After all, it's where Hillary Clinton has been most lacking in recent weeks.
I was going to write something different today, but I discovered that my thoughts were crystallized succinctly by my friend kid oakland in his diary of yesterday.
k/o does an excellent job of summarizing the ways in which the Clintons have tarnished their legacy among Democratic circles in an overreaching, ad hoc effort to maintain a sense of credibility among the media and the populace that they still have a reasonable shot at re-entering the White House in 2009.
In addition to the previous offenses Hillary has committed against the Democratic Party, we can now add, as k/o writes above, overt pandering on gas taxes, guns, NAFTA, and--last but not least--hawkish threats on Iran.
Now, most Democratic voters aren't the type of political junkies who spend their free time analyzing the consequences of Hillary's betrayal of Democratic values. This diary isn't for them. But if you are a Democratic political junkie and still support Hillary, you are abetting the decimation of our Party.
I sincerely mean that. If you're a political junkie strongly aligned with the Democratic Party, and you're still supporting Hillary Clinton after everything she has done to completely sell out not only our very likely nominee, but also the entire values of the Democratic Party, then you're complicit.
I'll start with Exhibit A: noted Clinton partisan Jerome Armstrong. In his latest post at MyDD, Jerome writes--with a somewhat joyous flavor--that Clinton is "clobbering" Obama on the gas tax issue. There is no mention, of course, of the fact that all economists say the holiday will cost jobs, further deteriorate our infrastructure, and do nothing but help the oil companies yet again. To Jerome--and to many other Clinton partisans, apparently--that is secondary to Clinton being able to draw yet another last desperate breath by adding a couple of pandering percentage points among low-information voters in Indiana who think that this proposal will actually help them.
There is likewise no mention of the fact that Hillary has followed John McCain's lead in proposing this completely irresponsible and destructive cut to essential infrastructure funding, and in so doing has furthered what Republicans everywhere hope the people think: that tax cuts are the solution to every problem, rather than sensible and forward-thinking government policies.
The same can be said for Hillary's stated positions on Iraq, Iran, gun control, and trade policy. The problem that Democrats had back in the 90s, and continue to have now, was a total lack of identity. But at a time when the Republican brand has never been more sour for the general electorate, it is imperative upon Democratic politicians to create that contrast to as strong a degree as possible--not just in terms of what we're against, but also what we're for. And the sad truth is that Hillary's pandering has already eroded our party's oppurtunities to create that contrast, and will be used by Republicans to muddle our image in November and beyond.
Hillary Clinton has become the Joe Lieberman of our party, simply because she continues to provide Republicans the cover of bi-partisanship for their idiotic ideas. Seriously--how can Democrats unite behind a sensible energy policy and contrast it with John McCain's useless tax gimmicks if Hillary proposes the same thing? How can we critique John McCain's deplorably fanciful vision of turning Iraq into Germany or Japan and keeping troops in there for 100 years if Hillary proposes the exact same thing? How can the Democrats call for a reworking of trade pact details to help protect American workers if even Hillary Clinton was for the deals before she was against them? How can Democrats critique John McCain's threats to bomb Iran if even Hillary Clinton is calling for Iran's annihilation? How can Democrats move beyond the NRA's politics of fear concerning guns if even Hillary says that Barack Obama will take away your guns?
The simple fact that knowledgeable Clinton partisans need to understand is that Hillary Clinton has immorally sold the Democratic Party's future down the river to further her ability to stay in the Presidential race for a few more weeks. Joe Lieberman's actions have been immoral, but at least many of them were done out of a fervent ideological belief. Hillary's betrayal of our party is even worse precisely because its only beneficiary is not a cause, but rather, her own power.
There certainly are Clinton supporters out there who fervently believe that the Macchiavellian strategy of gaining power by any means is acceptable, just as long as the one who gains power uses it for good. I disagree. How one runs a campaign is predicative of how one will govern. Hillary's campaign has been immoral, and I have no doubt that her governance will take on the same quality.
My message to Clinton partisans is this: Even if you believe that Hillary will be a good president and defeat John McCain in the fall, by continuing to support Hillary's immoral campaign, its taint of immorality is reflected upon you.
The choice is yours, of course. But I know how I'd rather come across.