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I don't get how progressives can support Hillary

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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:43 PM
Original message
I don't get how progressives can support Hillary
Edited on Mon May-05-08 08:51 PM by Robyn66
I am not writing this to incite a riot or a fight and I am sure I will be called all kinds of names by some Clinton supporters for this rant but I really don’t understand why her numbers are so high or how anyone who thinks of themselves as progressive can support Hillary Clinton.

In the beginning of the campaign, I really didn’t know whom to support. Then I decided on John Edwards. When he dropped out I was really torn because I always respected Bill and Hillary Clinton. I would always get really angry when my Republican friends would bring up the Monica nonsense and say that Bill was the embarrassment of the country and I would say no, the embarrassment of the country was the millions of our tax dollars that was spent on a show trial. But I digress. I didn’t support everything the Clinton administration did (like NAFTA) but I honestly thought that Hillary would make a good president.

The turning point came in South Carolina with the Jesse Jackson comment. I was so disappointed. And that was what made me give Barak Obama a close look. After that the Clinton campaign has only sunk lower and lower, and Hillary’s photo ops have become more and more ridiculous! There was the beer and whisky drinking in Pennsylvania, the back of the pick up truck and the coffee she couldn’t pour and the gas she couldn’t put in the truck.

She uses the word “Elite” like Republicans use the word “Liberal”. I don’t know about anyone else, but I want my president to be special and among the elite. We have had a president for eight years that was elected because people thought it would be great to have a beer with him, and that didn’t work out too well. But I am sitting here just like I was in 2004 when I saw almost half the country fawning over George W Bush in total disbelief because if we want to really make a difference in the world and raise ourselves up, we don’t need more of the same.

Hillary becomes more like a Republican every day. Saying things like “Obliterating Iraq” makes my blood run cold. Trying to force Minnesota and Florida into the mix is flat out dishonest. Would she be so vehement if Obama wanted to count them? I doubt it. My opinion is that they should split the delegates down the middle and be done with it. There is no other fair way to do it when there wasn’t a fair election in those states.

What I really don’t get is the closeness of the race. As each day goes on I see less and less of a democrat. I see dirty dealing and low blows whereas I see grace and dignity under fire in Barak Obama during these personal attacks, that really do distract from the issues. And why doesn’t anyone seem to be suspicious that the likes of Pat Buchanan, and Anne Coulter are so Pro-Hillary? Could it possibly be that for years they have been saying that she has been THEIR dream candidate because no one will rally the Republican Party like she can?

Some people will call me an Obama-bot, which is too bad because I have done my reading and after carefully thinking about both candidates, I think that the best hope for this country lies in Barak Obama.

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peacebird Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:45 PM
Response to Original message
1. agree
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Samantha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:50 PM
Response to Original message
2. I have NEVER understood it
She showed her true colors in 2003, by undercutting Al Gore running again in 2004. She's doing the same thing to Obama today that she previously did to Al Gore. It's just that more people are watching her today, and observing this phenomenon for the first time (it's all about me).

Additionally, many DU'ers have posted for years that she's acting more and more Bush*-lite. Some of these people appear to be supporting her today.

I can't begin to understand it.

Sam
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:51 PM
Response to Original message
3. She sold us into War BECAUSE she planned to run for pResident.
Edited on Mon May-05-08 08:53 PM by patrice
She ignored the example of many other GOOD Democrats. I'm not saying she voted FOR the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq. She wasn't in favor of the War; she WAS in favor of the risk to us. What I'm saying is that she supported an at least 50:50 chance that thousands and thousands of innocent people would die, risks of revenge terrorism against the CONUS would increase exponentially, and we would ENSLAVE generations of American to come to work harder and longer for less. She supported the chance of these things, as hideous as they are, because she knew she would run for pResident and the folks she listens to said that she needed to show that she is "strong on defense" AND she couldn't figure out another way to do that without RISKING our lives.

Whatever happens, I, for one, will NEVER forgive her. She IS a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT.
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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:54 PM
Response to Reply #3
7. she lives in the old days and has the old ways
we want to be freed
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:01 PM
Response to Reply #7
14. Yep! Old days and old ways, as in, human sacrifice.
YES!

FREEDOM!!!



:hug:
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JAbuchan08 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:02 AM
Response to Reply #3
94. She sold out her own constituents too
there wasn't a more anti-war state in the UN than New York (maybe Vermont), but she went the way of George Bush AGAINST the people who elected her.
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QC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:52 PM
Response to Original message
4. I don't get how progressives can be excited about either one
of these corporate functionaries we are stuck with now, let alone rip each other to shreds over them.
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cornermouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:55 PM
Response to Reply #4
8. Yes!
Common sense. :bounce:
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QC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:23 PM
Response to Reply #8
36. Something in short supply of late. n/t
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iamthebandfanman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #4
101. indeed
but if ya hafta pick lesser evils (as liberals always have to do), i gotta go with obama

its unfortunate that people like nader cant help us take the democratic party back instead of being against us.

i hate how the democratic party is once again shoving progressives to the side... especially after keeping this party alive the last 8 years.
to hear hillary say things like activists dont matter and grassroots doesnt either was frankly shocking to me.
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BlooInBloo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:52 PM
Response to Original message
5. They're from the Obliteration wing of the Democratic party....
In completely unrelated news, have you seen the new post-bomb Hiroshima photos?

http://faculty.ucmerced.edu/smalloy/atomic_tragedy/photos.html

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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:52 PM
Response to Original message
6. I think anybody who sucks up to the GOP is 'deadmeat'
I don't think the way to go is GOP-lite and that what Hillary has been advised to do. War, oil and more war and plastic patriotism. I think Howard Dean had the right idea when he stood in 2004 but the DNC and our friend Terry and James (Carville) had the wrong approach. The right should have been taken on as Dean wanted it. Unfortunatelly they went down the road as trying to be warlike (military candidate) which kind of backfired. (don't get me wrong John Kerry is a fine person) but they were using him!

The country needs to be freed from the shackles of corporate corruption.
Most ofcourse don't know what is going on. It would seem that Barack has leverage to get us out.
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rodeodance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:55 PM
Response to Original message
9. Just another Obama fan doing a Hillary smear where O. fans can jump in and see who can post the
most vile or demeaning comment.

its a game you folks play day in and day out.

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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:59 PM
Response to Reply #9
12. I agree, and I for the life of me can't understand how
anyone with any intelligence can vote for a man we know nothing about. It shows how uninformed these folk are.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:05 PM
Response to Reply #12
16. Your ignorance is self elected. How elitist of you to assume others don't know who Obama is, not
to mention paranoid. No wonder you support someone who gambled the lives and fortunes of millions of people because she planned to run for pResident.
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:33 PM
Response to Reply #16
21. BO preaches change, change, what the hell does he and his folk think he can change?
BO wasn't there to vote for or against the war , but he has voted to funded it since his arrival in the Senate. If he really wanted to end the war he would have at least tried to start a movement, or a vote to stop the funding. He is right with Clinton and he has only one different vote than Clinton, the war vote, but he wasn't even eligible to vote then.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:00 PM
Response to Reply #21
26. The funding is bundled and you know it.
Edited on Mon May-05-08 10:17 PM by patrice
The Troops need to be at least re-deployed before you stop the money that supports their logistics. That doesn't even mention what happens to Veterans and Military Families when you cut off their funds, because you're trying to defund combat operations.

Yep. Their voting records are similar, except for the IWR, but take a look at the kinds of legislation each has sponsored, very, very different.

Right, he wasn't there for the IWR, so the call is something like 50:50 whether he would have supported or not. His mentor, Ted Kennedy, voted NO, that would have been important to BHO. Also, when you're in a public position like BHO's and you have an opportunity to act on something, with some chance of success, you have to gauge the timing of what you do in order to achieve the maximum probability of success. Or you can go blathering away like Mike Gravel and NEVER find yourself in a position to do more than blather. So Obama's war resistance was the same KIND of calculation as Hillary's only for a different constituency . . .

