Tag: Hillary Clinton (Page 4 of 5)

Just when you thought the Clinton campaign was coming to terms with the fact that their campaign is doomed, Hillary ratchets up the rhetoric with a tough attack on Obama mailers. Perhaps they realize that her debate performance on Thursday night made her look like a candidate ready to concede defeat.

One of her lines went something like this – “Since when do Democrats attack other Democrats for proposing universal health care?” She drew a comparison to the Harry and Louise ads used by the GOP to tank her health care plan in the 1990s.

Well, the simple truth is that the initial attacks came from Hillary against Obama. She justifies this by claiming Obama does not really propose universal health care because his plan does not include a mandate. Obama responds that they have a philosophical disagreement on how to achieve universal coverage. Clinton has repeatedly attacked the Obama plan for not covering 15 million people, which the Obama campaign has disputed. Her campaign has relied on mailers just like the Obama campaign. The facts are simple – her plan has a mandate which would force people to purchase coverage, regardless of whether or not they could afford it.

Also, regarding NAFTA, is is indisputable that she publicly supported it. There are some reports that she had private misgivings, but she was out there supporting it in public. She takes credit for all the good economic accomplishments in the 1990s, but she won’t own up to her own public positions regarding controversial issues like her support of NAFTA. If her campaign had any integrity, she would explain why free trade is important and how NAFTA was an important accomplishment, but that it has had many flaws that need to be corrected. Instead she refuses to acknowledge or address her initial positions.

Her “shame on you” line is particularly ridiculous, given the track record of her own campaign’s tactics. They intentionally distorted Obama’s words about Ronald Reagan, and put out an ad in South Carolina with that false charge. They only pulled it after the Obama campaign put out an ad claiming that she would say anything to get elected. Her collapse in the national polls started soon therafter.