William Greider at
The Nation writes
But Is Hillary Ready for Us? An excerpt:
The “Ready for Hilary” campaign has launched a not-very-subtle courtship of discontented Democrats, those leftish liberal activists who yearn for anybody but another Clinton. The not-yet candidate herself spoke to their concerns indirectly when she recently addressed the Silicon Valley Conference for Women. Clinton sketched out progressive goals for family-centered labor-market reforms. They were like love bombs for bleeding-heart liberals.
Meanwhile, the Center for American Progress, the shadow think tank that speaks for Clinton-Obama politics, issued a more substantive agenda in a 161-page report from its self-appointed “Commission on Inclusive Prosperity.” The co-chair was Lawrence Summers, former Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and senior adviser to Obama. He performed an intellectual conversion equivalent to a double somersault in gymnastics. The new ideas were actually old ideas that progressive advocates have championed for decades to no avail. They were ignored or rejected by Summers himself and the two Democratic presidents he served.
Never mind, the message is: Hillary gets it. She’s ready to confront the inequality thing. She will bring fresh ideas to the campaign on how to reverse the deterioration of middle-class American life. Her list includes everything from parental leave to care for newborn infants to equal pay for women and paid vacations for all working people. The CAP agenda, among many sound ideas, opts for stronger labor unions, worker ownership of corporations, faster growth and full employment, a reformed global trading system that for American working people will become a “race to the top” instead of the bottom. What’s not to like?
But the Clinton seduction encountered a rocky start. In some progressive quarters, the shape-changing rhetoric inspired anger and abiding skepticism instead of applause. Many liberal advocates were reminded why they didn’t want Hillary in first place. Some saw a leopard changing spots into tiger stripes. Still, many policy activists were pleased that their agitation for Elizabeth Warren or other potential candidates was causing serious heartburn in establishment circles. The dissidents intend to do more.
Summers was especially infuriating with his condescending remarks. He has a well-known talent for foot-in-mouth (recall his Harvard speech on why women don’t do well in science and engineering). On economic reform, he offered a warning: “It’s not enough to address upward mobility without addressing inequality. The challenge, though, is to address inequality without embracing the politics of envy.”
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2012—Mitt Romney, incompetent campaigns, and anti-Southern elitism:
When watching Republican presidential frontrunner (it's safe to start calling him that again) Mitt Romney campaign in the South, I cannot help but think about John Kerry.
It is not because of anything Kerry did or didn't do during his ultimately unsuccessful 2004 bid for the White House. And it is not because Kerry and Romney share a bunch of common threads. Sure, both are well-heeled men who forged their political careers in Massachusetts, but that's just about where the similarities end.
I think of John Kerry because I cannot even begin to imagine how badly the traditional media, to say nothing of the GOP, would have obliterated Kerry for the kind of campaign performance Romney has put on display in the South over the past month. Let's face it—that would have been a sight to see.
Perhaps some would write this off as overly sensitive, but is there any way to look at Romney's performance last month at Daytona, coupled with this week's performance campaigning in the Deep South, and not see a particularly obvious strain of anti-Southern elitism? And I am not talking about the faux elitism visited upon Kerry in 2004 ("he windsurfs!" "he looks French!"). This was the real stuff.
Either Mitt Romney is the most socially awkward legitimate presidential candidate in modern history, or he is a snob with contempt for the South. Sorry, there doesn't appear to be much middle ground in this particular case.
Tweet of the Day
"Slavery would not have existed if not for the publication of Alex Haley's Roots"- Joe Scarborough, probably
— @Atrios
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show: Republicans try out the old "it was just a joke" line. OU's David Boren expels SAE students, but listener
@sponson is not impressed. With
Joan McCarter, talk turned to just how crazy Tom Cotton really is, plus Aaron Schock's latest problems, the tax cheating Ferguson judge's resignation, and the 1984 congressional letter to Daniel Ortega blasted by Newt Gingrich. Joan rounded up stories on the Senate's stalled human trafficking bill, ACA signups and the
King threat, and the
Daily Kos endorsement of Donna Edwards. Finally,
Laura Clawson's critique of eGhazi-mania, and
Buckeye BattleCry's astonishing update on Arkansas state Rep. Justin Harris' botched adoption.
High Impact Posts • Top Comments
The Evening Blues • Overnight News Digest