Is Hillary Clinton Pulling a Ralph Nader?
New America Media, Commentary, Russell Morse, Posted: May 15, 2008
Editor's Note: As Hillary Clinton promises West Virginians that she will be their key to economic upturn after her seemingly meaningless win, New America Media commentator Russell Morse wonders if she is trying to be a "spoiler," a la Ralph Nader.
Eight years ago, I found myself crouched in a doorway in downtown Los Angeles as police officers in riot gear fired tear gas and rubber bullets at young people in the street in front of me. Just a block away, Bill Clinton was onstage at the Staples Center, warming the crowd for his heir apparent Al Gore on the next to final night of the Democratic National Convention.
The kids in the street were not protestors, in a strict sense. At that time, my generation didn’t have much to rally around. In a vague and almost naive way, we resented globalization and were put off by the obscene wealth of the tech era. Most of that was rebellion for rebellion’s sake: we had no war, no recession, no paranoia, no visible tyranny. We just wanted something different.
As people vomited in the street from the gas, others ran blindly and the police shouted orders over bullhorns to disperse, a young man I was sharing the doorway with turned to me. He was calm and smiled before asking me, “What do you know about Ralph Nader”? I half shrugged, to question his timing, and he handed me a flyer.
Months later, people would curse Ralph Nader for handing the presidency over to George W. Bush. In many ways, that wasn’t criticism. His plan was to upset the system, to demonstrate that there were legions of Americans who didn’t want to choose between two different kinds of same. Because of that, I liked him. He appealed to youthful, idealistic, short-sighted rebellion: the kids in the street. He stuck around for the purpose of “crashing the party.”
It appears after Tuesday’s near-meaningless victory in West Virginia that Hillary Clinton has the same designs. The only problem is that this time, young Americans have found someone to rally around in the name of change who is not a trouble-making outsider, but a viable candidate. In light of that, even though the race is all but un-winnable, Hillary has had to readjust herself as the champion of a different group of Americans: old, white, poor, uneducated and subtly racist. You could say she is now positioning herself as a Ralph Nader for Hillbillies.
That phrase would be funny if it weren’t true.
I don’t like the word irony, but I don’t know how else to describe the Wellesley/Yale girl scouring the nether regions of Appalachia in a pantsuit, promising to shine the light of freedom and prosperity on this forgotten and cripplingly poor corner of America.
Now, you don’t have to be from humble means to advocate for the poor, but you do have to be genuine. Hillary only recently positioned herself as a populist, when she realized it was her only remaining option to combat the inclusive, optimistic and successful candidacy of Barack Obama.
If Hillary Clinton was sincere about helping the people of West Virginia, she might have told the story of that state’s most famous resident: Lynndie England.
Lynndie was raised in a trailer park in Fort Ashby, West Virginia: a town of 1,354 where the median income for a woman is $21,667. When Lynndie was 17, she dropped out of high school and joined the Army Reserves to escape her night job at a chicken processing plant. Lynndie had dreams of going to college and becoming a meteorologist. She saw the Army Reserves as a means to that end. The only means for her, in fact.
Instead of college, though, Lynndie ended up as a prison guard at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and the rest of her story is as tragic and heartbreaking as the beginning. Her superiors at the prison manipulated her into posing in pictures with naked detainees, giving the thumbs up, among other things. When she became the face of the Abu Ghraib horrors, she became something else: the face of white poverty in America.
Lynndie’s story highlights the horrific distaste of Mrs. Clinton’s pandering. She is not a crusader of this neglected, suffering group of people. She is trying to exploit their misfortune as a means to derail her own political party. It is truly sick and insane.
She was only allowed a brief West Virginia victory dance, however.
John Edwards threw a rather clunky sabot into Hillary’s false populist loom late Wednesday with his endorsement of Barack Obama. This spells trouble for Hillary because Edwards (expensive haircuts and shiny penny loafers aside) is a genuine populist. He’s been singing justice for America’s poor since the beginning of his political career.
So choose your metaphor. Chris Matthews said the snow cone has melted. Pat Robertson said the train has left the station. At this point, Barack Obama would have to be found naked with a face full of cocaine in a Super 8 with Miley Cyrus to lose the nomination. Or so it seems.
The other option (which I have to consider because nothing is certain this season), is that Hillary plays her cards so shrewdly that she derails the party with underhanded dealings and steals the nomination.
In that case, come July, I’ll be huddled up in a doorway in Denver, dodging rubber bullets in the street with betrayed and angry young people while a block away, Bill introduces another heir apparent.
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User Comments
Jatts on May 20, 2008 at 11:49:07 said:
is Rusel Morse a Obama fanatic. Dude your crazy, there is NO WAY Obama will win the Nov. election if he is the nominee and you and I both know that. So get off this shit.
Sherri on May 16, 2008 at 13:22:49 said:
Due to the joke that is called caucuses (which I was a witness to) one can not with a straight face say that represented the people. I watched blacks bully little old ladies to the point that by 10:30 that night they left before ever signing anything (BO supporters ran the thing and that should tell you all you need to know)Hillary does have more casted votes than Obama. Like his Ill. politics, he bullied the caucus system and made a joke of the already flawed procedure! The core of the dem party does not want him and will not support him come Nov.! Take that math!
Bill Lynch on May 16, 2008 at 08:48:00 said:
And Obama's huge 41 point defeat had nothing to do with the Clinton family spending weeks over the course of a year campaigning and staying in the local media. As opposed to Obama, who made two brief appearances in state.
He didn't put in the time, he didn't get the votes. Clinton isn't West Virginia's crusader. Neither is Obama. We'll get what we get, which isn't much. The same as always. Clinton only came here because she wants to get elected to something. We get that, but she showed up. Obama didn't.
jacksmith on May 15, 2008 at 23:22:08 said:
HILLARY CLINTON CAN BEST WIN IN NOVEMBER:
IT'S ABOUT ELECTABILITY !!!
It's time for everyone to face the truth. Barack Obama has no real chance of winning the national election in November at this time. His crushing defeat in Pennsylvania, and loss in Indiana and West Virginia makes that fact crystal clear. His best, and only real chance of winning in November is on a ticket with Hillary Clinton as her VP.
Sen. Obama has zero chance of winning against the republican attack machine, and their unlimited money, and resources without Hillary Clinton. Zero chance.
It is absolutely essential that the democrats take back the Whitehouse in November. America, and the American people are in a very desperate condition now. And the whole World has been doing all that they can to help keep us propped up.
Hillary Clinton say's that the heat, and decisions in the Whitehouse are much tougher than the ones on the campaign trail. But I think Sen. Obama faces a test of whether he has what it takes to be a commander and chief by facing the difficult facts, and the truth before him. And by doing what is best for the American people by dropping out of the race, and offering his whole hearted assistance to Hillary Clinton to help her take back the Whitehouse for the American people, and the World.
Sen. Obama is a great speaker. And I am confident he can explain to the American people the need, and wisdom of such a personal sacrifice for them. It should be clear to everyone by now that Hillary Clinton is fighting her heart out for the American people. She has known for a long time that Sen. Obama can not win this November. You have to remember that the Clinton's have won the Whitehouse twice before. They know what it takes.
If Sen. Obama fails his test of commander and chief we can only hope that Hillary Clinton can continue her heroic fight for the American people. And that she prevails. She will need all the continual support and help we can give her. She may fight like a superhuman. But she is only human.
Don't be fooled by the pledged delegate, and math arguments. Neither candidate has the necessary pledged delegates. The entire delegates counts, and votes from Florida, and Michigan are not even being counted. Plus the democratic caucuses, and primarys have been heavily corrupted by fraud, and vote cheating. The only relevant question now is who can best WIN IN NOVEMBER and take back the Whitehouse for the American people. And the answer is HILLARY CLINTON. Everyone knows that now.
Sincerely
Jacksmith... Working Class :-)
p.s. Cynthia Ruccia - I'm with ya baby. All the way. "Clinton Supporters Count Too."
CarlosnLA on May 15, 2008 at 18:22:20 said:
The only "Spoiler" in this election for me is BHObama and his fanatic idealist supporters.
jarrett on May 15, 2008 at 17:50:59 said:
All i can say is i will never vote for @&^&%&&!**#&&#^Obama now read between the lines sence your so smart!\\\"PEOPLE POWER\\\"
k. fort on May 15, 2008 at 17:10:17 said:
Senator Obama,should redraw,because he cannot win the general election.america realized who senator obama is .he has no love for america but himself and his people.
everytime,i think about 9/11,i have a problem with his charactere.
Sue Phillips on May 15, 2008 at 16:17:35 said:
crat3 -- Are you a paid blogger, or just an angry person without a life? I swear I see you ranting on every "Comment" page, for every newspaper or news outlet. Paragraph after paragraph. And I still haven't decided if you are a Dittohead pretending to be a Clintonista or a real Hillary supporter. Speaking as an Obama supporter? I don't think many of us care. We just grow weary of your nonsensical ravings.
shkgrad on May 15, 2008 at 15:01:48 said:
I must admit my jaw dropped at some of the crazy comments here. One says that the nomination would be 'swipped' away... as in stolen. What a joke. She is losing the nomination, plain and simple... why is it if she doesn't win that it was stolen? Was she 'entitled' to the nomination? Nextly, the 'PEOPLE POWER' comment... again - Mr. Obama isn't in the lead because cows in other countries voted... he's in the lead from votes by the people of the U.S. - PEOPLE POWER as you would say.
Again, the Florida/Michigan delegates issue - bottom line - Clinton agreed with the DNC to not seat the delegates - she didn't need them - NOW she does - so NOW she cares about the 'voters'.
People I understand about loyalty - but, have an open and unbiased mind when looking at what's going on and be LOYAL to our country, party and the process.
lennygoat on May 15, 2008 at 12:54:09 said:
crat3 - what is wrong with Edwards supporting Obama? would you be this upset if he had supported Clinton? probably not, you'd claim the "tide is turning". give us a break...of course the process is still in progress--so what, no superdelegates should endorse and no one can claim to support one candidate or the other? or is it that they just can't do it for Obama...Clinton support would be fine in your book i imagine.
crat3 on May 15, 2008 at 12:46:29 said:
By working to preclude Obama's winning the presidential nomination fair and square, Edwards is rending the Democratic Party apart, beyond unity, and taking it down the path of a train wreck in November, just like the daily Obama superdelegate endorsements with fabricated fluff. This will be beyond the powers of Sen. Clinton to help unify if the presidential nomination is swiped from her.
-->The Democratic nomination process is still in progress and several states remain to vote their presidential preferences; Florida and Michigan have yet tp be resolved. At their resolution, if no candidate has 2,210 delegates, then the superdelegates must select the the best qualified presidential candidate using their independent judgment without regard to any delegate math or count. All of the Obama orchestrated activity involving Edwards and Obama's daily superdelegate endorsements are intended to make an end run around the Democratic nomination process to swipe the nomination for Obama.
The resounding West Virignia defeat of Obama expressed PEOPLE POWER that has brought down governments and changed governments in other countries. This PEOPLE POWER proclaimed Sen. Clinton is the Democratic presidential nominee. Edwards, Obama, and Obama's superdelegates should seriously ponder the PEOPLE POWER that buttresses Sen. Clinton.