Hillary Clinton - The First-Rate Campaign Effort We Deserve

[sampsonblk]

Mrs Clinton is putting on a campaign we can all be proud of. What a pleasant change from years past. The quality of her campaign is exceptional. I hear the doubters claiming she can't win because of this poll or that. But excellent campaigns move numbers. And Hillary Clinton's organization is so good its ridiculous.

Just my opinion. What do you guys think?

[redqueen]

1. I think you should count me out of what you think "we" deserve. n/t

[sampsonblk]

3. Its a beautiful day. I hope yours improves as well.

[redqueen]

4. What? You think I'm having a bad day just cause I disagree with you?

:rofl:

[sampsonblk]

6. Ya mean that's not how it works? My bad

[DURHAM D]

2. Duck - you are going to get a lot of shit thrown at you.

People who support other candidates are getting desperate.

[sampsonblk]

5. Thanks for the warning

[superkia]

40. I just dont believe in great CAMPAIGNS, I believe in

great PEOPLE that speak out against the corrupt government thats destroying our country and our rights as they get rich. Just because a company spends allot of money to make a great COMMERCIAL for their product, it doesn't mean that the product is great or even something that would benefit us? Great campaigns, commercials and the media aren't the final say for leadership. I look to see if my candidate will stop all the killing of innocent people, if they are standing up for the constitution, speaking out against the corrupt political system, not just playing word games to get elected, we shouldn't elect another person to be our president that is afraid to speak the truth because they are afraid to lose, we need a leader in this very important position!

I will not vote for a candidate if they support this president in these murders any longer. We are a smarter people, we can read between the political lines and make decisions that will help us and our children to have a better future. Sticking with the current political group will be disastrous for our country. I hope everyone looks into their heart at the primaries and votes for someone who will stop the deaths and abuse of our civil liberties! Too many innocent people dying and I cant have the blood on MY hands.

[Alamom]

7. Excellent post, thank you. I'm having a great day, too.....

take cover. :)

[cobalt1999]

8. Hillary is running a great campaign

Even those who don't support her, if they are objective, can admit that. Obama is running a pretty solid campaign himself. Edwards has made some missteps with his SUV and mandatory checkups comments, but has otherwise done okay with his more limited funds.

If I was handing out grades for campaigns:

Hillary - A
Obama - B+
Edwards - B

[oasis]

9. Hill's making good on her first campaign promise, "I'm in it to win it".

:thumbsup:

[jzodda]

10. I think its too early to settle on the nominee

Lets wait and see how the rest of the fall season plays out. I'm not saying shes doing badly, but I won't see she's knocking me over either. Also her organization is good because of the amount of money she has, if she had less money it would not be nearly as good an organization. McCain also had a great organization till a few months back

[sampsonblk]

13. That's it? More money = better quality?

There has to be more to it than that. I think you are selling her short.

[jzodda]

15. Money=Organization, Its that simple

I didn't mention quality, I mentioned organization.

Money buys you the top people. Its always been that way. You can be a great candidate but with no money means no people on the ground making calls, planning events, raising more money, getting endorsements, stuffing envelopes. You name it. Without that the 2nd tier candidates tend to focus on 1-2 states (usually Iowa and NH) and hope for an upset. The money buys you a national campaign early on, lots of attention, etc.

It does not hurt that she's probably the most famous woman in the country either. But if she was not then she would have less money and less organization. Money is really that important these days in politics and with a national primary on Feb 5th, even more so.

[Clintonista2]

20. Your logic fails

Obama raised more money than Hillary, yet he is running the worst campaign of the three front runners.

[jzodda]

22. Again read my post

Money buys organization, thats all I said. It does not buy good polling, or winning every time. It does buy organization. Sometimes it buys organization thats run badly (ie: McCain this cyle) sometimes it buys effective organization. I never said it equated with quality, but it helps to run an early national campaign-which Obama is doing. Whether its a good campaign or bad one depends on who you talk to now doesn't it?

[hfojvt]

29. more than that

She's the annointed front-runner, so big-shots nationwide are jockeying for position by giving her their support.

She's got all the connections from the past two Clinton administrations. People they met, people they hired, people who were part of those campaigns, and people that they did political favors for. It's much the same way that Lieberman got something like half of the Democratic county parties to work for him even after he lost the primary.

An example might be Tammy Baldwin. As a freshman congresswoman she got to speak at the national convention in 2000. Who made that happen? Probably President Clinton. So now Tammy endorses Hillary even though Tammy is a member of the Progressive Caucus and Hillary's more like a blue dog.

It's kind of sickening when you think about all the ways that this process 'works'. It works to take choices away from the average voter.

[jzodda]

30. I agree with you

I never much liked the process of anointment, even when I like the person being anointed. Gore would be an example. I love him to death but he was the anointed front runner before the campaign even began. Bush's father and Gore were all anointed front runners and if you lived in the political world of movers and shakers you didn't come on board their ship at your own peril. Lets not forget for many of these people there are things at stake we don't have to worry about-like their jobs and ability to earn income. It seems like its getting worse every election cycle, this process of anointment. There was a time when the nominee would actually have to wait till the convention in many national elections. It mattered back then, now its a big party with balloons.

[zulchzulu]

11. Support your candidate...I'll support mine

See you in the streets...

:hi:

[saracat]

12. "Years past"? Are you aware what the Clinton staffers did to the Kerry Campaign?

Odd.It was exactly the same people that she is using.But they gave different advice back then:sarcasm: And of course Howard Dean is no Terry Mcauliffe, who was DNC Chair in 2004 who just happens to be Campaign Chair for Hillary now. What a coincidence:sarcasm:

[sampsonblk]

16. No, I have not forgotten 2004 either

You gotta admit, she is making a full, 110% effort. Not a week goes by that I don't get a letter in the mail from her campaign. I am just very impressed. And for whoever we choose to carry our party's banner, that's what I expect. A full effort, using every means available, and leaving no stone unturned - so to speak.

[saracat]

17. I think you miss my point..2004 is one reason she will never get my primary vote.

Read Terry's book and what the Clintonista did is obvious.

[sampsonblk]

19. I get where you are coming from

[truedelphi]

23. What is the book's title?? n/t

[saracat]

25. "What a Party".It is mostly a name dropping puff peice about himself but

between the lines as he talks about 2004, the lack of interst is there.And he exonerates himself from any responsibility.But hey, that is Terry.

[JohnnyLib2]

14. The excellence of the campaign seems to terrorize many.

Odd, isn't it.

[Cameron27]

18. Yep, she's running a great campaign

no major gaffes, and other than the Obama skirmish, she's doing a pretty good job running at the head of the pack.

[Dawgs]

21. What is so great about it?

She refuses to answer questions, she hasn't offered any plans for anything, and she arrogantly thinks she deserves the presidency because the Republicans hate her most.

Sorry, I'm not buying that Hillary talking point either.

Just my opinion though.

[sampsonblk]

32. Rapid response, high quality voter contact stuff, etc

I get regular emails from the famous people who have endorsed her. I get fundraising emails and letters every week. They are all top notch stuff.

I didn't see anything like that in 2004.

Her message seems to be all about getting rid of the GOP. But of course there are the underlying issues: she is a woman, and electing her will immediately send the entire GOP into therapy. She never seems to overtly mention that stuff, but you can get from her literature that she fully understands the importnace of those two facts.

[Totally Committed]

24. There is a reason why some of us oppose her:

The Government We Deserve
by Larry A. Sakin

Pertinent Excerpt:

We get the kind of government we think we deserve. Without the constraints of a scrutinous public, leaders place the will of the electorate far behind the priorities of cash-heavy interests vying for their attention. If we want change, it’s up to us to create the catalyst for it. It isn’t necessary for our country to relive the mistakes of history over and over again. While the status quo may appeal to our penchant for having it all, without a direction for our country to follow, we truly have nothing.

Entire Article:
http://www.principlesproject.org/www.opednews.com


I'd rather have the government I feel we deserve than the "campaign we deserve".

TC

[Scriptor Ignotus]

26. I have to admit

her campaign is being run flawlessly.

