If Bill Cinton sneezes, does it mean Hillary is running? Welcome to allergy season 2013!

What the connection could possibly be between Bill Clinton delivering a commencement address and our esteemed Hillary making a run for the White House in 2016 is no clearer in this article than it is in the header.  It seems that anything Bill Clinton does lately is caught on the Hillary 2016 watch seismograph and must mean something!  But what?   Seismologists at the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory  in Palisades NY may not be paying attention,  but clearly the Clinton-watchers are. 

News

10:19pm March 26, 2013

Hillary Running? Bill Clinton to Deliver Howard Commencement on May 11

Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the commencement address at Howard University on Saturday, May 11.

SNIP

Does the former President’s speech indicate the slow but steady ramp up to a 2016 presidential run for his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? last week, Hillary Clinton announced her support of gay marriage in a video announcement.

Read more >>>>

It makes you wonder whether logic is still part of the curriculum at any level  anywhere.  The connection between the commencement address and any clue of Hillary making a run in 2016 is comedic enough to generate some humorous fake-headers from our Jen the Michigander.

Future headlines:

"Bill Clinton buys blue tie with white stripes. Hillary 2016 announcement expected soon."

"Bill Clinton sends birthday card to Bruce Springsteen. Could this mean the E Street Band will play at Hillary inauguration?"

"Bill Clinton courting Hispanic vote for Hillary 2016 by eating burrito."

Another Super PAC for Hillary Clinton

I really feel ridiculous putting her last name on all these posts - as if there were any other Hillary this could possibly refer to,  but if I don't, this will not come up on search engines and Twitter.  H/t to Mom4Hill for finding this one!

Capital Eye Opener, March 7: Hillary's Third Super PAC

By Janie Boschma on March 7, 2013 8:00 AM

REALLY READY FOR HILLARY: A third super PAC has registered with the Federal Election Commission, supposedly on behalf of Hillary Clinton's anticipated 2016 presidential campaign. The latest is HillaryFTW (an Internet abbreviation for "For The Win"), which lists Hector Pacheco of Los Angeles as its treasurer, according to its FEC report.

As we have previously reported, the other two super PACs, Ready for Hillary PAC and HillaryClintonSuperPAC, registered with the FEC in January. Since then, Ready for Hillary has been busy hiring up Clinton's former staffers to prepare for a potential 2016 run, The Hill reports -- and to convince Hillary to go all in.

Read more >>>>

There is also this - just to keep things in perspective.

2016 Democratic Field May Not Wait for Clinton

By Scott Conroy - March 7, 2013
She is not an incumbent president -- or even currently employed -- but the deference fellow Democrats have afforded Hillary Clinton regarding a potential 2016 White House run has been something to behold.

With the official start of the next presidential campaign still three years away, friends and potential Democratic foes alike have bent over backwards to praise Clinton and talk up her chances of finishing what she started in her 2008 campaign -- and for good reason.
After all, Clinton’s resume arguably is as diverse and extensive as that of any White House hopeful in the history of American politics. No introductions would be necessary for the former first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of state and almost president, as everyone well knows her name and her story.

In an interview with Don Imus in December, longtime Clinton family confidant and adviser James Carville suggested that the campaign for the Democratic nomination would be little more than a formality en route to Clinton’s coronation.

SNIP 

The word “inevitable” likely will come up even more than it did during the early stages of her 2008 run, when it appeared to most observers that the Democratic nomination was all but assured her.

But as was the case then, there will almost certainly be a contested Democratic primary in 2016, despite the assumption of Carville and others.

And though she will have a major say as to when that contest begins in earnest, Clinton is not necessarily in a position to wave the checkered flag.

Read more >>>>

Hillary Clinton: The 2016 Beat Goes On

Not being much of a poll-watcher or believer,  I am not familiar with this one.  Here it is, anyway, for what it is worth.  When I see these polls, I bear in mind that Hillary has been out of office all of three weeks, and that these numbers can be very different two years from today, but if you really need a boost today, here they are.

Public Puts Hillary Clinton Far Ahead of 2016 Contenders

Emily Ekins|Mar. 1, 2013 7:00 pm

The latest Reason-Rupe poll asked Americans what one person they would most like to see run for president in 2016. Without being given a list to choose from, Hillary Clinton was the most frequented name given at 22 percent. It is unclear from this data alone whether this result stems from Americans who want her to run and win and those who want her to run, and well, lose.

SNIP

 

 Read more >>>>

Hillary Clinton: The 2016 Beat Goes On...

Wherever she is and whatever she is doing, Hillary Clinton cannot be unaware of wildly disparate activities in her absence.  Nature abhors a vacuum, so various and sundry are filling in the blanks.
Among the more serious efforts are the Super PACs that have formed.  The most prominent of them, Ready for Hillary, hired a communications director,  as Ruby Cramer  of Buzzfeed reports.

