In the forlorn words of Michael Moore in Fahrenheit 911, was it all just a dream?
It was January 1993.
I was a 22 year old, Urkelesque guy from Philly, glued to the television, perched on the edge of my bed, whose only action came from the occasional retuck of an errant fitted sheet. I can even remember what I had on that day--Z. Cavaricci pants and Dr. Martens wingtips.
Suffering from CFD (common-sense deficit), I somehow thought that Z. Cavaraccis would make me look cool. However, the only thing "cool" about that ill-advised ensemble was the chilly response I got from women.
But my frightening fashion choices were soon offset by the glorious appearance of our young, new President and his First Lady, triumphantly ascending to their hard-earned and rightful place at the eye of a perfect storm of hope, energy, and people-power . . .
Ignoring the utter cheesiness (even then) of the name, I marveled at the incredibly inspired performance of 10,000 Maniacs and swooned over the resplendent Natalie Merchant. I was shocked that I even enjoyed Fleetwood Mac's rousing, "they still got it" rendition of the Big Dog's campaign theme.
Note to younger readers:This was back in the days when recording artists over the age of 30 were still allowed to appear on MTV without an amendment to the Constitution.
Watching those two (and Al and Tipper) dance across the screen of my 80s leftover pastel Goldstar TV, I was simply overjoyed.
Now, 15 years later, as that young President's wife takes the stage for her own brave run at Oval Office immortality, well...I'm simply not.
Why? Because like so many other young people back then I was intoxicated by the Clinton "coolness" factor. Not to mention high from the sheer euphoria of a Democrat raging--and actually winning--against the ThugMachine.
But after bearing witness to nearly two terms of this inept, criminal, war-mongering enterprise masquerading as legitimate government, I find myself stone-cold sober. And I am no longer willing to take a drink.
Yep, I'm done with voting for the "cool kids." Hopefully I won't be troll-rated intoGollum's zip code for saying that. And for the other things that are to come in this diary.
But first, I sincerely owe the Clintons a debt of gratitude. And that's for really getting me to pay attention to politics.
The '92 Clinton Win: Entering the Geekdom of Heaven Before Bill and Hill arrived like so many brisk winds sweeping across the Washington Mall, voting and politics were concepts that I knew were important, but that I just wasn't really plugged into. Although I actually did register and vote for the very first time for Dukakis four years prior.
But there was something about this cool cat from the Arkansas sticks that made me forget all about the profound disappointment I felt over the Dukakis loss (17 points ahead coming out the '88 Democratic Convention, dammit!), and his Great Gazoo moment in a tank, you know, the one the late Lee Atwaterprobably had bronzed before his deathbed mea culpa.
As a child and teenager, I went to Catholic schools that surreptitiously programmed me into thinking that all Republican presidents were good because of their anti-abortion views. Even when I voted for Dukakis when I was 18, I thought, "Well, that President Bush seems like a nice guy."
But the Clintons were the sunlight that helped sprout my deeper interest in politics. And that victorious '92 run made me think that I, by extension, was finally a winner.
It was only until I reached my late 20s that I realized that while I kept voting for Bill and staunchly supported him through the tax dollars as toilet paper fiasco known Impeachment '98, I really didn't support his centrist policies that much.
And somewhere between the healthcare windmill tilting and "vast right-wing conspiracy," I stopped liking Hillary. I always recognized her a highly intelligent, capable and talented woman. But I just stopped liking her.
"You're a Misogynist, Sexist Woman Hater!" Memo to sexism conspiracy theorists out there: Please give it a rest. Now I'm not denying that sexism is problem in this country. In fact, I go into it further below, and how it relates to how the general population votes in this country.
My problem is with people on this site who wield the misogyny hammer like the mighty Thor, thwapping anyone who isn't on the Hillary bandwagon with the Scarlet Letter of sexism. Honestly, how many people who call themselves progressives are going to tolerate sexism in any form? Or be on this site, for that matter? I'm not going to resort to the "Some of my best friends are women" defense, but the reasons why I strongly dislike the Hillary Clinton candidacy have nothing to do with her ovaries.
