When a politician uses a word like "cling to" to describe voters it is a mistake

[merbex]

The word implies something 'pathetic'... think about it. Who normally "clings"?

A baby.

Someone who "doesn't know better".

The word "cling" and all the ways to use it belongs on a list of words that no politician should ever utter in a sentence about voters.

What if he had used a phrase like "turn to" instead of "cling to"....it has a completely different connotation.

[JeffR]

1. So it's Clinggate, not Bittergate?

Got it. Thanks.

[merbex]

2. If you can't see that the phrase "cling to" in connection to guns and religion

is offensive to a lot of voters then don't be surprised when this issue lingers

[JeffR]

5. I'll keep that in mind as things unfold.

[Skittles]

7. oh they can see it

they just cannot ACCEPT it - it would have been OH SO OFFENSIVE if Hillary had said it - they've become a joke, worse than fucking FREEPERS

[mrreowwr_kittty]

17. But it's oh so okay when it's used against Obama?

We get it, Skittles, you think everyone is picking on poor Hillary.

[Skittles]

19. I AM SICK OF THE WHINING FROM ALL THE BOTS

ABSOLUTELY SICK OF IT - when did DU become like the FREAK REPUBLIC? :puke:

SOMEONE has to rain on your fucking pity parade.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

20. We get it. You're sick of it.

Take a break from DU if it bothers you so much. :shrug:

[Skittles]

29. NO NO NO NO NO

I will call these bastards out as I see fit - I won't let the likes of REPUKES run me out of my own country and I won't let the likes of ASSHOLE BOTS run me off of DU. GOT THAT?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

30. Got it. I'll just go ahead and put you on ignore

So I don't have to look at your incoherent screaming anymore. Buh bye. :hi:

[Skittles]

31. OMG - I AM CRYING

:rofl:

[mrreowwr_kittty]

32. Just checked back to see if you'd come back to scream at me even tho you're on ignore.

And you did!

:rofl:

[TheDonkey]

15. I hope Hillary gets to work on making "I don't cling to things" stickers to pass out at rallies

that's moving America's issues forward.

[FrenchieCat]

3. I believe that Obama regretted his choice of words.....

does he also need to come out and clean your refrigerator, or is his campaign over now.....cause using "cling" is like being caught in bed naked with a dead girl, or something? If Penn voters are that uncharitable in forgiveness, then they will continue being known as the rustbelt. :shrug:

[merbex]

9. It's on stuff like this that a politician "reveals himself "to voters

What's the issue here?

He said something about a topic that he obviously has spent some time thinking about if the 4 year old Charlie Rose interview is seen but the whole point to the "What's the matter with Kansas" argument isn't that they have guns and religion or that there is a causality to tough economic times aka "bitterness" and "clining to guns and religion"....it is that Democrats have forgotten how to talk about issues from a progressive populist angle.

If we want to win soomeone should sit down with the recently elected Democrats in Montana( Gov and Senator)....I bet they didn't discuss any connection between gun use and religion and economic conditions.

[Cha]

13. What was that that clinton did then?

"Why Hillary’s Lies are Important"

- March 24, 2008, 9:53PM
Hillary Clinton has been caught in a series of lies and misrepresentations during the primary campaign. To some of her supporters, these lies may seem trivial and insignificant and even politics-as-usual. However, please consider the serious impact of these lies by placing them in the context of the past seven years of the Bush Administration and the legacy of expanded executive power that he leaves behind. In particular, consider the dangerous message that the Clinton campaign sends by employing similar tactics to achieve her political goals.

1. The Florida and Michigan Primaries / The Delegate Count
Hillary agreed to honor the DNC’s decision to strip Florida and Michigan of its delegates after their primaries were moved up into January in express violation of the DNC rules. She did not change her position on the validity of these primaries until she found herself unexpectedly behind in the delegate count and desperately needed to claim the delegates that she had won in these unsanctioned contests. As her chances of winning the nomination became increasingly slim in recent weeks, we have been presented with threatening and desperate lines of reasoning for why these primary results should count as is. At the same time, Clinton and her surrogates continue to propose different metrics for determining who should win the nomination even though there is and has been a clearly defined process in place for several decades.

Please think about the implications of changing election rules after the fact. We have suffered through at least one stolen presidential election and the manipulation of untold numbers of Congressional and state elections through various vote tampering and voter intimidation schemes used by the Republicans and their allies. The American people (and especially Democratic voters) have lost faith in the integrity of the election process. The Clinton strategy to continually change the rules for determining the Democratic Party nominee sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to increasingly un-Democratic elections in the future if it is allowed to succeed. If anything, we need more transparency and methods of accountability in our elections in order to repair the damage done in recent years and to restore our confidence in the Government.

2. The Bosnia Fabrication / Exaggerated Experience Claims
Hillary fabricated a story about a dangerous, life-risking visit to Bosnia in order to gain stature as an experienced negotiator in international conflicts and war. While this type of embellishment can seem almost comical, it represents a willingness to distort reality in order to influence the public perception. This is the same type of distortion that the Bush administration used to justify the war in Iraq, although the magnitude of the lie is certainly on a different scale. The Bush administration falsified reports, cherry-picked intelligence, used unreliable sources, and employed fear-mongering tactics to convince the American public that our safety was at risk and as such, you were either with us or with the terrorists. The lies used by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are impeachable offenses and should be condemned by all Americans. Sadly, the Clinton campaign seems to have shown a shocking willingness to employ the same tactics to create a more favorable reality and to rely on divide-and-conquer rhetoric to weaken opposition. Her attempts to frighten the American people by conjuring up 3 AM phone calls are bad enough, but her vote of confidence in John McCain over Barack Obama should be seen as treason against the Democratic Party.