Us



Hillary's vote was about her and Bill's friends and their relationships with

neocons



DISGUSTING! And I'm seriously afraid I can't vote for her.

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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:13 PM
Response to Reply #26
30. wow, far out there ?
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:15 PM
Response to Reply #30
32. Respond to the points please. nt
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:01 PM
Response to Reply #32
53. I think your points are pretty one sides, therefore,I have no response.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:03 PM
Response to Reply #53
55. Well since you recognize that they are "one sided", you MUST know the other side. So let's hear it.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:08 PM
Response to Reply #53
57. Okay, so respond to this: HILLARY SUPPORTERS DON'T CARE ABOUT KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE. nt
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:11 PM
Response to Reply #57
58. oh shit, what a bunch of crap you folk can come up with. yeah
she voted for the war , BO voted to continue the war, money for the war. How is he so innocent in this? He is just a pied Piper that the young uninformed kids have fallen for.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:16 PM
Response to Reply #58
61. Do you actually know anything about how the funding is packaged for votes in Congress?
If so, please tell me how he was to stop funding for combat operations without ALSO stopping funding for VETERANS Services and for the support of Military Families.

Do you actually think they vote for each thing one at a time? You need to study up on how this country is run. The money is voted for, up or down, in HUGE BLOCKS that fund ALL KINDS OF STUFF. If you are against one thing you are against all of it. Why do you think they haven't been able to stop the funding - because to do so they would have to let Veterans go without medical services and Military Families without health care and food.

Your opinion of Obama is founded on a lack of concrete information about how Congress works.
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:51 PM
Response to Reply #57
67. You are right, we could care less about killing people, like BO
he is the one that wants to give more money to support the killing , voting to support the war.If he really wanted to stop the war he would have come forward and sponsored an amendment to stop the money to fund it.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:56 AM
Response to Reply #67
87. I see you finally got in touch with your net-supervisor. nt
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:57 AM
Response to Reply #67
88. Keep on saying what they tell you to say honey, until it's your turn to be their cannon fodder. nt
Edited on Tue May-06-08 09:00 AM by patrice
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:11 PM
Response to Reply #53
59. Take a look.
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:47 PM
Response to Reply #32
65. Ok, did he or did he not vote to fund the war?
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 12:08 AM
Response to Reply #65
68. Yes. Now you answer one of mine: Which should BHO have voted against:
Edited on Tue May-06-08 12:09 AM by patrice
Money for Veterans Medical Care?

Money for Military Families?

Or Money for any one of several hundred other appropriations that were in the same bill with the "fund the war" money?

What part of the concept of things being COMBINED do you not get? He could not vote NO on funds for the war without ALSO voting NO for hundreds and hundreds of other vital services in the same bill? Are you really so stupid you can't understand that they don't get to pick and choose what they are going to fund? They're presented with these bills with all of the funding all together in them and then they vote on the bills; they don't get to say "I'll vote against this money but for that money."

If he voted against the war money, it would have also been a vote against all kinds of other things and you folks would be criticizing him for that instead. You don't care what the truth is. All you want is your pretty fairy tales about Queen Clinton the champion of Women when she SOLD you and YOURS into generations of economic slavery so she could have a chance to run for pResident. :puke:

BTW, every hear of a nice little piece of legislation called NAFTA? Whose baby do you think that was? But then maybe in addition to NOT CARING ABOUT KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE, Hillbots also DON'T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO LOSE THEIR JOBS TO FOREIGNERS. Tell me the truth now, you're a Republican aren't you.
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Bluenorthwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 09:22 AM
Response to Reply #26
89. Ted Kennedy's actions are not Obama's
For example, Teddy ran against a sitting Democratic President, won about 950 delegates and took it all the way to the convention where he tried to convert pledged delegates from President Carter to himself. This cycle, it seems the Obama camp wants the nominee sealed prior to the convention, in direct opposition to Kennedy's tactics when he ran.
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:23 PM
Response to Reply #16
35. What ignorance and elitist of you to assume others
to vote for someone that is an empty suit , only because of his color, or because he is a male. You are gambling the lives of all Americans to elect this person as our President.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:45 PM
Response to Reply #35
42. Is there an echo in here? Real original thinking there whoever you are. nt
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Mags Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:50 PM
Response to Reply #42
46. could care less whoever you are, but the elitist seem to be in BO's camp
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:56 PM
Response to Reply #46
50. The defnition of elitist would include those who decide who can live and who will die = HILLARY.
If you can't see that she took advantage of you and millions and millions of others just like you FOR HER POLITICAL AMBITIONS, you have internalized the oppressor.

What good has her IWR vote done for you? It did her PLENTY of good; she wouldn't be a Republican favorite if she had done the right thing and voted NO.

....................

You still haven't responded to my earlier points. Is there some problem with that?
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:20 PM
Response to Reply #46
63. Comment on my definition of elitist? Or do you just think elitists are who you are TOLD they are?
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nichomachus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:46 AM
Response to Reply #12
80. I know plenty about him
don't project your studied ignorance on everyone else -- just do your homework, which is what voters are supposed to do.

The problem with Hillary is that we know a lot about her -- and it turns most people off.

But please stop with the Hillary-crowd canard that we don't know anything about Obama. Do some reading instead of just chanting zombie-like Hillary crap.
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Laurab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:18 AM
Response to Reply #12
95. I know a lot about Obama - a lot about Hillary, too.
There's no excuse for someone supposedly interested in politics to NOT know anything about Obama. Read his books, check his website, watch or read his interviews, most of all, see how he's run his campaign. Your being uninformed is your own fault.

Hillary has shown her true colors throughout this campaign - if you like someone who campaigns like a repuke, that's your choice, but there is no reason at all for you to "know nothing" about Obama. You choose not to. You blindly support a woman who will do ANYTHING to get elected, who panders to the less-educated, and practices politics of personal destruction. I've had quite enough of that with the present administration.

Your post is offensive to people who support Obama, who appeals to the more educated voter. I am VERY informed, thank you - and I know I don't want Hillary Clinton in the White House.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:03 PM
Response to Reply #9
15. It's a vile truth alright and demeaning to the generations of those whom she helped to enslave. nt
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boppers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:57 PM
Response to Original message
10. Uhm, let me try here....
Er... pro-feminists could support her for possibly being the first female US president?

After that I got nuthin'.
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StevieM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:28 PM
Response to Reply #10
19. I'm a male, I am not a feminist, I'm not concerned with electing a woman president and
I love Hillary Clinton. She is everything I'm looking for in a president. I think she'll be the best president our country has had since Harry Truman.

Steve
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:08 PM
Response to Reply #19
29. Please tell me why it doesn't matter to you that she sold us into War so she could run for pResident
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StevieM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:14 PM
Response to Reply #29
60. It doesn't matter because what you are saying isn't correct. Bush lied us into war. And Obama said
that he didn't know how he would have voted if he was in the Senate at the time.

Steve
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:32 PM
Response to Reply #60
64. She KNEW she was taking a chance with our lives, not just any chance, but
one with absolutely enormous consequences to millions and millions of people for generations and generations to come. She's not stupid, she knew that this is one way the whole thing could play out AND THE RISK WAS ACCEPTABLE TO HER FOR THE BENEFIT SHE DERIVED FROM IT, i.e. to be able to cross-over Party lines as she ran for pResident. THIS is HC's very WARPED concept of what "the third way" is.
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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:52 AM
Response to Reply #60
74. And you overlook the fact Hillary voted for the war.
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joeybee12 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:58 PM
Response to Original message
11. You're certainly entitled to your opinion...but the problem i have with your
opinion is that you don't seem to see how others can come to different conclusions. part of how you see is colored by your own worldview. Hilary has always been very progressive, and will continue to be so. I just don't see Barack's words are backed up by any real action.
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rug Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 08:59 PM
Response to Original message
13. There is no progressive left in the primary.
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RC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:17 PM
Response to Reply #13
17. To many here don't get what you posted.
Some even think Hillary is a Liberal. :rofl:
How can she be when she is to the Right of Obama? Geeze people, buy a clue why don't cha.
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paulk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:47 PM
Response to Reply #17
44. where is she to the right of Obama?
tort reform? school vouchers? Bush energy bill? healthcare mandates?

