Hillary: Dems need more than hard working white workers to win

Excuse me if a look of bewilderment continues to cross my face when a surrogate of Sen. Hillary Clinton, or even the candidate herself, starts off on the we-need-hard-working-white-workers-to-win-in-November mantra.

In fact, the candidate herself has now made that the primary – and latest argument – that she is making to the superdelegates in order to convince them that she’s the best person to beat Sen. John McCain in November.

“I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” she told USA Today. They said she cited an Associated Press article “that found how Sen. Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”

Now, I know I’m not one of those hard-working white Americans she’s talking about, but the reality is that hard-working white Americans alone will not put Sen. Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama in the White House.

African Americans alone won’t do it.

Young voters alone won’t do it.

Seniors alone won’t do it.

The college educated alone won’t do it.

The no-working Americans alone won’t do it.

Gays and lesbians alone won’t do it.

Non-religious voters alone won’t do it.

Veterans alone won’t do it.

Hispanics alone won’t do it.

Women alone won’t do it.

In fact, Democrats alone won’t do it. You also must take a good portion of independents.

No Democrat can win the White House unless they are able to pull from all the various constituencies in the country, and it’s downright silly for the Clinton campaign to continue to assert that when it’s all said and done, hard working white votes are the only votes that matter.

Sure, they’ll contend that that’s not what they are saying. But it sure sounds that way (and no, I don’t agree with what’s being said on blogs that this is playing the race card).

But it’s downright silly.

Is Clinton suggesting that the whites that voted for Obama in Iowa, New Hampshire (where she beat him by around 8,000 votes), Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington state, Minnesota and so many other states were phantom voters? Were they not hard-working white voters? Were they only the “eggheads and African Americans” who Paul Begala referred to on CNN on election night?

Look, I get spin. And I get that Clinton must figure out some kind of argument that makes sense for the superdelegates to go her way and ignore Obama’s lead among pledged delegates, the popular vote and state’s won. But when a Democratic candidate continues to ram home this notion that hard-working white Americans somehow are the bedrock foundation of the Democratic Party, it’s just not true.

Clinton wants to make the argument that her white working class support in Ohio and Pennsylvania – states the Democrats need to win in November – shows she’s the best choice. But one major failure in Clinton’s argument is the assumption that all of the traditional Democratic constituencies will continue to offer her broad support if she’s the nominee. And considering her high negatives, she can’t afford any erosion. Obama could make the case that she has failed miserably in the primaries in garnering young voters and African Americans, and without them, she loses.

Not only that, the Democratic Party has a chance to expand the map beyond the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. If you look at the presidential map, Democrats have a solid shot at winning Iowa, New Mexico, Missouri, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire. Of those states, Obama won four of the seven, and had narrow losses in New Mexico and New Hampshire.

Small states? Sure. Winnable? Absolutely. Their electoral votes count as much as the big states.

If the Democratic Party is serious about winning, they are going to have to put on ice this notion that white working class voters, or any other constituency, are the be-all-to-end-all in November. Winning the White House, no matter the candidate, is about building a true broad coalition, and how else to judge that than who has done that in the primary? If it’s Obama, he’s the nominee. If it’s Clinton, she’s the nominee.

That should be on the mind of every superdelegate, and not the debate over which ethnic group reigns supreme at the ballot box.

Comments

[Energize]

Even after Obama finishes Hillary off, he’s going to have to keep checking on her to make sure she doesn’t resurrect as something else.

I hope Obama stopped smoking and Ms. First Lady needs to drink a Red Bull and keep pushing. Their work is just beginnnig. I'm proud of the way she keeps those babies first.

[David S.]

"That should be on the mind of every superdelegate, and not the debate over which ethnic group reigns supreme at the ballot box."
Basically she's trying to see if the race card'll help

[Nanaqu2]

Let Mrs. Clinton stay in the race and fight until the end. She nor the media would not be contend unless this race goes until the end. I think she should stay in. Thats the democratic process. Allow her to appoint Mr. Obama as the nominee and vice versa.