Edwards is my candidate. And despite his popularity on DKos, he has been ripped to shreds in certain corners of this site. Hey, some people just don't like the guy. Why? People have their reasons. Some of those reasons are fair, some of the aren't. No problem there.
So why can't some Hillary supporters, for just one Little Rock minute, entertain the idea that many people don't dig her for issues other than her chromsomes?
I dislike her for running a so-called "flawless" campaign. To me, flawless campaigns are devoid of risks (Risks that we so desperately need to bring us back from the abyss), and only deviate from the script when the script calls for it.
I dislike her for pandering to a union audience that "I'm your girl" (And even using the term "girl") when she and Bill trumpeted NAFTA, the number one killer of union jobs for the last several years. But that's right, NAFTA needs to be "revisited."
It's no accident that DeLay,Rove,John Warner, and other thugs have been playing her up for months. Do they actually like her? Of course not. This is a coordinated effort to get the nominee THEY want so they can rip her to shreds in the general.
And note: I said "dislike." Not hate. She's done nothing to me to cause me to hate her.
Kyl-Lieberman...Brrrrrrr While her casual shrug-off of her war vote bothers me, I'm not as lathered up about that as others are in the Kos universe. I think what rankles me more is that she won't admit it was a mistake because I don't believe she thinks it was a mistake. Hence why her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman "crack" bill is more troublesome to me than the Iraq vote. That's crack is in "crack of daylight." And George of the Bungle has proven himself to be the most cagey of crack addicts.
Give this guy a little crack of daylight on any war-related issue, and he turns it into a hole the size of the space between his ears. So did the Kyl-Lieberman vote say "We're going to war with Iran?" No. But on principle, wouldn't you vote "No?" Just vote "No" to put it on record that you think the Imperialist in Chief needs an intervention. To me, her vote on Kyl-Lieberman was like helping him repack his pipe.
Mark Penn Matters But the number one reason I detest her candidacy is the gainful employment of Mark Penn. I don't care how much of a "genius" he is, if you're a progressive candidate, this guy has no business near your campaign. From Big Energy to Blackwater, this guy pimps for the wrong side of every progressive issue.
Yet Penn is no ordinary pollster. Beyond his connections to the Clintons, he not only polls for America's biggest companies but also runs one of the world's premier PR agencies. This creates a dilemma for Hillary: Penn represents many of the interests whose influence candidate Clinton--in an attempt to appeal to an increasingly populist Democratic electorate--has vowed to curtail. Is what's good for Penn and his business good for Hillary's political career? And furthermore, can she convincingly claim to fight for the average American with Penn guiding strategy in her corner?
And it gets worse:
They immediately pushed Clinton to the right, enacting the now-infamous strategy of "triangulation," which co-opted Republican policies like welfare reform and tax cuts and emphasized small-bore issues that supposedly cut across the ideological divide. "They were the ones who said 'Make the '96 election about nothing except V-Chips and school uniforms,'" says a former Clinton adviser. When Morris got caught with a call girl, Penn became the most important adviser in Clinton's second term. "In a White House where polling is virtually a religion," the Washington Post reported in 1996, "Penn is the high priest." He became known as the "most powerful man in Washington you've never heard of."
And his driving philosophy?
Penn invented the concept of "inoculation," in which corporations are shielded from scandal through clever advertising and marketing. Selling an image, companies realized, was as important as winning a legislative favor.
Many blacks give Hillary a pass because she wears Bill ring. I know this because I've encountered this backwards-ass thinking numerous times within my own family and it positively infuriates me.
The joke that refuses to go away has Clinton as America's first black president a sentiment enthusiastically affirmed by black celebrities, elites and quasi-intellectuals. In his bit, comedian Chris Rock used Clinton's "persecution over a $300 haircut" to support the claim. Former Southern Christian Leadership Conference head Joseph Lowery said that blacks like Clinton because "he plays the saxophone." Harvard professor Alvin Poussaint joked, Clinton "must have black ancestry." Back in1998 during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, writer Toni Morrison said, "black skin notwithstanding: this is our first black President" citing his dysfunctional upbringing as commonality with black males. But the joke's an insult. The punchline is that Clinton is decadent and promiscuous, got rhythm, got caught and got over -- so he's black!
In the same article, Gray goes on to rail against the absurdity of the Big Dog being elected to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame and being named honorary chairman of the Museum of African American History in Charleston, S.C.:
On the night Clinton was inducted into the Arkansas hall of fame, Charles King must have lost his memory. He forgot that, as Governor, his guest of honor refused to sign a civil rights bill. In Charleston, the people behind the civil rights museum forgot that Clinton dumped his friend Lani Guinier from consideration for the Justice Department's office of civil rights over her advocacy of cumulative voting - the next frontier for civil rights which would break down voting by race and party.
I overheard that charming sentiment between two black people on a street corner near my home the other day.
I have the distinct feeling that "s'more" wasn't referring to that tastiest of campfire treats.
Clintonhab (To the tune of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab") They tried to make me vote for Hillary
I said no, no, no.
Yes I am black, don't care about that
And all her dough, dough, dough.
I ain’t got the time
The other guys'll do just fine
Tried to make me vote for Hillary
I said no, no, no.
What preacher did she buy today?
Primaries in 90 days
And there’s nothing, nothing she can do to reach me
From the 90s I chose to break away
Now Chris Dodd, he's got a lot of class
And Obama's got stones of major brass
They’re tryin to make me vote for Hillary
I said no, no, no
Cos I voted for Bill, for Hill do I shill?
I said no, no, no.
I aint got the time,
When John Edwards will do just fine,
Tried to make me vote for Hillary,
I said, no, no, no.
The DLC said, put your "X" right here
But on HRC I'm just not quite clear
Am I...Am I goin' crazay?
Don't want her brand of politics near
Never liked her I must confess
And that goes for the DLC, Media
And the rest
They tried to make me vote for Hillary
I said no, no, no
Cos I am black, do I give her a pass?
I said no, no, no. Never want to hear about Mark Penn again
To Iraqis, ooo, his clients ain't no friend
Don't want no coronations
Only elections for a truly Progressive Nation
I'm not going on this nostalgia ride
Triangulation has long since died
They’re tryin to make me vote for Hillary
I said no, no, no
Cos I am black, do I give her a pass?
I said no, no, no
Her supporters say I moan and whine,
But this opinion is proudly mine!
Trying to make me vote for Hillary
I said no, no, no!
Denial is a Dangerous Thing Quote your national poll numbers before the first vote is cast anywhere in this country.
You can even thump your chest about all the gobs of corporate cash you're stashing away like so many nickels and dimes.
However, this country has proven itself too racist and too sexist (time and time again) to all of sudden, just because HRC and Barack Obama are running, sweep two centuries of history aside. It's NOT going to happen.
As a black guy, I see things through Mr. Ford's prism. Maybe not as inflamed, but I understand where he's coming from. It's something that I've always believed is true, not just for this election cycle, but for my entire life.
Now, do I wish it were different? Of course I do. Would I want a gifted public servant like Obama to just run and not have to answer utterly ridiculous questions like, "Are you black enough?" Do I want Hillary to be able run without someone questioning her toughness because she doesn't have testes? Damn straight!
But that's my point and what some people don't seem to see through their rose-colored RayBans here on DKos: The fact that these questions are still be asked of these people PROVES that this country isn't ready to elect either one of them.
History shows most people vote like they breathe: that is, as they've always breathed. And while all the MSM hubbub is about "history in the making," absolutely no history will be made until the actual votes are counted. And history will also show that when it comes to presidential politics, the majority of people tend not to take chances.
It's just that doggone familiarity that seems to trump chance, change, and reason in modern presidential politics.
I've Rambled Long Enough We all know this country is in deep, deep, trouble. So we don't need triangulating DLCers with their GOP-appeasing, baby stepping approaches. The time has come for bold ideas, blunt speaking, and country-saving change. Note: There was no "club" attached to the word "country."
It's not about hate. It's not about misogyny. It's just that "If I had known then what I know now, I would never have voted for this war" just isn't going to cut it.
And that's not necessarily Hillary's fault. It's just that the times demand it.
I keep coming back to Fleetwood Mac and their seminal, prophetic words:
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop.
It'll soon be here.
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone
Oooooooo, don'tcha look back
