...from a fan of Democracy: Hillary gets the big head... again...

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Hillary gets the big head... again...

Responding to complaints her opponents were piling on her because she is a woman, Hillary Clinton said:

I don't think they're piling on me because I'm a woman. I think they were piling on me because I'm winning... I anticipate it's going to get even hotter, and if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen. I'm very much at home in the kitchen.

She's right, of course. I have no dispute with her assessment, or her ability to handle "the heat." I do have a problem with her in general. Her attitude, especially at this early point of the race, is just too smug for me.

And the last thing the country needs after eight years of "yer either fer us or agin us"
is an attitude that says "I am the winner, so deal with it," because it's just one step from there to what we already have, a sense of American world entitlement.

Don't misunderstand me. I do feel that America is "the greatest country on earth," but that doesn't mean it is the right way to behave. It reminds me a bit of the valedictorian of my high school graduating class. Bob B. was smart as a whip but so stuck on himself that no one wanted to deal with him. At our ten year reunion, you'd have thought he was holding court, and I realized that as much as I admired his intelligence and accomplishments I disliked him for his arrogance.

And that is not the sort of person I want representing the United States going froward.

Hillary may be electable, but is this what we really want, Argentinian style dynastic leadership?

Politics as usual got us into the mess we are now in and it's time for politics as unusual to get us out of it.

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The 14 Points of Fascism

1.) Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2.) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4.) Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5.) Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
6.) Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7.) Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses
8.) Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9.) Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10.) Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11.) Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free _expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
12.) Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations
13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.