Hillary and the Clinton Legacy

[....the signature initiatives of the Clinton years -- NAFTA and the corporate trading world, budget surpluses, repealing welfare, posing tough on crime, reducing the size of government, proclaiming the "era of big government is over" -- are part of the problems, not part of the solutions that the next president must face. And as a candidate, Hillary has had to distance herself from many of her husband's core policies.

Corporate trade accords and deregulation of capital and banking were a centerpiece of Rubinomics, the Clinton economic policy of former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. But banking deregulation contributed directly to the mortgage and credit crisis. Unsustainable global deficits have decimated U.S. industry and undermined the dollar. Our economy is dependent on the "kindness of strangers," primarily Chinese and Japanese central bankers. Wages are stagnant; health care and pension promises are being abandoned. A new global economic strategy is imperative. And Hillary gets it: She's called for a "time out" on trade accords, questioned the value of restarting the current global round, and promised a revision of NAFTA. ]

[Clinton celebrated the decline in the size of government, with his "reinventing government" looking for ways to privatize and outsource federal work. The results wasted billions, reduced government efficiency, and set the stage for Halliburton's plunder and Blackstone's crimes. Now even Hillary calls for an investigation and rollback of privatization. The next president will, one hopes, once more celebrate public service.

Clinton is praised for disarming "law and order" as a Republican political weapon, putting police on the street and championing harsh sentencing laws from the death penalty to three strikes and out. But the results - in a starkly discriminatory system of criminal injustice - have been truly calamitous to the African-American community, laying waste to the lives and hopes of young men, undermining families, and crippling communities. Now even conservative Republican governors seek ways to lower sentences, let nonviolent prisoners out of jail and balk at enforcing death sentences too often racially skewed.

Clinton's repeal of welfare succeeded in reducing the number of people on welfare, if not the number in poverty. Now, however, the neglected second part of the promise -- making work pay -- is the central challenge. The next Democratic president will be seeking ways to build a public social contract - living wages, health care, public pensions and mandated sick days -- to replace the private benefits that corporations are abandoning. ]

Barack Obama has come from behind to turn the Democratic presidential race in New Hampshire into a toss-up, according to a new Monitor opinion poll. The results - which show Obama with a one-point edge over Hillary Clinton - mirror other polls released this week, indicating that Clinton's once-imposing lead has evaporated in the run-up to New Hampshire's Jan. 8 primary.

The poll suggests that the Democratic race could hinge on the turnout of undeclared voters, who aren't registered with either political party. Much of Obama's backing comes from undeclared voters, while registered Democrats make up the bulk of Clinton's support. In New Hampshire, undeclared voters can vote in either party primary, giving them sway in both contests.

The New York Times discusses the apologies of Clinton and Huckabee, it questions the sincerity of there apologies, and points out that their campaigns continue to bring up the issue they apologized for. Apologies From the Heart (of Darkness?)

Why does Edwards get a free pass to say:

   Mr. Edwards responded: "Well, I've been very aggressive about ending the war, and from the very beginning, and the things that we need to do to bring this war to an end," he said.

Dear Mr. Edwards: Define "Beginning"

[Obama, who moved up 7 points since the July poll, was helped by increased support among black voters.

While in July, 33 percent of African-American Democrats said they would vote for Obama, he now has 45 percent of their support compared to Clinton's 46 percent.

Among Democrats, 41 percent said they've definitely made up their minds about who they'll vote for in the primary, while 22 percent told pollsters early primary results could help them decide.]

Of course, the coordinated 0630 raids to serve grand jury subpoenas on about a dozen of Al Sharpton's associates, for financial records, and the advise to the papers that a grand jury was looking - that wasn't political.  Nooo.  Not at all.

"If you teach American history, you cannot teach it without teaching Christianity."

It's looking like a bias crime indictment may well be coming for the youts who beat up three Jews on the Subway. They had their initial appearance yesterday.

For those not up on the story, it went like this.  Last weekend, on a subway train bound for Brooklyn, three friends, all Jewish, got on the subway coming home from a Chanaukah party.  One was carrying a menorah, and they had dreidels, too.  A group of mooks, male and female, shouted out "Merry Christmas!" The woman in the group of Jews responded "Happy Chaunakah".

The mooks then responded by showing their Jesus tattoos, and telling the Jews that, because the Jews had killed Jesus on Chaunakah, they were going to get some back, and led off by spitting in the Jewish girl's face.  I think what really set them off was her then reminding them that Jesus turned the other cheek.

And, the mooks started in to beating on the Jews.
At this point, the Bangladeshi Muslim accounting student (5'7", 140, also works two waiter jobs to make ends meet, but does not go for medical treatment because he has no health insurance), steps in to help the Jews (whom he perceives just as people being beaten for no good reason).

Mayhem ensues, with the end result that one of the Jewish guys gets a broken nose and a black eye, and the Bangladeshi Muslim got two black eyes.  

The mooks are arrested at the station.

This incident made the cover of the Post under the headline:  "Peace Train".

The Jews invite the Muslim over for Chaunakah dinner.

The lead mook says it couldn't have been a bias crime, because his mom is half-Jewish.  His dad isn't around right about now - he's usually a fireman, but he's in Iraq in the Army.

The lead mook tried the same angle in another case, where he was accused of an anti-black racial bias assault, for which he was/is soon to start serving his sentence.  In the earlier case, he told cops he couldn't be anti-black, because he's a member of the Bloods - a two-star general, even.  Tattoos and clothes, too.

One is compelled to wonder how well his alleged membership (and general's stars!) in the Bloods will serve him once he goes inside.