[Drevelyn Minor]

Hillary Received Another “Fraudulent Win in Indiana.” ~~~~~

Who wants a candidate that can not win on his/her on strength and by any means necessary? ~~~~~

Hillary does not have the necessary qualities required to deal with our government. She talks a lot, but clearly has not demonstrated the “POWER to convince the voters with out the help of the Republicans and Operation Chaos that she is the people’s choice. ~~~~~

All through this campaign Hillary supporters and high level friends has been jumping ship, leaving her without the number of people required to put together a team to run our government completely which enables her to function effectively. ~~~~~

Fraud wins ~TEXAS ~ PENN ~ INDIANA and I am sure their are other states that she won because of the Republican Party and Operation Chaos. ~~~~~

“UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION:” ~~~ Rush Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos where urged his listeners to “bloody up” Obama by voting for Clinton in the primaries – is under criminal investigation in Ohio for violating that state’s election law. ~~~~~~

With Rush Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos – where the right-wing talk show host urged his listeners to “bloody up” Obama by voting for Clinton in the primaries – is under criminal investigation in Ohio for violating that state’s election law. With Clinton winning Indiana by a mere 22,000 votes (which had an open primary and she was the overwhelming choice of Republicans), she can thank Rush for giving her that margin of victory – hardly a comforting thought. ~~~~~~

Mr. Limbaugh crowed about the success of his ploy all day Tuesday, featuring on-air testimonials from voters in Indiana and North Carolina who recounted their illicit pleasure in casting a vote for Clinton. "Some of the people show up and they ask for a Democrat ballot, and the poll worker says, 'Why, what are you going to do?' He says, 'Operation Chaos,' and they just laugh," Limbaugh said Tuesday. ~~~~~~~~~

But Limbaugh called off the operation Wednesday, May 7th, saying he wants Obama to be the party's pick, because "I now believe he would be the weakest of the Democrat nominees." ~~~~~

He called off the operation because he is “UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION”~~~~

Americans at large has condemned Mr. Limbaugh's intervention tactic, calling it a major factor in Clinton's narrow Hoosier State win. ~~~~~

A blind person can see she is not able to win with out FRAUD playing a major part in her campaign. (The Clinton’s are Thieves) and will never change! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama for President!

[Angela]

Roland, I don't think Hillary is playing the "race card," however I do think she is playing a "race mind game." Saying things like this is still very divisive. Like you stated, everyone's vote is important no matter what group people seem to want to classify you. I was watching "Morning Joe" this morning, and there was this bald Black guy who writes for Huffington Post who stated that he didn't understand why can't a win be a win or a loss a loss.... why do we have to group people... why does this matter... I fully agree with him. It just seems so polarizing to me. For example, are Catholics the only religious group voting? She is also trying to brainwash voters into thinking that Obama is not electable and won't be able to win the general election.... I am sure her team has a desired outcome for this kind of mad strategy.

Someone needs to step up and tell Hillary to just stop!!!

[Pamela]

I think Hillary is playing the race card but it is only ONE of MANY cards!

She is ultimately playing DIVISIVE cards some of which include: RACE, GENDER, CLASS and RELIGION by inciting FEAR!!!

She and her campaign CHOOSE to tap into a human beings fear because they know that we all fear something...it is the only strategy that she can see as way for her not to succumb to her deepest fear of FAILURE!

Her EGO and sense of ENTITLEMENT will not allow her to be seen as a failure--no, not in the eyes of the American public--but in the eyes of her peers. The HRC campaign thinks that the American people are easy and can be HANDLED but her "elite" group of peers are a different story!

She could care less about what the American public thinks of her and that is why she will continue to marginalize different sections of society that are not on board with the HRC program. She thinks that she has endured too much(personally and professionally) to be relegated to second place AGAIN.

Going forward, the HRC campaign will continue to try and DIVIDE and CONQUER! They will use history to justify this course of action because they will say that this is how GREAT societies have been built by being willing to FIGHT...she will spin it by not including the FACT that this is also how "great" socities have FAILED!

The AMERICAN PEOPLE will have to rise up and take ACTION and step outside of these labels and decide what is best for AMERICA has human beings who want more than what we have been getting in this country from our CHOSEN leaders!

[Dustee]

Great article Roland!

We all should know by now that 'It Takes A Village' - All of America's people to win the nomination/presidency. the UNITED states of america.

[marlin]

I think she is a closet Republican. Her narcissistic, divisive strategy is very simple: divide and conquer. The only thing wrong with this strategy is that it doesn't work. It alienates and marginalizes other segments of the population and if she keeps up it will divide the party. On a global level, this reminds of the situations in areas of the world that are war torn or on the verge of going to war. The end goal of that game is that nothing gets accomplished. We've have 8 years of nothing. It's a shame that in one breathe she states that she has much love for the US but her actions are counter to her argument. One of her closest friends/allies should pull her to the side and tell her what she doesn't what to hear: Hillary please stop the madness. You are starting to look like a poor sportsman. You can win with grace and you can gracefully lose. Failure to heed that warning, will eventually turn-off her core supporters. Roland, the other thing is that she is race baiting. She continually describes her base as white hard-working middle class voter. I guess everybody else in the middle class is mince meat. What's her narcissistic angle? DNC head? Attorney General? Sec of State? Prime Minister (we have to create something special for her because she’s a Clinton?

