It’s Her Party & She’ll Cry If She Wants To: Clinton For Majority Leader?
July 1, 2008 by tha-kid
I’d like everyone to meet Linda. Linda is 35 years old, and from North Carolina. As the sole head of her family, she has had to work two jobs to help support herself and her three young children. What makes her special is that she is seen as the keys to the gates of the White House for either Barack Obama or John McCain. Why? As a 35 year old, blue collar, single, high school educated, white woman, she was the backbone of Hillary Clinton’s sixteen month campaign that many say deeply divided the Democratic Party. When you speak to her about Hillary Clinton’s defeat she still comes to tears. Ask her to suck it up, stop crying, get back on her horse, and support the party’s nominee, you might need help getting out the door. This is now Sen. Obama’s party to be in charge of, but not so fast Linda would say. “I’ve been an avid advocate, activist, and supporter of the Democratic party for my entire adult life. While he was over there going to private schools and making corporate friends, I was here on the street fighting for our people. At the same time, I took care of my kids and never complained. This is MY PARTY not his. This is our party. We all built it.”
Many believe that the White House is ours as long as we don’t defeat ourselves. One way to defeat ourselves is to enter November with a divided party. So how can Sen. Obama ensure that we don’t ‘defeat’ ourselves? A growing consensus among people like Linda is that Hillary Clinton should be the new Majority Leader of the United States Senate. I asked Linda if she meant Vice President, but she was clear that she should be Majority Leader. So I was a little confused and sought more. Linda wasn’t alone because her friend (of which she made as a campaign volunteer for Clinton) Jaz felt the same. Neither of them felt too happy about what they saw as not so subtle statements in the press of support to Obama’s campaign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or leaks to the press from her staff about her behind the curtain efforts on his behalf. Both believe that Howard Dean’s inability to solve the Florida and Michigan dispute before it got out of control should force him to lose control of the DNC. However, when it came to effectiveness, what wasn’t out of the question is to kick Harry Reid out of the Majority Leader’s office.
Democrats in the House of Representatives have acted quickly on many of the promises that the party made to voters in the 2006 midterm elections. Should we have stronger leaders in the Senate, we might have even met the one to end funding to the war in Iraq without a timeline to bring the troops home. 2008 hasn’t been better on a number of major issues:
1. Passing a major housing bill has been stalled because of the improper conduct of two leading democrats. Instead of seeing the importance of this legislation, sacking these two leaders, and moving forward with the bill that was a lock before this news, Majority Leader Reid did nothing.
2. Most people think that an update to FISA is mandatory. However the Senate can’t approve the new legislation because some senior Democratic members have sided with the President, and against the majority of their party to push for a disgusting retroactive immunity for telecom companies. Instead of providing the immunity and moving the bill by making the government the responsible party, Majority Leader Reid recessed the body without doing anything.
3. As Americans pay higher gas prices then at any other time in our national history, the Senate has refused to pass legislation to bring in market speculators, which has driven prices up faster than anyone considered possible. With the average American paying $4.00 a gallon, and in some parts of the nation like my hometown of Fresno $4.65, Congress instead takes a two week break from work less than two months before they adjourn in August for the REST OF THE YEAR!
This election has become a change election. We need to change not only the President, but how the Congress operates. One way to do this is to change the Majority Leader of the Senate. So why Clinton?
I believe that she would make an outstanding President and a great Vice President. However, I agree with those who say that Sen. Obama deserves the chance to make his own run for the White House, and when he is there, have his own administration and his own agenda. I won’t argue with anyone who says that is impossible if Hillary Clinton is his Vice President. This is a former First Lady of the United States, she is wife of the last sitting Democratic President, 48% of the party voted for her over her opponent, and at least 23% of those are at least now not going to support Obama. She has received at least 18 million votes, the most of any candidate for President in a primary EVER. Basically, she has a national audience, and a national following, is what I’m trying to say. This is along with the impressive bridges she has built with leaders of both parties. Throughout her run for the White House she has been praised for getting to the Senate putting her head down and getting to work. This is what America deserves in a Majority Leader. One who can use politics to win on the issues, but be able to compromise and deal when log jams blocks the legislative highway.
Harry Reid, your time is up. Hillary Clinton, I believe her time is now!
Tha-Kid JK
tha-kid@revkitchen.com
p.s.- I would even support his succession by Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, and others.
I absolutely and completely agree. Clinton for majority leader! Harry Reid is useless, and a wimp. He’s shown no leadership whatsoever as Senate Majority Leader, on all of the important issues. Clinton couldn’t possibly be any worse than he could–the only way to go is up. Great idea.
“Most people think that an update to FISA is mandatory”
NO. NO. NO.
This is completely false. Between 1979-2006, 22,990 applications for warrants were made,of which 22,985 were approved. Warrants can be obtained in under an hour. The only people who want an update to FISA are Republicans because the update would get rid of the court and give the government carte blanche in regards to wiretapping.
“I would even support his succession by Dianne Feinstein”
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Dianne Feinstein is literally the most useless Democrat in the whole Senate. Without knowing her party, you would be hard-pressed to figure it out based on her voting record.
The only two people who should be considered for Majority Leader IF Reid steps down are Dodd and Feingold.
Nick I want to thank you for commenting on my post. However I strongly disagree with your view on the FISA legislation. Democrats from all sides of the party believe that this legislation needs to be updated. Even liberals like Pelosi and Dennis Kucinich have commented on the need to update the law. The terror threat that we have today is vastly different from the threat we faced when President Carter introduced the legislation. Democrats from all sides believe that with the advancement of the internet and the way phone calls are transmitted around the world acknowledge that this law is out of date. However the telecom amendments are just some of the FEW things that weaken the proposal.
On your next point I am a California native. Sen. Feinstein has been my voice in the Senate most of my life. She is a good and effective leader. Because you disagree with her polices (a moderate who can have friends of both parities) doesn’t make her ineffective. On the Judiciary Committee for instance when the Democrats served in the minority, rarely did items move from the body without her support. Now she has played key roles as Chair of the Rules/Administration Committee to update election laws and roles as Chair of the Judiciary Committee’s Sub-committee on Terrorism, Chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee’s Sub-committee on the Interior.
Lastly Reid SHOULD step down and the party SHOULD force him to. As his resignation materializes the last person to replace him should be Sen. Dodd who was absent from his Chairmanship of the Banking Committee as the sub-prime crisis came to light and then took special benefits from one of the leading companies behind it. The worst thing we could do to replace an ineffective Majority Leader with an ineffective Chairman. However I love Feingold but am worried about his ability to work well across the party lines.