Well, blow me down. My redneck buddy likes Hillary.

[trof]

Jimbo is a self-described redneck, and proud of it.
He's not stupid, just under-educated.
Not his fault. His dad put him to work in the family timbering business when he was 12.
At 13 he was driving logging trucks.
("I wuz big fer muh age.")

"Daddy didn't hold too much with book learnin'. I did graduate from high school, but just barely." (chuckle)

Jimbo now runs a multi-million dollar business.

Several months ago several of us were sitting in my living room having a few drinks and talking about this and that. Most of my friends are repubs. Somebody told an old Clinton joke. And then Jimbo spoke up.

"You can say what you want to about Bill Clinton, but I think he's the best president we've had in my lifetime. (Jimbo's in his 60s.)
I made more damn money and lived better the eight years he was in than ever before or since."
:wow:

His wife is out of town for a few days so I called him yesterday.
"Come on over this evening and I'll cook you a steak. Maybe buy you a drink or two."
"That sounds good to me, pardner. I'll see you around 5."

We were enjoying our second drink when Jimbo says "So...who do you like for president?"
I said I sure didn't see any repubs I liked, and didn't have any screaming favorites among the dems yet. I just knew I'd vote for whoever had the (D) after their name.


Then he said "I like Hillary. I think she's the smartest one of the bunch. Maybe she can get this country straightened out again."
:wow::wow::wow::wow:

[Deep13]

1. I guess I'm warming up to her myself. nt

[graywarrior]

2. I'm voting for a D, myself.

[yellowdogintexas]

5. any and all of them!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!11 Seriesly!!! nt

[yellowdogintexas]

3. down here in Texas, I have been continually amazed at the folks who say they will vote for her

because they are people I normally consider as "Repub-bots", as likely to vote straight R as I am to vote straight D

And this was way before she actually declared, too.

and if she doesn't get this country straightened out again, it won't be for lack of trying either!

BTW, I am an Edwards supporter until the nomination is settled. Unless the Impossible Dream occurs, which I don't forsee but can still daydream about. <sigh>

[ShortnFiery]

4. Bullshit! Michael Moore was correct: Bill Clinton is a moderate republican who's fiscally sound.

I'd rip off my flesh before I'd cast a vote for ANY MORE Clintons (or Bushes). :(

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Will You Put It On YouTube?

"I'd rip off my flesh before I'd cast a vote for ANY MORE Clintons (or Bushes). "


:rofl:

[ShortnFiery]

7. No joke, the Clintonian DLC has disowned the liberal base - we are unwelcome.

and no, I wouldn't allow you to view it but I despise both the Clintons and the Bushes.

Our founders never meant for an "Unitary Executive." Having political *Royal Families* in the Executive Branch is NOT representative of a Democratic Republic.

NO. BALANCE. OF. POWER. :(

[graywarrior]

8. I feel the same way, but if she wins the nomination, would you vote for a republican instead?

We're inbetween a rock and a hard place re:Hillary

[ShortnFiery]

11. I will write in Dennis Kucinich for the General Election. Twice before I voted for the DLC nominee.

Not this time - especially since Liberal Democrats have been thrown under the bus, i.e., see mistreatment of MoveOn.org. :shrug:

[juajen]

17. IMHO, MoveOn has benefited from their put down, but, it certainly made me angry.

Here in LA we have been dealing for years with Sen. Landrieu and, before he left the Senate, Sen. Breaux. Though, they do not represent my more liberal leanings, they do represent many of the Depublicans who live in Louisiana. After all, we elect representatives and senators that reflect the voters in each state. In more liberal states you get the Kennedys, Kerrys, etc.

I honestly believe that Hillary represents the best of both worlds, and as a result, she is garnering a lot of support that surprises the more liberal dems. I'm a liberal democrat and I do not feel as if I have been thrown under the bus.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Odin2005]

22. Then you are no better then a person who votes for Nader. n/t

[cali]

9. Oooh, sounds exciting.

Can we watch?

[greenman3610]

10. thank God we had the Moores and Naders in 2000

to protect us from Gore

[ShortnFiery]

13. Yes, heaven forbid you take responsibility for the FACT that Gore picked a crappy running mate ...

as well as running a lack-luster campaign. All the better to place the blame ON SOMEONE ELSE?

