I want to thank Karen for Clinton for sharing this WaPo article. We have been here since 2008 out of loyalty to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the principles that drive her, and the work she does propelled by her ideals. Those principles and ideals have not changed in essence over her more than 40 years of service both public and private.
Some may argue that she has altered her stance on specific issues such as LGBT rights. I would contend that confronted with reasonable requests she has reflected upon such issues, found no reason to exclude a swath of the population, and therefore expanded her embrace of equal rights for all. Example below.
Hillary Clinton Grants Benefits to Same-Sex Domestic Partners of Foreign Service Personnel
June 18, 2009 by still4hill
Some may argue that she has taken politically convenient positions on policy such as trade agreements. I would contend that Hillary Clinton’s metrics have always been based on what works best for Americans. Whether discussing NAFTA, which even in 2008 she questioned while reminding her fellow Democrats on the debate podium that she was not her husband and he was not standing there right then, or TPP today, her ruler has always been the advantage these agreements hold for Americans.
Hillary Clinton has never been one to hold to policy for idealogy’s sake. She is a pragmatist who looks to data and evidence as the foundation of good policy. If a policy benefits Americans, she supports it. If a policy results in proven disadvantages, for example a dual pay-scale system based on sex, she rejects it and proposes more even-handed rules.
That is the Hillary Clinton who has been there all along. That is the Hillary Clinton who worked hard for all Americans as a NY Senator. That is the Hillary Clinton who, as Secretary of State, won back many friends who had been alienated by the previous administration, and that is the Hillary Clinton who once again comes to us as an applicant for the hardest job in the land – the hardest one in the world. There is and never has been anything inconsistent about her.
That is why I continue to stand by Hillary.
As Hillary’s second presidential campaign enters its second month, some are reflecting on the past race. Indeed that race is why this blog exists. I went through, as did many, the five Kübler-Ross stages of grief in the wake of the Rules and Bylaws Committee decisions of May 2008: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. During the DAB stages, I spent a lot of time at a variety of PUMA forums and blogs batting around my ball of grief with like-minded folks. It was during the depression stage that I started posting here, for solace (because no one on earth could possibly understand how bad I felt, so I blogged to myself). It was when Hillary accepted to serve as Secretary of State that I decided to shed grief and focus hard on her new job.
Having watched, very carefully and closely, her four year performance as Secretary of State and the past two years of her work as a private citizen, I remain steadfast in her corner.
Some of my/our fellow PUMAs have peeled off and gone in other directions, as the WaPo piece explains. I, myself, still have some issues around party unity, but I have been a Dem since my first presidential election in 1968 (I went into the booth with my pen – ready to write in Jesse Jackson that time – but finally pulled the lever for HHH) and have never changed my party registration or affiliation.
I am a Hillary Clinton Democrat and proud of it!
The PUMAs are back on the prowl.Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decision to run for president has stirred up old feelings for some loyal supporters who refused to accept her defeat in the 2008 Democratic primary. When other Democrats put away their swords and rallied behind Barack Obama, the resisters responded: “Party unity, my ass!” — hence the nickname PUMAs. After seven years in the political wilderness, some are ecstatic at the chance to help elect a candidate that they believe in, and to make history by putting the first woman in the White House. Others are excited but cautious, still haunted by the events of 2008.
And some have even turned against Clinton — instead of signing on for her presidential campaign do-over, they plan to spend this cycle working to defeat her.
Hillary Dems, yes, but before that, Bill Dems. Clinton Dems still works for me.
And always since May 31 RBC I will remain a PUMA. I still do not believe Jeb stole the election for his brother from Gore and then my own party stole the election from Hillary Clinton right infront of our eyes – and then said they didn’t need the base anymore and they would win without us. Some slap in the face that was. And as bad as a shock it was to us, we felt far worse for what she must have felt. Some day, when it is all old news, I hope they admit to what we all watched happen. Nobody has told the story, except for Anita Finlay.
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oh and Still, Bravo. you knocked it out of the park.
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Thank you Karen – – thank you for providing the article!
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I fully concur!
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Thumbs up!
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Great article, Still. You have remained steadfast and provided such a service to those of us who have remained supporters of Hillary.
Karen, you speak for me, as well. PUMA to the end. Even tho in 2008, our initial motivation was to fight for Hillary, at some point (for me – not speaking for others), it became about fighting against the damnable actions of the DNC, of many others in party leadership positions, and especially, of the Obama Dems and the media. Regardless of whether the candidate were Hillary or someone else, it was imperative to fight against the sleaziness and treachery of those Dems.
In 2008, it became crystal clear just how little we Hillary supporters were valued by the party many of us had supported for all of our adult lives – only to be thrown under the bus and invited by Donna Brazille to get the hell out. We were no longer needed. There was a new Dem coalition – which pretty much fizzled. And, regardless of how nasty things got, very few decent Democrats spoke out against the nastiness – just as very few have had the courage to stand against some of the destructive actions of Obama. There is little to respect about the Democratic Party in my opinion – other than the fact that they are not Republicans.
Now, granted. No one expects politics to be a Sunday picnic. But neither should it be a sewer, run by amoral self-serving back-stabbers. Some in media, in the blogosphere, and in the Dem party who showed themselves to be sub-human in their vile treatment of Hillary in 2008, are at it again.
Because of their actions (then and now) I will never again consider the Democratic Party to be my party. However, I remain firm and unwavering in my support of Hillary. She won the nomination the first time around. She deserved it then. She deserves it now.
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I hear ya. Been there, done all that. When she wins this time, there will be a very damn-long-waited-for cheer heard round the world. It will be a primal scream releasing a whole lot of final justice. They made that woman the fighter she is. They strengthened her character by wrongfully attacking her – from the left and right.
Also, notice how some of those ladder kickers who abandoned her are trying to rid their guilt by supporting her now? The first shiny thing that comes along will lure them away, again.
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Ah yes! That bright, shiny thing! They are so easily distracted, so easily mesmerized.
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Still you are speaking from your heart. I was here with you back then. The slow death of delegates changing every day in the news media made me sick. Hillary finished her contests and won every state on super Tuesday.
We never forgot. We must be strong for her. Thank you for being here Still. and thank to everyone here who witnessed the treatment of Hillary in the 2008 campaign. We must not let that happen again.
God Speed Madam Secretary.
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There are these serial, repetitive events in history that you never forget. Subpoenaed witnesses turning up dead when Garrison had Clay Shaw on trial in New Orleans (two -three a week for awhile); Soviet republics breaking away in 1989 (also like two or three a week); and Hillary Clinton delegates peeling off and committing to Obama.
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