Cross-posted from my blog.
Forget an Obama aide calling Hillary Clinton a monster. As Kos reported, according to the Times Online, a Clinton aide has called the 27 states that Obama has won "boutique" and "latte-sipping."
"One Clinton aide yesterday derided Mr Obama’s victories in ’boutique’ caucus states rather than the hardscrabble terrain of the rustbelt, saying: ‘Obama has won the small caucus states with the latte-sipping crowd. They don’t need a president, they need a feeling.’"
It is ironic that the Clinton camp is calling Obama supporters out for having feeling; Hillary has plenty of "feelings," which were very hurt at being called a "monster" by now former Obama advisor Samantha Power.
Kos took issue with the Clinton aide’s classification of states that Obama scored big in.
"Really, why don’t Clinton and McCain get a room already? They’re all using the same arguments... The rust belt is (from west to east) the states bordering the great lakes: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Of those states that have had a real contest, Obama won two (WI and IL), Clinton won two (OH, NY), IN and PA is pending, and MI is still trying to figure out how to have a real contest. Not exactly dominant... And what the heck is up with the ‘latte-sipping’ crap?"
Additionally, Kos has posted an excellent map showing which states each candidate has won.
"I see latte- drinking states on Clinton’s camp — California and New York! What an idiotic way to insult a bunch of states. And "boutique" states? Cute. Again with the ‘only big states matter’ b.s.
"That’s why Obama is the far stronger national candidate. He respects the entire country, not just a select few ‘pre-approved’ and ’sanctioned’ Clinton states. An assertion proven by the last SUSA poll, which proved not just a clearer path to theWhite House for Obama, but showed that he runs tighter even in states he loses. That matters at the presidential level, forcing Republicans to spend meager resources defending supposedly safe territory."
As usual, Kos is right on the money. Democrats always count on the big states in a presidential contest, and for the past two elections, that hasn’t served us well at all. When Clinton supporters point out to me that "Hillary won California and New York," I respond, "So did Gore and Kerry."
The truth is, the election cannot be won on Blue States alone. Democrats need a candidate with Obama’s broad appeal, a candidate who stands a chance in states like Kansas, Nebraska, and South Carolina. The more "boutique" states that Obama wins (are there actually any boutiques in Kansas? Or, for that matter, lattes?), the less likely it is that a state like Florida or Ohio will have as much influence on the outcome of the next election.
To Hillary’s disadvantage, her opponents (both McCain and Obama) are running to be President of the United States. Hillary is running to be president of the states she wins, states like California, New York, and Massachusetts. Part of the reason for Obama’s mass appeal is that he isn’t condescending toward ANY state, whether he wins it or loses it, whether it has two electoral votes or 20. He went to Boise, Idaho. What does the Clinton campaign think about Democrats in Idaho?
"Superdelegates are not second-class delegates. The real second-class delegates are the delegates that are picked in red-state caucuses that are never going to vote Democratic." - Joel Ferguson, the Co-Chairman of the Clinton Campaign in Michigan, said last month.
Ironically, now that the seating of his state’s delegates is on the line, Ferguson had this to say yesterday: "Howard Dean is just wrong on this point... If the party is not part of the solution, they’re just kissing Michigan off for the general election."
So Michigan might become a red state? Now Ferguson can have his karma, and eat it too.
Somehow, this man kept his job, but Samantha Power lost hers. She insulted one woman. Ferguson insulted millions of American Democrats. Democratic leadership in several Red States called for the Clinton campaign to apologize for his "second-class" remarks, but having done some research on this, I can’t find any evidence that an apology was made.
UPDATE: I did a little research and found the reason many of us never heard Ferguson's insulting remarks are that they came on February 18, the very same day the Clinton campaign accused Obama of plagiarizing Deval Patrick.
Like Ferguson, the Clinton campaign has an attitude of changing its tune when things don’t go its way. Red States would matter if they were the only states Hillary were winning. Hillary would support caucuses if she did as well in them as Obama.
We already have a president who breaks the rules to suit his own needs. Been there, done that, Senator Clinton.