[Nola]

This woman has allowed her hatred for Senator Obama to evolve to a level that she will say and do anything to keep him from becoming President of the USA. Sometime (quick second) I feel very sorry for her. She woke up one day and decided that she was entitled to the position of President and everyone else was to disappear-

I just read that people want him to select her as his VP - I hope that he will dismiss their suggestions and select someone else. This woman would have him bumped off any a matter of days - so she could become President. I would not trust her in broad day light let alone in the dark.

Thanks Roland for providing such a great blog

[Indie Liberal]

The gas tax isn't the only thing that Hillary and McCain have worked together on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

[Jody Gaddy]

This is appealing to racism, pure and simple. BUT she will lose as usual.

Imagine this ignorant woman who does not know how to manage her own campaign. Imagine Bill who does not have enough common sense to respect Blacks who went to war to defend him when Republicans wanted to impeach him. Imagine Charles Rangel, Bob Johnson, Andrew Young, and the rest of our own black self-haters running around talking about how Hillary has more experience than Obama.

What is experience? Experience at what? Are we talking about experience on how to lie and fabricate information so as they continue living off the suffering they help to create for the American people?

What exactly is the experience of this woman if show could not manage her campign as efficient as Obama?

Like I said somewhere, those two people are done for good. No matter how they play to the gallery of the old white rasist women in America, they are done because young white people are smarter and more open-minded than the old racists in this nation.

[Fletch]

Its funny how this group of voters that Obama supposedly can't capture continues to evolve. Today she's calling them "white, working-class, without college degrees". This voting block gets more defined with each passing primary. We've heard them called "rural", "blue collar", and now they're un-educated. And yet, Obama is supposed to be elitist. HA!

[simplycharming47]

Oh yeah, she's definitely playing the race card.

What is she's inferring? I'm WHITE and YOU'RE not, therfore you cant WIN because NO WHITE HARD-WORKING AMERICANS WILL VOTE FOR YOU!! What is she thinking and what's motivating her to feel the need to say something so racially divisive and polarizing, NOW?

It's no secret that African Americans are voting for Obama in huge numbers, but our vote alone is not the SOLE factor in him winning and NEITHER would the White Vote be for Hillary no matter what those voices in her heads tells her. (she would definitely need every African American vote in the America for her to even come close to winning the election after her shenagians).

I suppose in her mind (those damn voices again) the under 60 white vote, the Black vote, Latino, Asian, Native American vote and everything in between vote is-IRRELEVANT!!

Okay, Obama may not be getting large percentages from the white voters over 60, But he does extraordinarily well with whites 60 and under. So what is it that she's implying?.. This is just another desperate last ditched attempt on her part to play to the fears and stereotypes of a certain segment in society who would rather remain in their dire circumstances than to give someone who doesnt look like them a shot at attempting to make things better for ALL of US..

Personally I think she should (as someone else said) "fad to black" thereby allowing Senator Obama time to physically, mentally and financially prepare himself to fight this "Republican Attack Machine" that he will be facing-soon, thanks to Hillary.

But if she insists on staying in the race until the end, can she at least do it with some dignity as did her opponent? oh wait, that would be too much like right, wouldnt it?

[Reecie]

Clinton is disgusting...period! Any Black superdelegate still supporting her after this blatant race baiting is a disgrace. Notice she didn't say "working class" she said "hard working Americans, white Americans"...as if white folks are the only ones out there busting their butts everday. She is trying to run up the racist vote in WV and Kentucky...they need to shut this down now, because it is obvious she won't bow out gracefully. Letting her continue on is pure cowardice at this point.

[Cynthia, TX]

I am sorry. But I just don't see how any super delegate that is a minority could be supporting this women at this time. I am shocked and just floored about this. I agree with Bill Richardson they some how feel this is owed to them. The USATODAY article summed it all up.

[teresa]

are these the same white people that she said "screw um" when they were trying to get the white vote during her husbands run for president

[rikyrah]

She's totally racebaiting. Plain and simple. Very obvious.