Look up his votes and proposals on these issues and compare them to Hillary's.

Do some research.

Obama is to the right of Hillary on all of these issues.

The notion that Obama is more of a liberal than Hillary is a myth.

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paulk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:50 AM
Response to Reply #44
83. crickets,
as usual...

whenever a real case is made, whenever facts about Obama's actual voting record are put forth

the faithful have no reply
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:41 PM
Response to Reply #13
22. I hear you.
I'm hoping that what is happening will help real Progressives to find one another and get started on something new.

I don't think Obama is the answer.

This is an ongoing conversation I have been having for years with one of the most brilliant young men in my, not too shabby, Family. He thinks no one should vote; we should let it crash and burn of its own accord, the sooner the better. I say, how does that make me any different from Bush and his callous disregard for human suffering. I'm going to hold the door open as long as I can, so as many people as possible can wake up, before the system does destroy itself from its own corruption. And I am working on getting people to see that recognition of a social contract based on the exchange of society's REAL goods and services, not just phony stuff like money, for the Workers' very REAL capital, their bodies and labor, is not an evil thing. We need time for people to wake up to this, before the whole thing breaks down and millions sink into fascism simply because they never opened their eyes.
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Breeze54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:24 PM
Response to Reply #22
37. Time's UP?! The time to act is now!
Edited on Mon May-05-08 10:25 PM by Breeze54
You're 'philosophy' is all well and good... if you HAVE TIME and MONEY!!

BUT most people DO NOT have $$ and the time for action is NOW!!!!

WAKE UP!!! :grr:

"....let it crash and burn..." is a COP OUT!!! :grr:

TAKE-A-STAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:40 PM
Response to Reply #37
40. I agree that "... let it crash and burn..." is a cop out.
It so happens that the persons, near and dear to me, who are saying that are quite well off. They'll be able to afford whatever they need. I HAVE pointed the luxury of their opinion on the matter out to them and, yet, I love them.

I am taking a stand with Obama. He's not the be all and end all of anything. I expect that I will be disappointed by him in some ways too. I'm just GLAD that this country is actually talking openly about Racism, White and Black, and it is possible that we will take some steps in the right direction

IF

"We the People" are responsibly active and committed enough to the LONG work that REAL change requires.
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Breeze54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:19 PM
Response to Reply #13
34. DING! DING! DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!
Sadly... :cry:
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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:24 PM
Response to Original message
18. Its kind of frustrating
Edited on Mon May-05-08 09:26 PM by Robyn66
when the Clinton supporters dissmiss everything and every reason someone isn't supporting their candidate as a "smear".

Why are Republicans so in favor of Hillary?

Why are the most vile pundits speaking for her especially when for years they have said that she is their best chance to win the General Election?

If Hillary can stand on the issues why has she been using personal attacks against Obama.

But then questioning is smearing. Hey this gets more like the Republicans every minute!

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graycem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:32 PM
Response to Original message
20. I don't either,
if they've looked at even one picture of the victims of this stupid, atrocious, war for oil. It's truly stomach churning.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:06 PM
Response to Reply #20
28. That doesn't even register with Hillbots. It's ALL about her. nt
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graycem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:14 PM
Response to Reply #28
31. I'm especially disgusted tonight..
Edited on Mon May-05-08 10:15 PM by graycem
I just watched No End in Sight, and Redacted. I guess some people missed those or else they wouldn't give a second thought to voting for anyone who went along with it.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:31 PM
Response to Reply #31
38. It's proof positive that we are an expendable resource to certain classes in this country.
Not to mention millions and millions of INNOCENT Iraqis.

And it means NOTHING to Hillbots. Nothing matters but us. How INHUMAN!

I cannot lie down with this kind of person. I know I'm working myself into a fit here, but I've been struggling and struggling with my vote for months. I REALLY am AFRAID I won't be able to do it.
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graycem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:48 PM
Response to Reply #38
45. I'm with you on that...
Edited on Mon May-05-08 10:48 PM by graycem
there is nothing, not one single thing in this world that I hate more than injustice. And this is the largest injustice going on in the world right now. I do not understand it, and I cannot reconcile Democrats giving a pass to someone who is unrepentant about voting for a war for oil.

But yay, she's making false promises of giving them $30 for gas.
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:51 PM
Response to Reply #45
47. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
graycem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:57 PM
Response to Reply #47
51. Very discouraging. n/t
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:01 PM
Response to Reply #51
54. Very, Very discouraging. nt
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AZBlue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:48 PM
Response to Original message
23. A belated welcome to DU!
:hi:

Great post - spot on!!!
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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 07:36 AM
Response to Reply #23
77. Thank you :)
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aquarius dawning Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:51 PM
Response to Original message
24. "Trying to force Minnesota and Florida into the mix "
I'm on beer number 5 and I still know better than that.
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Tennessee Gal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 09:52 PM
Response to Original message
25. I don't get how anyone can support Obama. n/t
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:04 PM
Response to Reply #25
27. Why. nt
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:00 PM
Response to Reply #25
52. Can you answer my question, please . . . Why? nt
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Breeze54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:17 PM
Response to Original message
33. What "progressives" support HRC?
Whom are they? I don't think ANY progressives do.

I'm one of them... and an ANGRY WHITE WOMAN!! :rofl:
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LWolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:34 PM
Response to Original message
39. I don't get how progressives can support
EITHER of the two neoliberals currently on the ballot. :shrug:
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OPERATIONMINDCRIME Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:44 PM
Response to Original message
41. Thank You For Your Concern.
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apocalypsehow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:47 PM
Response to Original message
43. Progressives don't. n/t.
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cboy4 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:53 PM
Response to Original message
48. You're kidding, right? Their policies and positions are
almost identical.
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LibertyorDeath Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
49. They have the political acumen of a slug

They think with their feelings....

They are just this side of Retarded.....

Take your pick they're all accurate...
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Imagevision Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:04 PM
Response to Original message
56. Bush, Clinton, Bush,Clinton, totally counter productive especially with better talent available...
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VolcanoJen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:18 PM
Response to Original message
62. "She uses the word 'Elite' like Republicans use the word 'Liberal"
That, my friend, is it in a nutshell.

Thank you for this thoughtful post. :thumbsup:
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sepdxdem Donating Member (21 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon May-05-08 11:49 PM
Response to Original message
66. I am an Obama supporter but I have to say that Hillary gave an
unbelievable speech in Indiana this evening. She appealed to every progressive idea that has ever crossed anyones mind and made it sound like she was going to get it for you on wednesday. Say what you want but the woman is good.
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New Dawn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 12:25 AM
Response to Original message
69. Clinton is winning the DINO vote.
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cornermouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:25 AM
Response to Original message
70. Hillary has a plan. Barack has hope.
One of the best things about the democratic party is the fact they have traditionally had a point of view that is diverse unlike the republican party who rejoices in tunnel vision.

As to why democrats support Hillary rather than Barack? Hillary has a plan. Barack has hope. For a lot of people, that's why.

Obama has had pictures distributed on DU of him in a bar carrying a beer around. You slam Hillary for the same thing and for even more ridiculous reasons such as the pick-up truck. Every day I become more and more convinced that there really isn't much reason to talk to the Obama supporters.
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stevietheman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:52 AM
Response to Reply #70
84. Nope. Obama has hope *and* a good plan. Hillary has cynicism and gimmicks. n/t
n/t
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cornermouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #84
97. That's a matter of opinion.
All Obama has is hope and the plan to reach across the aisle (read adopt republican positions for this).

