Hillary has placed her own ambition above both country and party.

[youknowmenotdlc]

It's not that Hillary is still in the race, it's how she is conducting her campaign.

As democrats we have an opportunity, a once in a generation opportunity to establish a Democratic majority that will survive the ebb and flow of current party politics. This opportunity was handed to us on a silver platter by GWB, it is a gift not an earned opportunity due to our great ideas and leadership, it is instead a gift delivered via his and his partys profound failures.

So instead of running a race that showcases our unity and the talent of our leaders Hillary CHOSE to run a campaign that seeks to divide us and worse to show our leaders in a terrible light. She has not only smeared Obama but also herself. In Obama she has sought to portray her fellow democrat as everything from unready for the office to associating with terrorists, in the process she has removed all doubt regarding her integrity.

Many will respond to this post with the inevitable "hey politics is a contact sport" or "if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen". These sentiments are reminiscent of the excuse Republicans give for their tactics stretching back to the early seventies. These are excuses for acting unethically, these are excuses bearing false witness against an opponent, these are the excuses of the right wing.

Hillary may very well either win or damage Obama to the extent that he loses but either way she has accomplished one thing for sure. She has insured that the Democartic party will continue to win not based on talent and vision but via default, via being the lesser of two evils.

[sasquatch]

1. Well that is the baby boomer Modus Operandi

"ME, ME, ME, ME AND ME SOME MORE!! Oh and BTW...FUCK YOU!!"

[patrice]

2. Not the '60s vintage Boomers.

The ones I know are still trying to figure out how to do the right thing; they may be confused, but they're not as self-centered as you think.

P.S. More division?

[sasquatch]

5. The 60's boomer is the most narcissistic person on this planet

If you don't believe me look at the singer from Jefferson Airplane, Dennis Hopper and slew of other "fuck the world, I want mine" people from that generation.

[patrice]

6. wow

Those aren't the People. I suggest you get out more; you look like you might be a bigot.

[cliffordu]

12. Writing off a whole generation due to a couple of pop culture stars are we??

My, how mature...

[WillyT]

14. Congratulations !!! - That Has To Be One Of The DUMBEST Posts Ever On DU !!!

If your town has a library, I suggest you start learning to read.

It'll broaden that narrow mind of yours.

:wtf:

[starroute]

24. Dennis Hopper was born in 1936, Grace Slick in 1939

If you want to slam boomers, you might at least choose examples who, you know, actually *are* boomers.

[cliffordu]

8. Aw, wassa matta, your mommie didn't put you on the toilet correctly??

:rofl:

[sasquatch]

9. My mother and father are Generation Jones, not boomers

[cliffordu]

11. Now, run this by me again, I'm so enamored with everything that's mine

(which is everything, after all!!)

I dunno who 'generation jones' is.....

[patrice]

15. I happen to know a guy who styles himself as "Sasquatch" who sold his only son

to be a professional killer for the Bush administration, because in his rural area there were no decent economic alternatives for a young adult with, shall we say, "limited" economic potentials, public education did nothing to provide the child with what he needed to connect to our wonderful "American Dream", and mom and dad believe in "tough 'love'" for everyone.

You're name and attitude are interesting; you wouldn't happen to know such a guy would you?

[roguevalley]

23. check this out from www.americablog.com

Hillary has made such a big deal about Michigan and Florida (because it's the only way she can now steal the election), that you have to wonder why she'd keep as two of her top advisers men who were responsible for taking those states' delegates away. I mean, imagine two of your top advisers being responsible for what you claim is your number one grievance, and then keeping them as your top advisers? If Hillary really cared about Michigan and Florida, she'd fire Ickes and McCauliffe.

From AP: Harold Ickes, a top adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign who voted for Democratic Party rules that stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates, now is arguing against the very penalty he helped pass.

In a conference call Saturday, the longtime Democratic Party member contended the DNC should reconsider its tough sanctions on the two states, which held early contests in violation of party rules. He said millions of voters in Michigan and Florida would be otherwise disenfranchised - before acknowledging moments later that he had favored the sanctions.

Then there's this from top Clinton surrogate Terry McCauliffe's book: "You won't deny us seats at the convention," he said.

"Carl, take it to the bank," I said. "They will not get a credential. The closest they'll get to Boston will be watching it on television. I will not let you break this entire nominating process for one state. The rules are the rules. If you want to call my bluff, Carl, you go ahead and do it."

[saltpoint]

3. When Jimmy Carter defeated Mo Udall in the Wisconsin primary, by a

percentage quite a bit narrower than the percentage Obama defeated Clinton there this year, Udall didn't stomp off in a victim-card huff and remain in the race for weeks and months afterward, dividing the party.

Some Democrats have long memories.

Mrs. Clinton has every legal right to remain in the race, despite her having lost it in all other respects.

Now she jeopardizes her future as a party influence, IMO, by allowing John McCain the unchallenged head start for the general.

Shame on her.

[patrice]

4. It IS possible to describe negative phenomena without TRYING to hurt others.

Objective negative fact: It is at least a 50:50 probability that HC voted for the Iraq War Resolution BECAUSE she planned to run for pResident and knew she needed to be able to say that she is tough. And I'd guess that probability is REALLY much more something like 70:30 to show her own creds for the pResidency.

