Clinton Adopts Edwards' Populist Tone

Washington Post: Democratic Candidate Takes On Corporations In Speeches Aimed At Working Class

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Perry Bacon Jr. and Alec MacGillis.

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Blasting "companies shamelessly turning their backs on Americans" by shipping jobs overseas and railing that "it is wrong that somebody who makes $50 million on Wall Street pays a lower tax rate than somebody who makes $50,000 a year," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton increasingly sounds like one of her old Democratic rivals, former senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

Eager to recapture the white, working-class voters who favored her in some of the early primaries but who have since shifted to Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton traded her usual wonky style this weekend for a fiery, populist tone in speeches in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island.

Instead of giving precise policy details, she repeatedly pointed her finger skyward, declared that Americans "got shafted under President Bush" and cast herself as a fighter, as Edwards often described himself, promising to help most Americans, not just the "wealthy and the connected."

In an appearance here Sunday afternoon, she mocked Obama's hopeful rhetoric, declaring that it is not the answer to fighting entrenched interests.

"I could stand up here and say, 'Let's just get everybody together, let's get unified, the sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing, and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect,'" she said, as people cheered and laughed. "You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear."

But her rhetoric did not go unanswered. In trying to reach the same working-class voters, Obama continued to emphasize over the weekend that Clinton was part of the White House that pushed the North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress and highlighted remarks Clinton made in support of the deal.

On Saturday, Clinton charged Obama with sending out a mailer that unfairly quoted her as saying that NAFTA had been a "boon" for America, a word that Obama acknowledged Clinton had not used. But the senator from Illinois kept up his attack on Sunday while speaking to dozens of workers at a gypsum plant in Lorain, Ohio.

"Yesterday, Senator Clinton also said I'm wrong to point out that she once supported NAFTA. But the fact is, she was saying great things about NAFTA until she started running for president. A couple years after it passed, she said NAFTA was a 'free and fair trade agreement' and that it was 'proving its worth.' And in 2004, she said, 'I think, on balance, NAFTA has been good for New York state and America.'"

The senator from New York has tried to distance herself from NAFTA, which is unpopular among workers in manufacturing who believe the deal has contributed to the movement of jobs overseas. In Ohio on Saturday, Clinton argued that while NAFTA "passed" during husband Bill Clinton's administration in 1993, President George H.W. Bush actually "negotiated" the deal. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D), a Clinton backer, told Bloomberg News this weekend that Bill Clinton told him Hillary Clinton had opposed NAFTA in 1993.

In Lorain, Obama blamed NAFTA for the loss of 1 million jobs since 1994, including 50,000 in the Buckeye State, and ridiculed Clinton's efforts to distance herself from the trade deal. "It was her own husband who got NAFTA passed," Obama said. "In her own book, Senator Clinton called NAFTA one of 'Bill's successes' and 'legislative victories.'"

Clinton is trying to assume the populist mantle of Edwards -- whom she described in December as "screaming," in his critiques of special interests -- with March 4 looming as the decisive day for her candidacy. Four states will vote that day, but Bill Clinton, among others, has said that his wife must win the two largest -- Ohio and Texas -- to continue her campaign.

Her campaign aides say wooing both working-class voters and middle-income people concerned about the economy is crucial, particularly in Ohio.

"These are the voters who are up for grabs," said Doug Hattaway, a Clinton adviser.

During the campaign, Clinton has often criticized trade agreements and the movement of jobs overseas. Over the weekend, she adopted a far more pointed tone and spent a lot of time emphasizing her populist message, reducing mentions of issues such as balancing the budget that have been standard in her speeches. She spent less time on the intricacies of her health-care plan and her proposal to withdraw troops from Iraq, heeding advice from aides who have urged her to speak in broader terms.

Clinton is seeking to get past the loss of 11 straight contests to Obama and to shore up the support of groups that have been key to her candidacy. In the states where she has performed strongly, Clinton has won among households with less than $50,000 in income, among people without college degrees and among families with at least one member in a labor union. But in last week's primary in Wisconsin, she lost all three groups.

White, working-class men, in particular, are a key voting bloc in a race where blacks have overwhelmingly supported Obama and white women have backed Clinton. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last week showed Clinton leading overall in Ohio, where she led among white men, while the candidates were tied in Texas, where Obama had an advantage among white men.

James Rivard, a Cleveland technician who was polled and whose family makes less than $50,000, said he is leaning toward Obama but wants to hear more about the economy. "My income has been stagnant for like 12 years now, but my expenses have continued to go up, while all of this capital is leaving the country every year," he said.

Edwards's campaigns in 2004 and 2008 targeted working-class voters, and both Obama and Clinton have adopted some of his language about the plight of low-income voters as they seek to win over the group. In the weeks since Edwards dropped out of the race, Clinton and Obama have enthusiastically courted his endorsement and noted their support for reducing poverty, one of the key planks of his candidacy.

At a debate Thursday night in Austin, Clinton closed with a statement similar to one Edwards often used.

"Whatever happens, we're going to be fine. . . . I just hope that we'll be able to say the same thing about the American people, and that's what this election should be about," she said.

At a Dec. 13 debate, Edwards said: "All of us are going to be just fine, no matter what happens in this election. But what's at stake is whether America is going to be fine."

[alanrobisch]

Bush wears a lapel pin and so does John"no change"McCain. It''''s simple, just vote for McCain.Who cares if McCain hasn''''t had a fresh idea since 1960 so long as he wears a lapel pin.


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Posted by vmcneal2 at 08:55 AM : Feb 26, 2008

He is the sponsor of many bills which are innovative and bipartisan. Try using facts next time.