Hillary has a plan. Cynicism maybe. That's not necessarily a negative quality. The "gimmicks" springs from your desire to convict her of something, anything, irregardless of all evidence to the contrary.
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usrbs Donating Member (583 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:37 AM
Response to Original message
71. If there was a progressive in the race your wonder would be valid
but there are 2 centrists. I too was for Edwards after Gore refused to run, but I chose Hillary because bottom line, I think she'd be a better president, and now I think she'd be by far the better GE candidate, too. I dislike many of her stances but I watched both these past 3 years and frankly, BO has never impressed me, and some of his stances are less progressive than Hillary's.
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Enrique Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:38 AM
Response to Original message
72. what part of they disagree with you don't you understand?
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ShortnFiery Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:42 AM
Response to Original message
73. NOT one thing that she has politically done has been for "The People" ... it's for "The Clintons"
First and foremost. Both Hill and Bill have been so DAMN spoiled by decades of power and privilege they are acting like petulant children. However, the media KNOWS that Bill has been very gracious in the past so they're "propping up" his wife as best they can. It's sick and shameless.

I hope and pray that the good American People can see through both HRC's and her M$M's lies and deceptions.

Please send HRC and "her shameless pandering 'Bubba' husband" back to NY State?

May everything known as "CLINTON" and "BUSH" fade into political obscurity? :(
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:57 AM
Response to Original message
75. See? I don't get how you can deceive yourselves about Obama.
And I feel nothing but raw rage over the treatment of the first viable woman candidate for president.

Let me know which woman you feel sufficiently good and pure and PROGRESSIVE enough to get your support for president. And then tell me why she isn't running and you are not supporting her.

Until then, I feel free to consider you a master self-deceiver.

And my admiration for Hillary Clinton's courage and grace under endless sniper fire is unabated.
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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:50 AM
Response to Reply #75
82. My opinon is
If you are supporting Hillary simply BECAUSE she is a woman its just as bad as NOT supporting her BECAUSE she is a woman.
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Perry Logan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 05:59 AM
Response to Original message
76. It's easy to understand if you just look at Hillary's excellent record...
It's nothing like what her critics say:

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the The Humane Society of the United States 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Trust for Historic Preservation 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 95 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Education Association 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Wilderness Coalition 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the League of Conservation Voters 95 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Children's Defense Fund 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Association of University Women 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Organization for Women 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group 91 percent in 2006.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group 100 percent in 2005

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 100 percent from 1988-2003 (Senate) or 1991-2003 (House).

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Public Health Association 80 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Service Employees International Union 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the United Auto Workers 93 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the AFL-CIO 93 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers 84 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Worker 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees 88 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Federation of Government Employees 83 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Committee for an Effective Congress 95 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Americans for Democratic Action 100 percent in 2005.

According to the National Journal - Composite Liberal Score's calculations, in 2005, Senator Clinton voted more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 80 percent of the Senators.

According to the National Journal - Liberal on Social Policy's calculations, in 2005, Senator Clinton voted more liberal on social policy issues than 83 percent of the Senators.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Alliance for Retired Americans 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 92 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Bread for the World 100 percent in 2003-2004.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the The Partnership for the Homeless 100 percent in 2003-2004.
http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=WNY99268

She was promoting universal coverage before it was cool. Furthermore she helped to create the SCHIP program. And most importantly she was dead on in the debate the other week where she said political will was the most important thing needed to push health care reform through and we know without a doubt she has that.

She has fougt unrelentingly for a woman's right to choose as well as women's rights both domestically and abroad

Create a Strategic Energy Fund - Hillary has proposed a Strategic Energy Fund that would inject $50 billion into research, development and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other homegrown biofuels. Hillary's proposal would give oil companies a choice: invest in renewable energy or pay into the fund. Hillary's proposal would also eliminate oil company tax breaks and make sure that oil companies pay their fair share for drilling on public lands. Instead of sending billions of dollars to the Middle East for their oil, Hillary's proposal will create a new clean energy industry in America and create tens of thousands of jobs here.

Champion a Market-Based "Cap and Trade" Approach - Hillary supports a market-based, cap and trade approach to reducing carbon emissions and fight global warming. This approach was used successfully to limit sulfur dioxide and reduce levels of acid rain in the 1990s. By capping the amount of emissions in the environment and allowing corporations to buy and sell permits, this approach offers corporations a flexible, cost-efficient method to do their share to reduce emissions and combat global warming. The program will reduce emissions, drive the development of clean technologies, and create a market for projects that store carbon dioxide.

20% Renewable Electricity Standard by 2020 - Hillary believes we need to shift our reliance on high carbon electricity sources to low-carbon electricity sources by investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. As President, she'll work to require power companies to obtain 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Make Federal Buildings Carbon Neutral - Hillary believes that the federal government should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions from buildings. Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the federal government owns or leases more than 500,000. Hillary would require all federal buildings to steadily increase the use of green design principles, energy efficient technologies, and to generate energy on-site from solar and other renewable sources. By 2030, all new federal buildings and major renovations would be carbon neutral, helping to fight global warming and cutting the $5.6 billion that the federal government spends each year on heating, cooling and lighting.

Protecting Against Exposure to Toxic Chemicals - Hillary wants to make the products we use safer, especially for children. There are tens of thousands of chemicals used in the U.S. and hundreds of new chemicals introduced each year, but little health testing is conducted for many of them. Hillary would require chemical companies to prove that new chemicals are safe before they are put on the market, and would set more stringent exposure standards for kids. She would also create a "priority list" of existing chemicals and require testing to make sure they are safe. To improve our understanding of the links between chemicals and diseases like cancer, Hillary would create an "environmental health tracking network" that ties together information about pollution and chronic diseases.

Hillary's Record

In the White House, Hillary led efforts to make adoption easier, to expand early learning and child care, to increase funding for breast cancer research, and to help veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome who had too often been ignored in the past. She helped launch a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy and helped create the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which moved children from foster care to adoption more quickly and the number of children who have moved out of foster care into adoption has increased dramatically.

She was instrumental in designing and championing the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which has provided millions of children with health insurance. She battled the big drug companies to force them to test their drugs for children and to make sure all kids get the immunizations they need through the Vaccines for Children Program. Immunization rates dramatically improved after the program launched.

Hillary has been a leading member of the Environment and Public Works Committee since she was elected to the Senate. Today, she chairs the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee and in that capacity has promoted legislation to evaluate and protect against the impact of environmental pollutants on people's health and clean up toxic waste.

Global warming and Clean Air
Spoken out forcefully about the need to tackle global warming in hearings, speeches, rallies and on the Senate floor and co-sponsored "cap and trade" legislation.
Worked to reduce air pollution that causes asthma and other respiratory diseases by writing and helping to pass new laws to clean up exhaust from school buses, and other diesel-powered equipment.
Supported legislation to reduce pollution from power plants, including harmful emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and carbon dioxide - emissions that contribute to poor air quality, smog, acid rain, global warming, and mercury contamination of fish.
Aggressively fought the Bush Administration's ill-advised attempts to weaken clean air laws.

Improving Water Quality and Protecting Drinking Water
Helped to overturn the Bush Administration's attempt to allow more arsenic in drinking water.
Cosponsored legislation to protect lakes, rivers and coastal waters by fighting the spread of destructive invasive species, such as the zebra mussel.
Helped ot pass new clean water laws, including measures to protect New York City's water supplies and clean up Long Island Sound.

Protecting Public Lands
Fought oil company efforts to pen the Artic Wildlife Refuge in Alask and Pacific and Atlantic coastal waters to drilling.
Cosponsored the Roadless Area Conservation Act, which prohibits road construction and logging in unspoiled, roadless areas of the National Forest System, and voted for additional funding and manpower to combat forest fires in the west.

Reducing Dangerous Chemicals and Cleaning Up Hazardous Waste
Supported legislation to restore the "polluter pays" principle by reinstating a chemical company fee to fund cleanups of highly contaminated "Superfund" waste sites.
Cosponsored the "kids-Safe Chemical Act," which requires chemical companies to provide health and safety before putting new chemicals in consumer products.
Proposed legislation to create an environmental health tracking network to enable us to better understand the impact of environmental hazards on human health and well-being.

