Catherine Crier: Punished for the Truth

[babylonsister]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/catherine-crier/punished-for-the-truth_b_96358.html

Punished for the Truth

Posted April 12, 2008 | 10:33 AM (EST)



Here are the controversial comments Barack Obama uttered in San Francisco. "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them...And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Inartful. That is the only fair criticism of this analysis. Let's ask the voters in Pennsylvania these questions. If the 'distracting' issues of guns, gay marriage and abortion were all resolved to their liking, would their economic lives change? How about immigration? If all illegal aliens were to disappear, would those rust belt jobs return? For so many years, such issues have been used to corral blue collar workers into a party and political philosophy that serves the elites in this country. When someone speaks the truth and acknowledges that this sector of our society has been royally deceived, that issues they rally around have little to do with their ultimate welfare, it is time to banish such a person from the campaign trail.

Heaven forbid we should suggest that bitterness might exist in this country of such optimism or that this emotion might be an appropriate and effective reaction to current circumstances. Hillary Clinton countered with this statement. "Well, that is not my experience," she said. "As I travel around Pennsylvania I meet people who are resilient, optimistic, positive...If we start acting like Americans," she said, "and role up our sleeves, we can make sure that America's best years are ahead of us." McCain's spokesman chimed in. "It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking...It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

Are you kidding me? Pulling the curtain back on a very effective political trick, the old bait and switch, is far from elitist. Americans are working harder than ever. Two job families are the norm. Yet the poor and middle class are falling further behind. What is breathtakingly condescending is watching two candidates stroke this group with platitudes about their being tough and resilient. What exactly has that gotten them? Nada. The real stereotype Clinton and McCain are playing on is that blue collar workers are easily manipulated and will 'stay down' if you just tell them they are hardworking, patriotic, value-driven Americans.

It is time for these people to get mad. Illusion may make us feel better, but it simply serves to keep us tilting at the wrong windmills. It is time to embrace the truth and turn that anger, yes bitterness, on those who created such conditions. The alternative is to pat ourselves on the back for our optimism and 'can-do' attitudes while politicians in Washington laugh at such naivite and continue on their destructive course.

[countingbluecars]

1. Excellent.

She says it well.

[cornermouse]

2. We did quite well during the Clinton presidency as opposed

to the Reagan/Bush I, and Bush II presidential periods. The zeal and eagerness to ignore and delete the things that Clinton did right does Obama no service.

[babylonsister]

3. You keep forgetting; Bill Clinton is not running. Is that too difficult

to grasp? Times have changed greatly; today and tomorrow have no bearing on what happened yesterday. Times are tough, many people are losing/have lost hope of any help from their government, and Hill offers platitudes.

[cornermouse]

8. (sigh) First sentence, second line in your editorial.

"And they fell through the Clinton administration," For some strange reason I took that to be a reference to Bill and merely pointed out that it was not entirely honest or accurate.

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. but you conveniently omit the Clinton policies that have now come

back to bite us all in the ass. But thanks for "rolling up your sleeves". :eyes:

[Cha]

11. What about all the things bil clinton did Wrong?

Like think about himself instead of the country? Obama is being too kind to bil clinton and bil clinton needs to shut the fuck up with his current lies.

[cornermouse]

16. He did some things wrong.

He also did some things right. The things he did right, Bush and the repub congress canceled or executive ordered out of existence. The things he did wrong, Bush and the repub congress expanded and enhanced.

I'm not sure what you think of as thinking of himself unless you mean Monica. If that's the case he did what any sane husband would do; he lied. He lied about cheating on his wife (what should have been a private matter), the "party of family values" and the media made sure that the 6 o'clock nightly news featured exhaustive and detailed discussions about sexual practices for my children to hear (so much for family values) and for some reason that becomes more important than the things he did right?

[Cha]

18. "What any husband would do"? Would

any husband cheat on his wife in his office with his intern? bil did anything he could to make it about him winning a second term and lost congress midterm..nice triangulation hilary and bil managed stiffing the country to make sure they retained their power and now all they do is lie and anyone without an agenda or able to read can see that.

[bigbrother05]

25. Bill passed NAFTA with Hillary's help

Yes, the Us did pretty well during the 90's, but places like PA & OH didn't get a lot of help from the tech boom. All the talk about helping out the rust belt didn't bring back any jobs. The folks Barack was talking about have seen their communities whither for 25+ years. It might have slowed a bit during the Clinton years, but there was little if any recovery for many. Heavy manufacturing in the US has suffered for a long time and politicians of all stripes have paid lip service without providing much help.

[stillcool]

22. I am more interested in the

zeal and eagerness needed to change the direction this country has been going on for the last 30 years. Especially the harm caused by NAFTA, outsourcing, and the Iraq War. It is a shame what Bill Clinton has done to his own legacy by his behavior in this Primary Season. They have wielded a double-edged sword and have gotten the most bloodied by it.

