Arkansas Blog

Did she try to be a southern girl this afternoon?

Max, why don't you ask Senator Tracy Steele why he favors Hillary over Obama? Certainly an interesting question. Or was Steele non-committal today? As involved as Steele has been in Black Pride sort of issues, it's surprising he's not in Obama's camp. A Black friend told me Arkansas Blacks would never support someone with a name like Obama. Wonder how Steele adds it up.

Senator Steele started out working for the Clinton administration. That connection is why he supports Hillary.

If Hillary wins the nomination, we'll be blessed with eight more years of a Republican president. And the Hillary supporters will all pretend it's Obama's fault.

"A Black friend told me..." That's rich.

A Black friend told me Arkansas Blacks would never support someone with a name like Obama. Wonder how Steele adds it up.

Posted by: PVNasby

I beg to differ, I don't know what Arkansas Blacks you have been talking to. The name Obama isn't as frightening as the name Hillary. You need to conduct a survey of Black Arkansans.

I think a survey of Black Arkansans would reveal that an overwhelming majority like both Obama AND Hillary, and would be frightened by neither.

"I don't really buy the logic -- it's smart policy to not take your home state for granted (Huck?)."

Just ask Al Gore!!

Call me naive (I've been called much worse), but I don't think this Clinton/Obama thing is a black/white issue. What it all boils down to (or should boil down to) for Dems is which one of them can beat McCain and take the White House back from those crazy REpugs. I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it 'til the cows come home if necessary. LISTEN to the REpug mouthpieces - even the ones on this blog. Who does it sound like they'd rather run against - judging by who they knock the hardest? They want Obama. So who should the Dems prefer? The REpugs have had 16 years to dig up and publish all the dirt they have on Hillary, and she's still standing. They haven't even opened up their can of whoopass on Obama. They will, if he gets the nomination. And they will take him down. Hillary can beat McCain. Can't all ya'll ultra-enlightened idealogues just let the guy ripen for another 8 years? He'll be about ready by then, and, if he's still standing like Hillary, he'll be electable.

Hello Leslie, Nice work today, thank you. I have a little newsflash for you.. I cast an early vote today..Edwards, Kucinich and many other people are still on the ballot.. this is a primary and of all times it's more than appropriate, it's important to vote for the candidate of your choice. Don't choke on the DLC triangle while swallowing it whole.

I know a lot of Democrats who are dissatisfied with the Clintons. Obama could pick up some support here if he made a swing through the state, and do surprisingly well. But with Edwards out of the race, I expect Hillary will get at least 50% of the vote.

Plenty of Republicans would vote for Obama, but would come out in droves to vote against Hillary. Nothing would unify the Republican base and de-energize the Democratic base more than Hillary. She's supported the war, she's in bed with the health care industry, she owes her standing to her family name -- just another DINO like Pryor.

I said I'd vote for a yellow dog if it ran on the Dem ticket, but frankly McCain would make a better president; at least you know where he stands.

"Plenty of Republicans would vote for Obama"
Posted by: Jacob the Wrestler

Based on what evidence? If McCain is the nominee, hel gets the progressive Republican vote. The Republican base is more disenchanted with McCain than the rest of the GOP, but NO WAY will the Republican base vote for Obama. And if you think Obama's mixed race and relative youth (compared to any of the Republican candidates) will not be reasons to get some Republicans to come out in droves against him, then I have to wonder if you've not been smoking the same stuff Obama used to smoke.
In every primary so far (as best as I recall) more people are voting Democratic than Republican. It's up to Democrats to get their voters back out for the General Election. That won't happen if Obama keeps signalling to his voters that they don't have to vote for Hillary if she's the nominee. If Hillary is the Democratic candidate, and the Democrats lose the White House, it's because Democrats did not want to win the election. Republicans cannot FAIRLY take this election from Democrats.

Full disclosure: I'm solidly in Hillary's camp. However, I have said in the past I would, with some trepidation, vote for Obama if he becomes the candidate. But the more I hear from his campaign the nyah, nyah,n-nyah, nyah, the more worried I become.
Somebody needs a little seasoning, methinks.

Don't get me wrong, Doigotta. I'd pull that lever for Barack as fast as I would for Hillary. I'm an unabashed yeller dawg. But there are lots of people who would not, and we'd be getting used to the term "President McCain". Obviously that's not as bad as it could be... but I'd prefer it didn't happen.

I met Hillary a few times when she was the First Lady Of Arkansas. I also met Jethrine (only once) when she was the First Lady of Arkansas.
End result is that I found Hillary Clinton to be a warm, personable, caring human being.
Jethrine tried to stiff me on a bill for her dinner, even asking me if I knew who she was. I said , "Yes, I know who you are, and you still owe me for your dinner."
The Hucksters ......Yikes.

Taorider,

Based on the arkansas Republicans I talk to, plenty would vote for Obama. Did you see today's ABC news story where many of our soldiers said they want Obama, because he can help our foreign image?

Sure, I've smoked pot just like Obama. Still do. As do my Republican friends. I worry about anyone who hasn't, because they've either led sheltered lives, live in fear, or follow authority blindly.

I agree with you: If Hillary is the Democratic candidate, and the Dems lose, it's because they didn't want to win -- proven by the fact they nominated Hillary.

Jacob, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about how bad the Democrats want to win. Many of us see Hillary as the best choice in that regard for lots of reasons, some practical, some idealistic. We don't concede that Republican/right wing character assassination talking points ought to define the debate.
Having a Democratic victory in the Presidential election will help our foreign image, regardless of which one it is. That's not a persuasive argument to me.

"Sure, I've smoked pot just like Obama. Still do. As do my Republican friends. I worry about anyone who hasn't, because they've either led sheltered lives, live in fear, or follow authority blindly. "

[insert aging hippie with a job and a mortgage shaking head here]
Alas, that my life's obligations could be so easily and bravely set aside...
But tell ya what, if your guy Obama comes out unabashedly for legalization of cannabis and against random piss testing, and still wins, I'll fire one up with y'all at the bill-signing! Maybe I'll like him better stoned...

taorider, What pray tell, is a progressive republican?

"I said I'd vote for a yellow dog if it ran on the Dem ticket, but frankly McCain would make a better president; at least you know where he stands."

No lukewarm Democrat would make such a statement. We all know where Osama stands too, will he be McCain's running mate? One of the dozens of evil Republican ploys we will encounter this campaign season is the whisper campaign that Hillary is unelectable because she'll stir up the Republican base unlike anyone else. The other dirty trick is saying that if you aren't supporting Barack Obama, it's a sure sign you're a racist. Both are pure bullshit. Did all the adults suddenly die?

The lopsided votes in the primaries so far showing far more people voting on the Democrat side proves that the next President will be a Democrat....period. I prefer Hillary over Barack because of her age, intelligence, and having Bill as her co-pilot. My dream team would be Clinton/Obama because that's the best bet to keep the Republicans out of the White House for the next 16 years. It also breaks 2 glass ceilings that needed to be broken years ago. I say get yer hammers out!

I'd like Barack Obama if he was green or gay or in a wheelchair or just a talking severed head in a big jar filled with formaldehyde. But so far the real American racists have been silent, but they're out there and the secret hope of all Republicans is that they'll show up just in time to defeat Obama. Hillary is in the same boat. The Woman Haters of America may be a larger group than the racists? It's hard to track bottom feeders, so their numbers aren't known. But the best time to try a totally new idea is when everything lays in ruins.....and that's where we are today in America. If we were any broker it would be 1930 all over again....and we're not out of the woods yet.

Our only chance for a good future is to go for broke. I say put the woman and the black guy in the White House and spin the wheel. I'd rather see us bust than to endure another 8 years of the Republican led march to the bottom of the toilet. We've seen what happens with an elderly puppet. We've seen what happens with a retarded puppet. Why try the elderly puppet one more time? Anything, and I do mean anything would be better than President McCain. Clinton/Obama '08!

My dream team is the same as yours, DBI. Now I'm far, far from a political pundit. But think about this: on the D side you've got your Hillary supporters, you've got your Barack supporters, and you've got those who WERE pulling for Edwards, Kucinich, Dodd, etc. Some people are more anti-somebody than they are pro-somebody. If we did see a Hillary/Barack ticket or a Barack/Hillary ticket does anyone really think Democratic voters will turn out in anything but HUGE numbers to support this ticket? In my mind the surest way to get a Democrat into the White House would to be for these two to appear on the same ticket--in any order.

I don't like the recent seemingly divisive tenor of the race between Hillary and Barack, the (perceived) role Bill played in all of it, etc. But I could certainly overlook any and all of it if they ended up on the ticket together. I think a lot of others would, too. How could they lose? How many Obama democrats would say, "I'll only support Barack if he's running for President. If he's #2 on the ticket I'll be voting for McCain."?

That ain't happening.

I want to know why Pat O'Brien is spending his work hours doing press interviews when he should be working and monitoring early voting. Doesn't this guy have things to do????

taorider, What pray tell, is a progressive republican?
Posted by: Eureka Springs, AR

I understand your confusion. The Republican Party has allowed itself to be so defined and dominated by conservative / right wing positions that the more moderate, progressive mambers of the party spend a lot of time avoiding attention. But they are out there. And have been for a while.
Those are the folks that are less concerned with social conservatism than with fiscal issues. They are all about fiscal responsibility, but don't think the government ought to be regulating bedroom behavior or medical decision-making between a doctor and patient. The ones who think maybe the environment does need tending to, who don't believe the Rapture is imminent (and so to heck with this world).
Most of my friends who claim to be Republicans are of the progressive type. I don't know why they don't admit they'd be happier as Democrats, but they seem to think that the GOP is still the party of limited government, personal freedom, and fiscal responsibility. Silly, I know.

Progressive Republicans even have their own group, the Republican Main Street Partnership (see link below). In the Congress they have over 40 members.

Examples of progressive Republicans, even tho almost all the current crop still panders to the base minority come election time-

Pre 2008 presidental run John McCain and Rudy Giuliani were, now they're just pandering old men.
Michael Bloomberg
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Nelson Rockefeller
Theodore Roosevelt
and the list goes on.