Tackling the Toxic Legacy of 9/11
Pushed for health care benefits for first responders, residents and others whose health has been impacted from breathing the toxic dust and smoke in New York City after 9/11.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/8/20/134810/677

Hillary Clinton co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund, in 1977. In late 1977, President Jimmy Carter (for whom she had done 1976 campaign coordination work in Indiana) appointed her to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation, and she served in that capacity from 1978 through the end of 1981. For much of that time she served as the chair of that board, the first woman to do so. During her time as chair, funding for the Corporation was expanded from $90 million to $300 million, and she successfully battled against President Ronald Reagan's initial attempts to reduce the funding and change the nature of the organization.

Following the November 1978 election of her husband as Governor of Arkansas, Clinton became First Lady of Arkansas in January 1979, her title for a total of twelve years. Bill appointed her chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee the same year, where she successfully obtained federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas' poorest areas without affecting doctors' fees.

Hillary Clinton chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee from 1982 to 1992, where she sought to bring about reform in the state's court-sanctioned public education system. One of the most important initiatives of the entire Clinton governorship, she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association to put mandatory teacher testing as well as state standards for curriculum and classroom size in place. She introduced Arkansas' Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth in 1985, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy.

And a bit of stuff from the White House :

The First Lady worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome. Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice. In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.

Along with Senator Ted Kennedy, she was the major force behind the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage.<124> She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses and encouraged older women to seek a mammogram to detect breast cancer, with coverage provided by Medicare.<125> She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health.<43> The First Lady worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome.<43> Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.<43> In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.<43> As First Lady, Clinton hosted numerous White House Conferences, including ones on Child Care (1997),<126> Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997),<127> and Children and Adolescents (2000),<128> and the first-ever White House Conferences on Teenagers (2000)<129> and Philanthropy (1999).<130>

Hillary Clinton traveled to over eighty countries during this time,<131> breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon.<132> In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued very forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in China itself.<133> She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.<134><135> She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton

More:
http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/nationalsecurity/israel/index.cfm
http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/nationalsecurity/darfur

The following are polls from progressive groups, rating Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, on how often they vote for progressive issues. For each group, http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/011142.php

Clinton Vs. Barack Obama (progressivepunch)
Overall Progressive Score: 92% 90%
Aid to Less Advantaged People at Home and Abroad: 98% 97%
Corporate Subsidies 100% N/A
Education, Humanities and the Arts 88% 100%
Environment 92% 100%
Fair Taxation 97% 100%
Family Planning 88% 80%
Government Checks on Corporate Power 95% 97%
Healthcare 98% 94%
Housing 100% 100%
Human Rights & Civil Liberties 82% 77%
Justice for All: Civil and Criminal 94% 91%
Labor Rights 91% 91%
Making Government Work for Everyone, Not Just the Rich or Powerful 94% 90%
War and Peace 80% 86%
easures to protect New York City's water supplies and clean up Long Island Sound.

HILLARY'S EXPERIENCE ON THE WORLD STAGE:

Her historic speech at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 not only galvanized women around the world, it helped spawn a movement that led to advances politically, legally, economically, and socially for women in many countries over the next decade. Among other initiatives, she spearheaded the Clinton Administration's efforts to combat the global crisis of human trafficking. She persuaded the First Ladies of the Americas to use their collective power to eradicate measles and improve girls' education throughout the western Hemisphere. And she is widely credited with helping women in Kuwait finally win the right to vote.

As First Lady and now as a two-term senator who represents the most ethnically diverse state in the nation and who sits on the Armed Services Committee, Hillary Clinton has become a fixture on international issues over the past 15 years. She has traveled to more than 80 countries, going from barrios to rural villages to meetings with heads of state. She has consulted with dozens of world leaders - Nelson Mandela, King Abdullah, Tony Blair among them -- on matters as diverse as America and NATO's roles in Kosovo, eradicating poverty in the Third World, and the plight of women living under the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Today, she is one of the most influential voices in the world on human rights, democracy, and the promotion of a "new internationalism" in foreign affairs that calls for a balanced use of military force, diplomacy, and social development to strengthen American interests and security globally.

While American First Ladies historically have made great (and often overlooked) contributions to our nation, Hillary Clinton's wide-ranging experience on international issues as First Lady is unprecedented. Indeed, she is the only First Lady to have delivered foreign policy addresses at major gatherings of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the World Economic Forum.

Hillary Clinton has been fighting for the rights of children for special needs for decades. In her first job out of law school working for the Children's Defense Fund, she conducted research that led to Congress passing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, the landmark bill mandating that all children with disabilities be educated in the public school system. later, she helped improve the education of children with special needs by working to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. In 2005, she sponsored an amendment to increase funding for the act by $4 billion dollars. She also cosponsored the Personal Excellence for Children with Disabilities Act, a bill that promised to help schools recruit and retain new special education teachers, and better prepare general education teachers and staff to work with children with special needs.

Most recently, she has called for greatly expanded funding to the National Institute for Health to investigate treatments for children with disabilities. And she has put forth a comprehensive and detailed plan to help children and families affected by autism, with numerous elements that correspond very closely to what families in the autism community have been demanding for years.

some points on her legal career:

1969 Truehaft, Walker and Bernstein in Oakland, one of the most liberal law firms in the country. They defended the Panthers.
1970 Yale University - city legal services, provided free legal advice for the poor.
1971 Staff attorney, Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1971 Carnegie Council on Children, legal consultant.
1974 Impeachment Inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal.
1974 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville School of Law - One of only two female faculty members.
1976 Worked pro bono on child advocacy.
1978 Jimmy Carter appoints Clinton to the board of the Legal Services Corporation.


Education

Wellesley College where she majored in political science.
Yale Law School, where she served on the Board of Editors of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action.

Political Activist Experience

Pragmatic Liberal

Always fascinated by radicalism, she wrote her senior thesis on a great radical organizer of poor people, Saul Alinsky of Chicago. Though when she was offered a job by Alinsky, after she wrote about him, and she turned him down--because she didn't think he was effective enough. She said to her boyfriend at that timebe in politics you have to win. And it didn't look to her like Alinsky was winning enough of his battles. She came to question his methodology and concluded in her thesis that larger government programs and funding were needed, not just community action at the grass roots.

She was the commencement speaker at Wellesley in 1969, chosen by her fellow students--there had never been a student commencement speaker there before. The scheduled speaker was Sen. Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, who Hillary had campaigned for, a Republican, the first black to be a member of the U.S. Senate in a hundred years. In his remarks he was patronizing, Hillary thought. He seemed to defend the Nixon administration's conduct of the war, and didn't mention the wrenching events of 68. When he finished, Hillary got up and extemporaneously excoriated him. As a result of that speech, she was featured in Life magazine as exemplary of this new generation of student leaders. They ran a picture of her in pedal pushers and her Coke-bottle glasses. That article made her well known in the student movement in the U.S.

She monitored the Black Panther trial in New Haven. She monitored the trial to see if there were any abuses of the rights of the Panthers on trial, and helped schedule the monitors. Her reports were turned over to the ACLU.

1971 Senator Walter Mondale's subcommittee on migrant workers, researching migrant problems in housing, sanitation, health and education.

Political Campaign Experience

1964 In high school, volunteered for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater.
1968 New Hampshire, Eugene McCarthy primary challenge to LBJ.
1972 Campaigned in the western states for 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern
1976 Jimmy Carter Presidential race, served as an Indiana campaign coordinator.

