Hey Bernieland: If you search hard enough, you’ll find something
After some universally acclaimed performances —SNL, Debate #1, Benghazi 11-hour marathon, Jefferson-Jackson dinner, and Rachel Maddow's Southern Forum— one could say Hillary-haters were out for blood during the second Democratic debate — searching for anything they could to use against Hillary, hunting her like vultures — focusing on her every word.
Immediately when Hillary brought up 9/11, her critics looked to cast her as a calculating politician — they looked to impugn her integrity, just as Bernie had done moments prior when he said Hillary's answer on Wall Street wasn't up to “his” standards. Hillary-haters were taking Bernie's cue – the same cue he was given from his newfound pollster: attack Hillary's integrity at every turn–cast her intentions in a suspicious, conniving light.
The simple fact remains, however: Hillary became Senator of New York less than 9 months before 9/11. This act of terrorism, for better or worse, defined her years in the Senate. Wall Street vividly remembers everything Hillary did as New York Senator in the aftermath of 9/11, including fighting to secure the necessary funding for their reconstruction.
Looking at Hillary Clinton's 9/11 comment negatively or positively depends upon one fundamental question: do we inherently view Hillary with suspicious intent?
On the surface, Hillary Rodham Clinton gave another impressive debate performance, showcasing her depth of knowledge in foreign affairs while also possessing the political skill needed to navigate the Tea Party infested waters of Washington.
Meanwhile, Bernie frequently pivoted away from foreign affairs, deciding his time would be better spent attacking Hillary's integrity. I must say, this new pollster is working out pretty well for Senator Sanders. I'm flabbergasted that Bernie has recently flip-flopped on using character assassination as a political tactic, yet his supporters get mad when Hillary invokes 9/11 to field attacks on her integrity? Of course, Bernie is freely permitted by the left to reverse positions on employing the use of political character assassination to achieve ones goals. So I guess all is fair in love and war, right?
That's why I don't understand how Hillary is said to have made a major “gaffe” by invoking 9/11? Could those on Wall Street possibly respect Clinton's post-9/11 work on behalf of New York City? The answer is: of course they can. And they do. So stop downplaying and dismissing it. But the bigger point is – was this really a “gaffe”? Or are Hillary-haters guilty of searching so hard that they eventually found something, and that something happened to be 9/11?
“Look!”they said. “Finally!” they said. “We have something.”
Nevermind the fact that 9/11 did, in-fact, define Hillary's career in the Senate. Nevermind the fact that Hillary fought tooth-and-nail to secure the $21 billion to rebuild and reconstruct New York City. Nevermind the fact that Hillary fought for healthcare coverage for our 9/11 first-responders. Nevermind the fact that 94% of Hillary's donations are of less than $250 dollars. Nevermind the fact that over 60% of Hillary's donations are from women, and gender diversity should never be mocked or minimized. Nevermind the fact that Bernie and Hillary voted together in Congress 93% of the time. Nevermind the fact that Hillary fought for unions and a higher minimum wage as New York Senator despite corporate contributions.
Blatantly ignoring these overlooked and largely downplayed facts, Bernie Sanders, his supporters, and the pundit-class know how to hurt Hillary: attack her integrity at every chance they get. Even if it's unfounded.After declaring Americans are sick and tired of Hillary’s “e-mails,” Bernie is now bringing up the FBI investigation [even though the FBI is investigating the security of the server; Hillary is NOT under direct FBI investigation – this is a security check only]. Invoking “FBI” is an intentional and systematic way to brainwash voters against Hillary Clinton. Ironically, the State Department’s servers were 100% confirmed to have been hacked. Hillary’s server, that was originally set up for President Clinton, may have been much, much safer. Regardless, Bernie is [yet again] doing the job of the Koch Brothers by flip-flopping on Hillary’s e-mails. Has his quest for power corrupted him this much!?
The Republicans have been employing this smear tactic against Hillary’s integrity for years, successfully brainwashing a huge segment of our population to be Hillary-hating sheep. The right-wing must love watching their strategy work even more effectively on the left, hoping Bernie can achieve Nader-like status and ruin all of Obama's progress.
Sadly, the old saying is that Democrats want to fall in love while Republicans want to fall in line. You may be in love with Bernie, but please don't forget who the real enemy is and please don’t pull a Nader again!!
At the end of the day, if you are going to call someone a liar during a debate, at least have the guts to admit it. And if you dish it out, you better be willing to take it, too. This is Presidential politics – the big leagues. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
So why are Bernie fans crying about Hillary invoking 9/11? This is politics.You’re just mad that what Hillary said is accurate, true, *AND*great politics. If the goal was to create an emotional connection to voters in the wake of the Paris attacks, Hillary succeeded by reminding us she was a strong fighter for New York City in the wake of terrorism and tragedy.
