First of all, some quick background on me. I've been a frequent visitor here for many years, but I don't write much. I'm a very partisan Democrat, have done plenty of volunteer work for Dem candidates in the past, and don't hesitate to give money. I was initially hoping for a Mark Warner run, and later a Gore run. At various points I supported Richardson, Dodd, and Edwards. I read Obama's biography back in 2003 when some of the initial buzz around him was building, and was happy to see him running. However, I wasn't fully sold on his campaign until the last month or two. Now I consider myself a strong supporter.
I live in NYC, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Jerrold Nadler is my representative, and for the most part, he does a great job representing the views of our district. However, this morning while perusing some of the local political news relating to Hillary's NY win on Tuesday, I came across this recap of a conference call Schumer and the rest of Hillary's NY machine had with reporters. It was this that set my blood boiling:
Also, there was this, from Jerry Nadler: "I think last night really stopped what was building up to be a very strong Obama momentum. It seems to me at least that a lot of what he said is awfully vacuous. There isn’t much there."
I had to re-read. WTF?? Yes, I understand Nadler is simply a loyal servant of his homestate Senator, but there is absolutely no reason for him to stoop to attacks worthy of the right-wing slime machine.
I would appreciate if all Kossacks, be they supporters of Hillary or Obama, demand a clarification and apology from Represenative Nadler by emailing him. You can also call him at 212-367-7350.
Not that I need to refute Nadler's attack, but c'mon: spend 10 minutues at Obama's website reading his policy proposals and you will see that, if anything, he goes into more detail than Clinton on just about every issue. Vacuous he is not.
I just emailed him the following:
Congressman Nadler,
As your constituent and long-time supporter, I must say I am disgusted with recent comments I read attributed to you. I would appreciate an explanation of this comment:
"I think last night really stopped what was building up to be a very strong Obama momentum. It seems to me at least that a lot of what he said is awfully vacuous. There isn’t much there."
Congressman, why have you employed a right-wing frame to describe one of the most genuine and thoughtful politicians in our party. Describing Senator Obama as "awfully vacuous" is not only offensive, it is plain wrong, and you know it.
When Senator Obama wins the Democratic nomination, he will need his party to stand unified behind him to bring us to victory. While I understand that primaries naturally beget some intra-party mud-slinging, your comments on Senator Obama are way beyond the pale.
I would appreciate a full explanation and would also urge you to apologize to Senator Obama and to his many, many supporters in your district.
If anyone has any other accounts of this conference call, please post the links here.
Unity!
(apologies if someone diaried this first - i couldn't find any reference but let me know in the comments otherwise)