Hillary: Shame on Barack!!
The political news of the day today seems to be Hillary Clinton lashing out at Barack Obama over two mail pieces he has been distributing in Ohio -- one attacking her health plan, and one based on a Spin Cycle item from 2006 that reported that Hillary considered NAFTA a "boon" to the economy.
Hillary says they're misleading: "Enough with the speeches and the big rallies, and then using tactics right out of Karl Rove's playbook. This is wrong, and every Democrat should be outraged." And: "So shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That's what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio. Let's have a debate about your tactics."
Some background on the Newsday item here. Clinton's release is here and here. Obama response is here.
Without getting too far into the weeds, there are two problems for Hillary here:
On NAFTA: Newsday has said, as she pointed out today, that Obama's mailer misleadingly uses our words characterizing her position in 2006 as if they were her words. But that's a small thing. The big problem is that since Bill Clinton pushed NAFTA through and Hillary made no public complaint, it's going to be hard to convince Ohio workers that she's not a free trader at heart, mailer or no mailer.
On mailers: The Clinton campaign has distributed mailers saying that Obama's health plan excludes people (as opposing to letting them opt out), which is not true. They've distributed mailers asserting that he was "unwilling to take a stand for choice" on abortion, which departed rather vastly from the truth. And she's dropped misleading mailers on his position on Social Security in Nevada and New Hampshire.
So if she gets this debate about Rovian tactics, how does she win it?
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Comments (6)
What's wrong with Clinton? She has sunk so low now that I am ashamed she is a part of the Democratic Party. The Clinton campaign is far worse in their attacks and just because the Obama camp does not point its finger on Clinton doesn't mean they are playing foul.
Shame on you Clinton, you have shown us your true colors today. I think Obama should spend more time meeting people and less time debating with such a corrupt woman.
Yes, Obama's words don't match his actions. He uses those mailers to undermine the attempt to achieve universal health care, by instilling fear. I believe the health insurance companies did the same type of mailer when we were trying to achieve healthcare reform in the 90's. Seems like his concern isn't for the working people, or the sick who don't have acess to healthcare. Looks like his only agenda is to make sure he is elected at any cost.
Harbage, 2/23/08: “As Senator John Edwards former Healthcare Advisor and a currently unaffiliated healthcare reform proponent, I think that anyone familiar with the Harry and Louise campaign from the early 1990s would immediately recognize the similarity between the insurance industry’s attacks and the Obama Campaign’s mailer. This attack simply drives the debate to the lowest common denominator of generating fear.”
When will you people wake up and start voting for your own interests, and stop voting for people who scream they are going to bring about change but have no real concept on how to achieve this goal?
These mailers have been out since WI earlier this month. Clinton camp has already raised this issue, so why is she so worked up about them today. Was this a planned event for some tactical reason? She was not this upset prior to today, and like you say Obama mailers are basically true, just take the quotes off of boon and nothing changed. She support(ed) NAFTA, and she said "she will garnish wages" if you don't get her healthcare.
Agree, the mailer regarding health care instills fear and is misleading. It is very dishonest coming from a fellow Democrat using the same tactic as the insurance companies and the Republican machine.
I read plenty about Hillary positions on NAFTA and she opposed it since the start, in principle the concept is OK. I saw the mailer it is again instilling fear. Hillary and Obama position in trade are similar.
I understand very well how Obama is being winning, for example the message from Michelle Obama and surrogates instill resentment in the black community. It is scary.
Same Karl Rove and Bush tactics. This is going to backfire now or at the general elections on Senator Obama.
From Politico:
Jonathan Martin, with Obama in Akron (GOP primary being pretty over) emails:
Obama struck a defensive tone in bringing up another matter on which he and Clinton have battled.
"Sen. Clinton also said today, 'Since when do Democrats attack one another on universal health care?'" he quoted her as asking.
"Well, since she started saying that I’m against universal health care, that’s when it started," he answered. "Something that she repeats every single day."
And seeking to portray Clinton as being the negative one in the race, Obama took special note to remind the crowd one of the Democrats' favorite bogeymen.
"She actually compared our campaign to Karl Rove's," Obama said to boos. "That's one I had not heard before."
The Obama Campaign didn't do anything wrong. Yes, I agree that a political game is being played here but that is the nature of the game. The stakes are high.
Even though the normal use of the quotation mark, "", is to quote someone verbatim, it has other uses as well. It is one of those other uses that the Obama campaign is using in this situation. The use of the quotation mark around the word BOON is not to quote Hillary nor even quote Newsday, although Newsday did use the word BOON in its article, but rather the quotation mark was to cast doubt or question that line-of-thought that Newsday believed Hillary holds (that NAFTA was a boon to the US economy). It is just like you using your fore-fingers to cast words or phrases in quote. We all do it and when we wiggle those fingers in the air we don't necessarily have to be quoting someone.
On the health insurance issue, I believe the Clinton campaign has been telling the whole world that Obama's plan leaves out 15 million people and hers covers everyone. What was the purpose of her message? Isn't it to pull down Obama's plan? Hillary should not expect Obama's campaign to sell her health-care plan for her. That is the very reason why the Obama Campaign intentionally left out the part that says her plan will subsidize those who can't afford the insurance.
The truth is, Hillary's plan is mandatory (is that not being FORCED to do something, even if it is for your own good?) but comes with subsidies to alleviate the pain, the pain of being FORCED to carry the health insurance "burden". Yes I put burden in quotes and why did I do that?
Who was behind those emails that made the rounds in South Carolina? That Obama is 1. a BLACK male (what is the purpose of this?) and 2. He is a Muslim (again what was the intent for this lies?).