Post Script to the previous blog.
FROM THE FRYING PAN TO THE FIRE: Clinton Makes RFK Assassination Remark.
Just when you thought you’d heard everything possible in American politics and believed that there was nothing more that could scorch your sensibilities, the right honorable junior senator from New York went the proverbial extra mile and, in what can only be described as a meltdown of epic proportions, stuck her foot on the third rail of politics, then quickly into her own mouth by referencing the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968 as a reason to stay in the Democratic primary race. She also, just to pile it on as it were, referred to her husband’s 1992 primary bid, stating that he had not wrapped up the nomination until mid-June.
As for the latter reference, the former first lady seems to be suffering from selective amnesia. While it is true that Bill Clinton did not "officially" wrap up the Democratic nomination until after the California primary, which for some strange reason was held in mid-June that year, the results of that contest were at best academic. He had a huge lead in delegates, and the contest had all but been decided months earlier. The California primary was the cherry on top of his nomination. Anyone with access to a computer or history book would know that.
As to the former statement, it can now be said of Hillary Clinton that she has completely lost her mind. Her campaign has now become the laughingstock of this nomination process. To even suggest, with a straight face, that you are staying in a race because of a potential assassination attempt on your rival goes above and beyond the limits of even gutter politics and enters into an arena that is within the purview of individuals who know neither decency nor are affected by conscious. That the Clintons, who have never tasted defeat in their political lives, would pull out all the stops to win the nomination is certainly not front-page news; anyone who has ever seen them in action has not been surprised by the tactics that they have employed. But that they would sink to this level is appalling and despicable, and is evidence of a campaign whose wheels are finally coming off, and to paraphrase a now infamous Dick Cheney quote, "Is in it’s death throws." If she can quote Karl Rove, I can quote Dick Cheney!
Even Clinton’s half-baked apology, if you can call it that, lacked even a trace of humility; not to mention the fact that the junior senator from New York didn’t even have the courtesy of including Barack Obama in her half-baked apology. In deed, her "apology" lacked even a trace of remorse for the damage her words might have done. Instead she only expressed "regret" that if her words were interpreted as offensive, that was not her intention. Please! Spare us! Her inability to connect the dots and realize that for millions of African Americans who have faced centuries of racism in this country, the word assassination is not merely a historical reference to the Kennedy family, as Clinton tried to pawn off; it is a frightening specter that they live with every day. They are painfully aware that there still exists within our society elements that cannot accept the candidacy, much less the presidency, of a black man in charge of the country. Such elements would revel in taking out such an individual. That Clinton could not muster the slightest empathy over those fears should be all the evidence anyone needs that she is oblivious to everything but her ambition. It is obvious that nothing seems to be able to shame her and her husband, not even when it’s painfully obvious to all but the most rank Clinton apologists.
Hopefully, now, the super delegates will step in and end this charade. What Hillary Clinton could not do on her own, namely bring to a civilized end a long, drawn out and bitter campaign, the super delegates will now bring to closure. No matter what she decides to do in the weeks and months ahead, she has severely damaged her standing within the Senate, and all I can say is it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.
Bon Appetite!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The following is a letter I submitted to Hillary Clinton through her website: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
To Hillary Clinton,
It is very curious in deed that you seem to be redefining the rules of this primary contest. First you said that Florida and Michigan would NOT count, now they do. You then said that the total delegate count (both pledged and super) would be the determining factor, now it's popular vote count. And with regard to the delegate count, you agreed it would be 2025 (now 2026), now you have up'd it to 2210. Next you said that every vote counted, but now, apparently, only the votes in those swing states that you win seem to matter, and Obama's votes aren't as important. Now you are in Florida, citing a movie about the 2000 Florida recount that you haven't even seen yet. Your insistence on constantly moving the goal posts to serve your agenda would be humorous, if it weren’t so pathetic. Believing you are better than your opponent is one thing; asking rational people to undo a nine month process because you don't like the results is absurd.
Is there nothing you will not stoop to to capture this nomination? Your insistence that you be given all the Michigan votes - with none going to Obama because he was not on the ballot - is insulting to say the least. If every vote does in deed count, as you say, what about those people in Michigan who DIDN'T vote for you? Do you not think it logical to assume that had Obama been on the ballot that most if not all of them would’ve voted for him?
Face it, you have lost this race. There is no shame in admitting defeat, not when you've done the best you could. The only thing you can possibly accomplish by continuing this fight is to further polarize and divide an electorate going into the fall campaign. If you succeed at that you will forever have a footnote next to your name that will haunt you the rest of your days. Ask Ted Kennedy the next time you see him how he feels about the way he conducted himself in the 1980 Democratic primary. His actions severely compromised Jimmy Carter, making him even more vulnerable to Ronald Reagan in the general election.
I voted for you twice for senator; I even voted twice for your husband for president. But your continued irresponsible conduct over the last few days has given pause to many in the Democratic party and threatens to harm the party's chances in the fall. The fact that you are now quoting Karl Rove - an individual who clearly has no love loss for Democrats - only underscores the desperation of your candidacy. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, you are threatening to go all the way to Denver and force a brokered convention if your demands are not met. Enough is enough!
As someone who has seen enough of George Bush to last a lifetime, I am pleading with you to come to your senses and do what is right for the party you claim to love so much. If you act now, there will be plenty of time for healing the divisions within both camps. We need not fumble the ball on the one-yard line like we have so many times before!
Peter Fegan
To Hillary Clinton,
It is very curious in deed that you seem to be redefining the rules of this primary contest. First you said that Florida and Michigan would NOT count, now they do. You then said that the total delegate count (both pledged and super) would be the determining factor, now it's popular vote count. And with regard to the delegate count, you agreed it would be 2025 (now 2026), now you have up'd it to 2210. Next you said that every vote counted, but now, apparently, only the votes in those swing states that you win seem to matter, and Obama's votes aren't as important. Now you are in Florida, citing a movie about the 2000 Florida recount that you haven't even seen yet. Your insistence on constantly moving the goal posts to serve your agenda would be humorous, if it weren’t so pathetic. Believing you are better than your opponent is one thing; asking rational people to undo a nine month process because you don't like the results is absurd.
Is there nothing you will not stoop to to capture this nomination? Your insistence that you be given all the Michigan votes - with none going to Obama because he was not on the ballot - is insulting to say the least. If every vote does in deed count, as you say, what about those people in Michigan who DIDN'T vote for you? Do you not think it logical to assume that had Obama been on the ballot that most if not all of them would’ve voted for him?
Face it, you have lost this race. There is no shame in admitting defeat, not when you've done the best you could. The only thing you can possibly accomplish by continuing this fight is to further polarize and divide an electorate going into the fall campaign. If you succeed at that you will forever have a footnote next to your name that will haunt you the rest of your days. Ask Ted Kennedy the next time you see him how he feels about the way he conducted himself in the 1980 Democratic primary. His actions severely compromised Jimmy Carter, making him even more vulnerable to Ronald Reagan in the general election.
I voted for you twice for senator; I even voted twice for your husband for president. But your continued irresponsible conduct over the last few days has given pause to many in the Democratic party and threatens to harm the party's chances in the fall. The fact that you are now quoting Karl Rove - an individual who clearly has no love loss for Democrats - only underscores the desperation of your candidacy. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, you are threatening to go all the way to Denver and force a brokered convention if your demands are not met. Enough is enough!
As someone who has seen enough of George Bush to last a lifetime, I am pleading with you to come to your senses and do what is right for the party you claim to love so much. If you act now, there will be plenty of time for healing the divisions within both camps. We need not fumble the ball on the one-yard line like we have so many times before!
Peter Fegan
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