Hillary Clinton is wrong. She needs to change her mind. And the netroots should apply the pressure to make that happen.
On August 4, 2007, the nation learned what a few of us have known for some time now: Hillary Clinton is the only one of the top three Democratic candidates for President who accepts money from Washington lobbyists.
American history will show that Clinton's halting, wobbly defense of her ongoing, retrogressive practice rightfully earned her boos and howls of disapproval from the intelligent, politically-engaged netroots audience. Her response to their vocal disapproval? Equally wobbly: "Now, you know I've been waiting for this- this gives us a real sense of reality... uh... with my being here." What?
In the days, weeks, and months ahead, I believe that we in the netroots must fulfill our roles as progressives (yes, progressives care about improving things) and make "the reality" of our disapproval better known to Clinton. The hundreds of thousands of people in the netroots know what the right thing to do is here...and we must tell Clinton to do it. Stop taking money from Washington lobbyists. It's that simple.
Look, we have a potentially game changing moment here in American politics. Two of the top three candidates for a major party nomination have refused to take money from Washington lobbyists. That is big progress, major progress. That is excellent.
Yet, the third candidate, Hillary Clinton, unapologetically continues this practice. She MUST be persuaded to change her mind. And when she stops this practice, returns this money, we will have FINALLY changed the presidential nomination game for all future campaigns.
The admirable, necessary, and yes, progressive goal of getting lobbyist money OUT of Democratic presidential campaigns is right there in front of us, within our reach. We can do it.
So let us concentrate on the final holdout, Hillary Clinton. If we apply pressure, I believe she will change her mind.
One of the profoundly strange aspects of the situation we find ourselves in is that Clinton is on one side of this issue, and 79% of Americans are on the other side. A recent, February 2007 Harris Poll found that 79% of Americans believe that lobbyists have too much power and influence in Washington. Thus, the netroots AND 79% of the American people are on one side, and Hillary Clinton is on the other side.
IMHO, the only way that this imbalance can persist is if we in the netroots remain silent. We cannot remain silent. What that 79% of America needs now is an advocate, and we, the netroots, should take up that role by pressuring Clinton to do the right thing. Stop taking Washington lobbyist money.
A handful of people perhaps doubt the ability of the netroots to effectuate progress such as this. But the truth is that the netroots DOES have strength. It DOES have power. It CAN change things.
Witness our recent success in FINALLY ending the delusion that Fox News was "fair and balanced." Make no mistake: it was the netroots that pressured the presidential candidates to admit the truth about Fox News, to admit that Fox News is biased against the Democratic Party 24/7, and to then abandon Fox News as a potential host for Democratic Party debates. The netroots flexed its muscles, and truth, and progress prevailed.
The netroots must again flex its muscles. We can do it. If we fail to engage on this issue, we might as well hang up our progressive credentials. We will have failed America, and we will have failed ourselves at a critical juncture in American history. (Kos where are you on this?)
The time is now...and each day thereafter, until Clinton changes her mind, and does the right thing, the progressive thing. She can, and will, change her mind.
[Cross Posted at MyDD]