Hillary Clinton on working class Democrats: "Screw 'em."

[geek tragedy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16/hillary-clinton-on-workin_n_97017.html

In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.



"Screw 'em," she told her husband. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them."

Woman of the People!

[CreekDog]

1. saying they're "bitter" is worse than saying "screw them"

am i right?

[krkaufman]

47. You've gotta be kidding. Am I right? n/t

[CreekDog]

51. i'm being ironic

lots of things get said, obviously screw 'em is worse than the bitter thingy, but on balance it doesn't rise to a level where i base decisions on whom to vote for and support on.

:hi:

[The Magistrate]

2. That, Sir, Was A Fairly Sound Political Judgement At the Time

And is actually a pretty popular view in left circles even today.

[geek tragedy]

3. So, her position was that Bill should punish working

class white voters for not voting Democratic?

Best not to let such an abuser of office and fair-weather friend to workers get near the white house.

[The Magistrate]

6. The Operative Element Here, Sir, Is 'Southern White', Not 'Working Class'

Working class persons were hardly punished during the Clinton Administration, though they could have been assisted more, certainly. Wages rose, for the first time in decades, and unemployment was low.

It is a fact of our political life that white southerners are pretty much a lost cause for the Democratic Party, being wholly devoted to the enemy's 'culture war' propagandas.

"Good taste in enemies is essential."

[BlooInBloo]

8. Pure silliness. PA "working class" is gonna completely identify with "southern white"...

... and any fool knows that.

[The Magistrate]

11. The Element That Votes In Democratic Primaries Will Not Do So So Strenuously, Sir

And the state is carried for Democrats when it goes to us by the metropolitan populations.

[BlooInBloo]

14. (shrug) We'll see I guess.

[aquarius dawning]

34. I don't think so. Pennsylvania is not Mississippi.

[OnionPatch]

44. Pennsylvanians definitely do not consider themselves "southern"

You're right on there.

[muryan]

5. You're among a "left circle"

and I see very few if any repeating that sentiment.

[The Magistrate]

9. Permit Me. Sir, To Plead Possession Of A Memory In This Instance

As noted above, the operative words in this statement are 'southern white', not 'working class'. Accommodation to the attitudes of this bloc of voters is a staple on this board, and a staple of left and progressive political views and action. That there is at present a bit of posturing going on for what strikes some as short-term political gain does not alter that.

[BlooInBloo]

7. Irrelevant. It's political doom in the current actual situation.

[The Magistrate]

10. In What Way, Sir?

The Republicans will continue to hold a lock on the votes of southern whites in the up-coming election. Any gains we do make in that region will depend on African-American turn-out, and immigrants to the region, whether from foreign lands or from the North.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. Wow, I agee!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5530890&mesg_id=5531075

[cali]

20. that may be true, but this is hardly helpful to her.

and the timing is.... not so great.

[The Magistrate]

22. Perhaps Not, Ma'am,

But that does not effect whether it was a proper analysis, at the time, or at present.

[cali]

23. the past, sir, and her intent at the time, are irrelevant as concerns

the upcoming primary. the phrasing itself- "screw them" simply feeds an unflattering image of her, and one that is in wide circulation.

[The Magistrate]

25. On The Other Hand, Ma'am, Many Like Tough Talk

It has long been my view that the first candidate who accurately describes an opponent as 'a fucking asshole' in public will reap a great electoral reward....

[cali]

29. in an alternate universe, perhaps.

in the real world, it's a campaign ender. and my point is that she has a real likability problem and this kind of comment feeds what so many distrust about her.

[The Magistrate]

30. And It Feeds What Many Like About Her, Ma'am

Making it pretty much a wash in overall effect....

"Do not do unto others as you would have them do to you. Their tastes may not be the same."

[cali]

35. no sir, you're wrong on this.

this kind of language is no politician's friend. particularly not Senator Clinton's.

[The Magistrate]

37. Clearly, Ma'am, We Are Very Different People....

[krkaufman]

48. But it's not really about the accuracy of the statement.

The issue that arises from "screw 'em" is that it exposes Hillary to charges of hypocrisy relative to her week-long bashing of Obama for what could certainly be considered less offensive statements that were no less true.

And "screw 'em" is a whole lot juicier soundbite, unless she's lucky enough that it's too profane for broadcast.

[tabasco]

46. That is a self-destructive political judgment and ineffective, cynical policy.

The President is President of all Americans, not just Democrats.

[Spider Jerusalem]

52. 'Fuck 'em, they didn't vote for us anyway'.

No different and no better than Republican attitudes re urban blacks. NNever mind that those working-class rural Southerners are still Americans and that actually making an effort might give them a reason to vote Democratic instead of going against their own interests.

[NightWatcher]

4. it was late and she probably misspoke

or she was rattled from dodging sniperfire somewhere

[knixphan]

21. :)

:)

[ORDem]

12. It's the English version of "Let them eat cake" (or black-eyed peas or sumpthin') n/t

[NJmaverick]

13. These comments should put an end to her campaign

if the media doesn't run with this now, you can rest assure they would if she runs against McCain. No way in hell FAUX news wouldn't devote an entire week to her comments.

[aquarius dawning]

17. Maybe after "good" democrats like you call them up and remind them about it, they will.

:eyes:

[NJmaverick]

19. It's the headline of the Huffington Post and we already know

from your "bittergate" that FAUX news reads Huffington

[aquarius dawning]

16. And nobody on DU has ever said anything but nice things about southern white people, have they?

[BlooInBloo]

18. Nobody on DU is running for President. Duh.

[aquarius dawning]

26. You evade the point. This isn't a dig at working class white folks, it's about southern white folks

who have abandoned the Democratic party for the Republican party. This is clearly an attempt to afix a label to her that does not apply. Her words were clear enough to anybody who isn't blinded by the magnificence of the Alpha and Omega. Give it up.

[BlooInBloo]

27. And the idea that PA working class white folks aren't gonna identify is just plain stupid.

[aquarius dawning]

33. Huh?

:shrug:

[Abacus]

24. Interesting reader comment

from PennP:

This echoes another moment from her Arkansas days. In "Choice" (1/28/08 New Yorker), author George Packer recounts this story about a moment between the Clintons and John Danner, who worked for Bill Clinton, and Danner's wife, Nancy Pietrafesa, one of Hillary's Wellesley classmates:

"Once, when the two couples were talking about policy matters, Danner proposed a way to offer retail discounts to Arkansas's substantial elderly population. To the astonishment of Danner and Pietrafesa, Hillary responded, "The last thing we need to do right now is something for folks who didn't vote for Bill." She had, Danner remembered, "this binary view of the world, a little like Bush's comment "You're with us or you're against us.'" In Pietrafesa's opinion, 'Hillary needs enemies.'"

That incident dates to 1978-1980. Fast forward to 1995 and Hillary's similar response about working-class Southern whites: "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them." So much for public service.

Fifteen years, and she"s delivering the same vindictive, dimwitted politics. This is the true Hillary, placing a higher value on punishing those who displeased her than avoiding political self-sabotage. It says little for her judgment but much about what makes her tick. To extend Pietrafesa's observation, Hillary Clinton needs enemies to motivate her, give her direction, and define her. Her need for conflict runs counter to what we need, which is consolidation on the issues, unity, and peace.

[krkaufman]

49. great comment there. thanks for sharing. n/t

[quantass]

28. wow

[chitty]

31. Another

"Let Them Eat Cake" moment brought to you by............

Hillary Kadiddlehopper

[FlyingSquirrel]

32. This old comment, never recorded, won't have any legs..

But it'd be nice if even a few people here followed the link and read the article.

Interesting conclusion.

------

Perhaps even more telling than Hillary Clinton's proclamation, however, were the words from her husband that followed. As reported by Barber, Clinton "stepped in, calm and judicious, not irritated, as if rehearsing an old but honorable debate he had been having with his wife for decades."

I know how you feel. I understand Hillary's sense of outrage. It makes me mad too. Sure, we lost our base in the South; our boys voted for Gingrich. But let me tell you something. I know these boys. I grew up with them. Hardworking, poor, white boys, who feel left out, feel that our reforms always come at their expense. Think about it, every progressive advance our country has made since the Civil War has been on their backs. They're the ones asked to pay the price of progress. Now, we are the party of progress, but let me tell you, until we find a way to include these boys in our programs, until we stop making them pay the whole price of liberty for others, we are never going to unite our party, never really going to have change that sticks.

If the tone and tenor of the above sounds familiar, it's because the message, Boyte says, is remarkably similar to what Obama was trying to convey in his now controversial remarks about small town America.

"Well, yeah, absolutely," said Boyte, when asked if Obama and Bill Clinton were expressing the same political viewpoint (Boyte said he and his organization are neutral in the presidential race). "I think Obama's better-or-worse versions of this have always been that people are complicated. It comes from an organizing perspective. You don't write off people, everyone is complicated. It just depends on the issue. And that's what Bill Clinton was saying. He was a sentimental populist."

Not to be lost in all this, as Boyte notes, is that Hillary Clinton has consistently been a "champion for the people who were helpless and powerless." But there is a political component to the mindset.

"Hillary Clinton has a very strong customer view: the citizen is the customer and the government the vender," said Boyte. "You can see it in Mark Penn's frame. In fact, last Christmas she had an ad of herself writing checks to different groups."

[otohara]

38. But There's The Internet

and I bet this gets passed around in lighten speed. It's already first on Salon.com.

Poor White Boys????

You say it wasn't recorded so why post follow-up of more non recorded stuff? If I'm not to believe her words according to you, why should I believe Bill's words?

[otohara]

43. It's in Two Books

guy who wrote article for HP just said so on AAR.

[krkaufman]

50. Exactly what is interesting about the conclusion?

It seems Hillary Clinton will help out those who have helped her, rather than governing for the greater good.

[otohara]

36. She Sounds Bitter

I was just going to post this.

[george_maniakes]

39. She sounds a bit elitist there if ya ask me. n/t

[backscatter712]

40. K&R

I'd like to see Clinton's poll numbers in Pennsylvania after all the unemployed or underemployed there see this...

[knixphan]

41. k

[Scurrilous]

42. K & R

:thumbsup:

[knixphan]

45. k