Time for Dems to Play Hardball with Candidate Clinton

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Time for Dems to Play Hardball with Candidate Clinton

Collins Ezebuihe

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Without a doubt, had Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, being a Republican candidate and keeps conducting her campaign the way she is --especially lately, she would have been in a lot of hot water. That would include pressure on Republican sponsors, including the RNC, to cut short funding for her campaign, and some other pushing and squeezing measures to bring it to a closure. If in doubt, just ask politicians on both sides of the isle familiar with former Texan Republican Congressman, Tom Delay. He was nicknamed "the Hammer," which is a name very fitting for his ruthless intolerance for dissenting positions from party members he viewed as disloyal.

Unlike the GOP (the Republicans), Democrats are decidedly latitudinarian in the overall conduct of party affairs. This high tolerance for varying or dissenting views is also responsible for the harvest of innovation in democracy that the party continues to enjoy over the Republicans. However, these days, Mrs. Clinton is obviously pushing the envelope too far and also pushing her luck accordingly, all these to the point of endangering a Presidential campaign the party stands to win. While the Dems continue to hope --perhaps against hope-- that she will end her campaign in a manner that will not prove detrimental to the party's interest as November nears, her actions and rhetoric don't point in that direction. She has continually injected race and gender in the process and also spearheaded the Jeremiah Wright, and "guns and God" issues relentlessly, until they yielded dividends, and that was just the beginning of her damage. Although thanks to McCain receiving endorsements from controversial pastor Hagee supporting him, Reverend Wright now has company and his impact may no longer be such an Albatross hanging around the upper anatomy of the Obama campaign after all.

After her win in Kentucky, Mrs. Clinton flew to Florida to start stirring the pot again about that State (and Michigan) being denied optimum participation in the primaries. That trip to Florida, perhaps in response to Obama celebrating a milestone victory in Oregon from Iowa, is standoffish and indicative of a stubborn woman surrounded by radical feminists and probably not caring about the subversive effects of her initiatives on her party, even as it is clear that the people responsible for those States' current fate are also the States' party leaders who ran afoul of DNC rules and moved their primaries up the calendar to compete with Iowa, New Hampshire, etc.

Ordinarily, any State can hold discussions with parties to move the dates of its primary elections, but to assume a unilateralist's position in that decision to conduct elections is simply irresponsible and potentially not salubrious to the entire process. What if more States join the fray? Of course the impact would be too chaotic to contemplate! Yet Mrs. Clinton --who, by the way, not too long ago dropped her maiden name, Rodham as part of, if not her sole, last name-- stubbornly continues to exploit the situation in Florida and Michigan to the point of recalling the year 2000 Florida presidential election debacle and equating it to the same State being denied delegate count when the current issue is clearly a self-inflicted wound; its source and repercussion are all Florida (and Michigan) spawned.

To also liken the development in Florida and Michigan to Robert Mugabe's manipulated elections in Zimbabwe is not only insulting and destructive to her party, but also taints the entire US democracy that is veritably the best in the world, regardless of it's imperfections. Rational Americans, no matter party label, should be outraged and take her to task on this savage act by a woman her party gave a rare chance to be the nation's number one citizen, come November.

Even if she apologizes for all these, the damages to the Democratic party and Senator Barack Obama, its "presumptive nominee," have already been done, and such apologies may not be sincere because all these she's doing lately in the campaigns somehow hark back to her activities months before the last presidential contest that returned President George Bush to office. In those months, virtually each time the Democratic contenders --Howard Dean, John Kerry, John Edwards, etc.-- appear to be making headlines, one of the Clintons --especially Hillary, would step in and grab press headlines away from those struggling Democrats; either in the way of book signing, that could have been delayed to help her party, or other high profile outings sure to grab more headlines. And each time the press pointed out the implications of all those headline-grabbing activities, judged detrimental to the party and also held by many to be helping Bush with a free ride in the media, the Clintons always denied any intention to harm their party's chances in the 2004 elections.

