Pugsley: aka, the Sausage.
Lori: Loves Pugs. Writing. Food and Fashion.
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I think it’s funny how people assume that just because I’m female, that means I will automatically be giving Hillary Clinton my vote in November ‘08.
Not.
How foolish would it actually be to vote for a candidate based on their gender alone? Maybe the country is ready for a female president, but I don’t believe this country is now or would ever be ready for her, specifically.
Sorry, but unless Hillary comes out with an animal rescue platform that enforces maximum punishment against animal cruelty, she has zero chance of ever getting my vote. And even then, I wouldn’t believe her. She has proven herself too deceitful and has a history of saying what she needs in order to get the votes.
I’m sure this entry will incite some and piss off others (sorry in advance SJX and perhaps my californian cousins) but hey, we are all Americans and all entitled to our opinions and our vote. Besides the blog has been quiet lately and I think it’s time to spark up a healthy debate. Any takers? Where do you stand....will you vote for Hillary, yes or no? Is it too early to say? I was trying to put up a nice fancy poll but keep getting header errors and I'm tired, so comments will have to do.
So, I was riding home on the metro the other night, passing through Chappaqua NY (where Bill and Hillary live) it wasn’t long after she announced she would be running in ‘08. I asked myself what exactly has she done as a Senator for NY, really, aside from Carpet bagging her way into the state to use it selfishly for her own personal and political gain. As I thought about it, my neck muscles starting spasming, even worse than they already were. In fact my C2 and C3 vertebrae have been locked together ever since with no space in between for my joint to move freely. Now if Rudy Giuliani runs (he didn’t start an exploratory committee for nothing) you can say that he did a lot for New York, especially around the time of 9/11. But what about Hillary? I don’t live in NY so maybe I’m missing something and I’m open to hearing about it if she actually has done some good there.
Here is my biggest problem with Hillary Clinton and it comes down to character really, which to me is an important and even crucial attribute that a presidential candidate must have. Sure no politician is perfect and at the end of the day it all comes down to lying, cheating, and stealing to some degree and this is exactly why I don’t allow myself to get too caught up in politics. But let’s go back to the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. In Hillary’s book of memoirs; she states that she had no idea about her husband’s affair(s). That is basically saying she was admitting to being clueless. I’m sorry but while I don’t think Hillary is a quality political candidate for running the country, I also don’t think she is stupid or clueless by any stretch. And you’d have to be pretty oblivious to not know what was going on under the white house desk while the rest of the country knew.
The fact is she did know and she stayed with him anyway. She stayed with him so she could continue to ride the coat tails of a cheating husband for one reason, power and political gain. There is no other reason for a bright, schooled, highly motivated woman to allow a man to publicly (or privately) humiliate her like that. I think that alone speaks volumes about her character.
Some may argue that she stayed out of love and loyalty. Bla, bla, bla. There may be a shred of truth there but moreover, I think Hillary likes to play both sides. She wants us to see her on one hand as a helpless clueless victim of her husband’s dalliances but she also wants us to believe she is a strong powerful woman who would be capable of running our country and going up against some of the biggest forces in the world at what is a crucial time in our history. All I can think is if she couldn’t outsmart Slick Willy, how could we possibly trust her to go up against say, the leaders of North Korea?
I’m sorry but you can’t have it both ways.
Speaking of playing both sides of the fence, it totally irks me how she sways from one side of an issue to the other side of the same issue based on where she thinks she will capture the most votes. Her vague stances on issues are further proof that she is a controlling, power hungry filibuster who would do or say anything to hoodwink her way into office.
For instance:
A couple years ago, when the debate over when the U.S. should remove its forces from Iraq was heating up, she stated that immediate withdrawal would be "a big mistake", leading to Iraq becoming "a failed state", but that the Bush administration's open-ended commitment to stay in Iraq was also misguided, because it gives Iraqis "an open-ended invitation not to take care of themselves."
C’mon now, PICK A SIDE.
Even way before she became Junior Senator, Hillary proved herself to be dishonest poll chaser with a sketchy track record. Remember the Whitewater affair that cost the country an estimated $40 million? For which Hillary claimed she was unable to produce legal documents that later surfaced in her own library. And how she interfered with the running of government as a first lady with her failed leadership of health care changes?
I can appreciate her lobbying for better healthcare, especially for women and children but from where I sit, if Hillary (or anyone) really wanted to help out the middle class and had done a better job of convincing Congress, I wouldn’t be paying $500 a month in co pays alone, just to keep my neck bones in alignment until my next visit. I don’t believe she is at all for helping out the middle class. By the way, I would feel the same way about any male candidate who had the same track record.
