that we HAVEN'T gone a long way baby................

[zabet]

20. Excellent post!

:thumbsup:

[theHandpuppet]

22. Thanks VERY much for this article & photos!

I was born and bred in Appalachian Ohio so I know full well the level of poverty and its effects in that area. I also appreciate Ted Strickland's determination to bring real change and economic development to a part of America so abandoned for decades, even by our own party. His steadfast support of Hillary means a lot to me and only strengthens my belief that Hillary is the leader we need. But if Barack Obama wins the nod, he could hardly do better than Ted Strickland as a VP -- though Ohio still needs him very, very much.

[Forkboy]

24. 'touching, feeling, and learning'? Sounds like my summer camp.

:hide:

[bigtree]

26. last year?

[Forkboy]

30. Boy, some people really are humor challenged.

Damn. Try some decaf or something.

[rodeodance]

42. perhaps you need some of the softness?---as in go back to your summer camp.

[Forkboy]

49. Remind me never to invite you over.

I've seen corpses with a better sense of humor. :eyes:

[rodeodance]

62. write yourself a post-it memo.

[Forkboy]

67. "Don't forgot to not invite the humorless tightwads."

Check.

Thanks...that was a great idea! :hi:

[blm]

46. Surely she had 8 years to learn about Appalachia folk as First Lady. Now, about E. Liverpool folk...

How about a visit there, Hillary? Or...send Bill...I'm sure he'd LOVE to visit them and 'learn' about what is on their minds, eh?

[Lucinda]

29. Thanks!

K&R

Loved this part:

Does Clinton buy into the idea of Obama as a phenomenon, appealing only to ill-informed voters?

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way," she said. "I think the best description, actually, is in Barack's own book, the last book he wrote, 'Audacity of Hope,' where he said that he's a blank screen. And people of widely differing views project what they want to believe onto him. And then he went on to say, 'I am bound to disappoint some, if not all of them.'"

[Beacool]

32. Thanks for posting this nice interview and nice photos.

I saw the interview last night on Nightline and she sounded and looked great.


This is the same thing I've heard from several women (including 3 Republican coworkers) who know that I volunteered for her campaign. They don't want her to give up.

And the message she says she hears from her friends and supporters is clear: "Don't give up. Don't give up. I'm with you. Stay in this."

[DURHAM D]

34. Thanks for posting.

I keep asking Obama supporters "What is he passionate about?" No one can answer.

With Hillary we can roll out a half dozen answers without having to even think about it.
(1) Health care
(2) Children
(3) Working folk/the middle class
(4) Poor people/poverty
(5) Public education
(6) Women's issues

[femrap]

35. kandr

She'll do for women and children than any other candidate. And that is the majority of Americans.

[Zookeeper]

36. Very nice. Thanks! K&R. n/t

[Radical Activist]

37. Another change. More pandering.

The problem when you roll out a new message and make another shift every few months or weeks is that each new approach merely confirms the impression that she's a serial panderer with no core values.

[rodeodance]

40. Thank you for your concern

[Beacool]

52. Yep, why bother going to the poorest part of a state

to roll out a plan against poverty when instead you can hold the umpteenth rally so that thousands of adoring fans can fawn and swoon over your sheer magnificence. Right?

[Radical Activist]

54. Or you could make it a life long part of your career instead of a campaign photo op.

People make choices. Obama chose to work on poverty starting in his 20's. Hillary decided to work within the system and serve on corporate boards.

[bigtree]

55. Hillary was doing community work as well, in her 20's

“She's not the 'Johnny Come Lately',” said Huerta (75), co-founder of the United Farm Workers union with César Chávez.

“When she was in her 20s, she was registering voters down in the Valley, right in the poorest parts of the United States of America for Latinos to live. Hillary was knocking on doors to register Latinos to vote.”

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=abfb7260110ddf709a9e6a60e7bd16ef


from Hillary Clinton's book:

"In 1972, I returned to D.C. to work for Marian Wright Edelman. My assignment was to gather information about the Nixon Administration's failure to enforce the legal ban on granting tax-exempt status to the private segregated academies that had sprung up in the South to avoid integrated public schools. The academies claimed they were created in response to parents deciding to form private schools; it had nothing to do with court-ordered integration. I went to Atlanta to meet with the lawyers and civil rights workers who were compiling evidence that proved the academies were created solely for the purpose of avoiding the constitutional mandate of the Supreme Court's decisions.

As part of my investigation, I drove to Alabama. At a local private school, I had an appointment to meet an administrator to discuss enrolling my imaginary child. I went through my role-playing, asking questions about the curriculum and makeup of the student body. I was assured that no black students would be enrolled."

"My first article, titled "Children Under the Law," was published in 1974 in the Harvard Educational Review. My views were shaped by what I had observed as a volunteer for Legal Services representing children in foster care & by my experiences at the Chil Study Center in Yale-New Haven Hospital. I advised doctors as they tried to ascertain whether a child should be put into the child welfare system. I come from a strong family and believe in a parent's presumptive right to raise his or her child as he or she sees fit. But at Yale-New Haven Hospital, I saw children whose parents beat and burned them; who left them alone for days in squalid apartments; who failed and refused to seek necessary medical care . . .