[abq e streeter]

27. I'm not

...proud of a campaign that has given me no reason to see what qualifies her to be president other than being married to someone who used to be prez......Mcauliffe's involvement is a dead give away to what her candidacy is all about. Add that to the fact that Molly Ivins stated forcefully that she DID NOT support Hillary (and that's good enough for me right there), and I'll pass on joining you in being proud of a campaign that offers more of the DLC spinelessness, despite her ridiculous claim that she has always stood up to the right wing. I actually wish I could be more enthusiastic about her (and Bill for that matter) due to an old college friend (whom I haven't seen since the 70's--but always have admired and respected) being one of she and Bill's inner circle of advisers. But she just seems to be business as usual at a time when we need so much more than that. HOWEVER, I want to make it clear that this a respectful disagreement, and if she gets the nomination (which I pray she doesn't) instead of my choice, John Edwards , I will absolutely vote for her; no staying home or a third party, even if that temptation crosses my mind. I hope each of you reading DU will, no matter who you support right now, vote for our nominee, even if you can't stand them, because I would think at least almost all of us here recognize that a crummy Democrat is still far better than any republiklan, and the stakes are too high to have another one of them appointing Supreme Court Justices etc.

[sampsonblk]

33. Can't bring yourself to admit it, huh?

[abq e streeter]

35. Trying to keep it civil and respectful, but

I guess respectful disagreement here is an invitation to a snide , taunting comeback. I'm new here, I still have time to learn to make every disagreement personal and do my part to keep our side fractured enough to keep the republiklans in power. I just urged all non-Hillary supporters to please make sure they vote for here if she's the nominee. Maybe that was a mistake... But no, I can't bring myself to admit something that isn't true--in my opinion .

[saracat]

39. You did fine and a belated welcome from another DUer who feels the same.

I also have some friends who work for the Clinton's and fell bad that I can't support her But for the very reasons you mentioned , I have become an Edwards supporter instead.Nothing wrong with being civil.You wrote a nice post!We have the right to disagree about candidates!

[emilyg]

28. First rate. I agree.

Expect ugly noise on your post.

[5thGenDemocrat]

31. I support Kucinich, my wife backs Obama

But, yes, I'd agree Sen Clinton is doing very well.
I'd expect a well-run campaign from a Clinton -- Bill, after all, has one of the savviest political minds of our time and the Senator taught, learned from, married and works as a partner with him.
Also, the Clintons have the numbers of the finest Democratic political operatives in their Rolodex. Win or lose, I wouldn't expect any Dukakis-in-a-tank moments.
And it looks to me, even as a non-supporter, that the Senator is willing to work her butt off out on the trail. People are getting to see her in person and are noticing that she doesn't really have horns or a tail. I'd expect her negatives to go down as this continues.
So I agree with your premise -- a first-rate effort (so far, of course).
John
And the wife and I intend to vote Democratic, no matter who gets the nomination. So there's that.

[karynnj]

34. This is a little premature - we are not even to the primaries yet

Now, she is the party and media favorite for the Democrats. They have pushed her as the party leader since November 2004. In 2003, Kerry and other candidates were asked if they would drop out if she entered. In 2003, even when it was CLEAR that Kerry would easily have the nomination, Carville was still speaking of the possibility of a brokered convention, with Clinton rescuing the party.

Is it therefore a surprise she is far ahead?

Her campaign has not been flawless. In fact, Kerry's 2004 primary campaign might well have been better - he won Iowa pretty much under the radar, than proceeded to win all but - I think - 4 states (OK, SC, NC, VT). Pretty good for a candidate for whom the conventional wisdom two weeks before the Iowa caucus was that the best he could do was 2 third places in IA and NH and then dropping out. It wasn't Kerry who got the magazine covers and lapdog media to support him in 2004.

[Yuugal]

36. Can she win?

Thats what it seems to be about for alot of her supporters: Can she win? YES SHE CAN!!!! WOOHOO!!!

The thing is, what is she going to do for me and mine? Does the goldwater girl eating cracked crab and lobster with rupert murdoch give a damn about union males like myself? She seems pro corporate, pro war, pro nafta, secretive, haughty, rich.....yuk! She is a woman, from the northeast now and a Clinton so the reps hate her guts and will be very motivated. Right out of the gate we know its going to be real tight come election time. She wont pull in any southern states so we are going to be right back in the failed "key state" strategy of the last two elections. Ya know, the kind of election where the reps know which states machines need to be rigged the most and can concentrate their psyops and payola right where its needed from the start.

