Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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January 6, 2008 9:14 PM
Tactical Idiocy
Though I have worked inside a number of campaigns, I don't spend much time writing about campaign tactics - mainly because campaigns are supposed to be about more than just political machinations. But when I saw this story, I had to note it for the sheer tactical idiocy of the Clinton machine. Here you have victims of health care profiteering coming forward to back Sen. John Edwards' underdog campaign, and the Clinton machine attacks Edwards, handing him a perfect opportunity to yet again show how he's the change candidate and she's cynical politics-as-usual Washington politician.
My favorite quote from the story is this:
"This campaign doesn't seem to have a conscience," [Edwards] said, adding that he had been thinking about the comment from the Clinton campaign. "The more I thought about it, the idea that somehow everything is about them, I mean, it's an indication that they have no conscience about what's at stake here. These families are who this is about. It's not about them, nor is it about me. It's about whether we're going to actually stand up and fight for these people and how much we care about them."
It's really true - the narcissistic Clinton machine really does think the world revolves around them, and that American politics is all about venerating Bill and Hillary Clinton. And, as we see here, that conceit has now blinded the Clinton campaign into total tactical idiocy.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
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The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
Ref: See my last comment on Sirotablog:
http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/01/olbermann_asks_precisely_the_c.html
As Hillary gets more desperate, she's going to get real harsh on Obama, and her façade will be pulled away. When the mask comes off, we'll see Karl Rove's face.
Hillary won't stop, but I think she's about ready to tank. She's going to do a lot of damage on the way down, though.
I just watched the FOXNoise Republican debate. It looked like a wash, but the analysis afterward was how awesome Romney was and how awful Huckabee was. Neither was true, it was pure FOX spin.
It looked like Luntz had hand-picked Romney shills for his focus group. It was pathetic.
The MoneyCons are terribly afraid of Huckabee. Their treatment of Huckabee "should" reveal to the Evangelicals just how much contempt the Wall Streeters have for them, and their Christian views.
Who was that Evangelical who worked in the Bush Administration and the blew the whistle on this? Oh yeah...
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Olbermann-Kuo.mov
The Republican party is a sneeze and a hiccup from chaos.
I agree it was tactical idiocy. For Edwards it was brilliance. Clearly Obama has the center - right, neo liberal vote tied up.
Hillary and Edwards are fighting for the same working class voters. I still hold any of them are better than Obama. Now if you are the product of the upper middle class netroots culture, he will transform government a bit, but will leave the economic sphere as it is.
My only problem with Edwards at this point is he is way too tame on Obama. Let's remember folks that one guy would still be speechless under an Obama plan. Mitt Romney has a better plan than Obama's. Obama's social security plan looks like its taken out of Fred Thompson's play book. I am with Hillary when she says in Obama, we very well may have another George Bush on our hands.
To his credit, Edwards is positioning himself against HRC/DLC - NOT Obama.
The rest of n*t*'s post on center-right, social security, Romney, GBush is hopeless nonsense.
Any candidate that has James Carvell as a consultant (Husband of that bone fide GOP consultant witch) cannot be of sound mind or intelligence. I will not tolerate that lowlife ignorant piece of shit on my tube for one minute. Anyone desperate enough to consort with the likes of him must be an idiot. I disagree that Edwards is the candidate of bone fide change. As I heard Dennis Kucinich say in an espan interview, Edwards is with the for profit health care companies. Only Kucinich's single payer plan is change. I agree even though I don't need either.
Maybe we should see how this plays out in the polls and voting booths before we start claiming a tactical victory. I say this as a John Edwards supporter.
The Clintons can get away with this sort of crap otherwise she wouldn't be number 2 and Edwards trailing by 20 points behind her.
The sad thing is that Populism or economic fairness has very little appeal among todays Democrats.
David David David,
Both the Democrats and Republicans are totally "free" to FUCK their campaigns with tactical idiocity because the only thing they're capable of doing besides socializing poverty and terrorism is making spectacles of themselves and using it to "laugh" the public down the toilet. Give it up David and try supporting 3rd party candidacies for a change. The Democrats are just ABUSING you and us all base voters anyway.
Nt whatever your name is:
You are right Hillary/edwards are both better than obama. Poorer people voted for hildawg, while richer people voted for obama.
WONDERFUL comment on the upper middle class netroots culture. SPOT ON: that is exactly the obama profile: a bit of change, but none of it economic.
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