The Clinton Campaigns (Bill Clinton has stated Hillary played pivotal roles in his campaigns)

1974 Bill Clinton's Congressional race (L)
1976 Bill Clinton's Attorney General race (W)
1978 Bill Clinton's Governor's Race (W)
1980 Bill Clinton's Governor's Race (L)
1982 Bill Clinton's Governor's Race (W)
1992 Bill Clinton's Presidential Race (W)
1996 Bill Clinton's Presidential Race (W)
2000 Hillary Clinton's Senate Campaign (W)
2006 Hillary Clinton's Senate Campaign (W)

Legal Experience

1969 Truehaft, Walker and Bernstein in Oakland, one of the most liberal law firms in the country. They defended the Panthers.
1970 Yale University - city legal services, provided free legal advice for the poor.
1971 Staff attorney, Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1971 Carnegie Council on Children, legal consultant.
1974 Impeachment Inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., advising the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal.
1974 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville School of Law - One of only two female faculty members.
1976 Rose Law Firm. In 1979, she became the first woman to be made a full partner.
1976 Worked pro bono on child advocacy.
1978 Jimmy Carter appoints Clinton to the board of the Legal Services Corporation.

She was twice named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America, in 1988 and in 1991.

First Lady of Arkansas

1979 Chaired the Rural Health Advisory Committee
1979 Introduced the Arkansas' Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy.
1982 - 1992 Chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee

She was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984.

Clinton had co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families in 1977.

Served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Legal Services (1988-1992)and the Children's Defense Fund (as chair, 1986-1992)

Corporate board of directors of TCBY (1985-1992),Wal-Mart Stores (1986-1992), and Lafarge (1990-1992)

First Lady of the United States of America

"She's very smart ... people rightly give her credit for having been a participant in the Clinton administration and for doing some heavy lifting on issues." Barack Obama, speaking of Hillary Clinton's White House experience and contradicting Obama supporters - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 8/22/07



When asked about his wife's role in his administration in August of 2000, President Bill Clinton said "She basically had an unprecedented level of activity in her present position over the last eight years.''

1993 First to bring a serious universal healthcare plan to be considered by the US Congress
1997 Helped develop the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997

The First Lady led the effor on the Foster Care Independence bill, to help older, unadopted children transition to adulthood. She also hosted numerous White House conferences that related to children's health, including early childhood development (1997) and school violence (1999). She lent her support to programs ranging from "Prescription for Reading," in which pediatricians provided free books for new mothers to read to their infants as their brains were rapidly developing, to nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses. She also supported an annual drive to encourage older women to seek a mammography to prevent breast cancer, coverage of the cost being provided by Medicare.

Hillary Clinton was the only First Lady to keep an office in the West Wing among those of the president's senior staff. While her familiarity with the intricate political issues and decisions faced by the President, she openly discussed his work with him, yet stated that ultimately she was but one of several individuals he consulted before making a decision. They were known to disagree. Regarding his 1993 passage of welfare reform, the First Lady had reservations about federally supported childcare and Medicaid. When issues that she was working on were under discussion at the morning senior staff meetings, the First Lady often attended. Aides kept her informed of all pending legislation and oftentimes sought her reaction to issues as a way of gauging the President's potential response. Weighing in on his Cabinet appointments and knowing many of the individuals he named, she had working relationships with many of them.

She persuaded Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to convene a meeting of corporate CEOs for their advice on how companies could be persuaded to adopt better child care measures for working families.

With Attorney General Janet Reno, the First Lady helped to create the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women office. One of her closest Cabinet allies was Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Following her international trips, Hillary Clinton wrote a report of her observations for Albright. A primary effort they shared was globally advocating gender equity in economics, employment, health care and education.

During her trips to Africa (1997), Asia (1995), South America (1995, 1997) and the Central European former Soviet satellite nations (1997, 1998), Hillary Clinton emphasized "a civil society," of human rights as a road to democracy and capitalism.

The First Lady was also one of the few international figures at the time who spoke out against the treatment of Afghani women by Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.

One of the programs she helped create was Vital Voices, a U.S.-sponsored initiative to promote the participation of international women in their nation's political process. One result of the group's meetings, in Northern Ireland, was drawing together women leaders of various political factions that supported the Good Friday peace agreement that brought peace to that nation long at civil war.

Hillary Clinton was also an active supporter of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), often awarding its micro-loans to small enterprises begun by women in developing nations that aided the economic growth in their impoverished communities. Certainly one of her more important speeches as First Lady addressing the need for equal rights for women was international in scope and created controversy in the nation where it was made: the September 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

Senator From New York

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hillary worked with her colleagues to secure the funds New York needed to recover and rebuild. She fought to provide compensation to the families of the victims, grants for hard-hit small businesses, and health care for front line workers at Ground Zero.

She is the first New Yorker ever to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

She has introduced legislation to tie Congressional salary increases to an increase in the minimum wage.

She helped pass legislation that encouraged investment to create jobs in struggling communities through the Renewal Communities program.

She has championed legislation to bring broadband Internet access to rural America.

She worked to strengthen the Children's Health Insurance Program, which increased coverage for children in low income and working families.

She authored legislation that has been enacted to improve quality and lower the cost of prescription drugs and to protect our food supply from bioterrorism.

She sponsored legislation to increase America's commitment to fighting the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

She's working for expanded use of information technology in the health care system to decrease administrative costs, lower premiums, and reduce medical errors.

She's worked to ensure the safety of prescription drugs for children, with legislation now included in the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, and her legislation to help schools address environmental hazards. She has also proposed expanding access to child care.

She has passed legislation that will bring more qualified teachers into classrooms and more outstanding principals to lead our schools.

Hillary is one of the original cosponsors of the Prevention First Act to increase access to family planning. Her fight with the Bush Administration ensured that Plan B, an emergency contraceptive, will be available to millions of American women and will reduce the need for abortions.

She introduced the Count Every Vote Act of 2005 to ensure better protection of votes and to ensure that every vote is counted.

Senate Armed Services Committee

Subcommittees:

* Airland
* Emerging Threats and Capabilities
* Readiness and Management Support

Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works

Subcommittees:

* Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health (Chair)
* Subcommittee Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
* Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

Subcommittees:

* Children and Families
* Employment & Workplace Safety
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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 07:40 AM
Response to Reply #76
78. Then maybe...
Hillary should run on that record instead of playing the dirty politcs she has been playing and show her differences honestly.

I would love for someone to answer my question.

Would Hillary Clinton be pounding for the "votes" of Florida and Minnisota to be counted if they went for Obama? Because, be honest she doesn't give a crap about their voices being heard she wants to use their votes to her advantage!
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invictus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:15 AM
Response to Original message
79. If they support nuclear "obliteration" and defunding the department of transportation as Hillary doe
Edited on Tue May-06-08 08:16 AM by invictus
does through her gas tax moratorium that every major economist condemned, they are not progressives, they are Republicans.
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stevietheman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:49 AM
Response to Original message
81. Hillary is the poster child for elitism with over $100 million in the bank, and then...
cynically lying to lower-class whites about her "cheap gas" gimmick that will do nothing to reduce prices at the pump.
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Hepburn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:54 AM
Response to Original message
85. I cannot see how ANYONE can support Hillary...
...well, there are those of her ilk who I do understand would have reason to flock to her ~~ Rush Limbigot is a good example. Supporting Hillary for Rush must be like looking in a mirror for him. Birds of a feather...
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Evergreen Emerald Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 08:55 AM
Response to Original message
86. here is why:
And I disagree with your premise that Clinton is runnning a dirty campaign and Obama is showing "grace and dignity under fire." That indeed makes me laugh. The Obama camp is running a negative campaign. He calls her all sorts of nasty names and has his surrogates shout "Racist!" The fact that the media does not report it, and the fact that you choose not to see the facts of it, is amazing. Also amazing is the amount of venom you show: you have dehumanized her so that you can hate her. And, therefore, she is everything evil to you (and you are wrong).


Senator Clinton supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice America 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the The Humane Society of the United States 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Trust for Historic Preservation 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 95 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Education Association 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Wilderness Coalition 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the League of Conservation Voters 95 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Children's Defense Fund 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Association of University Women 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Organization for Women 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group 91 percent in 2006.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group 100 percent in 2005

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 100 percent from 1988-2003 (Senate) or 1991-2003 (House).

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Public Health Association 80 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Service Employees International Union 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the United Auto Workers 93 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the AFL-CIO 93 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers 84 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Worker 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees 88 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the American Federation of Government Employees 83 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the National Committee for an Effective Congress 95 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Americans for Democratic Action 100 percent in 2005.

