Personally, I think it was a brilliant move on the Obama campaign’s part to offer to have Hillary Clinton’s name entered into the nomination process at the convention. First of all, Clinton will be voting not for herself, but for Obama. Secondly, it takes away something important for her diehard advocates to complain about. And, thirdly, the vast majority of Clinton delegates will follow Hillary’s lead and, in a show of party unity, vote for Barack Obama. The end result will be a paltry sum for Clinton (which won’t be embarrassing to her because of her graciousness in endorsing Obama) that will demonstrate that, contra all the howling from PUMA’s, the party is indeed united behind the nominee. Problem solved.
This will take all the air out of efforts to sow disunity. Meanwhile, Bill and Hillary Clinton are very aware of their precarious position within the party. They will do their all to give excellent speeches and leave an unadulterated positive impression on the legions. Posterity demands it and the Clintons are not stupid.
I sure hope you’re right. A couple of months ago I’d be sure a coup was in process. But I think Hillary has come to terms with it (even if Bill has not) and I hope it plays out exactly as you described.
I’m doubting HRC’s supporters will be gracious as you expect.
So many are heading to Denver just to witness the showdown.
and wouldn’t you know it –
Clinton backers to make noise at Dem convention
Watch the media play this!?!
And with the gracious Hillary deigning to allow her delegates to vote for Obama out of respect, the PUMAs will then expect Obama to return the favor and put Hillary on the ticket.
Nothing less will be acceptable to them, BooMan. After 8 years of Bush, you should be able to recognize the psychology of the fanatic.
Honestly, who gives a flying frack about what’s acceptable to them? So it’s not acceptable to them – frack ’em, and if they get to rambunctious about it, frag ’em…
I didn’t say he should do it Oscar, I said they wouldn’t accept it when he selects another veep.
It will be ugly, frankly. But if anybody can come through this, it’s Obama.
I completely agree that Obama won’t select Clinton as VP and that this won’t be acceptable to the PUMAs et al. I’m simply saying that the fact that a handful of fanatics won’t accept Obama’s nomination and VP selection is about as relevant as the protestations of flat-earthers. All three of them can sit and spin as far as I care, they’re irrelevant and should be treated as such.
I’ll say.
Take a look at this clip from Hardball, hosted by David Shuster.
These people are off the chain, unhinged, more than a little creepy and stupid enough to let other folks see it for themselves.
I still think the Obama campaign should have politely pointed out that, while the Clinton’s allowed Jerry Brown’s supporters to enter his name into nomination, they did NOT allow a roll call vote, and instead asked simply for a voice vote “by acclamation” – and when Jerry Brown’s supporters were louder, they simply ignored them and went on with their coronation.
I’m not a vengeful person. But I do believe people should have to receive whatever they dish out to others. Not getting a roll call vote WAS the fair thing to do. This is not only unfair, but risky. I still can’t help wondering if the Clintons are working behind the scenes to see if they can pull off a last minute coup. I hope not. But I “can’t stop believing”…
The Clintons aren’t stupid – if they honestly tried to pull a coup there’s no way on God’s green earth that they could win the general election, and they know it. Besides, their Secret Service contingent would have to be increased by an order of magnitude…
Well, they’d have to leak some very salacious material re Obama to the press. But if they had it, it would have been out by now!
The Clintons have no shame, none at all. They can pull this off. Hillary is the Great White Hope.