How moderate republican of you? :evilgrin:

[Odin2005]

23. Had Nader not of been running Al Gore would be president right now.

[ShortnFiery]

25. Again and IMO, a true sign of someone promoting republicanism is NOT taking responsibility.

:evilgrin:

Yeah yeah, it's always SOMEONE ELSE's fault why we lose. :eyes:

[Ignis]

53. Yeah, all those Florida Jewish votes for Buchanan meant nothing. (nt)

[Blue-Jay]

52. I bet you walk around yelling at inanimate objects.

[emilyg]

56. I want pictures.

[zanne]

12. Holy crap.

I think it's spreading... I know a formerly conservative farmer who voted for Bush in 2000. From my conversations with him recently, I had an inkling that he might be ready to vote for a Democrat. I'm an Obama volunteer and very much a supporter, so I called him to talk about it. He said he's tired of all the political parties, but if someone from the Socialist Workers Party is on the ballot, he'll vote for him/her. Over the seven years of the Bush administration, he's read everything Noam Chomsky has written, and remembers everything he's ever uttered. Now THAT'S a turnaround!

[DemBones DemBones]

14. The problem is that Hillary as president will not guarantee

/a good economy like we had when Bill was in office. Most of that was luck, I think.

She is very intelligent and when Bill was in office, I often said she ought to be president instead, because of his extramarital activities that the media wouldn't leave alone and bombarded us with for months, or was it years?

But now I think we don't need a DLC/moderate Republican Clinton again, we need someone to:

stop pouring money into Iraq and Afghanistan (and, coming soon, Iran);

get our troops home;

act to bring jobs back to this country by getting out of trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA and going back to bilateral trade agreements, and by penalizing manufacturers who offshore jobs;

bring back habeas corpus and other rights we've lost, repeal the PATRIOT Act (I and II);

either try the "detainees" in Gitmo or fly them home;

start repairing relationships with other countries;

give all Americans health care by cutting the Pentagon budget -- they won't need as much money when they're not overseas "fighting terraism";

get serious about nuclear disarmament, alternative fuels, and a cleaner environment.

I think Dennis Kucinich is the only one who'll try to do all that. Hillary certainly won't.

[Roon]

54. I think Jay Lenos is STILL telling jokes about the Clenis.

[rhiannon55]

64. Jay Leno WOULD be...

unfunny comedic hack that he is...

[truedelphi]

59. Dk for you and DK for me! n/t

[gratuitous]

15. Hmmm, sounds like Comrade Jimbo needs some serious re-educating

The Ministry of Truth Guardians will be along soon; for his sake, I hope he goes along quietly. Some of them Guardian boys are a mite testy since getting back from wherever they get trained.

Seriously, this is highly interesting; it sounds like Jimbo took a look at reality and formed his own opinions. Maybe he's not such a redneck after all?

[ShortnFiery]

16. "Maybe he's not such a redneck after all?"

No, the M$M has been able to help The Clintonian DLC assimilate Jimbo into the Hill-bot collective.

It's bunk but she's spreading some happy horse-shit his way and Jimbo's a true believer. :eyes:

[gratuitous]

19. I don't know about that

But apparently he checked his own business and tax records and discovered that he did better financially under a Democratic president than he's ever done under the Republicans. From the sound of the story, Jimbo seems to prefer Clinton but will vote for the Democratic candidate regardless of who it is.

But if it turns your crank to rant about Clintonian mind control, then rave on McDuff.

[ShortnFiery]

20. Clinton is representative of a "third way" machine that disowns all things LIBERAL.

There's abso-f**king-lutely nothing LIBERAL about The Clintons.

Fascism is still FASCISM even when it's welded with a velvet glove. :thumbsdown:

[Odin2005]

24. Is over-the-top histronics the only way you talk?

[ShortnFiery]

28. Go to the sites I listed above and then TELL ME that these values would not be moderate republican

during the 1970s? You can't do that because the DLC has hijacked my beloved Democratic Party and has, as a consequence, kicked US "liberal democrats" under the bus.

You can't tell me that you're liberal and SUPPORT HRC since she is going to continue this horrid OCCUPATION? That's a deal breaker for me - a member of Pax Christi. :shrug: http://www.paxchristiusa.org/

I'm far from a role model of a person who loves the Catholic Faith, but I participate and volunteer my time, money and clothing for those who are less fortunate than myself.

Right now: Ending the occupation in Iraq is my number one criterion for a Presidential Candidate.

HRC and her machine, the DLC, will promote endless war for the Military Industrial Complex. :thumbsdown:

[gratuitous]

27. Give it a rest

Your overwrought nonsense convinces no one, and while amusing to me, it may damage your health, and high blood pressure is not very amusing, particularly for non-tall persons.

[ShortnFiery]

29. Back at you! You have no right to judge me. And thanks for putting down "little people"

:eyes:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

38. I Admire Your Spunk

eom

[ShortnFiery]

39. Wow, if sincere, that's the first nice comment you've made toward me. Thank-you DSB.

:hi:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

43. It Is Sincere

I think you're scrappy...

And I don't think I have been mean to you, maybe funny mean but not mean mean...

[ShortnFiery]

44. No, we've always been cool. I'm just surprised that you'd admit to liking my zest.

I hope you have a good day DSB.

Perhaps we can find room for dialog and compromise after all? :-) :hi:

p.s. my main goal as a scrappy and unabashed liberal is to get "a seat at the table" within our Democratic Party. I do feel abandoned - with somewhat good reason. :shrug:

[Apollo11]

21. You have proved that not everyone hates Hillary

But that does not prove she is the best person for the job.

Good luck with your ongoing research into redneck attitudes ... B-)

[Odin2005]

26. I'm constantly amazed by the number of people I know to be Republicans that like Obama

[riqster]

30. A lot of old-line Reeps don't like what their party has become

It doesn't mean they have shifted, but rather that their party threw them under a bus.

My Mom voted for Kerry in 2004, and she had NEVER voted Dem before. She doesn't like or trust any of the Reep candidates, so she'll vote Dem in 2008. (She knows that write-in votes are a waste of time.)

[ShortnFiery]

32. "...write-in votes are a waste of time." Not as a protest vote OR for a clear conscious.

;)

[riqster]

35. If it's all about one person, maybe

...but if the good of the country comes first, the need to throw out Reeps is paramount.

Making yourself feel good is evidently your priority. Enjoy.

[ShortnFiery]

37. NO, doing what's morally sound - against all odds and numerous forms of intimidation.

:shrug:

[riqster]

40. If "Morally Sound" means a Reep is in the White House

...then that is a moral code I want no part of.

The remainder of this post is not directed to you: you will not listen. It's your way or the highway. That highway leads to hell, because it enables Reep victories.

What the Reeps have done to our country in less than eight years has been catastrophic. While the DLC is too right-wing for me, it pales in comparison to the Bushistas.

As a parent, former homeless man, and advocate for the poor, I have seen the difference between the MOTR Dems like Clinton and the fascist monsters of the Reeps. The difference is stark, from 'not enough' to 'die, scum' respectively. No way I can ever do anything that could in any way enable a Reep to occupy the White House. I would forever be haunted by the faces of people who trust me if I did so. How we treat the least amongst us is the true measure of a government at the end of the day.

What is right for me is what protects the weakest members of our society. Not my personal ideology, which is actually to the left of Kucinich, but the people whose lives are at the mercy of our government; there are hundreds of thousands of them, here and abroad. They are counting on us to throw the Bushistas out.

I have been overseas four times so far this year, and everywhere I go I am bombarded by people who want to know what the hell Americans are doing, allowing Bush to remain in power. I try to explain about our two-party system, trying to build a center-left coalition, and guess what they say?
They cut me off, and say; "Bollocks", or the local equivalent; to them, it is simple. Bush and his cronies are crazy, they are killers, they are warmongers, we should show them the door and slam it behind them.

You know what I realized? It IS that simple. Hungry children know it. Poverty-stricken amputees know it. Battered women know it. Europeans know it. To keep Reeps in power is to approve of them, to assist them, to aid and abet them.

This is no time to insist on ideology-I am personally in touch with hundreds of people whose chances of survival are drastically reduced by Republicanism. I cannot let them down. I am sick and tired of handing out half-empty boxes at the food pantry, watching kids limp, hearing them cough. That, if you like, is a serious moral problem, much more crucial than ideological purity.

I AM voting my conscience, I am voting morally. And my conscience, informed by what I have seen, tells me to remove every single god-damned motherfucker with an (R) after his or her name from office. Whether I like the (D) or not.

[ShortnFiery]

41. You just don't get it! Our democracy is NOT being threatened by Party but by

the continued stranglehold of The Military Industrial Complex on our Politicians, BOTH Democratic and Republican.

I submit, that the strongest suit that The Democratic Party has is to CONTROL CONGRESS. Then they can function to roll back the absolute power of The Unitary Executive and regain our "checks and balances."