According to the National Journal - Composite Liberal Score's calculations, in 2005, Senator Clinton voted more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 80 percent of the Senators.

According to the National Journal - Liberal on Social Policy's calculations, in 2005, Senator Clinton voted more liberal on social policy issues than 83 percent of the Senators.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Alliance for Retired Americans 100 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 92 percent in 2005.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the Bread for the World 100 percent in 2003-2004.

Senator Clinton supported the interests of the The Partnership for the Homeless 100 percent in 2003-2004.
http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can...

She was promoting universal coverage before it was cool. Furthermore she helped to create the SCHIP program. And most importantly she was dead on in the debate the other week where she said political will was the most important thing needed to push health care reform through and we know without a doubt she has that.

She has fougt unrelentingly for a woman's right to choose as well as women's rights both domestically and abroad

Create a Strategic Energy Fund - Hillary has proposed a Strategic Energy Fund that would inject $50 billion into research, development and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other homegrown biofuels. Hillary's proposal would give oil companies a choice: invest in renewable energy or pay into the fund. Hillary's proposal would also eliminate oil company tax breaks and make sure that oil companies pay their fair share for drilling on public lands. Instead of sending billions of dollars to the Middle East for their oil, Hillary's proposal will create a new clean energy industry in America and create tens of thousands of jobs here.

Champion a Market-Based "Cap and Trade" Approach - Hillary supports a market-based, cap and trade approach to reducing carbon emissions and fight global warming. This approach was used successfully to limit sulfur dioxide and reduce levels of acid rain in the 1990s. By capping the amount of emissions in the environment and allowing corporations to buy and sell permits, this approach offers corporations a flexible, cost-efficient method to do their share to reduce emissions and combat global warming. The program will reduce emissions, drive the development of clean technologies, and create a market for projects that store carbon dioxide.

20% Renewable Electricity Standard by 2020 - Hillary believes we need to shift our reliance on high carbon electricity sources to low-carbon electricity sources by investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. As President, she'll work to require power companies to obtain 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Make Federal Buildings Carbon Neutral - Hillary believes that the federal government should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions from buildings. Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the federal government owns or leases more than 500,000. Hillary would require all federal buildings to steadily increase the use of green design principles, energy efficient technologies, and to generate energy on-site from solar and other renewable sources. By 2030, all new federal buildings and major renovations would be carbon neutral, helping to fight global warming and cutting the $5.6 billion that the federal government spends each year on heating, cooling and lighting.

Protecting Against Exposure to Toxic Chemicals - Hillary wants to make the products we use safer, especially for children. There are tens of thousands of chemicals used in the U.S. and hundreds of new chemicals introduced each year, but little health testing is conducted for many of them. Hillary would require chemical companies to prove that new chemicals are safe before they are put on the market, and would set more stringent exposure standards for kids. She would also create a "priority list" of existing chemicals and require testing to make sure they are safe. To improve our understanding of the links between chemicals and diseases like cancer, Hillary would create an "environmental health tracking network" that ties together information about pollution and chronic diseases.

Hillary's Record

In the White House, Hillary led efforts to make adoption easier, to expand early learning and child care, to increase funding for breast cancer research, and to help veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome who had too often been ignored in the past. She helped launch a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy and helped create the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which moved children from foster care to adoption more quickly and the number of children who have moved out of foster care into adoption has increased dramatically.

She was instrumental in designing and championing the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which has provided millions of children with health insurance. She battled the big drug companies to force them to test their drugs for children and to make sure all kids get the immunizations they need through the Vaccines for Children Program. Immunization rates dramatically improved after the program launched.

Hillary has been a leading member of the Environment and Public Works Committee since she was elected to the Senate. Today, she chairs the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee and in that capacity has promoted legislation to evaluate and protect against the impact of environmental pollutants on people's health and clean up toxic waste.

Global warming and Clean Air
Spoken out forcefully about the need to tackle global warming in hearings, speeches, rallies and on the Senate floor and co-sponsored "cap and trade" legislation.
Worked to reduce air pollution that causes asthma and other respiratory diseases by writing and helping to pass new laws to clean up exhaust from school buses, and other diesel-powered equipment.
Supported legislation to reduce pollution from power plants, including harmful emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and carbon dioxide - emissions that contribute to poor air quality, smog, acid rain, global warming, and mercury contamination of fish.
Aggressively fought the Bush Administration's ill-advised attempts to weaken clean air laws.

Improving Water Quality and Protecting Drinking Water
Helped to overturn the Bush Administration's attempt to allow more arsenic in drinking water.
Cosponsored legislation to protect lakes, rivers and coastal waters by fighting the spread of destructive invasive species, such as the zebra mussel.
Helped ot pass new clean water laws, including measures to protect New York City's water supplies and clean up Long Island Sound.

Protecting Public Lands
Fought oil company efforts to pen the Artic Wildlife Refuge in Alask and Pacific and Atlantic coastal waters to drilling.
Cosponsored the Roadless Area Conservation Act, which prohibits road construction and logging in unspoiled, roadless areas of the National Forest System, and voted for additional funding and manpower to combat forest fires in the west.

Reducing Dangerous Chemicals and Cleaning Up Hazardous Waste
Supported legislation to restore the "polluter pays" principle by reinstating a chemical company fee to fund cleanups of highly contaminated "Superfund" waste sites.
Cosponsored the "kids-Safe Chemical Act," which requires chemical companies to provide health and safety before putting new chemicals in consumer products.
Proposed legislation to create an environmental health tracking network to enable us to better understand the impact of environmental hazards on human health and well-being.

Tackling the Toxic Legacy of 9/11
Pushed for health care benefits for first responders, residents and others whose health has been impacted from breathing the toxic dust and smoke in New York City after 9/11.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/8/20/134810/677

Hillary Clinton co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund, in 1977. In late 1977, President Jimmy Carter (for whom she had done 1976 campaign coordination work in Indiana) appointed her to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation, and she served in that capacity from 1978 through the end of 1981. For much of that time she served as the chair of that board, the first woman to do so. During her time as chair, funding for the Corporation was expanded from $90 million to $300 million, and she successfully battled against President Ronald Reagan's initial attempts to reduce the funding and change the nature of the organization.

Following the November 1978 election of her husband as Governor of Arkansas, Clinton became First Lady of Arkansas in January 1979, her title for a total of twelve years. Bill appointed her chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee the same year, where she successfully obtained federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas' poorest areas without affecting doctors' fees.

Hillary Clinton chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee from 1982 to 1992, where she sought to bring about reform in the state's court-sanctioned public education system. One of the most important initiatives of the entire Clinton governorship, she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association to put mandatory teacher testing as well as state standards for curriculum and classroom size in place. She introduced Arkansas' Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth in 1985, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy.

And a bit of stuff from the White House years:

Along with Senator Ted Kennedy, she was the major force behind the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage. She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses and encouraged older women to seek a mammogram to detect breast cancer, with coverage provided by Medicare. She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health.

The First Lady worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome. Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice. In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.

Along with Senator Ted Kennedy, she was the major force behind the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage.<124> She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses and encouraged older women to seek a mammogram to detect breast cancer, with coverage provided by Medicare.<125> She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health.<43> The First Lady worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome.<43> Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.<43> In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.<43> As First Lady, Clinton hosted numerous White House Conferences, including ones on Child Care (1997),<126> Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997),<127> and Children and Adolescents (2000),<128> and the first-ever White House Conferences on Teenagers (2000)<129> and Philanthropy (1999).<130>

Hillary Clinton traveled to over eighty countries during this time,<131> breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon.<132> In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued very forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in China itself.<133> She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.<134><135> She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton

"...Hillary Clinton traveled to over eighty countries during this time,<131> breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon.<132> In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued very forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in China itself.<133> She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.<134><135> She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries..."