Of course nothing can be further from reality than denials like that because this couple, having being in politics almost all their life, arguably did know the insidious effects of what they were doing. In fact, Hillary's Jeremiah Wright utterances, racial and gender manipulations, equating her party's handling of the Florida and Michigan controversies to Zimbabwe's elections, do lend credence to media's 2004 assertions, theories, or accusations that she was harming the party back then. And now she is on the rampage again, providing Senator John McCain with a road map to attack Obama and invariably the Democratic Congressional and Gubernatorial contenders around the nation. So, just like her book signings and other ill-timed high profile appearances in 2004 were like a ledge over the aspirants hoping and struggling for national recognition, these attacks, and inveigle "defense" of Democracy are also damaging. Very damaging! Summarily, it is time to rein her in, and here's how.

REINING IN HILLARY CLINTON

Governor Ed Rendell and Senator Evan Bayh. These respected Democrats are the engine and transmission of the Hillary machine. Pluck out at least one of them, and that machine suffers a neutralizing blow. Governor Rendell is the popular governor of Pennsylvania and largely responsible for Hillary's primary win in the Keystone State, while Evan Bayh, a two-term governor and Indiana Senator, was also largely responsible for Mrs. Clinton's win in the Hoosier State, Indiana. Both men are considerably young and have more politics ahead of them in a Democratic party dominated by the Obama camp and also festooned with the "Who Is Who" of the same party. So, considering Rendell's and Bayh's future politics, it is time to approach these men, without the media's knowledge, and make it their problem to stop the hemorrhaging caused by Hillary's exploits.

Of special attention should be Senator Bayh. He tried to run for president, like Obama and Hillary, but was reportedly talked out of it by what is now clearly an ambitious woman, at a time his wealth of experience as a two-term governor and popular Senator of a swing State, Indiana, would have easily made him a better candidate than Obama and Hillary put together. What that means is that his presidential running days are not over, therefore he knows he must be careful not to offend his party's big guns who will have a say on how far in the future he goes. That is why he is an easier target to be urged to pressure Mrs. Clinton out of the race to avoid a possible damaging convention floor fight.

A powerful and potent team of Joe Andrews, radio talkshow host Ed Schultz, entertainment mogul Geffen, and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Mister Rooney, for instance, can succeed in days to pluck Mister Bayh out of the Hillary camp. Of course Mr. Bayh, an astute politician, on board the Obama armada, can easily convince Ed Rendell to lay relax his backing of Hillary and come on board the new dawn liner, "Audacity Of Hope."

Another way to halt Hillary and still keep a large swart of her supporters in line is to enter into talks with the same Bayh for a spot on the Obama ticket, as the VP candidate. He is easily the best available for that position, any way. Besides, having worked with Hillary all the way from the Senate, his switch would convince those Clinton supporters that they have reached the end of the road. As for Hillary, her actions clearly indicate that she is marching to a different drumbeat and, as comedian David Letterman put it, "...she lost in the State of North Carolina but leads in the state of denial." That seems to sum up her mode, therefore a coup de grace --not in months or weeks, but in hours and days-- is now necessary to rein her in.

The alternative could be a McCain-Romney victory, which could also keep the Republicans in the White House well beyond the year 2012. Even if Mrs. Clinton turns around to genuinely get behind Obama, there will be no strategic reason to include her on the Democratic ticket, because: the Obama ticket is likely to win ALL the States the Kerry/Edwards team won; and it will make more sense for the Dems to pick a younger running mate for Mister Barack Obama, who would also be groomed as Obama's eventual successor. Putting Hillary on that ticket means having a 7O-year-old grand mother who would be running for president in the year 2016. That is bound to be a losing proposition because she will be up against more younger and vibrant competition, and not many voters will vote for her ticket even if FDR or Lincoln were on it.

In that light, dealing decisively with the distraction from the "BILLARY" camp right away is the right tonic if the economy is to be turned around; the American boys in Iraq are to come home and pursue a more meaningful future; the Democrats are to have a future in the White House from next year; and Hillary Clinton is to be saved from herself because she is engaging an unconventional, powerful Democratic machine far more intrepid than even the Republicans have encountered before.

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ADDENDUM

Moinday, 26 May 2008

"FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART, THE MOUTH SPEAKETH."

So says the Holy Bible, and Mrs. Clinton is in compliance.

The Hillary Clinton we didn't know is now tripping badly and unfolding like a Tulip before our very eyes! If this RFK assassination "total recall" doesn't bring her campaign to a screeching halt, she's indeed locomoting to the Democratic national convention in Denver.

May be there's something she knows that the rest of the world doesn't!

We're all ears.

Au revoir!

Collins Ezebuihe