With a headline like that, you might think I'm a conservative. Here's hoping that this doesn't become a normal segment in this blog.
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Cross-posted at
SecondPageMedia)
As you may or may not be aware, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Senator Hillary Clinton (D - NY) was speaking in New York City's Harlem when she decided to compare the Congress to life on a plantation. Never mind the bad timing for a moment. When it comes to politics I have come to question "Why?" more than throw blankets over things and be on my way. The moment I heard that she had gotten off that remark I was left with a huge "Why?" hanging over my head. Perhaps she thought it was clever. Perhaps she thought it would get some attention. Perhaps it was the brainchild by one of her handlers, in which case said person should be exiting her Presidential, I mean Senatorial re-election staff as soon as possible.
This is just more fodder for my lack of love for Hillary. Oh sure, she's slated to be the hero of the Democratic Party as she rides that donkey to a Presidential victory in 2008 - or so those drinking the (D) kool-aid would like to believe, either that or she could be doing exactly what myself and Rush Limbaugh both believe her to be doing - and that's handing up the 2008 presidency on a silver platter to whoever the Republicans run out there, no matter how scandal-laden the Republican Congress and Presidency may be. I'm not exactly happy sharing a belief with Mr. Limbaugh but I have to agree wholeheartedly with such a thought, and wonderful statements like the one Ms. Clinton made on Monday just go to back me up. That's just something you don't say, no matter which side of the isle you are on, what race you happen to be. Even if every issue in this country was half and half, the idea behind running one's campaign for anything should not be to tick off the half that you don't agree with.
I digress.
Whatever symbolism she may have been hoping to achieve by saying that remark, it can be easily dismissed as idiocy just because she is comparing a body that has the freedom to do almost whatever it wants, whenever it wants, and has one of - if not the top - health care safety net in the country to life for slaves on a plantation. You know... plantation life: a life of slavery, with the freedom to do whatever master wants whenever master wants it, and a health care plan that contains regular whippings to drain bad blood. That's not even mentioning the salary of a member of Congress - $158,100, or the perks that go along with being a Congress member - whether you're fighting the good fight or not.
Politics being as they are, you can't just say you disagree with someone; you can only disagree with someone if they are not in your party - must maintain unity in the mindless machine, and all. Well I suppose you can count New York City councilman Charles Barron, a democrat, who said that Clinton's remarks were "condescending", but of course he said these remarks on right-wing radio - namely the program of Sean Hannity's. First Lady Laura Bush called the statement ridiculous - which of course means that someone in the administration told Laura Bush to say the statement was ridiculous, since people actually listen to Laura - her husband having an approval south of 40% and all. Illinois Senator, and by the way only African Senator in this current Congress, Barack Obama defended Hillary's remarks somewhat, but seemed to use the time in front of CNN's "American Morning" cameras to talk some rarified logic, adding: "There's been a consolidation of power by the Republican Congress and this White House in which, if you are the ordinary voter, you don't have access." Now if Hillary had gone ahead and said that, there wouldn't have been so much hoopla over her speech, and I wouldn't be ranting this entry.
It should be noted that outspoken Democrat and former 2004 Presidential Candidate Al Sharpton agreed with Hillary's comments, falling back on the fact that he himself was saying the same thing during his election campaign. Of course, and here I go stepping into the race world, perhaps an African has more leeway to draw comparisons to plantation life. That and even though Sharpton was a candidate and Clinton might be a candidate, it does not take a genius to figure out that Hillary would win a Presidential election long, long before Sharpton - or any African for that matter - will, which is just another sad statement on this whole process that exists in the first place, a can of worms best left for another time.
Fact Checking:
Obama defends Clinton (Newsday)
Black Dem blasts 'Plantation' remark (Newsmax)
First Lady joins critics of Hillary (LA Times)
Salaries and benifits of U.S. Congress members (About.com)