Crossing Over to Hillary: a mom with two soldiers on the front.

I received this letter from a neighbor who has seen that I was very active in Hill's Ohio Campaign. I am trying to get it to Hillary. And I think I have found a route. But... I thought I'd share it here. As evidence that Hillary has many crossover Republicans voting for her. And they are not all "Rush Limbaugh" types.

It really hurts me when Obama supporters here, imply that any crossover vote for Hillary is a lie. As that was not my experience during my many weeks in the trenches of Hill's Ohio Campaign. People have many reasons why they crossover to vote for Hillary... just as is the case with crossovers to Barack.

Here's one example I hope you can appreciate:


************************************

Dear Ms. Clinton:

My son, J, met former President Bill Clinton in Mansfield, OH recently. He shook the President's hand and told him about his brother and sister serving in the US Army. Former President Clinton told J that his siblings would be home soon.

I am a republican, have always been a republican. However, my recent experience with the military has shaken my belief, not only in the military, but also in the direction of our country.

My daughter, S, was due to come home on leave March 14, 2008, after serving faithfully and well for the past 10 months in Afghanistan. She has even been written up in several articles about her great service. Her 1st SGT, however, cancelled her leave because she had tried to hide a puppy to prevent it from being slaughtered by her fellow soldiers. (They have been shooting them). She was accused of keeping a pet, which was against a direct order of no pets.

She was not keeping a pet, she was hiding this puppy and trying to find a home for it. She was trying to find someplace for it there or to try to get the AKC to find it a home here. My daughter has always been an animal lover with a huge heart for all animals. She has always used animals as her source of stress relief and comfort. I know that her trying to save this defensely puppy was her way of relieving her stress there in Afghanistan. Lately she has spoken to us about not being able to eat or sleep due to her stress level. Unfortunately, her 1st SGT decided to make her stress and emotional state much worse.

The decision of her 1st SGT has cost my daughter and our family hugely. This wasn't just R&R for her. My son, J, is home on leave and is getting married this month. S was to be in this wedding as a bridesmaid and also sing two songs in the wedding. And this would have been her only opportunity to see her brother, J, before he deploys to Iraq in April. And the only oppportunity to see many family members she hasn't seen in over 2 years.

Our entire family, as well as S, of course, are devasted by this. I cannot believe that our military leaders would treat one of their own so callously and so cruelly. Another soldier was also involved and both received 7 days restricted activity and 7 days extra duty. However, the other soldier was not due to go on leave. So, obviously, S is being punished much more excessively than is the other soldier.

I am absolutely 100% in favor of our military getting out of there now. I no longer believe in what we are doing. When our military isn't even taking care of their own and even causing our own harm, I cannot support it. I hope you win the democratic nomination. I am now a Hilary supporter and intend to vote for you.

Please bring our military home ASAP from that God-forsaken place they are trapped in. Although S has 2 more years in the army and my son has 3 more years, I just want them out of there!!!!

If our military leadership isn't leading well, how can we do any good there? And how can they even be safe?

Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,

P

I feel bad for this mom, but if she thinks we are leaving Afghanistan, I don't think she is paying attention.

She is a very distraught lady.

I am trying to illustrate for DU that not all repubs who cross over to Hillary are "Rush" types.

because it is not going to happen.

In fact, I really doubt Hillary's assertions that she wants out of Iraq. I see no sincerity when I hear her on this topic, just a cynical political ploy. But then again, I've only felt she was telling me the truth a few times. In general, she sounds fake to my ears.

And the ex-Soviet Union shared a border with Afghanistan. They were neighbors.

What makes you think we can do any better?

Don

and a Bush Sr. voter, and a Dole and Reagan voter as well?

I'm pleased that she's finally had a lightbulb go on in her thinking, but it sure is a long learning curve, and seems prompted more by her own family's sorrows (quite understandable) rather than a broader awareness that the Republican Party is a den of thieves, idiots, and liars.

In what capacity, I wonder, is she writing to Clinton? Have other lawmakers in both chambers received similar letters, or just Hillary?

