by Michael Kenney - May 6, 2008
I know lots of people like to allow Senator Hillary Clinton to flip and flop around on issues without calling her on it. Calling out Senator Clinton on an issue is an invitation to be labeled any number of unflattering things.
She started out her campaign as the Experience Candidate. Ready from Day 1. Unfortunately for Senator Clinton, it became clear early on that this is a change election year, and so just as fast as you can say flip flop, she became the Change Candidate. (I can't for the life of me figure out why she thinks she's so experienced. If Laura Bush runs for the Senate in Texas, and wins, does that mean Laura is prepared to be president in 2020 ? Not in my world. Maybe, but not automatically) But hey that's politics. They've all been known to play to a crowd.
But the Iraq War is one issue that is just too serious to simply turn into a political ping pong ball.
Due to his opposition to the initial invasion, and his consistent subsequent opposition,(while voting to continue funding the troops already deployed) I've decided to vote for Barack Obama if he wins the nomination. I admit it. I'm a one issue voter this year, and that issue is the Iraq War. A complete cluster-fuck which is killing our country.
Since the presidential campaign started, Senator Clinton has also become a vocal anti-war candidate. While ignoring the fact that she, as well as 21 other Dem Senators, voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq, Senator Clinton has vowed to begin troop withdrawal immediately upon taking office. Well, not exactly, she's vowed to convene a panel of Generals and other higher-ups within 60 days of taking office, and they'll formulate a plan for troop withdrawal. She's spoken in terms of withdrawing a brigade a month, without giving a complete breakdown on exactly when we'll be out of that shithole.
That's OK. I don't mind. It's a complete cluster-fuck, and who can really say how long it takes to repair a complete cluster-fuck? As long as Hillary, once she becomes President Hillary Clinton, lives up to her word and gives this problem the attention it deserves, I'll be happy.
And so I've flip flopped. I've decided to vote for Senator Clinton if she wins the nomination, something I said I'd never do because of her initial vote.
Recently, Senator Clinton has been giving Senator McCain a bit of a raking over the old coals about his '100 more year in Iraq' brain fart. She mocked his position about the number of casualties being the issue, rather than the amount of time the US spends occupying Iraq. I agree with Hillary. The mere notion of 100 years more of this war makes me think of moving to Canada. I was delighted to see Senator Clinton come out so strongly against McCain's position. Good for Hillary. Makes me feel more confident that I'll be voting for the right person when I cast a Dem vote in November.
On the other hand, it is a bit of a flip flop from what Senator Clinton said in 2005.
'Senator McCain made the point earlier today, which I agree with, and that is, it's not so much a question of time when it comes to American military presence for the average American; I include myself in this. But it is a question of casualties. We don't want to see our young men and women dying and suffering these grievous injuries that so many of them have. We've been in South Korea for 50-plus years. We've been in Europe for 50-plus. We're still in Okinawa with respect to protection there coming out of World War II.'...said Senator Clinton.
Ouch! That's not good at all.
That was 2005, and this is 2008. I guess I can understand how Hillary can change her mind on the subject. However, if she's going to be attacking McCain because of his (now clarified) statements about casualties and terms of occupation, it might be helpful if he hadn't agreed with him 3 years ago, and said essentially the same thing. The Republicans may be dumb, but they aren't that dumb. Like McCain's statement, this is one that Senator Clinton can't un-say.
I'll vote for her if she wins the nomination, but I have my doubts about how seriously she takes the issue of the Iraq War, and wonder if she really sees how urgent our withdrawal is.
Michael Kenney is a Chicago contractor.