[Saturday]

7. whatever. nt

[WA98296]

10. She's has shown us without doubt, what IS important to her. Sad.

I feel she is ruining her own future prospects.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

13. Just love the Hillary bashing. Not.

I want Hillary to stay in the race and I get so tired of people saying our party is so dainty and delicate it can't take a little fighting to decide the candidate. Obama is my fourth or fifth choice, certainly not in the top three but if he is the candidate I will vote for him. That said, I want my candidate to fight on, I want to play this out and let everyone have a chance to vote in their primary. She is not trailing Obama by 50-60 points, it is still a horse race and if people are so afraid that Obama can't take primaries in stride why would we trust him in the general election come November. Fight on.

And the hell with McCain, if our party can't take on good primary fights then we certainly won't be able to get our nose bloodied in the general election. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.

[cascadiance]

22. The problem is, it isn't about numbers as a sole measurement. It is about issues too...

I wanted John Edwards to stay in until the convention too. Not because I necessarily had a hope in hell that he could win. I'd have been ecstatic if he had, but that wasn't what I would have seen the point of him staying in the race for. It was for him to be able to keep the issues he was championing on the table and continue fighting to ensure that the party was going to fight for them too in whatever way he could. If he accomplished that, whether he was the nominee, I would have been happy for his long run. And I think the Democratic Party, despite having some turmoil, would also be better for that kind of battle too in the end (coming out with a better platform that everyone can jump on board too).

But with Hillary, she's not championing issues, she's championing herself. And for those that support her, it isn't about getting an issue heard, it's about getting her nominated and noone else. It is about CONTROL! And the rest of us reject that, especially when she isn't even the popular choice of the party in terms of pledged delegates, and is bending every rule and playing every negative campaign trick in the book to try and reach this goal. THIS sort of staying in the race is what damages everyone else, and I argue actually damages her in the end too.

The only thing it helps is the corporations. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see a book 5-10 years from now from her that perhaps even tells us that maybe it wasn't even her thirst for power, but the corporate and other elite interests that in effect *forced* her to continue this campaign in their own interests... Think about the following:

Given that her campaign now is in heavy debt, perhaps they are saying that if she doesn't stay in, they yank ALL funding, and if she does stay in, they fund not only this campaign, but her coming senatorial campaign or other campaigns she might be involved in.

Earlier, I might have said she was just being self-centered and this was all about her, and it is still the public image of what she's giving to us that appears to motivate her that way. But now it's appearing more self-destructive than helpful to her. You have to wonder if she'll even be able to run for another term in the Senate, let alone the White House.

Given that, then who benefits from her continuing?

Corporate America!

1) They would prefer her or McCain to win versus an Obama win, since they control more of either of those finances as opposed to Obama's more grass roots financing.
2) Even if she loses and Obama wins, Obama will be a lot more damaged goods, if they keep going after each other personally, when he faces McCain and has less of a chance of beating him.
3) Will spend all of the Democrats campaign money in the primary season instead of the general election against McCain.
4) The Democrats continuing campaign continues to distract America from the many other crises that are happening to this country and the world now. If we didn't have the primaries still going, we might be looking more at the Iraq War, global warming / food problems, job outsourcing/losses, etc. that would have us focus more attention on the corporation's involvement in these that we'd want to "fix" with more attention given to them.

In short, the only winner in this mess is the corporate special interests, and I believe that likely they are pushing her to continue on no matter what happens, which is why its starting to appear insane now. She's not being given a choice, and it really is about money now.

Another reason that our party needs to get away from the "For Sale" politics that is in play with the K Street Lobby crowd of today. As they get more desperate when faced with stronger opposition, they are going to be playing cards that destroys everyone else except themselves as long as they can do so.

[Exultant Democracy]

16. Who would have thought Romney and Huckabee both had more class then Clinton.

Clinton is one of those people that can't disagree with you without being disagreeable.

[Seabiscuit]

17. Or... Hillary might just continue pointing out how Obama keeps shooting himself in both feet

with a submachine gun, and by the time the Convention rolls around, the Super Delegates (as well as many of the "pledged" delegates) will be absolutely and finally convinced that Obama is a walking, squawking hollow suit of a disaster and a sure loser in the GE. Then we won't have to worry about Obama being so damaged "to the extent that he loses" the GE. He'll be packing his bags.

[stillcool]

18. wishing and hoping doesn't make it so.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. ...

:thumbsup:

[Armstead]

20. The only thing I disagree with is this:

"She has insured that the Democatic party will continue to win not based on talent and vision but via default, via being the lesser of two evils."

If she succeeds, I believe she will cause the Democratic party to continue to lose.

As the current situation demonstrates, even when the GOP screws up massively, they are able to capitalize on Democratic screw ups.

[youknowmenotdlc]

25. The worst thing she has done is

give creedence to the inevitable Republican slime attacks in the fall.

Wether they will attack her for being an opportunistic politician who will say anything to get elected or the b.s. Wright/ayers line of attack that will be made against Obama, she has basically given the pukes a walking, talking, breathing validated resource to back up their bullshit.

"As even Hillary Clinton said in the Democratic primary...." Will be a phrase heard often come October.

[Honeycombe8]

21. Yes, she first did it w/the Iraq War vote. Then the Patriot Act vote. Then the Iran vote.

All votes that she KNEW were bad for the country, but GOOD for her future aspirations to be President (or so she thought).

Is this the kind of person we want at the head of the table? That's not the kind of person I want.