I'm 55 years old. I'm not stupid. Been lied to. Been schmoozed. Been there done that. Tomorrow I'm going to my caucus. I have hefty mistrust of politicians. They all fudge the truth. They all take money from special interests. All of them. Even the ones who say they don't. You don't get millions and millions of bucks for your campaign from mom and pop emptying the cookie jar. And let's face it, there are lobbyists for GOOD things. SO it's not ALL bad. It's not illegal, and until we change how our elections are funded, this is not a deal breaker for me.
I am especially cynical when it comes to smooth talking men. Sorry. Just a personal bias. We all have them. Biases, that is, not smooth talking men. I've done a lot of research. I've thought long and hard about what a leader is. I've had a little help from some friends who can clarify things easier than I can. I've thought about situations in my own life that taught me that women have to do things ten times better to get half as far.
SO tonight I've been making my list of hot button points that I might get hit with when I support Hillary Clinton tomorrow at my caucus. I started with the things I heard from people who support Obama, when they find out I'm haven't drunk the Koolaid. For me, it comes down to intelligence, experience, confidence, empathy, resilience, and GUTS. Testicles are not involved, though if any female had them, it would be Hillary.
SO. On Iraq. With the exception of HRC's opposition to the promotion of the Iraq war 'architect' Gen George Casey (Obama voted FOR it), their votes have been identical. Obama didn't have to put his name on the line in 2004, he wasn't privy to the same intel that the Congress was, and admitted that he and GWB were on the same page with regard to Iraq. Way back in 2004. Then, when he had the chance to put some muscle behind his anti Iraq stance, he did not join his fellow senators in supporting the Kerry-Feingold amendment which set a troop withdrawal start date. So, no ad for you Barak.
On PAC's. While claiming to be pure of funding from PACs/Lobbyists, Barak has taken money from 10 bundlers who have registered as federal lobbyists. He's also taken money from former lobbyists, people who HIRE lobbyists, spouses of lobbyists, and state lobbyists. Until he started running, he took money from federal lobbyists and as a state senator, directly from corporations. No ad there either.
On Iran. HRC saw the danger in GWB's saber rattling way before Obama did. She called for Congressional approval before Bush could take ANY military action in Iran., and cosponsored a bill to prohibit funds for military action without congressional approval..Ironically, Obama missed that vote. He cosponsored a later bill…
On Energy, he fails to mention he supported Cheney's energy policy, voting FOR it in 2005. On Gulf Coast Restoration, all of his proposals were similar to Hillary's, and touted 3 months AFTER she presented hers.
On who can beat John McCain, the independents who support Obama are generally Dem leaning independents who are likely to back the eventual nominee. There will be no advantage with Republican leaning independents. Both Clinton and Obama are progressives who will have to deal with a divided electorate. Neither one will have a free pass.
On women's issues, who better? She does not want us going backwards. Here Here. On international diplomacy, contrary to what Obama wants everyone to believe, Hillary never said he shouldn't negotiate with our 'enemies', just that it wasn't a good idea to promise to meet one on one with every perceived enemy in the first year of his administration. I've heard speculation from people overseas that Obama will be so eager to 'get along' that he will be perceived as 'weak'. Not out of the realm of possibility.
On who the Republicans want to run, Obama has barely had pebbles thrown at him. Hillary has had the whole arsenal over the last 10 years. There will be no surprises. The laundry is already hanging. Don't doubt that the Republicans will throw all they can dig up on him, including his lack of experience in these 'dangerous times'.
So, do I vote for the first term senator who talks great? Who WILL be great once he gets a little more seasoning? Who truly thinks HOPING will make things HAPPEN? Who has not been tested at ALL by the rabid media? Who has not even finished one term in the senate, never mind stood for and won reelection? And who has a number of 'present' votes that he would not go on record for. I have to ask, do you want the top job? Then you gotta make a stand, man, and take your lumps.
Or will I vote for the woman who was an ambassador for our country as First Lady, who tried to deal with our health care issues in an uphill battle, who learned from her mistakes but was bold enough to TRY in the first place, who ran for Senate, and did such a good job she was reelected handily, taking traditional Republican stronghold districts. She has reached across the aisle to cosponsor legislation with Republicans who lead the charge to impeach her husband. You can't get much more cooperative than that. She has worked hard to support our troops by making sure they get to keep bonuses even if they are injured and can't complete their tours, by bringing the needs of troops with traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress to the forefront, by working on improving health care for ALL of our people. I'm going with Hillary. She CAN DO. We need her to get us back on track. It's about damn time we put a woman in charge. We're way behind the curve on that one!
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