Yes, HRC and her machine will assign judges who will allow abortion to remain rare and legal, but at what cost? Endless war - that is a false choice - in my not so humble opinion. :shrug:

Yes, since 1980 I've voted for the Democratic Nominee for President, but NOT this time.


Even under "a velvet glove" fascism is still FASCISM. :(

[riqster]

46. Hatred clouds vision

Passion needs to be tempered with rational thought. Somewhere in between those who rant and rave, and Mr. Spock, there is a happy medium.

I'm pissed off at the DLC, too. But it isn't about me. It isn't about you. it's about all the people who will be worse off under Reeps than MOTR Dems.

They ARE worse off. They DO need our help. Get your hands dirty in the shelters and soups kitchens, in the free clinics. Ask the long-service volunteers and staffers if there is no difference between Clinton and Bush. You will get an earful.

And that doesn't even BEGIN to cover the damage the PNAC has done around the world; all of the dead people in the Middle East for one.

Insisting that one's own principles trump the needs of the helpless is masturbatory at best, and downright Bush-like at worst. In fact, adherence to an inner voice is EXACTLY like Bush. No matter what the consequences, no matter the results, he believes he is right. And so do you.

I submit to you that Hillary's resemblance to Bush is far LESS pronounced than your own.

[ShortnFiery]

48. At the risk of sounding redundant "Back at cha buddy!"

Don't confuse "passion" with "hate."

Again, it's the strangle-hold of corporations over the behavior of our Congressional Politicians NOT PARTY that is the threat to our Democratic Republic.

Now, I won't argue that the right wing republican representatives are the biggest authoritarian nut cases in Congress. However, I suggest that is only because the country has been driven artificially to the political right.

NO, the DLC needs to be honest with the American People and switch to Moderate Republicans. Then The Democratic Party can get back to the VALUES that have made this party great in the past: Mostly centering around advocacy for WORKING, WAGE EARNING AMERICANS and NOT large Corporate interests.

I hate to break the news to you but HRC will NOT serve the people - she will continue to fatten up the Pharmaceutical Companies and rob us of our tax dollars toward ENDLESS WARS.

To be quite honest, the working and poor Americans will be NO BETTER OFF under HRC than under say, Rudy Guliani.

Gee, it's NOT PARTY, but the increased meshing of government with corporate interests that will bring about the full realization of fascism. The foregoing will exponentially be hastened in by the well organized DLC power players having cabinet positions in an 8 year HRC Presidency.

IMO, we need to focus on electing anti-war Democrats to our Congress.

[truedelphi]

65. THANK YOU FOR THAT

Stated very well.
I cannot believe how people don't get it.

And of course one problem is that a lot of HRC believers are well off -even the "redneck" that this post concerns is well off.

But in two generations - how many in the USA will have the life this guy made for himself? This "redneck" would have never gotten rich driving trucks and working hard if NAFTA style pro-Mexican truck driver system had been in place when he was starting out (not unless he has some magical political connection) NAFTA came about under Bill CLinton - even though Ross Perot understood it for what it was - Clinton LOVED it. ANd Hillary is not going to rip it apart but continue it (which is why Bill C, and Laura and Jena Bush all stood around together over the past ten days at Mexican soirees.)

I believe that most who support Hillary are from the upper middle class - of course that is now considered "the middle class" The definition of middle class has been twisted around inside pricey locales - you only need to have about one million dollars of wealth behind you to be in the New Middle Class - be it a house you own, a business like this "redneck's", an inheritance, or an income of over 200K.

[belpejic]

51. Amen

I can't agree with you more, riqster. The simple fact is that disadvantaged people suffer much more under Republicans.

My ideal candidate isn't running (Al Gore), but if Hillary brings Bill's sensibility to office then I'd be thrilled. Hell, I'd even take someone with Bush Sr.'s sensibility over the current resident.

Hillary says she believes in the value of science: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071004/ap_po/clinton_science;_ylt=AkNLL_VfMYrfeennsZG1FEJp24cA

It's really pathetic, but her statements are in such stark contrast to what's going on in the White House today that they're both exciting and depressing.

I don't care who the nominee is as long as it's a Democrat. Any progress is better than what we've currently got.

[cobalt1999]

31. My wife has a similar story

We were with a large group of friends last weekend watching college football and eating BBQ. The guys were all gathered in one room, the women in another. This is a group of very conservative republicans.

Driving home, she said the women started talking about Hillary and 3 of the 5 said "I could never tell my husband, but I'm voting for Hillary". I laughed because knowing these guys they'd go ballistic if they knew what their wives were going to do.

What is encouraging though, is these women have never voted for a democrat before.

[oasis]

62. Women will vote for Hillary in droves. And yes, many will be covert supporters.(eom)

We'll take 'em. :bounce:

[truedelphi]

66. Only problem - she is NOT a democrat. n/t

[wyldwolf]

33. Jimbo is clearly a deep cover DLC agent

[Froward69]

34. listening to some zombie repukes at work

I over heard them say that as a group they should SAY they support Hillary. Talk her up, promise to vote for her in the GE. support her if you should be polled. All to give us on the LOONEY left a reason to nominate her. Because she will be easy to beat, come time for the opinion to really matter. "If you agree with Hillary for president you will skip the argument. And have the satisfaction of fooling those commies." I don't believe in their support for her, for a second. Complacency will hurt us if we aren't careful!!!

[RebelOne]

36. My son is a Georgia redneck, but he is a Democrat

and likes Obama.

[Bryn]

42. At least Jimbo has common sense

to know voting for a Republican is bad. I don't care much for Hillary, but I'd still vote for her if she was a nom. You never know she may be able to turn America around and make it respectable once again around the world, but she'd have a hell of a job to undone a great damage to America caused by the Chimp and Cheney.

[trof]

45. I just thought this was an interesting story.

Now y'all gonna go an' get my thread locked.
I wish there was a way to ignore all but replies to OP.
;-)

[riqster]

49. I'll shut up then.

Sorry 'bout that. And my best to your very sensible friend.

:-)

[Beausoir]

55. Hey! Cook me a steak and buy me some drinks and I'm right there with Jimbo!

:)

[trof]

58. Come on over.

[zbdent]

47. on a semi-related note ... (dispeling a RW myth) ...

was he a millionaire before he ran the "multi-million dollar business"? I remember hearing the rationalizations of the tax cuts pointing out that only millionaires create jobs, so this guy must have been a millionaire before he started ... quite an accomplishment back when the tax rates were far more oppressive than they were under Clinton ...

[trof]

50. HA! Nope, he earned every nickel.

I've seen the house he grew up in.
Kinda one step up from a sharecropper's cabin.
They didn't have indoor plumbing until he was in the 8th grade.
As he says, "We wuz C-O-U-N-T-R-Y."

Because of all the heavy equipment he and his family had (and all the other folks they knew who made their livings logging) he got into the disaster cleanup business when Hurricane Frederick hit coastal Alabama in 1979.

Since then he's worked hauling debris out of many disaster areas, natural and otherwise. He helped with the cleanup when McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal Building in '95.

His last job was in St. Tammany Parish after Katrina.
He's sorta semi-retired now.
I told him he should write a book.
Lot's of fascinating stories.

[MelissaB]

57. Great story!

Thanks! :hi:

[4_TN_TITANS]

60. "but I think he's the best president we've had in my lifetime"

Definitely not the first time I've heard this statment from an old-timer. The wife's grandfather is in his 80's and says the same with all the presidents he's seen come and go.

[redqueen]

61. Well, she talks tough on Iran, waffles about torture, etc.

So of course war-obsessed rednecks would think she's the best of the bunch.

Not so surprising.

[Clark2008]

63. The space-time continuum must be screwed

I knew Democratic Bubbas who WON'T vote for her because they think she's a man-hating b***h.

What a screwy world.

[PassingFair]

67. Voting his wallet.

"You can say what you want to about Bill Clinton, but I think he's the best president we've had in my lifetime. (Jimbo's in his 60s.)
I made more damn money and lived better the eight years he was in than ever before or since."

Never mind NAFTA.
Never mind the steady erosion of the middle and lower middle classes.

Well at least it IS a reason.......

I see Hillary as inevitable.
She is the party (read DLC) choice.
She has been since the beginning.
The democratic strategy has been to let the
pukes hang themselves with their own rope.

So be it. We believe that we can win the election
running a HAM SANDWICH against any of their candidates.

We believe that the BASE is unnecessary. Totally.
We believe that the "war" will continue.
That outsourcing is good for the economy.
That insurance company profits are sacrosanct
and health care is a privilege, not a right.

We are the New Democratic Party.

:puke: