Friday, December 21, 2007

More Dirty Tricks from Clinton!


It simply never ends with the Clintons. Really. Check out these latest examples of the Clinton campaign in full smear mode. This is how they play politics. Looks a lot like the Republican attack machine, doesn't it? Is this the type of person you want leading the country? Is this the type of candidate you think will bring us change?

"Clinton Camp Purchases Two Obama Attack Websites"

ABC News has learned that the campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has registered the names of two Web sites with the express goal of attacking her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

It's the first time this election cycle a presidential campaign has launched a Web site with the express purpose of of launching serious criticisms on a rival... The Clinton campaign intends to use these new Web sites to paint Obama as cowardly.

I think the use of the word cowardly is interesting since that can come with a lot of genedered meaning, particularly in politics. Recall election '04, when the Republican Party's main argument against John Kerry was that he was a "girly man?" You know, he was weak, undecisive, he waffled, he spoke French (you know those French are so effeminate they can't even stand up for themselves like real men; they're appeasers!!)! Schwarzenegger called him a "girly man" at the convention. The subtext of the whole campaign was that Kerry, despite being a highly decorated war veteran against a bunch of chicken hawks, was not manly enough to lead in the post-9/11 world. In essence, they tarred him with a bunch of associations that communicated that he was a "wuss" or "fem-y" or even "gay." Recall all the anti-gay ballot measures that were on state lines in '04 and recall Bush's rhetoric that he was manly and decisive and the "decider."

Now, interestingly, perhaps the first woman president has decided to paint herself as the manly warhawk and apparently attack Obama as soft and unsatisfactorily "tough" and "decisive."

Now, the clintons are famous for moving to the Right and coopting Republican issues and ideas (that is the DLC approach), so perhaps this isn't surprising. Why should they stop now, right? It's worked for them this long...

The question is, will the electorate buy what they are seeling this time around?

"Clinton Campaign Disguises Attacks on Obama Through Edwards"

Some of the first negative mail in Iowa on the Democratic side is out, and it's anti-Obama. A new direct mail piece from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) accuses that: "For those without insurance, Barack Obama's band-aid solution is no change at all"...

But, as it turns out, AFSCME is backing Clinton. In fact, even though Clinton and her campaign have been arguing for the past month that Obama's health-care plan doesn't insure everyone, Clinton's name isn't mentioned once on the flier. The Edwards quote makes it appear to be a slam by the Edwards team.

This tactic, it seems, could be intended to deflect the distaste that most voters have for direct attacks -- even those that are policy based. But those in the know might think that this new negative mail is Iowa Nice playing a little dirty.

Or, there is the recent attempt to smear Obama by suggesting he hasn't "stood up" for his principles and for working people because he sometimes voted "present" while in the Illinois legislature. If you read the article, it would be easy to come away thinking the guy ALWAYS voted "present." The reality is that he voted "present" .o325% of the time. Yep. .0325%! And, you know why he voted "present" this miniscule number of times? Most of the time he voted "present" as a part of a routine tactical or procedural move supported by party leaders. The Clintons know this. Anyone who knows how legislatures work knows this. Yet, the Establishment media (and even many liberal/progressive sites eager for a story)simply forwards this crap unexamined. For an excellent disection of this attack and the way the media flubbed it, click here:
"Reading The Pictures: Cocaine, Kindergarten -- And Now, The Hand"


Puh-lease, people, stand up to these dirty tricks! PLEASE EMAIL THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN RIGHT NOW and tell them you are disgusted and WILL NOT be voting for Hillary because of her campaign's constant use of sleaze, because of their win-at-all-costs mentality, because it has embraced the "politics of swiftboating."

Also, spread the word about this blog to other people. Have them come read about the reality of these sleazebags. Seriosuly, time is of the essence. Get to it. Now!

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