3. NAFTA
Hillary lied about her position on NAFTA and used her lies in a calculated way to influence the Ohio primary. Recently released White House documents confirm that Hillary had been an active proponent of NAFTA prior to its passage, and she has continued to support it publicly in her speeches and memoir. However, while campaigning in Ohio, she claimed to have been privately against NAFTA during the Clinton presidency and believes that it should be rewritten to protect American jobs and workers. This type of maneuvering is reminiscent of the behind-closed-doors policy-making that the Bush administration has used during the past seven years. Specifically, Bush and Cheney have made policy decisions without providing transparency to Congress or the public, and President Bush has repeatedly ignored the rule of law by issuing signing statements and disregarding the parts of the laws that he doesn’t agree with. If we cannot trust Hillary to be truthful about her positions on critical legislative issues now, how can we trust that she will be truthful as president?

These are just three examples that illustrate the concerns we should have with a candidate who demonstrates a sense of entitlement to the nomination and is willing to lie, misrepresent, threaten, and divide in order to obtain the nomination. President Bush and the neoconservative movement have greatly harmed this country by the creation of an imperial-like presidency. This election is not just about whether a Democrat or Republican wins but if the checks and balances are restored to the three branches of government. The framers of the Constitution were in such fear of an imperial president that mechanisms for impeachment are prominently and explicitly included in the Constitution. If Hillary Clinton is willing to use lies and deceit to win the Democratic nomination, what assurances do we have that she will not continue to use them once she is president?
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/why-h ...

<snip>

"Her response to being caught lying to a military audience, when she invented a story about being under sniper fire in Bosnia, was to say it wasn't surprising she got some things wrong, seeing how she spoke millions of words every day. What a magnificent idea, that if you say lots of words some of them are bound to be fantastic lies. So if you listen carefully to horse-racing commentators they say things like "And it's Teddy's Boy still leading three furlongs out as they come up to the fourth last fence with Nip and Tuck two lengths behind by the way I fought a tiger once, punched it clean out and they're all safely over."


<lots more>
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article3 ...

"It's not that lying to pad the resume, avoid Indictment or to advance her political fortune is anything new for Hillary Clinton. She famously said she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary (debunked); she told New Yorkers she was a Yankee fan when she lived in Chicago (debunked); she told rural New Yorkers that she was a "duck hunter" (debunked); she claimed that her daughter Chelsea was jogging around the World Trade Center at the time of the 9/11 attack (debunked by Chelsea herself.) And, those subpoenaed Rose Law billing records just happened to show up one day on a hallway table in the most monitored home in America!"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[merbex]

23. Why do you think that the race is this divided? Because people see

exactly what you posted.

They see "Mcsame" too.

They see Obama trying to answer a question and his answer reveals more about his world view then perhaps the world he was attempting to describe.....

And voters must choose from among these 3

[Cha]

24. I think it's divided because hilary is an inveterate

LIAR and should wash her fucking mouth out with soap.

[merbex]

26. FYI, I voted for Obama on Feb 5th but I can still see when he is wrong and

point it out

I can point out when she is wrong

I still intend to vote for either one of over McSame

Can you say that?

[Cha]

27. Good for you...hilary's wrong on this

too.

[merbex]

28. Hillary did not put those words in his mouth and countless thousands

perhaps millions will make up their own minds about them.

I happen to think they are demeaning. And wrong.

[MichiganVote]

4. How many people in the inner city are "clinging" to their firarms?

[Zynx]

6. From my experience, quite a few.

[Bonobo]

8. Fine. Conceded. Now address Cacklegate.

[merbex]

10. It's clear she couldn't pass a lie detector test ...just wait for the laugh

[stillcool]

11. Ask the people of New Orleans..

what they cling to...

[writes3000]

12. You "cling to" a life preserver.

No negative connotation there.

[merbex]

14. If you are using a life preserver you are in a pathetic condition

a pretty desperate condition.

The whole word conjures up a sad state of affairs but at the same time it is demeaning "clinging to" in the way he used it as if they didn't know better.

[writes3000]

16. I think many people are in desperate conditions now...

I agree with you that there was probably a better word but I also think the word is close to the truth.

Look across the world. In many of the most dangerous, stark places, people flock to religion or hatred or violence.

[merbex]

25. But in this country, specifically in the area he was speaking of, most

people would say they own a gun to hunt because they love it. Most people in the geographic area he was speaking of love their religion and attend church because they want to.

Hell, I'm willing to bet that most people are bitter about the present economic conditions but I would also suggest that most would resent any attempt to characterize behavior as "clinging to "something" because of the recognition of tough economic conditions.

Jesus he might as well have said they "cling to bowling" because of tough economic conditions.

People hunt because they like to.

People go to church because they like to.

People bowl because they like to.

You can do all of that and still recognize tough times.

[Exilednight]

18. Gun loving right wingnut religous zealots who are frustrated with the federal government..........

and repeat the mantra of GOP, don't know any better and are clinging to a false security blanket.

[against all enemies]

21. Don't define people, they won't like it. Dumb move.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

22. When a politician uses words like "sniper fire" to describe being read a poem by a little girl....

Never mind. :eyes: