Monday, April 14, 2008

Hillary Rove?

The strategy currently being employed by the Clintons bears a striking resemblance to the one used by Republicans from Reagan forward -- and particularly by Karl Rove. They have played the "race card" on several occasions, through their surrogates, claiming a Black man can't win the presidency. They have used erroneous arguments and facts to bolster their claim that Hillary is the better Democratic Candidate -- by mentioning the big states she has won, even as it is clear most if not all of those states will be won by Obama as well (and a recent poll found Obama ahead in California). The fact that Obama is winning in the smaller, more competitive states actually may benefit Dems in the general election if he can turn any of them over.

The latest attacks may be the most absurd. Obama's oft-repeated comment:

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

appears to be a relatively accurate explanation for Republican victories in recent years and the general strategy employed during the conservative revolution -- namely playing on a backlash against the 60s, civil rights movement and feminism with a hearkening to an idyllic past when women were in the home, blacks were largely segregated from whites and hard work, religious virtue and community thrived, as a mechanism to win over working class voters who essentially acted against their own economic interests based on a series of wedge issues like abortion, affirmative action, immigration and gay marriage that symbolized the cultural war for America's soul(see, for example, Frank's book, What's the Matter with Kansas?). Yet Clinton has taken this comment (made in private) and turned it into a rallying cry for her turn to the right.

She now sounds like a gun-toting religious fanatic, two weeks after she denounced the radical comments of Obama's minister and close friend. And this all comes on top of the inaccurate comments the Clintons have made about Obamas record throughout the campaign (including that he supported the policies of Reagan, based on an absurd misreading of a point he made during that speech). It appears as if there is no line Hillary won't cross in her increasingly futile attempt to win the nomination by subverting the democratic process and counting on the superdelegates or voters in Florida, where Obama didn't even campaign.

The worst part of this ugly campaign, including the infamous "phone call" ad Republicans will probably use in the general election, is that Hillary Clinton appears to be willing to hand the election to McCain rather than show the slightest integrity or concern for the future of the country, if she doesn't run it. I hope the people of Pennsylvania and the remaining states see the facade that this campaign has become and end this caustic internecine war.

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