Hillary Clinton PAC Staffs Up

Former Ohio Democratic Party communications director Seth Bringman joins “Ready for Hillary,” a source tells BuzzFeed. The first major outside group gets serious about 2016. posted on February 26, 2013 at 8:46am EST
Ruby Cramer BuzzFeed Staff

Image by Matt Rourke / Getty Images

The "Ready for Hillary" political action committee, founded late last month in support of Secretary Hillary Clinton's possible bid for the presidency in 2016, has made its first major hire and is gearing up to expand further, a source familiar with the group tells BuzzFeed.
Seth Bringman, who served as communications director of the Ohio Democratic Party from 2009 to 2012, has joined "Ready for Hillary" in the same capacity.
Read more >>>>

On the wild fringy margins are the myriad Twitter accounts claiming to be Hillary Clinton in some form or incarnation.  One tribute account tells us right up front that it is a parody and Hillary at Home harmlessly tweets imagined activities and meals.   Another,  lacking the blue check mark associated with legitimate celebrity Twitter accounts, calls itself "VerifiedClinton" and tweets in her name (bordering on the illegal unless it truly is HRC testing the social nets waters before unmasking herself).  That account is also associated with a decidedly anemic  "official blog" with a handful of entries all dated November 10, 2012, a half-a$$ed piece of work so atypical of anything HRC would ever do as to be laughable.  That Twitter account is strongly endorsed and promoted by the Vote_Hillary Twitter account associated with GlobalYouthJustice on Twitter and probably the work of one person behind that account and its associated blog.

Then there are the supporters Facebook pages and groups intended as organizational centers for those who will jump on board the train at a word from Hillary.  There is no pretense at these pages.  Members simply post news articles,  particularly those related to 2016 speculation and polls.

So while she is quietly hibernating,  tornadic activity surrounds her in ways that are unprecedented.   The climate in her absence is approaching critical mass,  but Hillary continues her doctor-ordered rest and recovery most silently.  We do not know whether she is paying attention to any of this.  What we do know is, as reported here,  she has signed with the New York based Harry Walker Agency to deliver speeches for up to $200,000 per.   This amounts to more per speech (when she charges, because she will not be charging for all of them, and she will donate the proceeds for some)  than she was paid per year as Secretary of State. 

Long time Hillary loyalists will remember that in December 2008, as a condition of her confirmation, she agreed to a pay cut for her cabinet post from the $191,300 that was paid to Condi Rice, to Rice's pre-raise salary rate of $186,600.  The reason for that was a Constitutional clause saying that if a member of Congress voted for an increase such as that for Secretary of State (and HRC did vote in favor of Condi's raise) that Congress member may not then assume that post at that pay rate. 

So the bottom line is that after four years on the plane and working like a dynamo, she gets to sit back and write some speeches that she will deliver from time to time for more money per appearance than she was paid per year as Secretary of State.  She is free to continue her work for women and girls either through the Clinton Foundation or one of her own should she chose.  She is the most recognizable person in the world living with one of the most powerful men who annually outshines the U.N. General Assembly with his Clinton Global Initiative and accomplishes amazing good without the annoyance of term limits.  

Should she wish to give up this comfort zone, board a plane once again, and spend two years campaigning her heart out in order to face a probable eight years (including another campaign) doing the world's hardest job, there certainly is plenty of support out there.  It will not be a cakewalk or coronation as many have predicted.  She knows how hard and nasty it will become, and we have seen that the knives are already out.  If, on the other hand,  her 40 plus years of very hard work are enough public service for her,  people who really love her will understand. 

For now, while she remains quietly hidden,  long-time readers here can enjoy some satisfaction that she will be well-paid while able to enjoy quality time with her family and friends.  She sacrificed a great deal of that time as Secretary of State in service to her country.

Chappaqua For Clinton

I was so surprised by the amount of information in this article that people in Chappaqua are generally reluctant to share, that I hesitated to post it when I first read it this morning.   But Buzzfeed"s Ruby Cramer  has produced a well-written portrait of  a very special small town with some highly visible residents.  Ruby sent me the link a little while ago,  so,  on second thought, I am sharing it here.  Like most of Chappaqua,  even if  HRC does go to the White House, I would hate to see them leave their adopted Clinton Country.

Chappaqua Is Ready For President Hillary Clinton

The small Hudson Valley town that learned to love living with the former First Family doesn't want Hillary going anywhere but the White House. “The town is on board,” says Greenberg.

posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:04am EST

Ruby Cramer BuzzFeed Staff

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. — While the world waits for Hillary Clinton to clear up the most asked and least pressing question in politics — will she or won't she in 2016? — the answer in this small hamlet, where the former First Family keeps their adopted home, is already clear: She'll run, and she'll win.

