“Screw ‘Em”; or, Hillary’s Hypocrisy
April 17th, 2008 by MICHAEL STICKINGS, Assistant Editor
This one pretty much speaks for itself. From HuffPo’s Sam Stein:
In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.
“Screw ‘em,” she told her husband. “You don’t owe them a thing, Bill. They’re doing nothing for you; you don’t have to do anything for them.”
The statement — which author Benjamin Barber witnessed and wrote about in his book, “The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House” — was prompted by another speaker raising the difficulties of reaching “Reagan Democrats.” It stands in stark contrast to the attitude the New York Democrat has recently taken on the campaign trail, in which she has presented herself as the one candidate who understands the working-class needs.
Hmmm… you think? Obviously, the word “hypocrisy” comes to mind, but, then, Hillary has made a revolting habit of resorting to such political expediency during this campaign.
While Obama’s remarks were taken out of context and misunderstood by those who wish Obama harm (his opponents, such as Hillary) and by those who cynically pander to the mythical Heartland (the media, Republicans), nothing he said, or is alleged to have said as filtered through these distortional lenses, rises to the level of “screw ‘em”.
What Obama said was a lot like what Bill said in 1992. What Hillary said was simply offensive.
Not that I myself am offended by what she said. She was entitled to to her opinion and maybe she was right that her husband didn’t owe Reagan Democrats (specifically southern Reagan Democrats) anything (although he was president at the time, not a candidate, which makes it worse that his wife would advise him to “screw” a large segment of the population).
What is far more offensive (and characteristic) is how she has handled what has come to be known as “bittergate,” that is, the hyped-up, media-driven controversy surrounding Obama’s remarks. If she’d kept quiet, fine. Instead, she has been using and abusing his remarks, and the subsequent controversy, as a holier-than-thou weapon on the campaign trail, presenting herself as the red-blooded Heartland American running against a supposedly out-of-touch coastal elitist. She’s been talking up guns and god, swilling beer and knocking back shots, and pandering to the very people she advised her husband to screw.
Obama understands what’s really going on out there, you see. He gets it. And he speaks the truth.
Hillary may also understand what’s going on out there, she may also get it, but, instead of speaking the truth and addressing the real problems facing working Americans (as she has in the past, I acknowledge), she’s turning herself into a Republican in order to try to win at any cost.
Enough, Hillary, enough. You have no credibility left.
(Cross-posted from The Reaction.)
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 8:45 am and is filed under Bill Clinton, Newsweek Blogitics, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Elections, Democrats, Politics. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
