Following up on my previous post about Hillary's apparent contempt for the 3+ million people myself included - who make up MoveOn.org, something Atrios said got me thinking:
I've been trying to get a handle on just why attacking Move On is problematic in a way that criticizing other organizations isn't. It's certainly fair to criticize the leadership of Move On, and specific actions the group takes, but dismissing and marginalizing the entire organization is something else entirely. The issue is, I think, that Move On basically has no credibility other than what its members give it. Their power comes not from having a seat at any table, but they are instead empowered largely by the actions of its members. To dismiss Move On is to dismiss the large block of people that comprise it.
In the late 90s, the dirty fucking hippies were the crazy people who thought that Bill Clinton should neither resign nor be impeached. They were marginalized by the corrupt elites in our mainstream media who felt otherwise. In the great wasteland of our mainstream media there was almost no place one could turn to find someone expressing the majority view of the American public, that this whole thing was insane.
This is so obvious I don't know why I didn't think to say it before, but... MoveOn.org is an activist organization that was founded for one single purpose: to defend the Clintons during the impeachment process. I'm only guess here, but I seriously doubt that Hillary Clinton had any problem with their activism then. In fact, I'm quite certain even without any first hand knowledge that she welcomed their involvement in the process. As Bill himself said at the time, they did a lot of good.
So why is she turning on them now? Because they aren't helping her quest to get back to the White House. She doesn't oppose them because of their principles, their issues, or their ideas - to make that claim, she needs to misrepresent where they actually stand. She opposes them because they will not assist her in her quest for power.
If this doesn't lay bare the true nature of her candidacy for everyone to see, nothing will. Hillary Clinton doesn't care about the Democratic Party. For her we are a means to her own personal ends, and nothing more.
Will someone please - please - make her go away?
UPDATE: This is hilarious. Check out this quote Steve Benen found:
In April, at a MoveOn-sponsored town hall event, Clinton praised party activists who refuse to back down: "I think you have helped to change the face of American politics for the better, both online, and in the corridors of power. So although some of your members may be a little surprised to hear me say this, I am grateful for your work."
Say one thing in public and another in private, then try and spin your way out of it. Classic Clintonism:
Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson confirmed the authenticity of the recording, and said when Clinton referred to Obama supporters who "intimidate people," she was referring to "instances of intimidation in the Nevada and the Texas caucuses." Regrettably, Wolfson's argument turned out to be false -- as the Huffington Post's Celeste Fremon noted, "In fact, the Nevada caucuses occurred prior to MoveOn's endorsement of Obama, and when Clinton made her remarks, the Texas caucuses had yet to take place."
She was for MoveOn before she was against them before she was for them. Or something. I guess it depends on who she is talking to, and whether or not she thinks anyone is taking notes.
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