Also I'm not seeing how this bolsters the rationale for a Clinton White House.

to dispel the myth that all Hillary crossovers are "Rush" types.

And, please, show a little kindness. She is obviously in pain.

I wonder why it took her so long to realize she was being sold down the river by the Republicans.

Her letter appears to be her-family-only in scope, and not a more hard-boiled look at the national landscape, which provides ample evidence that her prior Republican support should have come under much closer scrutiny.

she still is NOT a Rush Limbaugh crossover.

And, I am sure you realize Barack gets letters like this too. Right?

Correct me if I'm wrong.

My question is why she and not other members of both chambers did not receive similar letters.

She did not ask me to send it to Barack or John. And I don't work for their camps.

If this one example now opposes Bush's war owing to her own children's deployments, why is Hillary Clinton the lone recipient of her letter?

You're free to work for Clinton there in Ohio. No one's questioning that.

You are citing the woman's letter as some sort of persuasive, lone example of the kind of Republicans now supporting Clinton. And others here have suggested that it isn't a very persuasive example. Why didn't the woman write to the Republicans in the White House who engineered the war in the first place?

Why would she send that to me?

But the reality is most crossovers to HRC just won't be there for the GE. Here is an example for you. A good friend of mine (female doctor) said she is a big time Obama supporter and she has a one year old daughter. She voted for HRC in Texas because she wanted to be a part of history and show her daughter that a female almost became president. She told me her vote didn't matter in Texas and that is why she did it and she was going to vote HRC in the GE for the same reasons.

A couple weeks later I asked her about all of the statements that HRC had been making. She said she was disgusted by them and was voting Obama. BTW, her husband is a hard core conservative and he is giving some serious thought to voting for Obama. When I asked about HRC, he laughed and said not in a million years.

And I can provide many examples, here in Ohio, of those who will.

Try not to give Rush so much credit. He is not on our side. You should be very suspicious of anything he says.

she misses the bigger picture when it comes to rethugs. I can see why she would cozy up to Hillary, it's the closest thing you can get to a neocon without actually voting repug.

about the Obama camp. You don't give a damn about those soldiers over there, do you? You don't care about people's suffering. Do you?

Go ahead. Bash away. It reflects poorly on you. And on whichever candidate you support....

I, and many other Dems, are watching.

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fought with in some god forsaken war that should have never happened because our government can't do their homework.

political career (but after seeing how the Clintons have conducted themselves in this primary I no longer have any doubt that they would do just that).

Who sent who to war to further a political career? GWB? Is that who you mean?

EXACTLY what Clinton voted for. B/C she planned to run for commander-in-chief there is NO WAY she would have voted against the war. Haven't you realized the Clintons will do ANYTHING to get ahead.

Some people refer to it as political expediency which is a word that doesn't accurately describe the situation - which is voting for a war to further your political career.

might vote Dem in the fall?

If so, my suggestion is that you embrace her. And be kind.

Cuz she may have an opportunity to vote for Barack or Hillary.

Chabot. Boehner. Mean Jean. That's the flavor of the Congressional delegation from that corner of the state.

Your Republican neighbor may vote Democratic.

But that wasn't the intent of your post.

Your post was a pro-Hillary ad and you used an anecdotal letter to see it through.

I didn't find the woman's argument especially persuasive because my suspicion is that only owing to her children's deployment has she questioned the Republican agenda, while racking up vote and vote over long periods for the above-mentioned Pukes.

And as earlier stated, I definitely am not seeing this neighbor's letter as a rationale for Hillary's candidacy.

She is crossing from Repug to Dem. That is because she is and always was "stupid."

It makes me feel really sick inside... what the Obama folks here will say about ANYONE who doesn't support Barack wholeheartedly. Do they realize that, if Ms. Clinton conceeds she will tell this woman to vote for him?

I just do not get it.

