I'll Say It Yet Again

I write this not because of the propagandized narrative that Clinton can still pull ahead in this campaign but rather because of the assaults on humanity and reason that she has considered evidence that she is fighting for "us" (whoever "us" may be, in her estimation).

As I have said here repeatedly, before Campaign 2008, my attitude was thus: I had expected Clinton to fight for "us" (everyone living in the United States) after 9-11, when it was clear to anyone paying attention that 9-11 was an excuse for an imperialist war, anti-immigrant sentiment, the previously unimaginable revocation of the Bill of Rights, and the transfer of the U.S. treasury to the military-industrial complex. She did not. I had expected her to fight for "us" (the working- and middle-class) when corporate predators of all stripe sought to transfer our personal assets to their stockholders and CEOs. She did not. When I lived in New York City, worked for the Family Independence Administration, and saw funds transferred from needy families into the hands of vendors--big, powerful corporations who claimed to be providing "job training" or "child care,"--I expected her to fight for "us" (everyone who has ever or may ever need a safety net). She did not. She was in my estimation yet another Democratic politician who had let "us" down. A list of all of her counterparts in U.S. government who had done exactly the same would be nauseatingly long.

I bear no animus toward her for the reasons that the notorious Clinton bashers of the 1990s did: that her husband is/was sexually compulsive, that she refused to spend her time as First Lady quietly obsessing over place settings and luncheons, that she claimed an active role in political leadership. In fact, I fought for her against the rabid right wingers and/or misogynists who attacked her for those reasons.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama had won his Senate seat despite standing up for "us"--on the war, on civil liberties, and against financial predators. He was one of few Democratic legislators whom I had seen take principled positions regardless of the very real political risks of doing so. His record is not perfect but has addressed "our" concerns much more directly. His fundraising success with donations of less than $200 was evidence of the groundswell that he created, the first positive one I had seen in my lifetime. He had a much firmer grasp on effective international relations. His books demonstrated to me that he is a first- rate thinker. The contrast was clear and the choice was easy.

In the aftermath of Presidential Primary Campaign of 2008, I do bear especial animus toward Clinton for her blatant emboldening of and subsequent exploitation of racist sentiment, for her coercive attempts to further a personal agenda at the cost of her party, for her rallying cry to white women to mobilize against her/their imagined mistreatment at the hands of Barack Obama, and for her attempts to retrocatively transform all the rules and the mathematics that resulted in her defeat.

Update: Check out this lady getting ejected from the RBC meeting for repeating Clinton campaign talking points:

(h/t Bark, Bugs, Leaves, and Lizards)

Step up to the WHAT?

(Photo Credit: Washington Centerville)

Indulge me for a moment in a hypothetical scenario: Imagine that a band of thugs from another country invade us, bomb and destroy our infrastructure, dismantle our government, disband our armed services, kill at least half a million of us, rape and torture many others of us, all for no reason. Then, in response to dissenters from their own country, they eventually consider leaving us alone, but before doing so suggest that it is time for us to "step up to the plate" and solve our own problems? Since baseball is an "American" sport, though, that's probably not the metaphor they'd use. But you get the point.

Helpful Definitions:

Arrogance: overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward [perceived]inferiors

Narcissism: a psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem.

Symptoms of antisocial personality disorder: People with antisocial personality disorder may believe that only threats of punishment, rather than personal values, cause people to play by the rules. The belief leads to a tendency to exploit others, take advantage of their fairness or soft-heartedness, and feel indifferent toward or even contemptuous of their victims. A person with this disorder has little, if any, ability to be intimate with another person. Any lasting relationships involve abuse or neglect. Yet people with this disorder are sometimes charming and can be good actors who use lies and distortion to keep relationships going. Some with antisocial personality disorder have no goal beyond the pleasure of deceiving or harming others.

In reference to Iraq or the Iraqis, this metaphor must die:

''We needed the Iraqis to step up to the plate,'' said a senior administration official, who said American officials had conveyed the sense of urgency to the handpicked Iraqi delegates at Monday's meeting, sponsored by the United States and Britain. New York Times. April 30, 2003.

"We're trying to come up with ways to get the Iraqis to step up to the plate, to push them along, because the time is coming," a senior Bush administration official told the New York Times. The Guardian. October 23, 2006

Senator Hart, General Gard, and General Johns: The United States must begin leaving Iraq to force both the Iraqis and the international community to step up to the plate. Council for a Livable World. September 12, 2007

"How do you get them to do the reconciliation process as long as you give them a blank check?" said Lawrence Korb, a former Pentagon official and now informal adviser to Obama. "It's time for the Iraqis to step up to the plate." Dispatch Politics. February 24, 2008

Army Col. Michael Fuller, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq’s chief of staff: Indicative of the security forces’ improvement, Fuller said, the Iraqi army recently moved two brigades to Basra province to battle insurgents. “The Iraqis planned, coordinated it, and executed that move on their own,” Fuller said. “This is just an indicator that the Iraqis are beginning to be able to step up to the plate and execute operations on their own.” U.S. Department of Defense Website. March 28, 2008

In his statements about letting Iraqis handle their own civil strife, perhaps Rumsfeld was trying to drive home to Iraqis the message that they should not count on the distant American superpower to bail them out if civil war begins. This message is grounded in a sound logic; Iraqis do need to step up to the plate and solve more of their own problems. Brookings. April 1, 2008

Is it just me?