Full disclosure: I am a strong Obama supporter, and I believe a Hillary Clinton nomination for the Democratic Party would not be in its best interest. BUT I really feel like Hillary is getting a raw deal from some people, including many on this site. My apologies in advance for the length of this rant... I hope you bother to read it... I'm just a rather frustrated Obamaniac...
I've posted merely one diary previously and it bemoans what I (wrongly) interpreted as an Obama loss on Super Tuesday. Meanwhile, I tore into the prospects of a Hillary nomination. But my Hillary concerns were largely based on political realities, as I see them. My concerns remain, and I stand firm in my support of Barack Obama. But I've seen a lot of criticisms of Hillary on here that seem unfair to me and I just feel the need to speak my mind on this. Here's several examples of how I believe Hillary is being unfairly painted:
1... "Hillary is Bush-lite". (Now we're seeing HRC supporters flip this and say the same about Obama.) Come on, folks. Let's grow up and get real here! Calling Hillary and Barack "Bush-lite" is like calling Hannibal Lecter a vegetarian. Sure, Hillary voted (wrongly) to authorize the Iraq war... an important issue on which she did side with Bush. But that is, far and away, the exception to the rule. Hillary is pro-choice. Hillary has spoken out against a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Hillary opposes the war (now). Hillary opposes the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Hillary supports universal health care. Hillary believes in global warming. Obama matches her on most of these issues. There is virtually nothing similar between George W. Bush and Hillary or Barack.
2... "I'll vote for McCain or abstain if Hillary is the nominee". Seriously?? You've GOT to be kidding me. McCain, since 2000, has shifted so far right that comparing HIM to Bush would be entirely appropriate. As such, point #1 applies here as well... the differences between McCain and Hillary are so massive it's simply irresponsible to say you'll stay home or vote for McCain if Hillary is the nominee. That's just ridiculous.
3... "Hillary is running a vicious negative campaign". I'd concur with Obama supporters that there are plenty of negative attacks coming from the Clinton campaign. But, first off, some are coming from people whom she may not have complete control over (read: Bill and his Jesse Jackson comment). And most of the rest are pretty tame compared to anything a Republican would throw at Obama. By all historical comparisons, this has been an extraordinarily civil and polite campaign. Yes, it's gotten "sharper" lately... but isn't this expected as we approach - potentially - the end? Plain and simple, both candidates are handling each other with "kid gloves" compared to most election battles.
4... The Cult. The notion that Obama supporters are cultlike or "drinking the kool-aid" is offensive to me. Yeah, I can take a joke, and I make cracks about being part of the cult myself. But the implication is that we Obama supporters are blindly following Barack without rational thought. That is what I find offensive. However, there is a bit of denial amongst some of us Obama fans... unable to recognize that he and his campaign aren't exactly perfect either. The Clinton camp's complaint about the "Harry and Louise - Part II" ad is a perfect example. This ad is clearly meant to invoke memories of that "Harry and Louise" ad and, as such, it is pretty underhanded. So, Hillary's complaint about Barack's soaring rhetoric being in opposition to this type of ad is 100% correct. And we, as Democrats all, have railed against the unending, incredible hipocricy that just oozes out of the Republican Party. So, why do we just let Barack slide with this ad that contradicts his rhetoric? We shouldn't. And Hillary is right. Frankly, I think her campaign has been even worse (though not as horrid as some depict - see number 3 above), but that doesn't change the fact that we need to NOT be so delusional acting like Barack is infallible.
5... Mark Penn, et al. I don't give Hillary a completely free pass on this one, as she is ultimately responsible for who runs and who is on her campaign staff. And that may say something about her leadership qualities. But, come on, let's face it... many of the comments that rational Obama supporters have taken offense at are comments coming from Penn or other Clinton surrogates - not Clinton herself. This is especially true with the "red states don't count", "caucuses don't count", "wealthy people don't count", etc, etc storylines. The one complaint I'd have about Hillary supporters here is that they need to separate Clinton-hate from Clinton-Camp-hate. Clinton-Camp-hate is NOT a personal attack on Clinton herself and, quite frankly, at least in my opinion (as one who is among those who "don't count"), such ire is justified. And I'd also add that 90% of Markos' rants on the subject have been similarly, and appropriately, aimed at Penn & Co. There is an exception to that FPed right now - but that's only because Hillary herself went down the "you don't count" trail... so, I wouldn't classify this as personally anti-Hillary; rather, it just falls into the whole class of "The Campaign", in general. We (or most of us) aren't anti-Hillary... we oppose her campaign staff's questionable tactics, not Hillary herself. And I think Hillary supporters need to grasp that fact. However, I also think that the rest of us need to realize that, on this issue, Hillary may be ultimately "responsible", since it's her staff... but we can't nail her to the cross every time one of her crew says something we don't like.
6... The sexism. Okay, okay, I know this probably only applies to a vast, vast minority of the Obama supporters. But I, personally, would consider calling Hillary a "bitch" a sexist slur. And I'm shocked at how many times I've seen Hillary called a "bitch" on dKos and, usually, with no backlash against the person calling her a "bitch". I find that incredible coming from a progressive web site. I'll readily admit to not being "politcally correct" myself, like a good little progressive should be... but fellow progressive Democrats referring to Hillary as a "bitch"?!?!? That seems excessively offensive to me.
That's enough of my rant. My bottom line is that I'd like fellow Kossacks to seriously think about what Hillary stands for. Yes, I'd agree with the Obamaniacs who think she's somewhat calculating and too political. But she's also a damn lot more progressive than the likes of GW Bush and John McCain. So, think before you go trashing Hillary!! I am as big an Obama fan as anyone on this site and am thrilled to see some of the latest polling showing Barack catching up in Texas (ARG has him up... yes, yes, yes, I know it's ARG ...but it's backed up by a new CNN poll showing him up 4% ...and a Rasmussen poll showing him down only 1%, but leading among early voters - voters who's votes obviously can't change now - meaning he has a distinct advantage, even if he is down 1% ...and can't wait to see the SUSA poll tonight). I just think we need to be both realistic about, honest about and fair to Hillary. Yes, I have plenty of problems with her myself; so please don't post a slew of negative comments yapping about everything that's wrong with Hillary ...I'm not naive or stupid - I know everything you're going to say and agree with some of it... That's why I support Barack. But painting Hillary as some evil anti-Christ on par with GW Bush is, in my view, dishonest and unfair. She would be a fine alternative to Barack Obama and I will staunchly support her in November if she can turn things around and become the nominee.
Good luck and good night.