“Obama certainly didn't have a problem bringing in the lawyers when he first ran for public office. His attack dogs not only got Alice Palmer, the incumbent and a well-respected civil rights leader, kicked off the ballot, they managed to get all of Obama's competitors kicked off as well so that he could run unopposed.”
More on that here.
It’s interesting to me that this story isn’t getting more press.
Alice Palmer was a popular and effective legislator, and would have retained her seat had Obama not challenged her nominating petitions: “The fact is the Hyde Parkers whom Obama was courting at the time would've remained loyal to Palmer and many told him as much at the home of Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers in late November of 1995.”
Apparently, even Obama’s paid campaign consultant admits Obama “wondered if we should knock everybody off the ballot. How would that look?" He also states that Obama didn't attend the hearings on the ballot maneuvers.
Palmer to this day does not concede alleged flaws that Obama's team claimed they found in her signatures. She maintains that she could have overcome the Obama team's objections and stayed on the ballot if she had more time and resources.
Obama said he has not been in touch with Palmer since 1996. (although he's had time to spend with Tony Rezko many times over the past decade).
The Chicago Tribune reporter says the following:
“It's not the tactics of 'let's all people come together and put your best ideas forward and the best ideas win,' " Kass said. "That's the spin; that's in the Kool-Aid. You can have some. Any flavor. But the real deal was, get rid of Alice Palmer. There are those who think that registering people to vote and getting them involved in politics and then using this tactic in terms of denying Alice Palmer the right to compete, that these things are inconsistent. And guess what? They are. They are inconsistent. But that's the politics he plays."
Epilogue:
Alice Palmer, a Clinton supporter, joined Chelsea Clinton and other women to campaign for HRC in late April. She and other women lauded Clinton's plans for the economy and job creation..
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11 comments:
This is only shocking since he's potrayed himself as "a different kind of politician" in contrastt to Clinton who his supporters have been vilifying. Does this mean that Obama is AMBITIOUS?? Scandale!
I agree, Marge, it's not shocking to me in itself and it doesn't differentiate him from many politicians who'd have done the same thing.
However, yeah, in this case the hypocrisy is with a capital H. And this treatment of a former mentor who is a WOC -- and therefore likely had similar and more hurdles than BHO himself has in rising to her political position -- to me is especially problematic. The fact that he never spoke to her again -- that does strike me as unusual, even for a politician.
As should go without saying, I would never suggest a POC or female candidate should not be ambitious or tough. Far from it. I think this situation has more to it than ambition.
I don't know. At this point I think Democrats have to stop eating their young and focusing on beating McCain. I feel confident HRC is going to support Obama and the rest of us should as well. Unless we want Bush III.
Politics is a dirty game and anyone who can get even close to the presidency has probably done more than a few bad deeds in their time. Let's not be naive.
I watched "Recount" on HBO last night, about the 2000 election and aftermath. Very interesting and rather depressing. If Al Gore's team had been willing to fight harder and dirtier things might have turned out quite differently. Of course the SC would still have been useless and corrupt, but who knows? Point is, to beat the Republicans you better be ready to get down in the gutter. Which is probably the main reason, outside of feminist concerns, that I supported HRC. They went after her, her husband, her daughter and she's still standing.
SMMO, I do not have any plans to now or ever vote Repub. But on this one, the jury is out for me about whether I support BHO or sit out.
I think there is a distinction between fighting tough and what happened re Alice Palmer. Personally, I would have felt wrong not to blog about this. I don't expect that it will change minds about which box to check. To me, documenting when a woman, and especially a woman of color, and especially a woman of color who had acted as a mentor, is tossed out in the trash is the right thing to do.
"To me, documenting when a woman, and especially a woman of color, and especially a woman of color who had acted as a mentor, is tossed out in the trash is the right thing to do."
I agree. And yes, this probably wouldn't sway my vote one way or another - dastardly deeds abound in politics - but they still need to be publicly documented. It's the only way to hold anyone's feet to the fire in any capacity.
Perhaps they'll just become more sly with their misdeeds; or, perhaps they'll think twice. Is that too Pollyanna of me?
I'd just love for someone in politics to say "change" and actually practice it to excess.
Well I certainly don't have a problem with you blogging it Octo, not that you were looking for permission. I'm just feeling very pragmatic and "bigger picture" about this election. Apparently we've switched roles.
dastardly deeds abound in politics - but they still need to be publicly documented. It's the only way to hold anyone's feet to the fire in any capacity.
ITA.
But on this one, the jury is out for me about whether I support BHO or sit out.
Since I know you don't live in a swing state, I'm not going to worry too much.
I think McCain would be truly awful. And if Obama does win, if he survives the smear that is surely coming and isn't assassinated, I think his inauguration will be one of those rare days on which I'm proud to be an American. In an "about fucking time" sort of way.
Jozet --thanks, and welcome! I agree, it would be nice to see real "change." Or at least less hypocrisy.
If some woman helped me get a job, and then I turned around to try to oust her... and then I competed with another woman who also gave me guidance, for a job I promised I wouldn't try to get... and then I claimed my style of advancement was a kind of "change" ... well, then, I wouldn't expect that women would be a big support group for me. Just sayin'.
SMMO: "Apparently we've switched roles." Yes indeed! You are just all about the menz, my dear.
Seriously, I do see the big picture argument. I'm just not sure how it all balances out for me.
Yes this is unethical. Though I was glib before, I do think so. I think it's also another indicator of the way he's treated women in this campaign. I am not surprised I haven't read this anywhere else.
If you had shared the full story as outlined in the Chicago Tribune article that you linked to, you would know that Palmer gave Obama her blessing to run for her State senate seat, as she fully expected to be elected into the U.S. Congress that year. It was only when her Congressional bid failed that she reneged on that and decided to run against him. She hastily and sloppily tried to pull together her petitions, and was defeated under a legal challenge. If you want to dispute the use of lawyers, that's totally valid, but to describe him as running his mentor out of office is incorrect. As the article said, "'I thought the world of Alice Palmer,' said state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), now the House majority leader. But 'at that point she had pulled her own plug.'"
And if you actually provided the context for your selective contributions, you'd know the following:
1) Palmer states she never formally endorsed Obama;
2) She altered course with time to reclaim her position and he was aware of this, as well as being aware of the fact that she'd helped him get to where he was and would appreciate support in getting her position back;
3) From the article: "According to Palmer, it was without her knowledge that her supporters initiated discussions to persuade Obama to step aside" and he was aware of this.
4) The day that Palmer submitted TWICE the signatures required, per the article, "Obama lashed out at her, telling the Tribune she had pressured him to withdraw" which does not comport with the facts and is highly inappropriate given their prior relationship.
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