I'm sure she will get gobs more cash from every corporation under the sun, and for every dollar I dont want one of our dreams to be sold down the river. So far I prefer a populist male to get the nomination, preferably one from the south, so we have a chance to get joe six-pack's vote down there. Since the media wants Hillary, the republicans want Hillary, and Hillary's mountain of corporate cash wants Hillary....we'll probably be stuck with her and if we are I'll be a good union soldier and go vote for her while holding my nose.

She scares me however. I've been pretty bitter since 2006 when all of us dems worked so hard to get a dem congress and the net result was they give Bush more blank checks than the reps did, something I didnt think would be possible. IMHO, as soon as Pelosi got her majority she turned her backs on us and sold us out. Just as Hillary didnt do much for Kerry, is it possible Hillary wont do much for us once she gets what she wants? The Clinton's did their level best to kill off US manufacturing with NAFTA and we dont need any more jobs shipped to mexico or china.

Heres what I want:

Protection for US jobs, a living wage for all, medical for all, affordable safe housing for all who need it, free education through college level for all who want it, an apollo program for non fossil fuel sources(and please spare me the bs of using corn because our farmland is overstressed, overused, and over fertilized now and people are going hungry in this world, I'll be damned if I ever support starving half the world so some asshat call fill his hummer), protection from govt spying, and end to the iraq war, and an end to the fruitless and expensive drug war, smash the glass ceiling once and for all, equal rights and privileges for the glbt members of our society, and a restoration of the environmental laws which protect our water, food, and open spaces.

So Hillary lovers, I may be a cynical, bitter, club-wielding union thug and depressed democrat, but its not like I hate her or anything although breaking bread with murdoch was a slap in the face. Its more that I havent seen much that makes me feel secure that shes one of us and not one of "them". Since I'm just a primitive caveman at heart, maybe start with the cleavage picture that it seems everyone else has seen but me and break the ice a little. :)

[sandnsea]

37. With no media opposition

Any campaign would look perfect.

[mistertrickster]

38. Hillary is whatever you want her to be. There's no "there" there.

From Jeff Cohen:

While progressives desperately want a Democratic president, the last Clinton in the White House subverted the progressive agenda. Eight years of Clintonite triangulation caused the Democratic Party to decline at every level of government. Hillary today is surrounded by the same staff and would likely appoint the same corporate types to top jobs as Clinton I, where big decisions were often corrupt and calculated toward moneyed interests.

The toughest brawl Bill Clinton was willing to wage (besides saving his own hide from impeachment) was against the Democratic base: for the corporate-backed NAFTA. Through the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Bill brought us far more media conglomeration than George W. He pardoned well-connected fugitive financier Marc Rich, while leaving Native American activist Leonard Peltier to rot in prison despite pleas from Amnesty International and others.

What we've seen of Hillary Clinton in the Senate and on the campaign trail suggests that Clinton II would indeed be a sorry sequel. Today she's winning the endorsement of Republican CEOs, after having had Murdoch host a benefit for her at the Fox News building in 2006. Just as Bill Clinton's spine achieved a rare firmness while battling for NAFTA, we recently observed in Hillary a rare passion and firmness on a single issue: her YearlyKos defense of lobbyists, including those who "represent corporations that employ a lot of people."

Like Bill campaigning as a populist and governing as a corporatist, Hillary's stump speech proclaims she'll end the Iraq war in January 2009, while she assures The New York Times of a long-term U.S. military presence inside Iraq. She's tried to explain away her vote to authorize the war, but avoids mention of her even more dubious vote hours earlier against requiring United Nations approval (or, if UN approval failed, a second Congressional authorization) before war could begin. Her overall bellicosity on Iran and the Middle East wins praise from conservative pundits; her "Israel-right-or-wrong" stance could make Christian Zionists blush.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1284

[PurityOfEssence]

42. Oh, there's a "there" there, it's just not always where she says it is

It couldn't be; she's on too many different sides of too many issues.

All things to all people is nothing much to anybody.

She's more christian than the christians, more concerned for the workers regardless of the other candidates' better records on the subject, tough on republicans even though she isn't, a tireless crusader against the corporations she's in league with, and the most bridge-building saber-rattler you ever did see.

With all of the carefully choreographed positioning, just WHERE is she? It depends on the audience at hand.

She's the politician equivalent of Al Capp's "shmoos" from L'il Abner, and she's as plentiful as a Dogpatch Ham.

[durrrty libby]

41. She is doing fabulous. I hope it continues for her

:hi: :applause: :applause: