DEPARTMENTS
ANTI-WAR
DEATH PENALTY
ELECTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
GLBT ISSUES
HEMP
INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
REVIEWS
|
Departments Election Issues Hillary Clinton's sleaze parade New questionable actions emerge daily. You're probably familiar with many. But it's the broader pattern that disturbs me—how much the Clinton campaign seems to nurture questionable actions from her operatives, supporters, and surrogates. And how the campaign's actions go beyond drawing legitimate political lines to an all-too-Rovian instinct to do whatever's deemed necessary to take down those blocking Clinton's potential victory. Here's a representative list of actions that, taken together, offer a troubling portent for her candidacy and presidency. Start with the hiring of chief campaign strategist, Mark Penn. He's CEO of a PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, that prepped the Blackwater CEO for his recent congressional testimony, is advising the giant industrial laundry corporation Cintas in fighting unionization, and whose website proudly heralded their union-busting expertise until it became a potential Clinton liability and they removed that section. B-M has historically represented everyone from the Argentine military junta and Philip Morris to Union Carbide after the 1984 Bhopal disaster. Then there are Clinton's campaign donors. Any major candidate has some dubious supporters, but Clinton's gotten money from particularly noxious sources. Start with her donation from Rupert Murdoch, who's given to no other Democrat. Add in massive amounts of money from Washington lobbyists and from industries like defense, banking, health care, and oil and energy providers (though Obama's also gotten a lot from some of these industries). Then there's Norman Hsu, who brought in over $850,000 to Hillary's campaign after returning to the US following his flight to evade a fraud conviction (Hsu was subsequently rearrested, sentenced to three years, and is facing further federal charges). There's the Nebraska data processing company InfoUSA, whose CEO, Vin Gupta, used private corporate jets to fly the Clintons on business, personal, and campaign trips, gave Bill Clinton a $3.3 million consulting contract, and is now being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly diverting company money to his own personal uses. Mississippi attorney Dickie Scruggs recently canceled a major December 15 Hillary fundraiser (with Bill Clinton headlining) after being indicted for trying to bribe a judge. Major international sweatshop owners, the Saipan-based Tan family, have given Clinton $26,000, complementing their previous massive support for Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay. That doesn't even count dubious supporters from the past, like Peter Paul, the convicted con-artist turned event producer who coordinated a massive Hollywood Clinton fundraiser during the 2,000 election. Taken together, it's a pretty tainted constellation of backers. Like most candidates, Clinton spends the bulk of her money on ads and mailings, and she's taken some pretty problematic approaches there too. I wonder how many of the New Hampshire women who voted last minute for Clinton were swayed by a mailing claiming that Obama wasn't really committed to abortion rights because he'd voted “present” on some abortion-related legislative votes. Except that Obama had done so as part of a strategy devised by Illinois Planned Parenthood to protect vulnerable swing district representatives. New England Planned Parenthood’s Board Chair strongly refuted Clinton's letter, pointing out that Obama had a 100% record on all the votes that really mattered. But the mailing may still have damaged his support. The distortion of Obama's position on abortion echoes Hillary's audacious argument that Obama really wasn't against the Iraq war and betrayed his promises by failing to vote against war appropriation bills after the Democrats couldn't override Bush's veto. I wish Obama had bucked the Democratic leadership and taken a stronger stand. But it's a gross distortion of history to equate his positions with Clinton's overt support for the war authorization, refusal to apologize for her vote, and claim that she was really doing it all to promote more diplomatic solutions. We can find further distortions in a mailing sent out before the Iowa caucuses by the independent expenditure committee of a key Clinton ally, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME mailing attacked Obama on his health care plan by using a John Edwards quote that was featured so prominently that recipients could assume that his campaign was the source of the attack piece. This and other actions so disturbed a group of seven AFSCME International Vice Presidents wrote a public letter to their union president, saying that although the union had endorsed Clinton on a split vote, the political committee had no mandate to attack Obama. They demanded the committee stop what they called "fundamentally dishonest" attacks. Other surrogates have attacked Obama's character. Twice they've tried to raise Obama's early drug use as a campaign issue—despite his having addressed it directly and frankly in his book Dreams From My Father. Hillary's New Hampshire campaign chair, Billy Shaheen, mentioned it first, claiming that he was only worried about how the Republicans might use it. Sheehan resigned from the campaign after a storm of criticism, then Black Entertainment Television CEO Robert Johnson (who's backed Bush on issues like the estate tax) raised it again, with Clinton standing next to him at a South Carolina rally. After Johnson's words drew major heat, Clinton belatedly distanced herself from them, but the smear still stands, along with the disingenuous claim that those making it were just neutral participants, only trying to serve the Party’s best interests. Clinton's campaign also attacked the John Edwards campaign for appearing in New Hampshire with the parents of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17-year-old leukemia patient who died after CIGNA refused her a liver transplant. Clinton press secretary Jay Carson claimed that the US needs to elect "somebody who's actually going to help people and not use them as talking points." Never mind that the Sarkisyans had initiated the chance to speak out by contacting Edwards about appearing at a Manchester New Hampshire town hall campaign appearance. To the Clinton campaign, their appearance had to be suspect, because they were supporting Edwards and his ideas. The campaign has also attempted more directly to discourage participation by voters who might support Clinton's opponents. A judge just shut down the lawsuit filed by the pro-Clinton leadership of the Nevada teacher's union, which sought to prevent long-scheduled caucuses from being held at central locations on the main casino strip, where workers largely represented by the Obama-endorsing Culinary Workers Union would find it easier to attend. When asked, Hillary Clinton claimed to have "no opinion on the lawsuit" and Bill Clinton overtly supported it. New Hampshire saw parallel voter suppression tactics, as the campaign encouraged the New Hampshire Democratic Party to evict Obama get-out-the-vote observers from the polls. In Iowa, the Clinton Campaign tried to discourage out-of-state students from returning to their campuses to participate in the caucuses. In the Michigan primary, Clinton kept her name on the ballot after the state violated Democratic National Committee rules by moving its primary ahead of the Feb 5 “Super Tuesday” vote, while Edwards and Obama took theirs off. Campaigns can have either closed or open information styles. Clinton's comes far too close to the Bush-Cheney model, as when the Clintons successfully killed a major story in the national men's magazine GQ about Clinton campaign infighting. Author Josh Green had written a long critical previous piece on Clinton for The Atlantic, and campaign press secretary Jay Carson threatened to deny the magazine access to Bill Clinton for a separate cover story on his international foundation work. GQ acquiesced and pulled the critical piece. The flip side of trying to stop negative coverage is manufacturing praise. Clinton's campaign did this when they gave planted questions to Iowa student Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, and according to Chasanoff, to other students as well. After being driven to a public event by Clinton interns, Chasanoff was introduced to a Clinton staffer who showed her a list of suggested questions to ask, one of which she used at Clinton's forum. It's not quite like Bush inviting the softball inquiries of former male-prostitute turned right-wing blogger Jeff Gannon. But it isn't so different either. Taken together, these examples echo the Bush's administration's tendency to attack anyone who challenges them. They echo Clinton's refusal to apologize for her Iraq war vote or for an Iran vote so reckless that Jim Webb called it "Dick Cheney's fondest pipe dream." They hardly bode well for reversing the massive erosions of transparency of the past seven years. The list could go on, but it's the pattern that's important. It's true that one person's cheap shot artist is another's fierce competitor. Obama himself has called politics "a full-contact sport," and used legal maneuvers to block a long-time state legislator when he first ran for office. And Democrats will need to be fierce in their campaigning if they're going to defeat the right-wing Swiftboating machine that gave Bush the last two presidencies. So maybe I'd be more charitable if I didn't disagree so strongly with Clinton's Iraq and Iran votes, and utter failure to take leadership in standing up to Bush when he was riding high in the polls. But I think I'd still have a problem. I look at the actions of her campaign, and see an ugly example, a ruthlessness not remotely equaled by either Obama or Edwards. I'll vote for the last Democrat standing, because the Republicans will continue the current administration's disastrous priorities. But Hillary's scorched-earth approach threatens to fracture the party if she does get the nomination, and to leave a trail of bitterness even if she wins. We can do better for the Democratic nominee. --- Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, named the #3 political book of 2004 by the History Channel and the American Book Association. His previous books include Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time. See www.paulloeb.org To receive his articles directly email sympa@lists.onenw.org with the subject line: subscribe paulloeb-articles |
|
Recent Election Issues Articles Why Al Franken should NOT be riding private planes The suspicious, disturbing death of election rigger Michael Connell Last US House seat filled on grave of stolen 2004 election What happened this year in Ohio Imaginary numbers persist in our presidential elections The GOP attack on democracy continues in Ohio The 2008 Presidential election: a preliminary analysis Election protection in Ohio (and America) isn't over Recount fictions in Virginia's Fifth The Pits: Georgia's GOP swipes the Peach State Grant Park on Election Night Can the grassroots Internet-based election protection movement win the White House? How and why I just voted No time for Nader: A letter to Nader McKinney voters 'Vote stealing imperils democracy': former Montague resident charges election manipulation Will this Presidential election be stolen? It didn’t happen by chance... The time has come Beware the Twin Towers of electronic election theft Sarah Palin and the new Apostolic reformation Antidotes to complacency: four reasons to act Redesigning democracy A McCain "win" will be theft: resistance is planned Critical US Supreme Court ruling against Rovian GOP vote meddling may prove temporary Our national juncture Suppression Cuyahoga's witch hunt Videos from Ohio Election Protection Conference The Palin-Biden debate: high time to move beyond clichés Struggle: A Documentary GOP attacks on American voters turn desperate, ugly and dangerous Warming to Palin Brace yourself Cindy, Charlotte, and our Constitution Rainbow PUSH Coalition registers 2090 new voters this week Big presidential vote count error found and fixed in New Mexico Ohio 2008 opens with a subpoena, a surge and calls for election protection North Carolina: The new Ohio? Foreign policy debate all about war Be a poll worker and save American democracy Why hurricane Ike demands paper ballots on November 4 Death becomes her: let's make her our president Ten ways the McCain/Palin GOP is now stealing the Ohio vote John McCain: Morally, mentally, and emotionally unfit Logical consequences Rovian politics chose Sarah Palin Shocking choice by John McCain Ron Paul endorsement of Don Young "shocking and disappointing" The DNC platform: belief you can change in Obama doesn't sweat. He should. Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. applauds Sen. Obama’s speech before the NAACP Three key ways YOU can help protect the 2008 election Colleges, voter registration, and a historic opportunity: a more detailed proposal Obama must learn from Kucinich's election theft impeachment Clinton only needs 153% of remaining delegates The buried Florida story: why campaigning matters The myth of Clinton's popular vote lead Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan? Edwards just put Obama over the top Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan? Obama-Clinton funny math: Guam update Did the US Supreme Court deliver the Indiana Primary to Hillary Clinton? Did the US Supreme Court just elect John McCain? The 2008 election will be stolen The done deal Letter to Hillary: remember when John McCain slimed your daughter Fire and race Keep the Republic What it's all about... Can SuperDelegates stop the scorched earth campaigning? An election without meaning We have a dream Hope, change, and pissing in the wind: "Of Obama, Democrats, and the Power Elite" Ohio's voting machines are now an official crime scene Did Republicans give Hillary her victory in Ohio? Primary day at the polls in Columbus, Ohio Obama & Clinton: who's more likely to confront global warming? If you think Karl Rove is evil, make phone calls today Obama's talking points Adventures in inaudible audio with Senator Barack Obama Attention all voters: this is a must-see video On the campaign trail in the Buckeye State stalking the candidates: John McCain Will Clinton's advisors tell her the hard truths? How much damage will Clinton do before she folds? The Hillary nutcracker Behind Obama's wave of victories: the more they know him….. Hillary's hawks -- How Obama's and Clinton's advisors mirror their stands on the war Poll shows John McCain faces tough road in gaining conservative support The Obama Factors Vote against Clinton Why this Edwards voter Is now backing Obama Liveblogging Obama v. Clinton v. CNN It's all about Hillary, not her party The South Carolina you won't see on CNN - South Carolina primary colors: black and white? The South Carolina you won't see on CNN - South Carolina primary colors: black and white? Conspiracy theorist Hillary Clinton's sleaze parade Bob & Harvey's 3-Step "Ohio Plan" for fair and reliable voting and vote counts Media misses story: Obedwards wins New Hampshire Primary concerns Clear evidence of widespread vote fraud in New Hampshire The Kudzu Effect: The Voting-Industrial Complex chokes our democracy Still true to ObEdwards: Why I keep donating to both Edwards and Obama Clinton campaign office re-occupied by peace activists on day of Iowa voting Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE
Donate to the Free Press Election Protection Fund to help us investigate and monitor election fraud in this year's election.
FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook
SEARCH THE FREEPRESS
1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer