When Conyers and Obama (and I) had Hillary's back, and then she sided with the RW

Blogged by JC on 01.17.06 @ 07:32 PM ET

Hillary Speaks -- Right Wing Blames the Messenger

Well they are at it again. Hillary Clinton spoke at her MLK Day speech -- referring to the Bush Administration as "one of the worst" in history, and comparing the...

Well they are at it again. Hillary Clinton spoke at her MLK Day speech -- referring to the Bush Administration as "one of the worst" in history, and comparing the House of Representatives to a "plantation." Instead of responding to the factual assertions, the right wing attacked the messenger, deriding her language, and ignoring the fundamental problem.

This is part of a pattern -- when the President lied to us about the Iraq-Niger connection, they blamed Joe Wilson; when the NSA warrantless spying program was made public, they argued that the whistleblowers were the problem; when 122 Members asked Bush about the Downing Street Minutes, they said we didn't matter, since I was against the war; when Howard Dean told the truth about Iraq they said he was extreme; when we complained about the PATRIOT Act, we were called unpatriotic. The list goes on and on. We now have a Republican party steeped in abuse and corruption, and the best they can do is ignore the problems they have created for this country and blame the Democrats for pointing out the obvious.

I don't always agree with Hillary, but she spoke the truth yesterday, and the Republicans need to address her charges head on instead of attacking her personally.

Also, I note this excellent Kos Diary on more evidence of fraud in the Ohio presidential election -- I'm glad people have not given up on this issue, I haven't.

Obama defends Hillary Clinton's 'plantation' remark

Associated Press

January 18, 2006, 12:20 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday defended Sen. Hillary Clinton for describing the House of Representatives as a ``plantation,'' saying he felt her choice of words referred to a ``consolidation of power'' in Washington that squeezes out the voters.

The senator told CNN's ``American Morning'' he believed that Clinton was merely expressing concern that special interests play such a large role in writing legislation that ``the ordinary voter and even members of Congress who aren't in the majority party don't have much input.''

snip...

First lady Laura Bush, en route home from a visit to West Africa, criticized Clinton.

``It think it's ridiculous _ it's a ridiculous comment,'' Mrs. Bush told reporters when asked about the senator's remark. Obama, D-Ill., also told ABC's ``Good Morning America'' that under GOP control in Washington, ``what one has seen is the further concentration of power around a very narrow agenda that advantages the most powerful.''

Obama also said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was correct to apologize for suggesting that the hurricane-ravaged city would be majority black again because ``it's the way God wants it to be.''