Huge Hillary Hate, huh?
Hello all,
This diary is an attempt to explain, without anger, the reasons why some Obama supporters may feel so angry at the Clinton campaign, and why they may have felt that for a long time.
This diary is meant to explain and NOT to justify. I am not asserting that these complaints are necessarily valid, and I'm not trying to change your opinion of Clinton if you support her.
Instead, my goal is to give you some context for the hurtful comments that are leveled today and have been leveled in the past by Obama supporters. Many times, the comments are not seen as justified by the writer because of the thread, but instead because of past grievances such as these. For example, an Obama supporter might react strongly to seating Florida as is because of the way Clinton rejected caucus results. So with said, I hope to provide some mutual understanding.
I am not going to pretend that I am not guilty of reacting with anger. If anyone e-mails, I can forward you my own mini-rant against Clinton tactics. However, it's not constructive to my diary today, so I won't quote it.
These issues may be legit or may NOT be legit. The fact remains, though, that for many Obama supporters, they have caused alarm and concern, justified or not. I hope to promote mutual understanding with this dairy - I AM NOT TRYING TO CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT HER OR HIM, I'm just wanting to share this information with context and without one liners.
With that said, let's get to some of them.
#1 - Inevitability
Not a single vote had been cast, and yet the race was being declared close to over before it begun. No matter how it looked, this was the worst moment for the Obama campaign (heard from a mid-level source). For supporters of others, this seemed arrogant.
#2 - "Leaves Out"
Clinton and surrogates both described Obama's healthcare plan as leaving 15 million people out. There was a mailer that showed 7 people, asking "Which one will Obama leave out of his healthcare plan?" There is a legitimate discussion to be had on healthcare, such as regarding capped premiums. However, this phrasing felt inaccurate and dishonest - a lack of mandates doesn't deny coverage, which is what "leaving out" implies. Obama supporters didn't like how the truth seemed twisted, and how
#3 - Bob Johnson
After Johnson talked about Obama "doing something in the neighborhood, I won't say what he was doing," - CLEARLY describing Obama's drug use, the campaign put out an outright denial, stating the Johnson was referring to Obama's community organizing.
#4 - Failure to concede
Clinton chose not to pay tribute to some Obama wins, which seemed disrespectful. Obama supporters, feeling slighted, were more willing to slight Clinton in response for her lack of graciousness in refusing to concede certain contests.
#5 - Abortion
I know that the present votes are something to consider as far as electibility, but Obama supporters were incensed with some Clinton mailers saying Obama was weak on choice. They even inspired the former president of Chicago NOW to switch her support, because she felt the attacks were plainly untrue. We felt that this wasn't an issue for discussion, and that Clinton was attacking on an issue that didn't merit it.
#6 - Voting Present
A present vote in IL means the same thing as a "No" vote, but it is generally used used to convey "unresolved worries," and "a willingness to compromise on the issue if not the exact bill, to show disapproval for one aspect of the bill, to question the constitutionality of the bill, to strengthen the bill."
However, we felt that Clinton and her supporters twisted the issue to reflect weakness in Obama's leadership, when his votes were on bills he felt unproven, unconstitutional, unfinished, or "on a bill to amend the School Code by requiring public school teachers to teach pupils discipline and respect for others," for goodness sake. We didn't see people who examined such things taking the time to examine his votes, but rather making sweeping judgments without regard for how dumb a bill requiring "teaching respect" was. There is a question of electibility here, but we felt it was a cheap argument without substance.
#7 - Certain States Count
Obama supporters felt that Clinton was ignoring her defeats in many states by inventing new metrics, and ignoring the will of many voters by saying that some states counted more than others. We were also unhappy with the comparisons to the general election - primary results do not necessarily correlate to GE votes, such as in Michigan.
I would be honored if a Clinton supporter could post a similar list, and this is by no means exhaustive. Again, I don't want to make you change your support - I want you to hear where Obama supporters are coming from, especially those that seem angry.
This is probably going to inspire some intense reaction, and I don't have a lot of time to comment tonight. I hope everyone can stay civil, and act as adults. I just want to explain, and I hope we can hear each other out.
Thank you.
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