Hillary Clinton regrets her racist comments
Hello everyone, and thank you for your comments. I understand that some of you do not think that what Hillary said was racist. Some have even said that to label her statements as racist is irresponsible and only serves to divide the party.
That the party is divided on issues of race exists no matter what I say or do.
Let me explain why the comments are in fact, racist.
Simply because they automatically imply that there is an opposite to “hard working, White Americans”. That would be people of color, and laziness.
Racism is, by definition (and I don’t mean Websters, I mean in the field of race, diversity, equity, cultural compitency) is prejudice plus power.
The comments are prejudiced. The fact that they came from Hillary Clinton is the power factor; said by a White woman on a national level, who is extremely influential over millions of people across the county.
That is not the same thing as talking statistics, or demographics, or class. If she wanted to express either of these things, she would have said “the blue collar vote”, because after all, that is what it is termed. It’s not known as the “hard working White American vote”, it’s known as the “blue collar vote”.
Moreover, though I give HIllary a “hard time”, I don’t take any credit from her smarts. The woman is one of the smartest out there; lawyer, verbal battler, knows the impact of words, I would say, better than Barack Obama. I have always thought that in style, she has him beat.
So it wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t a mis-speak moment for her. She knew what she was saying when she said it.
She knew that there is in fact a large population of White Americans who would appreciate her comment.
She was prepared to take whatever fallout came her way, because planting that seed in the minds of people (not you of course, I’m referring to everyone else) who will never say out loud that race is a factor for them, but race remains a factor for them.
Let me also say that, I don’t support Barack Obama because he is Black, or because Hillary is White. I suppot Barack Obama because it is time for this country to take itself in a new direction. Yes, I beleive that Hillary also represents change, and if their were no Barack Obama I’d probably vote for her.
But not because of his absense.
Because of the absense of her conduct throughout this campaign. I thought things were fine until the kitchen sink threshhold was crossed and she decided to win by any means necessary.
She (and her husband) showed so much of themselves that I, and the country, had never seen before. And yeah, my perspective as a Black woman is a factor. So is my perspective as a professional who works with these issues everyday and understand just how tangible they are.
That is the reason why Black people from all walks of life are saying that respect has been perminately lost where the Clintons are concerned, where race relations are concerned.
Now, I want to ask you to not reply to these comments and tell me every terrible thing Barack or his campaign, or his supporters, or the media, has done to Hillary where gender is concerned. This is not a debate. That conversation is valid, and one that I value, but it is a separate one.
Race is the proverbial elephant in the living room of this country; the democratic party is not immune from that. After all, check your history books (actually, it’s not in the history books); there was a time when we favored the Republican party.
Thanks against for your comments,
Sable Verity
Boy oh boy, transparency rules the day. I bet I’m not the only one able to read between the lines; Obama gained 14 superdelegates in the aftermath. Her comments weren’t “popular”, that is the root of her “regret”.
Hard working white people; the shot heard ’round the country:
From the NY Times
The superdelegate movement toward Mr. Obama, of Illinois — giving him a net gain of six on Friday alone, with more expected — increased the pressure on Mrs. Clinton, of New York, to at least refrain from divisive remarks, particularly after her comments on Wednesday that lower-income white voters would not support Mr. Obama if he became the Democratic nominee. Aides now say she regrets the comments.
Democratic officials said what had been a trickle of superdelegates declaring for Mr. Obama was turning into a steady stream in the wake of Tuesday’s primaries, when Mrs. Clinton lost by 14 percentage points in North Carolina and narrowly won Indiana. Mr. Obama is just 166 delegates away from the 2,025 delegates needed to secure the nomination.
“I think the tipping point was reached around midnight last Tuesday,” said Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, predicting a “significant and steady movement toward Obama” by superdelegates.
Clinton advisers say attacks on Mr. Obama are no longer enough to change the momentum or the outcome of the nomination race. So continuing to attack him on the campaign trail, at this point, would probably inflict more long-term harm on Mrs. Clinton than on Mr. Obama, her advisers said.
For the rest of this report visit http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/us/politics/10clinton.html?em&ex=1210564800&en=8b78d3451fee8e53&ei=5087%0A
Sable
mrwjd
she should be ran out of the party!!!!!
I think her comments were ill-advised, for sure, but I really think we should be careful throwing around the “racist” word. I don’t think Hillary Clinton is a true racist by any definition of the word. She’s looking at her campaign now in terms of race, because that’s how the pundits and pollsters break it down, and she was speaking in those terms. Stupid? Yes. But I reserve the word “racist” for people who really are, I don’t think it’s fair to cast Hillary in that category.
Maybe she is now “bitter” about her choice of words, but it is too late for her candidacy. All because she is once again underestimating the American voter, and just how much the media is willing to overlook.
Being a foreigner I ought not be saying anything of American affairs, but I think ‘blacks and whites’ is matter in politics that still exists to some degree. (At least for some of the people who still believes)
But, yeah, I agree that for Ms Hilallary to cite it as an edge and reason why it should be her and not the other, sort of taste like racism, and could be sign of frustrations.
If Hillary had brains, she would have thought before speaking. This is a deliberate act. People in responsible positions should act responsibly. Hillary has proved beyond doubt that she is not fit to be the President of USA. May be she should give up her seat in Senate also and retire from politics.
But the American are in a different world altogether. They are also as brain dead as Hillary. They dont seem to understand what is good and what is bad for them. Being an outsider I can see the stupidity americans are indulging in. The earlier they understand their own stupidities, the better for them. So far they have been sending the real devil to power. Its time they start asserting themelves.