The people who share Hillary and Bill Clinton's place of rest — the kind of Westchester one-main-drag town, population 1,500, where footfalls run quiet on shaded streets; where OBAMA-BIDEN stickers get slapped to the back of every car; where the Horace Greeley High School basketball roster is on the wall of every restaurant, of every store; and where you're told with pride that being from New York City, just 35 miles south, is not the same as "being from around here" — these people, the folks of small-town Chappaqua, are ready for the 67th secretary of state to "come home," "rest up," and get ready for a run in 2016.

"The town is on board," said Dawn Greenberg, an unabashed supporter of both Clintons, and the owner of Aurora, a boutique on King Street, where most of Chappaqua's shops are lined up one by one. "It's heavily Democratic," she added.

Read  more >>>>

By the way, if you have it in mind to take a drive, do not expect to see this angle. It is hidden from the main road, usually with the SUVs mentioned in the article parked in front of the fence.

Hillary Clinton ... and the 2016 beat goes on ...

Here is yet another beautiful video from Ronda who was so sweet to share it with me.  Her work is always so lovely.

Hillary Clinton's Kitten Heels Not Necessarily A Shoo-In

Hillary Clinton resigned as Secretary of State and departed Foggy Bottom with her husband and daughter on Friday.

To be sure, the 2016 drums had been beating long before she wrapped up her tenure at State, but by yesterday they were deafening.  Two Super PACs had formed,  the website  of one, "Ready For Hillary," went live and also went viral at the many Hillaryland Facebook groups, and speculation ramped up all over the media aided by the fact that HRC seemed to have granted a marathon of interviews at the State Department prior to vacating the seventh floor aka "heaven."

Now I have stated here many times and will once more today that this blogger will not be part of any pressure group to exact further service from the woman who, in 2008,  stated that she brought a lifetime of service to her primary race that year.  Anyone who has been following her term as SOS here or on other blogs certainly must be aware of the personal sacrifices she has made these past four years in additional service to her country.  It is her decision to make, and she has clearly stated many times that she has been too busy dealing with global events to give that option any consideration.  She needs and deserves time to rest, recuperate from her recent health issues, and reflect upon what she wants to do next.  Just in case, though, your head is in the clouds in the firm belief that she will reach out and grab the brass ring that so clearly seems meant for her,  there are some indications that perhaps things have not changed so much from 2008, and the road might not be as clear as you think it is for her.

Two articles from the New York Times caught my attention, not in a good way.  The first two questions in this one slapped me right back into 2008 for two reasons with the first two questions.

Interview With Hillary Clinton

By MICHAEL R. GORDON and MARK LANDLER

Published: February 2, 2013

Question 1:

Q: President Clinton said that one of his greatest regrets was not doing more to stop genocide in Rwanda. We have a situation in Syria where more than 60,000 Syrians have been killed. [U.N. envoy Lakhdar] Brahimi has been making no headway diplomatically. The conflict is beginning to spread regionally with Iran’s intervention with its Quds Forces, its arms supplies, Hezbollah’s participation and now the Israeli strike on the convoy in Syria. Looking back, can you say that the United States has done everything it could have to stem the killing in Syria? And when you look back on this episode in the book you are going to write, do you think that you might regret that the United States wasn’t able to do more in your years here?

Read her answer here>>>

Question 2:

Q: If one looks back at how the Clinton administration handled the Kosovo crisis, it became clear that Russia would not support a new Security Council resolution authorizing intervention to protect the Kosovars. So the United States elected not to seek a new resolution and instead justified intervention on the basis of international law. Why have you and the Obama administration taken the position that a stronger stance on Syria requires a new Security Council resolution, which means the formal endorsement of the Russian government, when that has always appeared to be a highly unlikely proposition?

Read her answer here>>>

What's that?  President Clinton?  Wow!  If that doesn't smack of the 2008 debates, nothing does, and if you think for a minute that this purposeful confounding of Billary will stop now that she has been Secretary of State, dream on.  It was used against her in primary debates by her own party in 2008 and will -  actually has -  arisen again a mere day after she stepped aside at State.

In addition, the implication in that second question that she somehow, as SOS, had the power to force the President's hand is unreasonable and unfair.  Will the morass in Syria move forward with her as one of her huge "failures" as Secretary of State?  Well, Gordon and Landler put it out there for any future opponent to use.

Backstage Glimpses of Clinton as Dogged Diplomat, Win or Lose

Patrik Stollarz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton behind President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan during a meeting in Germany in 2011.

By MICHAEL R. GORDON and MARK LANDLER

Published: February 2, 2013

In the above NYT article, the same two journalists, in a review of her tenure as SOS disguised as a behind-the-scenes glimpse,  provide the following yardstick.

As she leaves the State Department, the simplest yardstick for measuring Mrs. Clinton’s legacy has been her tireless travels: 112 countries, nearly a million miles, 401 days on the road. Historians will point to how she expanded the State Department’s agenda to embrace issues like gender violence and the use of social media in diplomacy.

Yes, it is simple, isn't it?  Too simple.  In all fairness, Gordon and Landler are not the only pundits citing these stats, but it is irresponsible on the part of all who use them not to analyze the reasons behind all these miles and countries.  They break down, really, into two major types of travel.  Outreach trips where she toured regions that required her attention in diplomatic, personal, friendship-building ways and trips involving summits, conferences, and meetings, the latter breaking down into long-planned, regular summits like NATO and ASEAN, and emergency meetings like the two trips in one week in March 2011 to deal with the situation in Libya,  or the three-day whirlwind in the Middle East in September 2010.  Can we please dispel the notion that our top diplomat from 2009 to 2013 was in some kind of competition to tack on the miles and countries?    Furthermore,  the authors mention her initiatives for women and girls and her use of social nets in diplomacy while ignoring her singular most challenging undertaking, her QDDR (Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review) which overhauled and streamlined both the State Department and USAID and enhanced interagency communication and cooperation.    So if you thought that her legacy at the State Department would slide her right into a 2016 nomination, just take a look at some of these reviews for what has been left out.  In four years, these are what folks will be quoting, and some of them are thin indeed compared to the actual work put in.

Then on the very parochial domestic scene for the future of the Democratic Party, we have those who cry out that "Yes, she will do this for her country and her party." (As if her party has ever treated her particularly well.)   There is this.

Can Hillary Clinton make Texas turn blue?

Aliyah Frumin

Can Hillary Clinton make Texas turn blue?

Aliyah Frumin

2:50 PM on 02/01/2013

FILE: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at NATO headquarters ahead of a two-day NATO foreign ministers in Brussels in this file photo from December 4, 2012. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Is Hillary Clinton  the game-changing Democrat who can finally realize the liberal dream of turning Texas blue?
A new survey by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling indicates that the answer is yes. The retiring secretary of state could make the Lone Star State competitive in 2016, should she decide to run for president.
In hypothetical matchups, she’d beat GOP heavyweight Florida Sen. Marco Rubio 46% to 45% and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 45% to 43%. She would even handily beat the state’s governor, Rick Perry, 50% to 42%, according to PPP’s numbers.Pretty impressive for a state that hasn’t voted Democratic since 1976, when Jimmy Carter won Texas in the first presidential election after the GOP disaster of Watergate.
Read more >>>>

Unless you have amnesia, you do well to consider the source on this one.  It is not Hillary Clinton's "job" to turn those two states blue just because some people think she can.

It will never be easy for Hillary Clinton.   Nothing ever has been, and no one knows that better than she.  Aside from the hurdles that have been part of her track from the day she wrote to NASA as a schoolgirl, she herself puts pressures on her own performance that are stringent, so a 2016 run, no matter how easy you might think it will be, will not be a cakewalk.

It, of course, is her decision alone to make.  She has much to consider.  Even if her health had not been challenged toward the end of her tenure, she would still have needed a good long rest as she had been saying for almost a full year before she stepped down.  She certainly deserves that rest and recuperation, and perhaps a bit of quiet so she can nap before the din demanding that she take on that fight for that office from age 67 when the campaigning would begin through the age of 78 presuming she won two terms. 

Can we ratchet this down a few notches?  Give a girl a break!

Happy Birthday President Clinton!

Happy Birthday President Clinton!This is the birthday note I posted to President Clinton at his foundation.

Dear President Clinton,
As president you improved the lives of people here in the U.S. and, with your foreign policy, people the world over. Your work today with your foundation expands on those exceptional accomplishments. Thank you for your dedication to all who need a hand up and do not ask for a hand out.
I recognition of your birthday this year I am contributing $20.12 to HillaryClinton.com. I wish it were she whom you were nominating on September 5 because she is the only one who can lead this nation in the same spirit as you did for eight years. As Secretary of State we have seen her continue initiatives you began, work hand in hand with your foundation and other NGOs in places like Haiti where life is hard, short, and disasters abound, and start new initiatives to deepen and broaden partnerships to improve lives.
I wish you the happiest of birthdays with your lovely family, continued good health, and perpetual success in the help you provide to people all over the globe.
Sincerely,
Still 4 Hill

(It would be the height of absurdity to expect someone blogging under my screen name to be 4 anyone else.)

Media Reads on a Hillary Run: St. Patrick's Day 2012 Edition

I deliberated long and hard about posting these, and they are not the only examples bouncing around on the web.  In the end, they are Hillary news, so I suppose they merit some attention.

