This past week, many of us may have heard about the leaked audio from one of Hillary Clinton’s fundraisers. The fundraiser in question took place on February 16, 2016 and the speech lasted close to 50 minutes.
The Washington Free Beacon obtained the leaked audio and shared it on SoundCloud. Now, while the accompanying article from the news outlet focused on Clinton’s Nuclear concerns, many people could not ignore the comments Clinton made about her opponents in the race and specifically, the comments Clinton Bernie Sanders’ supporters.
A while back, I talked about the huge problem that has long plagued Hillary Clinton. Basically, there is a disconnect between her and younger voters. The audio in question only seems to reinforce those problems and the perception of young voters that she does not have their best interests at heart.
Why Is That?
In short, many of the problems Clinton has were and are of her own making. She has long been dismissive of the young voting bloc. And it doesn’t help that many of her surrogates and supporters take that same stance.
Now, although many young voters fail to show up in mid-term and off-year elections, their importance during presidential elections should never be underestimated. Also, there are serious drop-offs across age groups.
What Did Hillary Clinton Say in The Leaked Audi0?
During her speech, Hillary Clinton addressed the general anger in this election and the emergence of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as the “long-shot” Democratic candidate. She spent over a half-hour taking questions from people in the audience. Two questions that came up were about younger voters and Bernie Sanders’ chances in the general election.
I made a quote dump for my Tumblr blog if you want to check that out, so I will summarize things here. In short, Clinton said:
- Bernie Sanders’ goals policies (including free education and free health care) were unrealistic and extremely flawed.
- Sanders’ supporters were given false hope.
- Young voters were voting due to their emotions and with a narrow view on their personal situations.
- Young voters are inexperienced and know little about the political process. They are generally uniformed about world affairs.
- Sanders had little chance to win in the general election.
What Do I Think?
At first, I didn’t think what Clinton said was bad. But I was only going off snippets. I really needed to listen to the entire audio, because the early parts of it had important information.
Upon second thought, what Clinton said proves the points I made earlier.
When you add everything she said together, it forms an extremely dismissive message that Clinton essentially said “behind closed doors.” That is usually when people say what they really mean about the people they talk about.
She was dismissive of Bernie Sanders. She was dismissive of his supporters, who, by the way, included plenty of the over-40 and over-50 crowd.
Many people criticizing to Sanders’ supporters like to pigeonhole them. The critics paint this group as only being a bunch of younger and first-time voters. That is wholly ignorant.
Also add to that what Clinton said about her political leanings. “Center Left to Center Right” is moderate. That flies in the face of her saying that she is a progressive (in 2008) or “a progressive that gets things done” now. (Come to think of it, that statement alone is kind of an insult to progressives.)
And add to that her choice of a running mate. Sure, Tim Kaine is a “safe,” “boring” choice, but his consideration was another statement that Clinton did not really want to work with a real progressive.
She also touted the endorsements she was gaining from Republicans, including some of the Bushes, Ken Salazar, and Henry Kissinger. Never mind that there are a bunch of war criminals in that bunch.
People see her early support for TPP when she was Secretary of State.
They see her not really helping down-ticket races. They see her support of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who really was not a neutral party in the primary race.
The point is, Hillary Clinton isn’t really liberal. I don’t believe she ever was, and that’s the problem.
And Why Is That a Problem?
It’s a problem because the above signifies that Clinton says one thing but does another.
It’s a problem because, as I said before, it illustrates how complacent the Clinton people are.
It’s a problem because liberals and progressives who let their misgivings about Hillary Clinton be known are berated. They are bullied and insulted [NSFW language]. They are gaslighted, guilted and told that they are helping Donald Trump.
About Trump …
Basically, people are being told that a vote for a third-party candidate or a non-vote is a vote for Trump. But a vote for Trump is a vote for Trump, but we already know that trying to convince those voters is a lost cause.
It doesn’t matter how bad a candidate Trump is to his staunch supporters. You can tell them about The Donald’s:
- “Small loan of $1 million” from his father to get him started.
- Six business-related bankruptcies.
- Legal but immoral tax-dodging practices.
- Failed strategy to get the USFL to compete with the NFL.
- Connections to the mob.
- Immoral business practices and refusal to pay workers and contractors.
- Overall spotty business record, which includes Trump Steaks being sold at Sharper Image and the creation of a mortgage company shortly before the housing bubble burst.
And the man’s supporters wouldn’t bat an eye. He’s a worse person and a worse candidate, but that won’t cause his supporters to shy away from him. Many of Republican Party loyalists. But deep down they have to know Trump doesn’t care about them.
Anyway, other voters (and as yet unregistered voters) could have been reached in order to blunt any effect Trump has now. Consider this: Only 9% of eligible voting public voted for Trump or Clinton in the primary. Don’t you think that real efforts to bring in more voters (outside the Sanders supporters) would have helped Clinton in the long run?
It’s ironic that Dan Savage went on an expletive-filled rant against Jill Stein and the Green Party when one of his points harkens to the Democratic leadership’s failings. Much like he charges that the Greens didn’t do the work to build their party from the ground up, the Democrats didn’t do the groundwork to create more voters for this election cycle.
So, consider the leaked audio and then combine this with the problems above. All of this helps to explain why Clinton can’t keep her small leads against Trump in this race, even after he started to implode in August.
Also …
Shouldn’t voters be allowed to vote for people they agree with or believe in? Isn’t it reasonable for people to prefer someone who has their best interests at heart? Why is it not okay for new and younger voters to vote for candidates they like best (because those votes should be going to Clinton)?
Many people normally denigrate Republicans for voting for their preferred candidates, because the Republican leadership doesn’t really care about the average American.
So, what if the Democratic candidate also tells voters repeatedly that she doesn’t really care about their views or concerns, even if implicitly? I ask this because this is the message Hillary Clinton is sending.
You Want to Know What Else Clinton Is Doing Wrong?
She hasn’t really made a case to the American public. Well, she hasn’t beyond “Because Trump.” That’s telling.
Sure, on the surface, many of Clinton’s policies seem sound, but many of them have catches to them. There are many outs for her if when she ultimately falls short on her promises. And her policies are not as comprehensive as Bernie Sanders’ are because she isn’t really going to make an effort to make incremental progress.
Now, many of Sanders’ supporters weren’t just concerned about their own futures, although they have every right to be. They were and are worried about the wellbeing of the Earth, of Native American tribes, of the United States overall, and the wellbeing of future generations. They care about foreign affairs and America’s role on the world stage.
Clinton hasn’t really given people reason to believe that she really cares beyond what her donors tell her.
Even more, she hasn’t really given people the “why.” Why should we vote for her outside of Trump and beyond her potentially being the first woman to become a U.S. president? Why are people drawn to her outside of these reasons?
If anyone wants to have a talk to the “cynical” about Clinton, they should be prepared to answer these questions. And they need to refrain from insulting the people they’re talking to.
Shmaltz and Menudo 
Both candidates are severely flawed but the key difference is that Hillary has actually worked her ideas in government extensively whereas Trump “shoots from the hip” as a political novice.
LikeLike
I might need to make another post about this but part of my anger at Hillary Clinton is due to my desire for her to do better with voters across the board. I want to like her and I want her to learn from younger voters. They might be inexperienced, but they hold valuable insights, as do older voters.
In truth, I just will not vote for Trump. But this country needs a good president to help with jobs, the environment, and to represent us on the world stage. I know we can agree on that.
LikeLike