She’s starting to get edgy and desperate, I think. And that usually leads to her revealing her true colors.
“Reputation is built in a momnet … but character takes a lifetime to build.”
Rather than expound on what I’ve already written, I’ll provide the link.
http://bbooth.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/fanning-the-flames-of-discord/
Keep the thoughts coming. I find your posts to be insightful and on the pulse of what’s happening today.
B.Booth
I don’t think those comments were racist. They may not have been well-chosen words, but I agree that throwing around the term racist cheapens it and make it il-defined. Not that you have to be in the Klan to be racist. There are plenty of people who are racists, but I think the Clinton record shows she isn’t. Moreover, white people have been voting for Obama; she was talking about a base of white supporters, but there isn’t a “white vote” she’s getting.
we all know that hillary will probably not win, especially after that.
Nope: WV is a pure racist vote, and she is loving it.
Make no mistake, only diebold has helped her before racism.
Great Post!
Godfather (theslowbleed.com)
Hello everyone, and that you for your comments. I understand that some of you do not think that what Hillary said was racist. Some have even said that to label her statements as racist is irresponsible and only serves to divide the party.
That the party is divided on issues of race exists no matter what I say or do.
Let me explain why the comments are in fact, racist.
Simply because they automatically imply that there is an opposite to “hard working, White Americans”. That would be people of color, and laziness.
Racism is, by definition (and I don’t mean Websters, I mean in the field of race, diversity, equity, cultural compitency) is prejudice plus power.
The comments are prejudiced. The fact that they came from Hillary Clinton is the power factor; said by a White woman on a national level, who is extremely influential over millions of people across the county.
That is not the same thing as talking statistics, or demographics, or class. If she wanted to express either of these things, she would have said “the blue collar vote”, because after all, that is what it is termed. It’s not known as the “hard working White American vote”, it’s known as the “blue collar vote”.
Moreover, though I give HIllary a “hard time”, I don’t take any credit from her smarts. The woman is one of the smartest out there; lawyer, verbal battler, knows the impact of words, I would say, better than Barack Obama. I have always thought that in style, she has him beat.
So it wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t a mis-speak moment for her. She knew what she was saying when she said it.
She knew that there is in fact a large population of White Americans who would appreciate her comment.
She was prepared to take whatever fallout came her way, because planting that seed in the minds of people (not you of course, I’m referring to everyone else) who will never say out loud that race is a factor for them, but race remains a factor for them.
Let me also say that, I don’t support Barack Obama because he is Black, or because Hillary is White. I suppot Barack Obama because it is time for this country to take itself in a new direction. Yes, I beleive that Hillary also represents change, and if their were no Barack Obama I’d probably vote for her.
But not because of his absense.
Because of the absense of her conduct throughout this campaign. I thought things were fine until the kitchen sink threshhold was crossed and she decided to win by any means necessary.
She (and her husband) showed so much of themselves that I, and the country, had never seen before. And yeah, my perspective as a Black woman is a factor. So is my perspective as a professional who works with these issues everyday and understand just how tangible they are.
That is the reason why Black people from all walks of life are saying that respect has been perminately lost where the Clintons are concerned, where race relations are concerned.
Now, I want to ask you to not reply to these comments and tell me every terrible thing Barack or his campaign, or his supporters, or the media, has done to Hillary where gender is concerned. This is not a debate. That conversation is valid, and one that I value, but it is a separate one.
Race is the proverbial elephant in the living room of this country; the democratic party is not immune from that. After all, check your history books (actually, it’s not in the history books); there was a time when we favored the Republican party.
Thanks against for your comments,
Sable Verity
You are right on–West Virgina 95% white–talking to her constituants in the Bible thumping State of West Virginia. She is desperate and when one is desperate one does desperate things. She will mellow out and she and her man will support the next President of the United States of America–Barrack Obama!!!!
Great Post. Somehow I pity Hillary. she’s been planning to be president for years and now that she has a chance, she’s blowing it. Every move she’s made has been a mistake. She didn’t really plan this well nor was she prepared to meet opposition in the Democratic Party in the form of Obama. And now she’s hanging at straws, desperately trying to stay in the game.
Now I do not think that we should jump to a radical conclusion that her comment was revealing her true colors. I do not know if she is or is not raceist and i do not think that her comment is anywhere close enough to verify that she is a raceist. If you analys anyone’s words you can find evidence concerning that they are raceist even if they are not. Words are very often tooken out of contexts and I bet that this is probaly what has happened. Even though Hilary is brilliant and she is a great communicater and quick thinker she is human and will not make every move perfectly. Many posts like this lead to hatered whether it is about Hilary, Bush, or anyone else. it is good to analys what polotical figures say but we should stay reasonable about it and remeber there is another side of logic that we overlooked. After reading this I am sure you must think that I am a Hilary supporter and I bet I through you off with a short defence to Bush but I am voteing for Obama and my opinions of Bush are both good and bad but through a reason.
[...] don’t really mean that, but, c’mon, the code words for white people (”Hard working Americans”), the beer hall, the victory in West Virginia? What else do [...]
Wow.
Democrats often lean on the racial edge. Her husband used the racial edge to run for President (”I’m the first BLACK President”). She used the racial edge to run for Senate (”I support the black vote.”
And then when an actual black person runs for President, he’s unfairly using the racial edge?
It’s not that she’s racist, just that she’s not wise or intelligent enough to see the hypocracy of her position. She’s the one who comes out sounding like a racist because she’s feeling overwhelmed by Obama. And that’s why she doesn’t deserve to be President - what will she say and do in the Oval Office if she can’t even get it right now?