And where are the Democratic leaders stepping in to give her a smackdown about this?

[Lexi]

Roland,

Your writing, paraphrasing, and illogical leaps of reasoning don't serve your readers well. You appear to be about as educated in demographics as Obama--which doesn't say much.

She was stating a basic fact. That fact is that since the Pastor Disaster, the "untrained ear" comment in his Philadelphia speech (in the biggest Civil War abolotionist State no less), his "typical white person" comment a day or two later (again in Pennsylvania), and his racist "Bittergate" comment (against Pennsylvania's working-class), Obama's been bleeding white working-class Democrats by the second. In other States, he was doing relatively well with these voters before these self-inflicted wounds and since that time, he's been getting hammered.

The "white working-class" are the vast majority of Americans. If you don't even have their support among Democrats, you stand little to no chance of gaining "white working-class" Independents and crossover Republicans. Do you what that means? It means you get blown out in the key States that you need to win to put together an Electoral College victory.

Lexi

[Jody Gaddy]

It is as if you call somebody illogical, then you (who is making the charge) is automatically logical yourself.

Obama is ahead in every aspect of this nomination. McCain is for the continuation of Bush's failed policies, domestic and foreign. Given the choice between McCain and Obama, no rational voter will vote for McCain. No person who loves this nation will vote for somebody who wants to continue the current expensive war in Iraq. No patriotic American who cares about the place of America in the international scene of nations will continue the current failed fiscal and foreign policies that put America 100 years in international diplomacy. If America continues in the present path in Iraq, this nation may not survive. These are facts.

Hillary (plus Bill) played the race card in NH and SC. She wants to keep America divided along racial and social-class lines. She called Obama elitist over and over again when she knows that this is false. She did not blow Obama out by 30 points in PA even with her lies about elitism and class warfare charges against Obama. She did not win by 30 points after the Gov. of PA used race-betting to scare the white folks in PA. Remember that claim by him that white folks would not vote for a black man. Remember that Hillary lied about NAFTA in Ohio and Texas. Her fabrications and lies were carefully calculated and deliberate to deceive the same working class she is talking about. If the voters in Ohio and Texas knew the truth about her involvement in the passage of NAFTA, Obama would have won the nomination in Ohio and Texas with more than 30 points.

Hillary does not know how to manage anything. She can not manage the American economy. She does not know how to manage money. She does not know how to manage people. She does not know how to manage an operation as large as her own campaign. She loaned her campaign money twice because she ran out of money. The latest self-loan of $6.5 million was hidden from the voters in Indiana and NC. Obama raises more money from small donors (the working people), more than any other candidate in this presidential race. Hillary's base in fund-raising is with wealthy donors. McCain is also struggling to raise some funds and he only attracts big donors. Even the members of US military give Obama 4 times more than they donate to McCain and Hillary. Now, if Hillary have hard times attracting campaign funds from working class Americans and college students, if she could not manage her own campaign, if she could not manage the biggest operation in her life, how does these facts make her the best for the working class in America? If she has more moral and credibility problems concerning her past life in Whitewater, Monica sexual affairs, and fabrications of events, how do these things make her a better candidate in the general election against McCain? How does she stand a better chance of winning in the general election than anybody?

[Drevelyn Minor]

Bill Clinton Switches to Obama!

In what some Democratic Party insiders are calling a particularly ominous sign for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, former president Bill Clinton today became the latest superdelegate to switch from Sen. Clinton to her rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill).

Sources close to the former president said that Mr. Clinton had been mulling such a defection for weeks, as early as the night of the Iowa primary, but that he only decided to make his decision public today.

“The American people want change,” Mr. Clinton said at a press conference in New York. “Lord knows I do.”

The former president said that “sometimes, at the end of a race, you have to put an old horse down,” adding, “I’m not speaking metaphorically.”

Mr. Clinton fueled speculation that he was seeking a role in an Obama administration, saying, “I know my way around the Oval Office, and I know how the super-secret double-lock works.”

The former president said he would relish a return to the White House, calling his tenure there “good times.”

For her part, Sen. Clinton said that the defection of her husband would not deter her from staying in the race, adding, “To my knowledge, he’s the only white voter Sen. Obama has.”

The New York senator denied that she was playing the race card, arguing, “Every other member of my family is supporting me, and by the way, they’re white.”

Elsewhere, a defiant John McCain said that his wife will not release her tax returns, “and neither will my girlfriend.”

http://www.borowitzreport.com /