The first one, by Maureen Dowd, appeared days ago.  I first saw it in the New York Times.   This particular publication came from The Seattle Times.  Alluding to remarks HRC delivered last week at the Women in the World Summit,  Dowd postulates thus.

Originally published Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 3:30 PM

A riled Hillary is a formidable foe

The attempt by Republican men to wrestle American women back into chastity belts has not only breathed life into President Obama, writes Maureen Dowd, it has roused and riled Hillary Rodham Clinton — not a wise thing to do.
By Maureen Dowd
Syndicated columnist
Hillary Clinton has fought for women's rights around the world. But who would have dreamed that she would have to fight for them at home?
"Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me," she told an adoring crowd at the Women in the World Summit at Lincoln Center on Saturday. "But they all seem to. It doesn't matter what country they're in or what religion they claim. They want to control women. They want to control how we dress. They want to control how we act. They even want to control the decisions we make about our own health and bodies.
Read More>>>>

The war on women in this country is genuine. We need our women leaders, and I am sure most American women see Hillary Clinton as the most powerful and vocal of these, particularly on women's issues, but Hillary cannot do it alone.  She needs her army behind her.  Women need to recognize the level of threat to their personal freedom, get mad, and get active.

Men, even those on our side of the aisle,  do not share the sense of urgency Dowd telegraphs.  They put forth her name but... not now.

From The Gothamist.

Hillary Clinton 2016: Pundit Put Likelihood At 99.4%

Secretary Clinton at the 2012 Global Chiefs of Mission Conference yesterday (AP)

Will the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits come back in four years? Game Change authors John Heilemann and Mark "Obama is a dick" Halperin were on Morning Joe this morning predicting that Secretary of State is interested in running for President again.
Heilemann, who covers politics for New York magazine said the chances were "99.4. I think very high," while Halperin, an editor at Time, said, "A little lower. I think that if Joe Biden wins re-election and runs, she's much less likely to run."
Read more>>>>

Then there is Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York, who sometimes pals around with Republicans.  As Politico reports.

Ed Koch pushes Clinton on 2016 run

By BYRON TAU |

3/15/12 5:21 PM EDT

(AP Photo)
Former New York City mayor and Hillary Clinton booster Ed Koch wants to see a Clinton 2016 run, and he made his feelings clear to the Secretary of State at Wednesday's state dinner, according to the New York Times:

Mr. Koch also said he spoke with the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and encouraged her to run for president in 2016.
“I said, ‘Everybody’s running you for president again — count me in!’” he said. “And there were other people there who applauded.”
Read more>>>>>

I have been addressing the issue of the war on women primarily at The Department of Homegirl Security , which is a defense blog,  and not in the context of Hillary making another presidential run.  But in this  particular post,  Falling Short,   I did state a position similar to what Dowd said.  Women leaders, acting as surrogates for Obama on this issue inspire far more confidence in me than he who prefers to lead from behind.  Dowd's questions mirror my own thinking.  She ends her op-ed thus:

Women who assumed that electing Obama would lift all minority boats are beginning to think: Maybe he's not enough.
If the desire of all these conservative male leaders to yoke women is this close to the surface, if they are perversely driven to debase women even though it could lead to their own political demise, then women may require more than Obama.
If women are so vulnerable, they may need one of their own.
Is she inevitable?

It is possible that she is, but generals do not win wars without troops.  She needs her army.  I know you are all still here.  We have been together for almost five years now and never left her side.  Join Americans Elect.  Be a delegate for Hillary because, no, Obama will not be or do enough and we cannot afford to lose this war.

Celebrate Hillary Day: Bring a Friend to Americans Elect!

On this day in 2008, Hillary Rodham Clinton won primaries in Ohio and  Rhode Island.  I thank my friend Christian Kautz for this great picture.

t

Hillary Clinton was the best candidate then, and she remains America's best hope  - better than any declared candidate.today.  We know that our beloved Hillary does not like to look back.  So while we are celebrating her victory of four years ago, we should be doing so by looking ahead into the future that we can form.

We do not have to be limited by the candidates the major parties are putting forth.  Through Americans Elect we can choose our own candidates.  I joined about a month ago and am a delegate for Hillary.  Today, I celebrated "Hillary Day" by recruiting my friend.  Now, she, too is a delegate for Hillary. 

It would be nice if every delegate could recruit one more delegate for Hillary today.  Let's celebrate "Hillary Day" by looking ahead and not back.  Let's bring along friends and family to the Americans Elect online convention in June! 

Let's choose her - again!

Hillary's page at Americans Elect

Note to Democratic Primary Voters in Michigan

According to information given to a poll worker directly from the Michigan Democratic Party, there will be a write-in option on the ballot tomorrow, however, write-in votes will not be counted.  The other two possibilities on the ballot are Barack Obama, of course, and "uncommitted."   Those will be counted.  So, as difficult as it may be, you should probably resist the temptation to write Hillary in and vote "uncommitted" if you oppose Obama as the nominee.  That way you can send uncommitted delegates to Charlotte.

On another note, we need to get 1000 Hillary delegates ( or more!)  from each state at Americans Elect for the online convention in June.  You cannot be validated as a registered voter if you register using fake information.  The site is very secure and trustworthy.  I know the questions are very specific, but they are trying to assure that all delegates are eligible to vote.

Here is the link where you can register.  After you do that, you must go through a few more steps to be a validated voter.

Here is Hillary's page, but to track and support her, you need to start with the link above.



Let's get those numbers up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.  MME. SECRETARY!  YOU ARE OUR VALENTINE TO THE WORLD!  BE OURS FOR 2012!  WE PROMISE WE WILL WORK OUR HEARTS OUT FOR YOU!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Happy Valentine's Day to all our faithful visitors here.  Love to all!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Americans Elect Unveiled

About a month ago,  right before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, some of us in the various Hillary Clinton Facebook groups joined Americans Elect.  The registration process was in two phases.  One member of one of the groups then sent word out that to fully participate, after logging in, you needed to complete three additional steps to "fortify" your account (the term AE uses).  I did go through the additional steps and warned  my friends that it is a little scary.  In each of those steps there are statements and you are to choose the one that is true of you.  In every instance, one of the statements is true - not simply true, but very specific.  When you complete the process you receive a message that your account has been fortified and that you have been verified as a registered voter.

Ohhhhhh!!!! The hesitation I heard from my friends!  Who ARE they?  Who is behind this?  How secure is this?  Etc., etc., etc.  Well now we have an answer to those questions.  The answer is both a surprise and should not be all at once.  Lynn Forester de Rothschild appeared Cavuto this week and she is the big name behind this . Really, I should have suspected.  She explained the AE mission and how the site works.  For those who were concerned about security, she was very reassuring.  She did not name him, but the fellow who set up security for ETrade left his job there to work with AE. 



For some reason, always a mystery to me at Wordpress,  the embed code for the clip does not work here, but here is the link.  I encourage you to watch (she mentions our HRC).   I hope that knowing it is Lady Lynn will encourage my Hillary friends to join us at AE and go through the full process to become a Hillary Clinton delegate for the online convention in June!

Link to Lynn Forester de Rothschild on Cavuto discussing Americans Elect.

Media Reads on a Hillary Run: Sunday, January 15, 2012 edition

As they roll in, I continue posting these articles suggesting that our girl take the 2012 plunge. I am not entertaining the switcheroo articles although some arguments are valid. Joe Biden has done a wonderful job as VP, and he is not the problem. The problem is a president without the spine to sweep into office with a grand plan for jobs, to stand up to the GOP (after losing the majority he had in his first two years), or to veto an NDAA bill containing amendments antithetical to the rights of American citizens as stated in the Bill of Rights.

We need a leader with guts - the kind of intestinal fortitude Hillary Clinton manifested when, in 2009, she added the U.S. to the nations reviewed for human rights abuses in the annual Human Rights Report. Obama must have forgotten that little item when he neglected to veto the NDAA.

Clinton backers want her to seek the presidency

Posted Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012

By Anna M. Tinsley

Four years hasn't been long enough to forget.

Some supporters of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential bid, including Texans, remain bitter over how the last primary turned out, and they want their candidate back on the ballot this year, one way or another.

Petitions are being circulated to encourage Clinton to resign as secretary of state and run for president; write-in efforts are under way to put her name at the top of the ballot.

Read more >>>>

This one encourages discussion and provides a lovely slideshow of the SOS at work.

Should Hillary Clinton Run In 2012 Against Obama?

The Current Secretary of State is looking better than ever. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but I can't help but pay attention to her dramatic make-over. I have done some research and it seems that I'm not the only one wondering if Hillary would dare challenge the current President. I highly doubt she would do something like that, even if she and her team want it so badly.

Obama has fallen from grace so quickly that it would not be surprising if someone challenges him for the Democratic nomination in 2012. Many, including former Vice-President Dick Cheney, have been talking about the big 'mistake' voters did by choosing Obama over Clinton in 2008. In the last Republican Presidential debate, front-runner Mitt Romney called Obama inexperienced and way 'over his head.'

Read more and ring in!!!!!!

Regional Theater in New Hampshire

Many readers here will recall this scripted moment less than fondly.   I call it scripted because although the party tried its best to hide the truth,  many knew at the time, and many more know now,  that what was being televised was not a true and transparent roll call vote.  It is no secret  by now  among Democrats that the actual vote was taken in hotel rooms that morning and that committed Hillary delegates that we sent to cast votes for her were coerced to vote otherwise before Hillary released them.   What we saw here, deplorable as it was to see a valid candidate and the winner of the popular vote on the convention floor, was theater.