[Radical Activist]

59. You really don't understand what a community organizer does

if you think that's equivalent. "Community work" is not community organizing.

[bigtree]

60. Don't think you can distill Hillary Clinton's life experience into some little box

and act like Obama was the only one who involved himself in community and public affairs in his 20's. That's just bullshit. I don't have to spread her life story here for you, but, you should be intelligent enough to know that Obama doesn't have a lock on this, and that her community service and public service has been extensive and well-documented for those who bother to look.

It's unbelievable how much you people like to dehumanize Hillary Clinton. Get off of your hatred.

[Radical Activist]

66. You don't understand it either.

You sound typical of people who have some kind of vague idea of community organizing as someone who does some type of service in the community. You don't get it.

[bigtree]

68. you don't get it. You obviously know next to nothing about Hillary Clinton.

Her life experience has been at least as broad as Obama's and, obviously, longer.

[rodeodance]

38. k for the after noon folk

[rodeodance]

39. k

[rodeodance]

48. k

[blm]

41. East Liverpool, Ohio is waiting eagerly for a Clinton visit.

.

[AngryAmish]

43. wasn't that a Journey song?

na naa na na na....

[nonconformist]

44. Wonderful thread!! K & R from Appalachia! nt

[bunnies]

45. touching, feeling, learning...

What the hell is this... the politics of Karma Sutra?

[Beacool]

51. It's Kama Sutra and no,

it's just showing concern for those in need.

Leave it to some Obama fan to come and piss on a positive post about someone else other than the anointed one.

[rodeodance]

65. well said---

[rodeodance]

64. no need to dump on a positive thead.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

50. Awesome.

I love this. We do need to focus on poverty more. I'm sick of hearing only about the middle class.

[theHandpuppet]

53. Hillary makes another stop, this time in Hanging Rock

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/articles/2008/02/29/news/3news_hillary.txt

Clinton campaign makes stop in Hanging Rock
By T.W. Allen
PDT Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008 10:45 PM CST

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, made a campaign stop in her bid for president of the United States in Hanging Rock on Thursday, to greet some of her faithful supporters at the Ohio University Southern Campus Child Development Center. The event was classified invitation-only because of the limited seating capacity of the gymnasium, where Clinton gave an hour-long speech to about 300 people.

<snipping>
Strickland and Clinton first met 15 years ago. Since then, she has traveled throughout Ohio, including to some of its small towns.

"She understands that life is tough, that people struggle, especially in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains." Although people work really hard, do the best they can do, love their families, support their communities, contribute to their churches and are patriotic in their service to our country, that life can be hard. Although they do the best they can do, through the tough times, they feel like life has not given them a fair shake," Strickland said. "I know that when this good senator becomes president, she will not forget the people of southern Ohio.

<snipping>
During her speech, Clinton offered a proposal that described her plan to address the blight on the nation's conscience and the economic future. She also announced two new goals an ambitious agenda to deliver solutions for children in poverty and their families. According to a statement released by the campaign, Clinton's plan will move America toward cutting child poverty in half by 2010, and lifting at least 6 million children above the poverty line. The plan also calls for the ending of child hunger by 2012, providing nourishment to the 12.4 million children who go hungry....

MORE

[nonconformist]

56. Awesome, simply awesome! nt

[rodeodance]

63. ah--she stopped at the Child Development center--goood for her

[AngryOldDem]

69. It's high time extreme southern Ohio got on somebody's radar.

The poverty in southern and southeast Ohio is breathtaking. It's like entering an alternative universe. Beautiful country, but my God -- you think you're back in the Depression. Small towns with most buildings burned or boarded up; people still scratching to make a living in the coal mines; some people with such an air of futility that you get the sense that they have no expectations of things getting better. Ever.

I was down in that part of Ohio last fall and picked up an Athens County tourism magazine. It had a section on the schools in that area, and what I read made me want to cry. Here's how this area of the state is doing economically, as seen through the education demographics:

Alexander: 41.8% of kids economically disadvantaged.
Athens (home of Ohio University): 31%.
Federal Hocking: 52.9%
Nelsonville-York: 52.5%
Trimble: 63.1%

(But, the magazine notes that Trimble is known for having a strong football team, which is true; it was clear to see that the town does love its team; it was especially poignant to see the small, 1920s-era crumbling football stadium decorated in ribbons of the school colors.)

Standardized test scores are, predictably, poor; most districts are on some kind of academic emergency by the state.

Those numbers should not come as a shock, as this is Appalachia. What's shocking is that this area of Ohio seems to be constantly ignored, even in election years, especially by Democrats -- it is long past time for a candidate to totally immerse him or herself in the abject poverty of that region, as did Bobby Kennedy 40 years ago. Things haven't changed all that much.

Southern Ohio has always been a strong GOP region, even though it is against their economic interests. Maybe that reflects their voting tradition, or maybe it's just a sign that they stay with what they know, because they have the sad realization that this will be as good as it gets.

I really have to give Hillary Clinton kudos for spending some time there.