More:
http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/nationalsecurity/israe...
http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/nationalsecurity/darfu...


The following are polls from progressive groups, rating Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, on how often they vote for progressive issues. For each group, http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/011142.php

Clinton Vs. Barack Obama (progressivepunch)
Overall Progressive Score: 92% 90%
Aid to Less Advantaged People at Home and Abroad: 98% 97%
Corporate Subsidies 100% N/A
Education, Humanities and the Arts 88% 100%
Environment 92% 100%
Fair Taxation 97% 100%
Family Planning 88% 80%
Government Checks on Corporate Power 95% 97%
Healthcare 98% 94%
Housing 100% 100%
Human Rights & Civil Liberties 82% 77%
Justice for All: Civil and Criminal 94% 91%
Labor Rights 91% 91%
Making Government Work for Everyone, Not Just the Rich or Powerful 94% 90%
War and Peace 80% 86%
easures to protect New York City's water supplies and clean up Long Island Sound.

HILLARY'S EXPERIENCE ON THE WORLD STAGE:

Her historic speech at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 not only galvanized women around the world, it helped spawn a movement that led to advances politically, legally, economically, and socially for women in many countries over the next decade. Among other initiatives, she spearheaded the Clinton Administration's efforts to combat the global crisis of human trafficking. She persuaded the First Ladies of the Americas to use their collective power to eradicate measles and improve girls' education throughout the western Hemisphere. And she is widely credited with helping women in Kuwait finally win the right to vote.

As First Lady and now as a two-term senator who represents the most ethnically diverse state in the nation and who sits on the Armed Services Committee, Hillary Clinton has become a fixture on international issues over the past 15 years. She has traveled to more than 80 countries, going from barrios to rural villages to meetings with heads of state. She has consulted with dozens of world leaders - Nelson Mandela, King Abdullah, Tony Blair among them -- on matters as diverse as America and NATO's roles in Kosovo, eradicating poverty in the Third World, and the plight of women living under the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Today, she is one of the most influential voices in the world on human rights, democracy, and the promotion of a "new internationalism" in foreign affairs that calls for a balanced use of military force, diplomacy, and social development to strengthen American interests and security globally.

While American First Ladies historically have made great (and often overlooked) contributions to our nation, Hillary Clinton's wide-ranging experience on international issues as First Lady is unprecedented. Indeed, she is the only First Lady to have delivered foreign policy addresses at major gatherings of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the World Economic Forum.
Perry Logan

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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 09:38 AM
Response to Reply #86
90. You know
It is possible to disagree, point out inconsistencies be critical about Hillary without hating her. I don't hate her as a person, I dislike pretty intensely as the Democratic nominee but I don't wish her harm.

I question the ethics of demanding Florida and Wisconsin being in play when both candidates agree it wouldn't be,

I question leaking a picture of Obama in Somali clothing to play on the publics fear of people different,

I question saying he "isn't a muslim as far as I know"

I question her putting her personal ambition ahead of the party and the country

I question her playing the gender card

I also am extremely disappointed that Democrats would put their personal anger at their candidate not being nominated before what is best for our country by voting for McCain or no one at all. And incidental, Hillary supporters have said in polls they are more likely to do this.

So you can personally insult me and say I hate Hillary and want to smear her all you want. It doesn't make it true and it doesn't reflect very well on your candidate.
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Evergreen Emerald Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 02:35 PM
Response to Reply #90
100. there you go again...citing lies as your reasons for vilifying her
1. She did not leak the picture of him in the garb that he got into willingly
2. "Isn't muslim as far as I know" you guys will reach for any reason to spew your venom. What was she supposed to do? She said no...what you fail to realize is that she was put in an awkward position...was she supposed to say, "no absolutely not, how dare you suggest such a thing" thereby, attacking those American muslims? Is that what you wanted?

You suggest that you do not hate her, but then you attempt to demonize her--everything she does is evil...according to you.

"Playing the gender card" so, it is ok for Obama to play the race card, but if she even suggests that she is a woman and this is historic for women, you have a fit? The double standard is one thing, but to try and keep her from even suggesting that she is a woman is...odd.

"Putting her personal ambition ahead of the party." Really? What facts do you have to support that? Indeed if you look at Obama--barely been a Senator before starting to run for office, and of course using race to divide the party, suggesting that the Clinton years sucked, I believe that is putting your personal ambitions above the party.

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JNelson6563 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 12:46 PM
Response to Reply #86
99. Sans that first paragraph this is a sterling post!
It's easy with all the squabbling going on for the info you to include to be forgotten or overlooked. If you hadn't prefaced it with what you did it would be a perfect 10 IMO.

Julie
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Rhythm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 10:07 AM
Response to Original message
91. Because I understand that I am a minority
and as such, I don't expect the nation (or the President) to treat me the same way that Dubya treated the minority religious-right nutjobs. Catering to extreme minorities and ignoring what the rest of the nation wants and needs is wrong, whether Republicans do it or we do. I believe in progressivism, but I also believe in democracy. That belief in democracy means leads me to believe that it's not the President's job to force ideological policies upon the people; it's OUR job to convince the people that we're right, so that when they go to the ballot box, they choose progressive candidates on their own, fully aware that they are doing so.

The majority of America is either conservative or centrist. A good Presidential candidate understands that he/she cannot govern solely based upon his/her own beliefs--the beliefs and needs of those with whom one disagrees must also be at least considered. The only exception to this, IMHO, are policies that deal with and affect civil rights. The Constitution trumps all, and our Constitutional and civil liberties are above ANY ideology, and thus are not up for debate.

My definition of a progressive is someone who understands that while civil rights are sacrosanct and should not be up for a popular vote, other policies should reflect a balance between the will of the people and the wisdom of their leaders. Sometimes the people make mistakes, it's true, and the President must override their wishes in order to do the right thing--but a President ignoring the will of those people in order to implement his/her own policies needs to be the exception, not the rule. Anything else would be patently undemocratic. This is one of the reasons we hated Bush so much--he ignored the will of the people (is STILL ignoring it) and blindly blunders forth with whatever idiotic plan his NeoCon handlers have come up with this week. I do NOT want a liberal version of THAT. The founders of this nation didn't want it either. A President who ignores what the people want is more of a monarch than a public servant. Even if I agree with the policy in question, it *matters* to me that two-thirds of the rest of that nation *disagrees*. I will fight like hell to change minds at the grass-roots level, but unless it's a civil rights-related issue (like race issues, gay marriage, abortion, public assistance, etc.), I truly believe that the will of the people should prevail. If the majority of people currently support something that I disagree with, the problem is not so much that they are wrong--the problem is that my side hasn't made a good enough argument or hasn't worked hard enough to convince them otherwise.

I understand that I do not represent the majority. It's my job to change the minds of my friends and neighbors--not to scream and shake my fist at Presidential candidates who do not march in lockstep with my own precious views. I live in a community of millions, not a community of One, and I am willing to tolerate a lot of centrism from my Presidential candidates for precisely that reason.

I am a progressive. I am not an authoritarian who wishes to force my ideology on the rest of the nation whether they like it or not.
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casus belli Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 10:09 AM
Response to Original message
92. I agree with you
I think her image has been irreparably damaged by the nastiness of the campaign. If nothing else, she's proven she's willing to do whatever it takes to come out on top. It's sort of contrary to what progressives stand for.
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Texas Hill Country Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 10:11 AM
Response to Original message
93. she gets a 100% rating from the progressive dems, Obama got a 78% iirc?
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JNelson6563 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 11:34 AM
Response to Original message
96. Well I'm a progressive and if she wins the nom
I will be supporting her. It will be very easy considering the other option is to let McCain take the WH.

Julie
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Robyn66 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 12:09 PM
Response to Reply #96
98. Obviously....
especially because McCain has pledged more conservative judges! I will vote for Hillary too if she gets the nom.
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Seabiscuit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-06-08 02:56 PM
Response to Original message
102. As a progressive, I don't get how anyone like me could support Obama.
And frankly, I don't think there are any who do.
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