Hillary Clinton was escorted onto the convention floor to rescue the party's unity and request a unanimous nomination of Barack Obama.  It was a spectacle, for sure, and not the party's finest moment.

The party seems to have a penchant  for the  theatrical since something appears to be rotten in the state of New Hampshire as this year's primaries commence.  Curtain up!  A swiftly organized write-in campaign for HRC in the New Hampshire primary was launched in early December and was publicized here, at other Hillary blogs, and in myriad Hillary Facebook groups.  We shared and we tweeted no end to get the word out to New Hampshire voters that on the Dem side there was more than one choice.

Tuesday, the 10th was primary day, and by the next morning we saw these results from C-SPAN.  They were posted here on this blog.

Race	Status	Candidate	Votes	Vote %	Del*	Est. % In
New Hampshire Updated 1:59 p.m. EST, Jan 11, 2012 County: Table | Map		Obama	48,970	82%	0	100% reporting
		Total Write-ins	5,908	10%	0

We were informed by the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office that the write-in tallies would be available the next day - today.  You can imagine the shock waves that traveled through the Hillary sites today when that office made these results available.

Presidential Primary Election January 10, 2012 President of the United States - DEMOCRATIC

Suspension of disbelief is possible when the plot is reasonable, but these results are not.  No one voted for HRC?  Democrats wrote in the GOP clown car occupants on the Dem ballot?  No one wrote in  any other Democrats or independents on that ballot?  Smells fishy to me!  So,  many of us had our Hamlet moment today since something indeed is rotten in the state of New Hampshire. The only voters missing are Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, but I guess it is harder for them to register now that ACORN has bitten the dust. Anyway, Shakespearean productions are almost never accompanied by cartoons.

The only other explanation is that the Hillary Clinton write-ins were inscribed with disappearing ink.  We are undaunted, because for our money, the finest moment of that 2008 convention was this.  Yes, Hillary, we will keep going!

 

Writing Hillary In: Part Two The South Carolina Roadblock

Not so fast, it seems!  There IS no write in option.  At the Petition Facebook group,  however, there appears to be a way we can battle this totalitarian one-candidate ballot.

Steve Rosinski

I am asking all Hillary supporters to write to the South Carolina Secretary of State demanding suspension of the 'No Write-in Rule' under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. We are prepared to seek legal recourse if the Secretary is not responsive. If anyone can help with these legal issues, we'd be grateful.

South Carolina Secretary of State: Contact/Feedback

www.scsos.com

Thank you for visiting the online office of the South Carolina Secretary of State. We are working hard to revolutionize the way you do business in South Carolina. Please let us know if you have any feedback, questions or concerns.

Let's all do our part so that our neighbors in South Carolina can write Hillary in should they wish to! 

Seniors Speak Up!

Since I cannot remember which channel I was watching at the time, I cannot find the video, but on one of the morning cable news nets I saw Amy Kremer of Tea Party Express ranting, in a southern belle kind of genteel way, that Mitt Romney does not represent the party and that the Tea Party will resist having this candidate shoved down their throats as it were.  It rang a lot of chimes for me.

In 2008, commencing with the May 31 Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on the votes from Florida and Michigan, and concluding with the most shameful spectacle of a viable candidate who had won the popular vote being walked out onto the convention floor in order to halt a completely staged  "roll call vote,"  Democrats have said the same thing.  Not all Democrats are satisfied with the 2008 candidate who is now the incumbent candidate.  The dissatisfaction was reflected in the New Hampshire primary results yesterday.  Barack Obama drew in appreciably fewer votes than Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.  He won 82% of the Democratic Primary vote there, was opposed by more than a dozen challengers,  none of whom managed to exceed the write-in vote,  which garnered a rough 10% of the total with no bankroll, public speakers, town halls, or physical presence on the ground by a declared write-in candidate.

It is time for the Democratic Party to wake up to a reality, as much as we love Hillary Clinton, and hard as she tried, she was not in 2008 and is not now able to effect unity in a party that she did not tear apart.  The task of unifying the party belonged to Barack Obama who campaigned on a claim that he would unify the entire nation.   He has accomplished neither, and the reason is that he did not heal the wound from which the country was bleeding four years ago.  He did nothing to support homeowners facing foreclosure, unemployed Americans, and students who could not afford tuition.  He responded to the BP oil disaster with paralysis, and chose to waste 18 months pushing a faulty and wanting health care bill when people were suffering from poverty and joblessness.  So, in short, placing HRC on the ballot under the name of a failing and flailing candidate will not effect his reelection.  We will not even entertain such a ridiculous idea which is put forth by those who assure us that it will not happen anyway. (So why even raise it?)


