Ohio predictions

[verte76]

Originally posted by U2democrat


Amen.

Why isn't anyone talking about her years on the Wal-Mart board? Goodness gracious if that isn't terrifying to Democrats I don't know what is.

She was on the Wal-Mart board? I'm not familiar with that stuff at all.

[U2isthebest]

She should remind the ultra right-wing Republicans about the Wal-Mart situation. They'd saint her.

[verte76]

Originally posted by anitram
Yes, that was certainly worth coverage on the national news for 3 days, but I don't see a similar type of hysteria regarding Hillary's endorsement of McCain.

Frankly if Hillary thinks McCain is so fantastic and experience rules the day (he has more), then what the hell, everyone may as well vote for him over her.

Hillary didn't endorse McCain.

[verte76]

Strom Thurmond was nominated for the presidency in my hometown in 1948.

[nathan1977]

Originally posted by phillyfan26
You just listed a bunch of criticisms of Bill Clinton.

The candidate is Hillary Clinton.

But whose record is she running on?

Certainly not her own.

[BonosSaint]

Originally posted by verte76


She was on the Wal-Mart board? I'm not familiar with that stuff at all.

__________________________________________________
Published on Sunday, March 12, 2006 by the Associated Press
Hillary Clinton Feels Heat Over Wal-Mart Ties
by Beth Fouhy

NEW YORK -- With retailer Wal-Martunder fire for its labor and healthcare policies, one Democrat with ties to the company, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, has started feeling her share of the political heat.



Hillary Clinton was paid $18,000 each year she served on the board, plus $1,500 for each meeting she attended. By 1993 she had accumulated at least $100,000 in Wal-Mart stock.


Clinton served on Wal-Mart's board of directors for six years when her husband was governor of Arkansas. And the Rose Law Firm, where she was a partner, handled many of the Arkansas-based company's legal affairs.

Hillary Clinton had kind words for Wal-Mart as recently as 2004, when she told an audience at the convention of the National Retail Federation that her time on the board ''was a great experience in every respect."

But in recent months, as the company has become a target for Democratic activists, she has largely steered clear of any mention of Wal-Mart. And late last year, Clinton's reelection campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart, citing ''serious differences with current company practices."

As Clinton sheds her Arkansas past and looks ahead to a possible 2008 presidential run, the Wal-Mart issue presents an exquisite dilemma: how to reconcile the political demands she faces today with her history at a company many consumers depend upon but many Democratic activists revile.

''The interesting question is not just Hillary Clinton's history at Wal-Mart, but why it's delicate for her to talk about Wal-Mart," said Charles Fishman, author of ''The Wal-Mart Effect," a book on the company's impact on the national economy. ''Plenty of Democrats denounce Wal-Mart, but there are also plenty of people who need it, love it and rely on it."

In 1986, when Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton, tapped Clinton to be the company's first female board member, Wal-Mart was a fraction of its current size, with $11.9 billion in net sales.

Today, Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and largest private employer, with over $312 billion in sales last year and 1.3 million employees in the US alone. But recently, the company has drawn intense scrutiny for its labor practices -- from its wages to the lack of affordable health coverage for employees, to its stiff resistance to unionization.

Throughout the 1980s, both Bill and Hillary Clinton nurtured relationships with Walton, a conservative Republican and by far Arkansas' most influential businessman.

Among other things, Hillary Clinton sought Walton's help in 1983 for Bill Clinton's so-called Blue Ribbon Commission on Education, a major effort to improve Arkansas' troubled public schools. The overhaul became a centerpiece of Clinton's governorship.

And Wal-Mart's Made in America campaign, which for years touted the company's sales of American products in its stores, was launched after Bill Clinton persuaded Walton to help save 200 jobs at an Arkansas shirt manufacturing plant. The Made in America campaign has virtually vanished in recent years, as the company's manufacturing has gradually moved overseas -- another point of criticism by many Wal-Mart critics.

The Clintons also benefited financially from Wal-Mart. Hillary Clinton was paid $18,000 each year she served on the board, plus $1,500 for each meeting she attended. By 1993 she had accumulated at least $100,000 in Wal-Mart stock, according to Bill Clinton's federal financial disclosure forms that year.

Wal-Mart has little to say about Hillary Clinton's board service, and will not release minutes of the company's board meetings during her tenure.

Lorraine Voles, Clinton's communications director, turned down a request for an interview with the senator.

Still, details have come to light over the years.

Bob Ortega, author of ''In Sam We Trust," a history of Wal-Mart, said Clinton used her position to urge the company to improve its gender and racial diversity. Because of Clinton's prodding, Walton agreed to hire an outside firm to track the company's progress in hiring women and minorities, Ortega said.

Clinton proved to be such a thorn in Walton's side that at Wal-Mart's annual meeting in 1987, when shareholders challenged Walton on the company's lack of female managers, he assured them the record was improving ''now that we have a strong-willed young lady on the board."

Clinton was particularly vocal on environmental matters, pressing the company to boost its sale and use of recycled materials and other ''green" products.

Still, critics say there was little tangible change at Wal-Mart during Clinton's tenure, despite her apparent prodding.

''There's no evidence she did anything to improve the status of women or make it a very different place in ways Mrs. Clinton's Democratic base would care about," said Liza Featherstone, author of ''Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker's Rights at Wal-Mart."

____________________________________________________

Michelle Obama recently served on the Board of Treehouse Foods
whose biggest customer is Walmart. She resigned soon after being elected to a second term when it was realized it might be a contradiction for the wife of a Presidential candidate who spoke out against Walmart and would not shop in the store while his wife sat on the board of a company that profited significantly from its business with Walmart and indirectly personally profited from her Board salary of approximately $50,000 a year for the part-time position.

Treehouse is unionized, while Walmart is not.

[deep]

Originally posted by nathan1977


But whose record is she running on?

MLK jr
and
JFK

[phillyfan26]

Originally posted by nathan1977
But whose record is she running on?

Certainly not her own.

I tend to agree with this, but I think it's a little strange to rattle off your problems with Bill Clinton as reasons to not vote for Hillary. Lack of experience, as you say, certainly is a viable reason. The intent of the post I cited however seemed to be more about lumping Bill and Hillary into one basket.

[Irvine511]

Originally posted by yolland

I guess it all comes down to which states turn out to be battleground states in the general and how critical a component these electoral demographics are in those states. Are there any states where Obama has won with Hispanic voters? I know with Jewish voters, Hillary had a majority in NY (her home turf, and she spent lots of time wooing Jewish voters in her Senate races) as well as FL, Obama had a majority in MA and CT, they split the Jewish vote in CA. So there it depends on which state you're talking about.

Agree about elderly white voters though, sadly, and that probably extends to elderly Jewish voters, possibly elderly Hispanic voters as well.

i think the dirty little secret is that battleground states are called such because they are extremely close, and what matters is each party's ground game. who can you get to turn out, and how effectively can you get them to the voting booth.

and there's little quesiton the Republicans are far more skilled at mobilizing the troops on the ground.

if the Democrats don't step up their ground game, they're not going to win, regardless of the nominee.

[Irvine511]

Originally posted by U2isthebest


Sorry

it's not you. i swear.

i was trying to pre-empt the inevitable 1441 posts on the subject.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally posted by phillyfan26
Why don't the Dems just plaster that quote from McCain about not understanding the economy all over the state?

Yes why don't they? I can't believe he said that, and I can't believe that in this economy it wouldn't be game over. But of course we all know that terrorism would have a field day with a Democratic President.

[U2isthebest]

Originally posted by MrsSpringsteen


Yes why don't they? I can't believe he said that, and I can't believe that in this economy it wouldn't be game over. But of course we all know that terrorism would have a field day with a Democratic President.

Of course. Everyone knows the terrorists are like, totally BFF, with the Democrats, so, duh, Obama or Clinton would let them take over.


*sarcasm directed toward Mitt Romney aka Mr. Good-Hair*

[CTU2fan]

Originally posted by U2isthebest


Of course. Everyone knows the terrorists are like, totally BFF, with the Democrats, so, duh, Obama or Clinton would let them take over.


*sarcasm directed toward Mitt Romney aka Mr. Good-Hair*

Especially Obama the Muslim. And doesn't Obama rhyme with Osama? You think that's a coincidence? [/RepublicanFearMongering]

[2861U2]

Originally posted by BonoVoxSupastar

You want to disagree. But he would definately be crushed, no doubt about it.

In your own words- whatever makes you feel better.