“Well, I— if I might— I— I— I think the issue here is that I— I applaud Secretary Clinton. She did. She’s the senator from New York. She worked– many of us supported you in trying to rebuild that devastation.”~Bernie Sanders
I'm glad Senator Sanders eventually agreed with Secretary Clinton. But if we want to talk about serious gaffes, how about these two:
1] Bernie Sanders refused to admit his vote giving gun manufacturers immunity was wrong. 90+ die a day and 30,000+ die a year from gun violence. This is a huge issue in urban, African-American communities, something Bernie may not recognize being from the 95% caucasian, heavily rural state of Vermont. White privilege.
2] Bernie Sanders said he would repeal Obamacare. As Hillary said, we shouldn't have to be defending Obamacare amongst Democrats. Bernie Sanders would strip 11 million Americans of their healthcare, most of which are under the age of 35 — vulnerable Americans.
As Hillary noted in her response to Bernie's suggestion that we repeal the progress made with the Affordable Care Act, the revolution on healthcare never came. And she has the scars to prove it.
NANCY CORDES: “Secretary Clinton, back in 1994, you said that momentum for a single-payer system would sweep the country. That sounds Sandersesque. But you don't feel that way anymore. Why not—“
HILLARY CLINTON: “Well, the revolution never came. [LAUGHTER] And I waited and I've got the scars to show for it.”
This was the best two lines of the night.
Hillary further shows her political pragmatism and political brilliance when defending Obamacare:
“We now have this great accomplishment known as the Affordable Care Act. And-- I don't think we should have to be defending it amount Democrats. We ought to be working to improve it and prevent Republicans from both undermining it and even repealing it.
I've looked at the legislation that Senator Sanders has proposed. And basically, he does eliminate the Affordable Care Act, eliminate private insurance, eliminates Medicare, eliminates Medicaid, Tricare, children's health insurance program. Puts it all together in a big program which he then hands over to the state to administer.
And I have to tell you, I would not want, if I lived in Iowa, Terry Branstad administering my healthcare. (APPLAUSE) (CHEERING)
I think as Democrats, we ought to proudly support the Affordable Care Act, improve it, and make it the model that we know it can be.”
On the topic of healthcare, Hillary proves she possesses the political skill to take on the Tea Party whack-jobs, while also having the best plans to continue Obama's progressive progress. Meanwhile, Bernie's over there talking about repealing Obamacare, something which was passed with a Democratic Congress. If that doesn't show his ineptness about political realities regarding the current state of the Tea-Party controlled Congress, I don't know what does. The last thing we should be doing is undoing the progress of the Affordable Care Act.
As I've said, we need someone who can strategically navigate the Tea Party infested waters of Washington. What Hillary proved during the debate is that she is a political master. Like it or not, the Clintons are political animals and play to win. And it was the Clintons who warned us about the Republicans, being firsthand survivors of their onslaught during the 1990s.
Obama squandered his first two years of office when we had Democratic majorities in Congress, something the Clintons would have never done. Bill and Hillary Clinton must still be shaking their heads in disbelief, wishing they could say to Obama, “Told you so.”
Obama played nice with the GOP when we had a Democratic Congress. The Clintons never would have done that and said so in the ‘08 campaign. Think of how much more we could have accomplished if Hillary had won in 2008. She already knew not to trust the GOP, something Obama has since learned. But we wanted “hope” and “change” back then. Just like people want Bernie now. Well, I’m ready for the Clintons to go in there and tear it up. They have the infrastructure and skill needed to get what we want accomplished. We opted for idealism in 2008. I'm opting for pragmatism in 2016.Why? Because I want the Clintons pragmatism and skill back in the White House to confront a growing number of State's being controlled by the GOP.
Hillary correctly noted she waited for a political revolution in the 1990s and it never came. Fortunately, the Clintons have deep roots in Arkansas and the South — a legacy of success and support (even among those that vote Republican). Hillary might not win these state’s in a general election, but she will help reverse the fact that when Democrats don’t vote in non-Presidential elections, the GOP takes control of state legislatures:
31 | Republican legislatures
11 | Democratic legislatures
8 | Split legislatures
This “Obama-era” sweep of state legislatures has resulted in devastating consequences on a local-level: the defunding of Planned Parenthood, attacks on voting rights, gerrymandering, and the denial of human rights to LGBTQ Americans.
The Clintons know how to fight fire with fire. It takes $$$ to beat $$$. During the Benghazi-hearings, Hillary proved (yet again) she can take on the GOP — anytime, anywhere.
The Clintons are going to criss-cross the United States, building the political infrastructure needed to change the system through the system. This will help reverse the devastating trend in deep Southern states where women and children are hurt the most by GOP policies.
Hillary proves, time and time again, that she’s not only smart, but possesses the skills to finally dismantle the Republican Party. Don’t you Bernie fans ever wonder why the GOP hates Hillary so much? George H. W.’s initial impression of Hillary was: “Aggressive.”
The GOP fears the Clintons for a reason.
At the end of the day, Hillary shouldn’t be afraid to point out that she was Senator of the world’s most powerful economic hub. Successfully becoming a Senator of New York is no easy task despite critics trying to downplay and dismiss it [as usual]. Not only is Hillary correct to provide historical context for her Senate career, but she’s also correct in pointing out that she secured billions of dollars to rebuild Wall Street.
Wall Street also remembers very well that President Clinton created 22 million jobs, a balanced budget, and a surplus for our nation. Incomes rose at every level when the Clintons were in power. Wall Street has seen that everyone does better when a Clinton is in power.
But according to her critics, Hillary couldn't possibly be honest about trying to implement her extremely tough and thorough plan to reign in capitalism run-amok. Which brings me to something that is largely missing from this conversation: the Clintons tax-rate.
The Clintons paid a 35.7% tax rate — 43 million in total taxes over the last 7 years.
To act as though Hillary wouldn’t make Wall Street pay their fair share and play by the rules doesn’t add up when you look at the Clintons finances. One could make this argument against Mitt Romney who paid a very low tax-rate –14.1%– and came from a wealthy family. Hillary?Not so much.
Bill and Hillary Clinton built their success from the ground up, dating back to their days together at Yale Law School. Both Clintons embody the American dream of using their own talents to achieve success, but have never forgotten their middle-class roots. The Clintons pay their fair share to a country that has given them so much.
Hillary fought for unions and a higher minimum wage as New York Senator [despite corporate contributions]. Hillary is smart enough to know it takes $$$ to beat $$$, though she and Bill have never forgotten their middle-class roots. Never forget that Hillary and Bernie voted together in the Senate 93% of the time.
If invoking 9/11 was a “gaffe,” what about Bernie's gaffes? Not only would he not admit giving gun manufacturers immunity was wrong, but he also wants to repeal Obamacare. Bernie actually wants to rip away our progress and will be waiting, just as Hillary was, for a “political revolution” that will never come.
Unfortunately, we don't have time to be messing around. The GOP currently controls 37 state legislatures and we must reverse this trend by electing Hillary Clinton as President. Hillary's long history throughout every corner of the United States, especially in the deep South, should not be overlooked:
Hillary worked for the Children's Defense Fund, the Arkansas Children's Hospital Legal Services, cofounded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, secured federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas's poorest areas as chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee, successfully reformed the Arkansas education system as chair of the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee while Bill was Governor, and became the first female partner of the Rose Law Firm.
As First Lady of the United States, Hillary increased research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health, helped to create the Office on Violence Against Women and the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy which reduced abortion rates by providing women with accurate information and contraception, in addition to highly significant achievements such as the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Foster Care Independence Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which currently provides 8+ million children with health insurance.
Hillary has always stood with women, the middle-class, children, the under-privileged – the invisible. She is authentic. So stop the character assassination against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her plans are more comprehensive than Bernie's and she has the political skill and infrastructure to actually accomplish her goals. This is why Hillary is receiving endorsements from organizations such as the S.E.I.U. and the League of Conservation Voters. Experts in these organizations have accessed each candidate and have come to the same conclusion: Hillary Rodham Clinton is our best hope to propel a progressive agenda forward in 21st Century America.
“The other party doesn’t want to run against her. And if they do, they’d like her as mangled up as possible.”
–President Bill Clinton
But please, given the stakes – keep searching. Keep hunting. I'm sure you'll find something. Maybe a trick or two right out of Karl Rove's dirty playbook.
“I understand, very well, that people are not attacking me because I’m a woman, they’re attacking me because I’m ahead.”
–Hillary Rodham Clinton
Pssst, Hillary: Bernie was an Independent until very recently. Now he’s a Democrat. He flip-flopped after trashing our Party for decades (why would any of the Democratic superdelegates go for someone who has been an Independent for most of his career!?!?). The Clintons have been helping the Democratic Party in every corner of the United States for decades and are the only two able to reverse the current trend of GOP-controlled state legislatures.
But please, keep hating on her endorsements as some kind of “conspiracy.”