¡jezeus! l’m really growing weary of the ongoing kabuki surrounding this.
if it…obama’s nomination…securely in the bag, this would have never happened.
you’re being played the fool if you think this is anything more than pre-convention hype to drive up the ratings so the msm get’s their share.
and the clintonista are going to find it rough sledding if they get too rowdy in denver…the local gestapo isn’t known for it’s gentleness and they’re making extra preparations for a special place to keep them, l suspect feeding times for the PUMA’s, cougars, barracudas. etal, will be off limits to reporters at the temporary zoo
“l suspect feeding times for the PUMA’s, cougars, barracudas. etal, will be off limits to reporters at the temporary zoo”
That’s just great! More New York 04 republican convention style police brutality. Last I heard people in this country had freedom of assembly. Freedom to air thier grievances. Grievances that usually are opposed in equal or greater number by people who think differently. A lot of bad shit happened to people in NY who were swept up, often indiscriminantly by the police and herded like cattle into makeshift holding pens down on the docks. Some left to languish for days without proper sanitation or access to communications, let alone attorneys or reporters.
We’re turning into a concentration camp building police state. You don’t have to like thier reasons for protesting but I think we still have to respect their right to speak their peace without caging them like animals. Without disappearing them like they did in NY. Like they’re disappearing immigrants into black holes all over the country.
This country is truly fucked and I don’t recognize much of what I thought it was supposed to be. Nor do I recognize familiar voices so much anymore.
I think, in all honesty and without diminishing what happened in New York in 2004, that 2000 in Philadelphia was worse.
I’m not aware of what happened in Philly. I know some shit happened in LA at the democratic convention.
A friend of mine, and a member of this site, was working in City Hall at the time giving legal advice to those that were arrested. The experience was so traumatic that he actually suffered depression and PTSD, and briefly went into a tailspin that concerned his friends and family enough to wage an intervention. It was a very abusive police response to protesters in 2000. Hard to even get people to believe.
I can’t recall hearing anything about abuse in Philadelphia. That’s the scariest part though isn’t it? That it goes off without a peep from the media. At least back in the 60’s the media did cover the unrest and the response from the police. The public had a chance to make up their own minds about it. Now it’s common place and no one knows about it. I have a feeling though that Denver will be different. I think if there are protests the media will jump at the chance to highlight any displeasure with the democrats.
There is a lot of truth to that. The only quibble I have is that things have always been pretty much this way. Hoover’s FBI was worse than anything we’ve lived with since his death. Hoover’s career began in 1924 and ended in 1973.
I often have little patience or respect for people who are uninformed and unaware about the darker dealings of our systems. The information is out there for anyone curious enough to seek it out. Then I get reminded how easy it is for the government, usually through the media, to see to it that major events, like the one you describe go unnoticed. I try pretty hard to pay close attention to what’s going on out there and your story was complete news to me. I wonder how well known it is outside of Philadelphia and outside of the people, like your friend, who were in the thick of it.
That’s the difference between then and now. I imagine that Hoover saw the press and media as the enemy. Now they (the press/media) are willing, even paid participants in the coverups.
The Clintons are not stupid.
However, they are venal, corrupt, egocentric, self-entitled wanna-be emperors who are itching for an opportunity to continue looting. I do not trust either of them. I do not trust their friends and advisers. I absolutely do not trust their lobbyists. (Gee, if Clinton steals the nomination, perhaps Penn will get paid his millions?)
No more Clintons and no more Bushes!!!
EVER.
so Chelsea will introduce her mom? Just grooming for office. Pure politics.
They can keep their damned dynastic politics and move to Pakistan. I hear there is an opening for a dictator, and it is a country where power is inherited through name alone, and there are no term limits. Bill can give “Mr 40%” Bhutto lessons in how to accept bribes while building self-indulgent edifaces and Hilary can spend all she wants to with an entire country’s treasury as her pocketbook.
Our only hope is that Obama survived Chicago politics and knows about dodging bullets (literal and figurative). What would he do if those generously seated delegates from Florida and Michigan (where his name wasn’t even on the ballot) turn around and hand the nomination to Clinton? We all know that Clinton will hijack this election if she can, and her religious brothers and sisters in The Family have probably told her that it is God’s will for her to rule. She will no no remorse for usurption since she and her followers think that it is her divine right.
Some time in the next week, we’ll start to hear from superdelegates that Clinton is calling them and putting the squeeze on.