Saturday, August 18, 2007

The Hillary Blues Should Be Seeing Red

Recent polling in California puts Hillary's support among likely Democratic voters at 49%. Trailing by wide margins were Barack Obama at 19% and John Edwards at 10%.

Blue state supporters of Hillary must not have gotten in touch with what her high negative numbers mean. As a Democratic activist in Texas, hearing poll results like this scares the bejeebers out of me. Even a good many Democrats here have negative feelings about Hillary -- a visceral repugnance, not just mild distaste. A state party leader told me he believes that if Hillary is the Democratic nominee all the East Texas Democrats in the legislature can kiss their seats goodbye, which would hurt Democrats in Texas for a generation by decimating the party here and throughout the South. (With legislatures in charge of drawing boundary lines for congressional districts, even incumbent Dems in Congress are vulnerable, as Texas Democrats saw under Tom DeLay's tenure.) I took his words seriously, but checked his perception with a female district judge, someone I trust and know is progressive. She too says Hillary would be disastrous for Democrats in Texas, and probably in other red states as well.

If Hillary is the nominee, some of the most effective negative ads against her probably won't even be swiftboat-type ads. No, they'll just run pictures of times she was caught with a remarkably sour look on her face. Two occasions stick out in my memory. One was during a State of the Union speech during Bush's first term. The other was during the 2004 Democratic National Convention as Howard Dean began to speak. As Dean supporters began to roar, cameras turned, catching Hillary and Chelsea sipping wine in a private box as a most unlovely look crossed Hillary's face. Howard Dean is beloved by many and is much respected by red state activists grateful for his "50 State" strategy after years of the DNC sucking money out of Democrats in red states without reinvesting any of it in building up the party in our states. Sneeriing about Bush will kill her with independents and disaffected Republicans, and sneering at Dean will be turn off others. Put those together and I believe she's unelectable, no matter how much apparent disarray the GOP seems to be in. Remember who controls most of the airwaves in this country. They'll have endless opportunities to rant and rave and bash.

I wish Hillary's supporters would pause and take stock. But of course the corporate media is very fond of Hillary and Bill since Bill supported the 1996 Telecommunications Act which allowed vastly more consolidation of their industry. So they'd love her to be the Democratic nominee (if not necessarily President), and you can bet negative pieces on her will be few and far between--until after the nomination. (Perhaps Rupert Murdoch's meeting with Hillary not long ago should alert the grassroots.) As fond as Big Media is of the Clintons, they still prefer Republicans because the GOP is even more open-handed about giving away the public airwaves to their great profit than was Bill. If Hillary were to be the nominee, you can bet they'd be glad to put up with her--if they can't get someone even better for their bottom line. With a Republican president they wouldn't have the slightest worry that healthcare reform would be enacted, where a Democratic president - even one so cozy with big corporations- might pose a risk. I suspect they are hoping Hillary is our nominee, but will turn on her in the end. As we saw with Dean, the MSM can shut a campaign down in short order if they want to. They can and do shape perceptions very effectively - and have mastered the art of playing on our emotions.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Censure?! Hell, No, We Need to Impeach Them!

I cannot tell you how frustrated I am to see anyone suggest we censure the President and Vice-President. Censure? Where is that in the Constitution? What does it do? Absolutely nothing!

Impeachment is the only thing that can restore our Constitution and roll back these terrible, unlawful precedents so that future presidents cannot claim them.

If you haven't seen the Bill Moyers Journal interview of Bruce Fein and John Nichols on the topic of impeachment, you should. Go to pbs.org and follow links to Bill Moyers Journal.

Congress is way behind the American people on this. In fact, they are standing in our way. If they won't do something, they should all resign and get out.