Lastly -- even if I was a Hillary supporter, I still wouldn’t give her my vote because I don’t believe she has a strong enough chance at winning a national election. So I wouldn’t want to waste my vote on her and in turn, keep someone good from getting in. I also can’t forget that she is a candidate who is against making English the official language of America. Not to mention the time she tried to steal the white house silverware.
Madley commented February 6, 2007 04:29 AM
Wish I could debate you -- but I AGREE WITH YOU! :) And yes, I even live in California...
Tammy commented February 6, 2007 09:21 AM
She won't even be on the ballot if she doesn't win the Democratic nomination. Will she win that? Who knows. A woman vs. an African American. It will be interesting how our country of sexist racist bigots decides to vote on that one. Regardless, my vote is on Republican Giuliani. He's our 911 Golden Boy - whether you're Democrat or Republican.
SL commented February 6, 2007 10:00 AM
Here's my take on Hillary, I don't respect her, I don't trust her and she won't be getting my vote either.
I'm all for a woman president but she has to be a lady. I don't believe Hillary is a lady. She has to be strong, capable, and trustworthy. A candidate for such a position has to be a good judge of character. She has to demonstrate tact and grace --particularly under fire. I don't believe her personality allows her to be fully successful in that. And she's too much like prune face Nancy Pelosi! God help me but I have a hard time tolerating either one of them.
Hillary has been working on the "working woman" crowd for a long time. Even in the early to mid 90's she was making herself known in the corporate arenas and magazines. She was trying to sell the idea that she could relate to the issues that the average woman, or working mom struggled with. She was trying to build a voting base way back then. I don't know how many people have come of it but I could never buy into that from day one. She wants women to think for themselves and vote for her because they're strong and independent just like her -- and she represents that how?!
I have no reservations either about our president being male/female, black/white/red/yellow, etc... as long as he or she is fully capable of doing the job. I can't imagine anyone wanting that job to begin with. I don't know how any of them do it. They can't be paid enough to take on the job of president...your life is on parade for all to see and pass judgment and be armchair critics...even exploring the possibility and throwing your hat in the ring puts you under the microscope. I'm arm-chairing pretty well right about now, don't ya think?!
I have some great admiration for Rudy but I'd want to learn more about him before I came to any conclusions. But hell, this early in the game and IT IS REALLY EARLY (WTF? who said they could start getting in our faces this early anyway?!?!) he's my pick of the pack.
BTW, you'll make Blindy proud with this post. :)
marni commented February 6, 2007 11:28 AM
I agree with all opinions so far. Can't stand nor do I trust her. She will not get my vote. at. all.
Lori commented February 6, 2007 08:14 PM
Hmmm, no Hillary supporters out there? I thought for sure there would be at least one pro Hill comment. If there are any, I am curious to hear the other side.
Nicole commented February 7, 2007 01:37 AM
well as the left-coast rep i'll give it a go, though i gotta say i agree with quite a few of your points, so it's not gonna be a throw down! I love the idea of a woman president, but I am not sure she is right for us. Barack Obama is more where is at for me, so hopefully I won't have to vote for her post-primary! No way would I vote for her because she is a woman, but i would be darn proud that a woman made it, nonetheless, even if she's not the woman I would have chosen. Yes,long over due,but not a reason to select a candidate.
As for her poll-chasing and tactics, I agree with you. She's not a bad person, but she is where she's at because of Bill. Like, i don't think many of us would care who she is or what she has to say if it weren't for him.
In terms of her behavior during the Lewinsky-scandle I don't tend to base my politics on people's personal lives so I consider that none of my business, it doesn't really matter to me.
The whole "offical language of america" thing doesn't phase me, since there were plenty of people who also oppose that. After all, over a fifth of America- 21.8% (or 46,951,595 people) speak a language other than English... in ADDITION to English, that is. Many felt the bill was ethnocentrist in nature. Let's remember what makes this a good place to live, multiculturalism! I like being a melting pot. Who gets to decide what being "American" is?? Why is being monolingual a requirement? To me, it's a place where we embrace multiculturalism, not define a person's legitimacy by their culture. So yeah, maybe we need to make sure people learn English in a more effective way than we are doing, or work to prevent spending billions on illegal immigrants (which I believe were also components of the same bill) but I don't know about insisting English is #1, at least until we learn to speak and write it ourselves.
On the healthcare thing, i'll give her another shot, now that there is a democratic-controlled congress. Where we stand, she and those advocating couldn't get anything through because of conservatives, liberterians, and the insurance industry extensively campaigning and advertising against it. She tried, yes, and failed, yes, but she was an outsider with no power. If she fails to win over her own crowd, then I make the same judgement as you.
