Will NY Return Hillary To Washington With A Message?

[Tom Rinaldo]

I fully expect to back Hillary Clinton come November but I already voted for Jonathan Tasini for U.S. Senate via absentee ballot, because I will be away from New York State on business come Primary day this Tuesday. This vote was a true no brainer for me. The Republicans won't be fielding a credible Senate candidate in November, and Eliot Spitzer will be a Democratic steam roller for Governor at the top of the State ticket. This is a VERY SAFE seat for Democrats, and there is very little doubt Clinton will be returning to the U.S. Senate. But I hope she heads back to Washington with a message from some of her New York State Democratic constituents. Constituents like me to be more precise.

A lot of us aren't happy with Hillary for throwing away an opportunity to be a national leader for Liberal causes, because she is so desperate to cultivate a centrist image to win over the main stream Hillary haters who stand in the way of her Presidential ambitions. I realize that some progressive Democrats dislike and distrust Hillary Clinton more than I do, but for the moment I choose not to go there.

I never saw Hillary as a true progressive, but I was actually excited when she first won election in 2000. As a Senator from the safely Democratic State of New York, I thought Hillary Clinton would use that platform to provide a strong voice, perhaps not for all but for many important Liberal causes. I fully expected Clinton to speak out strongly against the direction the Bush Administration intended to take America.

Six years later and, yes, I am aware that Hillary Clinton has a clear Liberal voting record on many organization's score cards. I know that they generally consider her a fairly "safe vote", but what I also see is this. Too often I see Hillary Clinton step back into the shadows when a progressive cause is being hotly contested, letting other Democrats take the early hits over it. Clinton rarely leads our cutting edge fights.

I remember when another famous Democrat with important family connections, Ted Kennedy, got elected to the U.S. Senate. I watched closely while Ted Kennedy represented his State and represented it well, and to paraphrase Lloyd Bentson, Hillary Clinton is no Ted Kennedy. In my opinion Hillary tends to be a Democrat who is a little too slow sometimes to arrive at the correct position, like calling for Rumsfeld's resignation a few years too late, to pick perhaps an extreme example. She may get there but she seldom leads.

Hillary Clinton was never a leader fighting Bush's rush to War in Iraq. She was never a leader fighting the PNAC Neo Con plans to attempt massive violent social engineering in the Middle East. She isn't leading a fight against the rush toward war with Iran now either. On top of all that Hillary Clinton refuses to stand up for single payer health insurance, and she has been dependably corporate friendly regarding a string of United States "Free Trade" agreements. I honestly expected better from Hillary Clinton as a Senator.

I mentioned Ted Kennedy above because he is a prominent current Senator from a relatively Liberal State who I think represents his constituents well, but really I am thinking of his Brother. I was proud to once have RFK as my Senator here in New York, and if I could personally deliver a message to Hillary Clinton now, here is what I would say: "Stop clogging the box Hillary, you sit in a very special seat. Start becoming the leader we Democrats need, not the Presidential Candidate you think the Mid West wants."

I've met Jonathan Tasini, I like Jonathan Tasini, and as things stand I agree with Jonathan Tasini on the issues far more than I do with Hillary Clinton. I am confident Tasini would make an excellent Senator if given that chance, but I know that the cards are overwhelmingly stacked against it. Still I am hoping Tasini gets 20% of the vote in the New York Democratic Primary on Tuesday. More would be better, but given all the advantages that Hillary Clinton has, I think 20% would make for a pretty impressive showing for Jonathan Tasini.

It might bruise Hillary's ego a little should that come to pass, and I think it will, but ultimately I think Clinton would become a better Senator for and from New York because of it. If one in five New York State Democrats vote for Jonathan Tasini on Primary Day this Tuesday, I will consider my message to Hillary delivered.

[patrice]

1. Didn't Hillary grow up as a Republican?

Or was that just she grew up in a Republican household?

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. You know, I don't remember. I used to know that one

and I think I heard that she was a Republican when she met Bill Clinton but someone else might be clearer about that than I. I don't remember because honestly I don't care. Yes I know that childhood influences etc are important, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, where people changed their poltical philosophy after their early youth. So whatever Hillary Clinton was at age 20 doesn't matter to me very much now. It might provide a clue, but then again it might not. I think her adult years are much more telling than her school years. I do know there are some who believe she has always had Republican leanings, but I fully accept Hillary as a Democrat of some stripe now.

[Sam Odom]

5. Hil was a "Goldwater Girl" n/t

n/t

[beyurslf]

10. She was raised Republican and was one in her younger years. So what?

[snowbear]

2. Well...

If I had the choice to vote for either Hillary or Jonathan for U.S. Senate, I'd likely go with Hillary myself.

But I admire you for doing your homework and voting from your heart!

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. Thank you. I'm still a safe vote in November.

I tried here not to fall into Hillary bashing, because even from my left of center perspective, there are many elected Democrats far more worthy of bashing than she. Honestly, when I really thought about it, I realized that I am disappointed in her at least as much as I am upset by some of her positions.

Through all the horror of the 2000 Election aftermath I took some comfort from Hillary Clinton winning her race for Senate. I don't expect all elected Democrats to fully reflect my views, and I have not given up on Clinton completely, but she has fallen short of my expectations.

[Tellurian]

9. She needs to develop charismatic skills

This quality is a common thread in all popular and well loved politicians. You know their names, I don't think I have to spell them out. Charismatic people have a gift, they can tell people to go to Hell and have them smiling looking forward to the trip. Is there a school for that...I've never heard of one, but there must be life style strategists out there that can help. It would do wonders for her speech presentations, developing a soothing tone to her voice ie. rather than talking "at" people, talk "to" people. You want people holding their breath so they can hear and process every word you have to say; allowing them to respond spontaneously to your thoughts and ideas.

[CarlVK]

6. When HRC changes her view on the Iraq War,

I'll consider changing my view on her. She is much too close to the war/PNAC for my comfort.

[snowbear]

8. Hi Carl and Welcome Aboard !!

[CarlVK]

11. Thank you Larissa!

Great to be here!

[Auntie Bush]

12. Hi Carl! Welcome to DU.

:hi:

[Ignacio Upton]

7. I'm hoping Tasini gets roughly 20%

Why? Because we need to send the message that we don't want her to run for President. She's safe for re-election because the GOP has two sacrificial lambs (John Spencer and KT McFarland) waiting for her. I plan on voting for Tasini in the primary on Tuesday as a protest vote, even though he has no chance of winning the primary either. As for the other races, I'm voting for Spitzer in the Gubernatorial, Dan Maffei for the Congressional race (even though he's now unopposed, the symbolism still matters) Dave Valesky for State Senate (he's up for a tough re-election this year and has the Democrat's most vulnerable state Senate seat) and for Attorney General I'm going to vote for Sean Maloney as a protest vote against Cuomo and Green, both of whom I can't stand and will only vote for in the general because they're running against Jeanine "where's page 10" Pirro.

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. That's a pretty good slate you have there

Like you I don't want Hillary Clinton to run for President in 2008, I really don't support her views on Foreign affairs and that is a big one to me, but mostly I think that our running her for President would increase the chances of the Republicans somehow winning in 2008 by mobilizing their base through non stop Clinton hating, among other things.

I do think that if Tasini makes a respectable showing on Tuesday under the circumstances it will decrease her chances of running for President. I know she will do well in November against weak Republican opposition. So, in my opinion, the only chink that will show in her armor from her running again for the Senate is a decided lack of enthusiasm for her candidacy from center left activist Democrats, that's if Tasini can pull 20% of the primary vote against her.