[krkaufman]

31. Ignoring the damage done to this country by the Clinton-pushed free trade deals ...

... such as NAFTA does even less for our ability to address what ails the country. Both Clintons helped get NAFTA passed during the Clinton administration, and that trade deal has been an inarguable net negative for this country -- and Mexico.

[City Lights]

4. K&R nt

[TexasObserver]

5. Catherine Crier is correct.

Unfortunately, they are comments that can be used to craft a negative message about him when he least needs that for this demographic.

[blogslut]

6. Tell it, Catherine!

McCain and Clinton are playing us for fools.

[Hieronymus]

Yes, both are Republicans. Both will continue the status quo.

[mmonk]

7. Oh yes.

Catherine Crier. I have one of her books about the overthrow of our courts.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. Bitter Voters For Obama!!!

You're Darn Right I'm Bitter
One of the most refreshing things about Barack Obama is his fearlessness when it comes to voicing a hard truth. It's an ice cold glass of unsweetened lemonade: hard to swallow, but unmistakably pure. The truth is, if you aren't bitter, you're probably voting for someone who is going to give us more of what we've been getting all along. And all Clinton and McCain seem to be saying is "Let them eat Lemons."

Both Clinton and McCain's response to Barack's comments about voters were incredibly elitist, which is funny since that seemed to be their charge. Hillary said we aren't bitter, we're resilient. In other words, we can take it, right? We can take our wages being frozen while the cost of living doubles. We can take lucrative jobs packing up and moving overseas. We can take the oil companies turning less than a 20% increase in operating expense into a 200% increase in profits. Hey, it's all part of being American. We take a beating and still wake up with a smile on our faces. Since Clinton is so sure the voters are just hunky dory with the way things are going, what would be her imperative to bring rapid and meaningful change? Clinton is completely out of touch. Hilldog, the thousands of people losing their homes right now aren't feeling very tough. They're feeling pretty bitter.


McCain's people had the nerve to call Obama's label of "bitter" condescending and elitist. From the camp of a politician whose first response to the housing crisis was to essentially allow fiscal Darwinism to run its course, this accusation is laughable. There is nothing condescending or elitist about Barack's assessment. In fact, it is just the opposite.

While Clinton and McCain live within the pomp and circumstances of their political propaganda, Obama is showing that he truly understands where voters are coming from. It is why he is winning. Obama's assessment that we are bitter comes directly from understanding that we are tired of the things that come from status quo politicians like Clinton and McCain that have driven the middle class to the edge of extinction. We should be proud to be bitter. It's not a bad thing to be, it just means you have been impacted, and it's not okay.>>>>



It requires minimal intelligence to interpret that Obama meant we were Bitter in that we are fed up, turned off, and have had enough of politics as usual. Personally, I've voted in 5 presidential elections; when I look at what has become of this country during the course of those 20 years, I do feel intensely acrid on the inside. Over the last eight years in particular, when our leaders talk about how they are going to fix something I do respond with cynicism.

So yes I am bitter, and you should be too, and in November we should all vote bitterly against the status quo and for a leader that truly knows how to make Lemons into Lemonade.

http://www.bittervoters.org/2008/04/youre-darn-right-im.

[me b zola]

13. Recommending your post

So yes I am bitter, and you should be too, and in November we should all vote bitterly against the status quo and for a leader that truly knows how to make Lemons into Lemonade.


Great find on that link! :thumbsup:

[me b zola]

14. Linky didn't work

:shrug:

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. LINK up

http://www.bittervoters.org/2008/04/youre-darn-right-im-bitter.html


Digg:http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/You_re_Darn_Right_I_m_Bitter_Bitter_Voters_For_Obama

[melody]

10. Catherine Crier lost her show on CourtTV for speaking the truth

She knows what of she speaks.

[hisownpetard]

29. What did she say that caused her to lose her show? I wasn't aware of that fact.

[EndElectoral]

12. Well said, I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

15. The 'bitter people of PA' are angry at Bush and his poodles, Clinton and McCain 08

[Kurovski]

19. K&R.

Thank you Ms. Crier, and babylonsister.

[Rose Siding]

20. That highlighted portion is exactly it, isn't it?

That was the nut of it even before this current episode of ugly spin. It's a game we can no longer afford to play.

Will people finally decide to stand up for themselves in a way that will bring change, or at least the possibility of change, or not?

[ecdab]

27. Yes it is, and watching Hillary be a part of that is just sad. n/t

[TexanDem]

21. K&R

[Tarheel_Dem]

24. Great find babysis....

Catherine is spot on. I love it when she's a guest on Real Time.

[Tarheel_Dem]

26. morning kick.........

:kick:

[H2O Man]

28. Nominated.

This morning on MSNBC, it was said that Clinton is responsing to Obama in a manner similar to the Reagan commercial "morning in America."

[hisownpetard]

30. K&R.