The Humane Society of the US keeps a legislative scorecard to show how the Members and Senators voted on animal issues and whether they co-sponsored pro-animal legislation. The last scorecard they did was for the 109th Congress (Jan 2005 - Dec. 2006). Hillary Clinton received 100+ because she was also a prime sponsor of pro-animal legislation. Obama received a 60 and McCain got a 40.

www.fund.org/pdfs/HumaneScorecard2006_final.pdf

"I will also immediately adopt Representative John Murtha’s urgent proposal to reduce the strain on our troops by reducing the permissible length of overseas deployments. Going forward, we will ensure that our troops spend as much time at home as they have spent deployed. So every month they spend in the field, they will be guaranteed one month here at home." - Hillary Clinton

www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=6553

I HATE animals!

I will forward to the soldiers' mom.

It won't take her pain away now. But, it will at least help her know she is making the right decision about who to support.

That these so called Dems (ignored, ignored and ignored) above, don't see how they are tearing our party apart. This woman is crossing over from a life as a repug. She is trying to figure out who might best lead our nation. And all they can do is bash her. Simply because she doesn't agree with THEM about who that might be.

It would be wise to kindly embrace her. She is a potential vote for our candidate. And, if Hillary tells her to vote for Barack, she very well may.

Don't they get that?

She presents herself very well on so many fronts. Her presence is reassuring, as was Bill's to this lady's son.

:kick:

if anyone can.

Well, maybe not hate, but it strongly rubs me the wrong way. This woman is a former republican and from the sound of things both her son and daughter are on their first active duty tours. It is highly likely that both of them signed up to join the military after the war(s) had started. "P" also mentions that she is a life-long Republican so I will assume she voted for Bush, probably twice, at a minimum. As someone who helped put Bush in power, it seems a little crass for her to start complaining when the chickens come home to roost.

So the war has now become inconvenient for "P." Tough shit. If you stand out in a storm holding a pair of golf clubs and call down the thunder you don't get to bitch when you get hit by lightning. Her daughter violated a standing order. Granted, it sounds like it was for a noble reason but when you break an order, you get punished. Is anyone in the military who survived basic training not aware of this sort of thing?

Sounds like a case of buyers remorse to me...

for people desperate to end this war...

safe and sound.

Hillary has stated time and again that she is going to be keeping combat troops, going on combat missions, in Iraq for the foreseeable future, in fact most likely through her entire first term. Sure, she might draw down some troops, but not all of them, and a good chance it won't be the majority of them.

My God. The cold, cruel comments here are despicable. You Obama supporters who criticized this woman because she might not support your mini-god: Get a fucking life. Her son met President Clinton and was impressed. He's worried about his sister; so is his mom. Yes, she was a lifelong Republican. Suddenly, it's NOT okay for a Republican to cross over, for any reason, if, and only if, that Republican supports Hillary and not St. Barack.

Try, just ONCE, to see that this woman is in pain; these are her children. I know it's impossible for some of you, but at least TRY to have some empathy. If you can't, and I'm well aware some of you can't, because you don't have it in you, just STFU.

the rude horrible cruelity that goes on here day after day.

One reason why this woman is scared to death her kids will die over there can be directly connected to Hillary Clinton's careless, politically expedient votes for Bush's now and future wars in Iraq and Iran.

The woman needs to have her head examined.

You're one of them. "The woman" isn't the one who needs to have her head examined. If she had come out in support of your American Idol, she'd be a heroine to you. Instead, all you can do is whine about Hillary and trash a woman in pain.

You've been a busy bee the past 41 days, haven't you?

Does this parent even understand that Hillary Clinton GAVE BUSH A FREE PASS on Iraq AND Iran?

It's like giving the mini-van keys to an alcoholic and allowing them to pick up the kids from school, that's next to a bar.

Halfwits...

I didn't know that she had done so until yesterday.

53. It just shows you how uninformed people are Updated at 11:46 PM

Does this parent even understand that Hillary Clinton GAVE BUSH A FREE PASS on Iraq AND Iran?

It's like giving the mini-van keys to an alcoholic and allowing them to pick up the kids from school, that's next to a bar.

Halfwits...

you should really dump your hatred or it may well kill you or in the least keep you sick ....hate is toxic to your being.

the parent to ignorance is fear

the parent to fear is haterd

the parent to hatred is death

My heart goes out to this mom.

God Bless "P"

That was a hard read. I'm sending it to everyone on my email list.