Bill Clinton is making a barnstorming tour through WV. Stoking resentment in an effort to undermine Barack Obama as our presumptive nominee.
Jack Tapper notes:
He's using the kind of language Democrats typically use against Republicans -- as in, stuff you say when you don't want voters to vote for the other guy under any circumstance.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/ 2008/05/bill-clintons-m.html
Here are some extended quotes from the man himself:
"It is very interesting, from the very beginning of this race there has been a sharp divide in the vote -- the people who need a president, who need to turn the economy around, who need to restore the middle class, who need to give poor people a chance to work their way into the middle class, who need to give our children a better future, who need to restore our standing in the world and the war in Iraq, but do it in a way that rebuilds our military and stands up for America's security and standing around the world -- they have been for her from the get-go."
Let's put to rest the notion that the Clinton's haven't been stoking the class resentment that is reflected in exit polls. Clearly Bill & Hill have been trying to play up this idea among lower-income whites for sometime, and then brazenly use the very resentment they've created as a reason to doubt his electability.
We can only hope that once the nomination is wrapped up and Bill & Hillary start supporting our nominee (instead of trying desperately to undermine him), they'll be able to backpedal a bit and walk some of these people back with them. Jack Tapper has his doubts:
Ginning up the resentments and the class divide (and maybe other divisions). ... His message to these voters: Obama and the media are laughing at you and think you're stupid!!! Obama has a clear problem with white working class voters. This kind of rhetoric exacerbates it. Clinton knows that -- he's trying to drive up turnout to maximize his wife's popular vote argument to superdelegates.[UPDATED] A comment to the people who have wondered why this is upsetting, it's because:
He's saying that I, as an Obama supporter, don't care about Iraq, or the economy, or strengthening the middle class, or helping the poor and under privileged, making sure people have access to education and healthcare... he's saying I'm not a Democrat because I supported the guy that is beating his wife.
And I do take offense to that... I'm sorry you don't, because it insults all of us. It insults our intelligence to try to pit us against each other the way he did here:
"Hillary is in this race because of people like you and places like this and no matter what they say," Clinton said. "And no matter how much fun they make of your support of her and the fact that working people all over America have stuck with her, she thinks you're as smart as they are. She thinks you've got as much right to have your say as anybody else."
And it insults us as Democrats to suggest that we aren't united in caring about the poor, working and the middle classes.
I'm upset that a man I had a great deal of respect for, that I defended during his darkest hours. Has now taken to belittling and marginalizing me because I didn't vote the way he wanted. Maybe he didn't insult you because you supported the "right" person, but he insulted the more than half of the Democratic party who didn't, and that should offend all of us.
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