You have to love seniors.  The very experienced who have seen so much and have lived through bad times before  know what it takes to fix things.  They no longer have to worry about pinks slips.  They have faced so much in life that they do not care what they say.  Devil-may-care,  they say what is on their minds.  Here are two of them.

Specter: Dump Obama for Hillary

January 10, 2012|By Tom Infield, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Should President Obama dump Joe Biden as his running mate and replace him with Hillary Clinton?
Arlen Specter was asked that hot-potato question, circulating in some Democratic circles, in a meeting Tuesday with The Inquirer editorial board.
His answer showed that the former 30-year senator hasn't lost his knack for blunt talk - nor, perhaps, his bitterness over what he feels were slights from Obama during his failed 2010 Senate campaign.

Read more >>>>

Here is another senior icon.

Another lefty celebrity says he’s heartbroken and dismayed by Obama

posted at 1:20 pm on January 11, 2012 by Tina Korbe

In a recent appearance on the “Smiley & West” radio program hosted by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, Harry Belafonte lamented the president’s lack of a moral compass — and cautioned other discontents to be wary of the proposition that the president just needs a second term to prove himself. Said Belafonte:

Read more >>>>

I have, over the years of Obama's tenure,  occasionally clashed with younger folks here who have been sure that older people do not "get it."  I beg to differ.  Guys and gals old enough to be my parents have a compendium of knowledge and experience we have yet to gain.  It never hurts to listen to voices of experience.  They, after all, have little to lose at this point, and the young?  Their futures are on the line.  It might serve them well to attend to these voices and ask themselves where their values are:  in fixing what is wrong, or in continuing to prop up the failed and ineffectual candidate that thrilled them with all the texting four years ago.

It was a cheap trick, kids.  I got some of those tweets too when hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast.  All he wanted was for my Red Cross donations to go through his website.  Well, I know how to find the Red Cross on my own.  I did not need him to tell me how to arrive there, and he does not know how to get us back to where we need to be.  If  he did, surely he would have made his huge effort by now.

FDR did not win four elections by saying that he needed another term.  He rolled up his sleeves, showed us what was possible, and an impressed and grateful populace gladly reelected him.  No, I did not witness this history,  but I learned from it nonetheless - from folks older than I.  We all should.

Write In Hillary New Hampshire: Preliminary Results

We lack some specifics at the moment, but CNN Politics is reporting the New Hampshire Democratic primary thus with 100% of precincts reporting.

Race	Status	Candidate	Votes	Vote %	Del*	Est. % In
New Hampshire Updated 12:06 p.m. EST, Jan 11, 2012 County: Table | Map		Obama	48,970	82%	0	100% reporting
		Total Write-ins	5,908	10%	0

SO!  While we do not know for whom those write-in votes were cast (we can suppose not for the baker's dozen of challengers on the ballot),  and, oddly, we do not see a total of votes cast with a list of those challengers and their results, we do see that there was a pretty healthy write-in vote.
As a reminder, if she did garner a sizable portion of write-in votes,  HRC  never declared or said a word to imply that she was running, never set her pretty little foot on New Hampshire soil, and did not spend a red cent on this.  This was entirely a grassroots effort.  Imagine if she had assured voters that she was in this to win it.  At a time when this country is in dire need of a hero with a knowledge base and plans to counter the GOP  with its bad plans and the incumbent, who historically lacks plans going all the way back to the 2007 debates,  HRC is what she has always been since that day in 2007 when she declared, the change we need.  

New Hampshire Democrats: Write In Hillary!

In your Democratic primary, you do have more than one choice!



Thanks to Jen, here is your sample ballot.  The last line is where you can write her in.


NH_Democratic ballot_2011

Additional information on the New Hampshire primary can be found here.

Write Hillary In!

With the weekend debates over, New Hampshire voters (and those in other primary states) might be feeling a little hopeless.  The candidates are not inspiring, and the incumbent, for all the boost the media attempts to provide, has proven over almost four years that indeed  the Oval Office is not a training ground. The health care debacle, the dismal economy, the failure to reach across the aisle effectively, the incessant campaigning that never ceased after the last GE coupled with the lack of clarity explaining positions, the list goes on of reasons to regard the incumbent as ineffective.  But there remains a viable alternative.  Democrats, we can take our party back.  In open primaries, independents can hop aboard.

In addition to this action, and to fortify our position, we can join Americans Elect and become delegates there for HRC,  and we can sign the petitions in the sidebar on this page.  Click here to see a video of petition initiator Steve Rosinski  with Neil Cavuto last week.  

My last two cents:  I do not understand the Republican chant that Obama is a "socialist" president.  He has done nothing to protect, in any effective way, the social safety nets established by prior Democratic administrations.  If he remains in the Oval Office any longer, we will see these programs dismantled.  He is the "anti-socialist."  Do not buy that cow.