I also agree that her wishy-washiness (my own word!) on Iraq is abismal. Get off the fence! Stop trying to be popular.
One excellent point Nick has was that it's really scary to think we would be going from Bush to Clinton to Bush and then Clinton. It's like we've got fricken royal families on our hands! What's next a monarchy?
Then again, in our opinion ANYTHING is better than where we are now.
Lori commented February 7, 2007 07:53 AM
I like everything I've heard about Barrack Obama so far, I think the only thing he lacks is experience. Like SL, I'm pulling for Rudy at this phase.
marni commented February 7, 2007 10:20 AM
I just noticed you left a comment on my dad's site - Coffeypot. Be prepared. I don't know of anyone that HATES the Clintons more than him. (Even though he does resemble or ex-president quite a bit) I, for one, cannot wait to see if he chimes in...
Love to Pugsley!
coffeypot commented February 7, 2007 01:40 PM
Lori, thanks for stopping by and come anytime. To answer your question: “HELL. FUCKING. NO.” Down here she is known as Hitlery because she is such a demon. She should be in jail for obstruction of justice from her role in the Whitewater scandal. By the way, Slick Willie did not get impeached because he had sex in the White House. He was impeached for lying under oath. Something the Democrats honor highly.
As much as he looks and sounds like a bumbling oaf, Bush is the best President we have had since Reagan. He is focused, has a plan and is genuinely concerned about the country and freedom. He has NEVER knowingly lied to the American public. He has made comments from erroneous information given him, but, if you do not know it is a lie at the time, then you did not tell a lie.
The Democrats have no clue – accept the fact that they are (or were) out of power – and still are since they can’t get a majority to listen to them. ALL they can do is complain about anything the Republican try to do, but they NEVER give you an alternative solution or a path to follow, except complain. It has become a SOCIALIST party that is trying it’s best to become global instead of being the greatest country in the world and in histroy.
Hillary scares me. She only cares for Hillary, not the country, and she is one of the biggest Socialist (along with Nancy Pelosi, Kennedy and Kerry) in the Senate. Total government control and power is all she cares about. And if that isn’t enough to scare you, she has support from Rosie O’Donnell and most of crew of The View.
What happened in New York? When she tried to speak at the rallies after 9-11, she was booed off the stage – which sent Cigar Bill into a frenzy back stage. Rudi is my man, too. McCain is too much like Hitlery, he listens to the poles instead of what takes guts to make a stand. His comments on Gitmo totally turned me against him. He, more than any other Senator in Washington, should know what torture is, and Gitmo is not it.
Sorry to preach, but you hit one of my buttons. I’m finished, now, so I’ll pass the offering plate. Amen!
Oh, yeah! Bill was getting to Air Force One after a trip abroad. He had a pig under one arm and baby goat under the other. The Marine at the base of the steps saluted, as is his job. Bill stopped and look at him and said, “What do you think, sergeant? I got this one for Hillary and the other one for Chelsie.” The Marine said, “Good swap, sir.”
Stephen J. Xanthos commented February 7, 2007 02:11 PM
Oh, you knew you'd be getting a response from me on this. >=)
I think the only thing I'm going to chose to address is your comment about her staying with Bill.
I, for one, respect her immensely for staying with him. I think relationships these days are far too easily tossed aside in the face of a challenge. People get upset, people get "humiliated", or things don't go exactly as planned, and people forget about the words "commitment", "forever", and "love". Part of loving someone is knowing how to forgive them. Even for the worst things.
At the end of the day, if she's staying with him for political gain, or if she truly loves him, you and I will never know, Lori. I would like to believe it's the former, however.
As an aside, and while this is certainly a biased point, I love her for marching in every Gay Pride parade in NYC since she's been a Senator in this state. That takes balls.
Ah, and one more thing, Rudy is not squeaky clean. Take a closer look. That man cleaned up New York, for sure. But the price he exacted for doing so is more than most people want to admit. I see a lot of Bush's "I'll do what a want and damn the rules" mentality. I think that's the last thing this country needs right now.
mike J commented February 8, 2007 03:51 PM
The last thing this world needs is a woman running the show as president of the United States of America. She has no shot, and doesnt belong. Leave men things for men. What would the plan be......state of the union addresses in the White house kitchen? That is where a woman belongs plain and simple.
Nicole commented February 9, 2007 01:13 AM
Who is mike J and how long has he been single? Completely laughable. I sincerely hope this is an AWESOME attempt at sarcasm!
Besides, Pelosi and Barbara Lee have more balls than plenty of wussy male politicans.
Erich commented February 10, 2007 09:38 AM
It's hard to understand what Hilary Clinton has done to deserve this kind of hostility.