[eddynewhope]

Yeah - now it a "populist tone". Is that the fifth persona that Hillary has put forth in the last week? That level of multiple personalities disorder is almost impressive.

[eddynewhope]

hopetrumps - Even McCain is calling the whole Barrack "Hussein" bit tired, played out, and insulting. No one cares... oh yeah - except the desperate, shrill, freak-out Clinton supporters like yourself. Keep trying. Your desperate fear tactics are working great for the Clinton operation. LOL

[craigh9]

When your strategy goes down the tubes - use someone elses. How many times do we need to see that Hillary will do anything and everything to get elected. - She probably has no idea what her true values are anymore since she flops all over the place. PLEASE - give it up, drop from the race and let the Dems rally around a single candidate before your constant swipping kills any chance of removing the GOP from the White House.

[pensacola88]

The populist tone will gain some mileage for Hillary Clinton with some voters, but she will lose other voters, who will cite she isn''t being herself.

Authenticity is becoming more of an issue as the election timeline progresses.

[vmcneal2]

Bush wears a lapel pin and so does John"no change"McCain. It''s simple, just vote for McCain.Who cares if McCain hasn''t had a fresh idea since 1960 so long as he wears a lapel pin.

[user168-2009]

Hillary must understand that thought comes before talk. Without thought, there''s no talk, no action, and no solutions.

Hillary must feed her dead brain with thought!

[prayerman3]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/obamas_use_of_american_flag_un.html

[prayerman3]

NO REAL AMERICAN SHOULD EVER PUT OUR FLAG DOWN. aNY AMERICAN SHOULD WEAR ANY AMERICAN FLAG WITH PRIDE!!!!!!!!!!

[prayerman3]

Jeff Jacoby, the Boston Globe columnist, has a column today about the flap last week over Sen. Barack Obama''''s reasons for not wearing an American flag lapel pin.

As Jacoby writes, and he''''s not alone in this opinion, the Democratic presidential candidate could have easily neutralized the question:


Obama could have waved off the query - "Nope, no fashion statement; I''''m just not a lapel-pin kind of guy" - and nobody would have given the matter a second thought. Instead he went out of his way to politicize

[prayerman3]

"The truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin," he said. But "that became a substitute for . . . true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security." And so, he declared, "I decided I won''''t wear that pin on my chest. Instead, I''''m going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism."



Obama brought up the subject again a day later. "I probably haven''''t worn a flag pin in a very long time," he told a campaign crowd in Independence, Iowa. "My attitude is that I''''m less concerned about what you''''re wearing on your lapel than what''''s in your heart.


You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and ideals." As for Americans who do wear a flag pin, Obama was scornful: "I noticed people wearing a lapel pin and not acting very patriotic."

[samthetvcat]

---"I''m out of here. I have SamTheTVCat making passes at me because she was unsuccessful on match.com. She admitted she''''s fat and ugly and I don''''t know any educated man that would go with her."---
Posted by gdig60804

I''m not trying to dredge anything up from this afternoon and I''m not trying to get the last word in, but I really regret making light of homosexuality this afternoon just to try and make a ''snappy'' comeback at somebody.

Sorry if I offended anybody - gave me something to reflect upon so hopefully it won''t happen again (not talking to the original poster when I say that - I''m directing that to people who might have had the misfortune to stumble upon the low-brow conversation)

[rfcrtl]

Hillary has Solutions.
Obama has talk.
You decide.

[erasmus6]

"The Clintons will do anything, say anything, run over anyone to get elected." posted by hawksprings

And so will Obama or any other candidate.

[erasmus6]

"Wow !!! Now Hillary is morphing into John Edwards!" posted by aspriritguide

Well, Obama thinks he is Abraham Lincoln, JFK and Bill Clinton, all rolled into one.

[likeitis5050]

She''s panic stricken and will say anything. Zero.

[tibu987]

Among others, let''s remember Hillary''s cattle futures scandal in Arkansas; and, where she and Bill were not exactly known as upstanding members of the community.
And then, there is Hillary''s accepting money from Norman Hsu, a large campaign donor, who''s money had to be returned when he was indicted.
So, you see, things are not always the way we see them.
I am voting for Obama.

[user168-2009]

"It%u2019s about time. I%u2019m glad that more and more women are realizing that Obama is a better choice for everybody.

I found this story about a case where Hillary used her knowledge of child abuse to get a man off of rape charges to be very sad and disturbing. Of course, it was her job as a lawyer to provide a competent defense, but it seems like she may have crossed a line by aggressively attacking the 12 year old girl%u2019s character.

http://www.newsday.com/new
s/nationworld/ny-usark2455899 97feb24,0,2670956.story

She seems to have carried that tactic with her when she actively participated in smear campaigns against the credibility of the victims of her husband%u2019s harassment, even after he was caught lying under oath in a court of law. Making women terrified to report sexual harassment out of fear of being publicly humiliated and having their careers destroyed is a terrible role model for women, as is attacking the character of 12 year old rape victims.

Tenacity can be a desirable trait in a leader, but ruthlessness, a trait that Hillary conflates with tenacity and cultivates in abundance, is not."

Posted by g english


Thank you g english. Hillary is a very very very scary woman!

[tibu987]

I hope that the people in Ohio and Texas can see through the facade that is Hillary.
One day a woman will be president of the U.S., I just hope that it is not Hillary.
I am against nepotism and the Clinton twins, just more of the same.
Hillary''s acid tongue and propensity for slinging vitriol at her opponents is proof that she is cornered and near defeat.
If Ohio or Texas feel that Obama''s promise of change rings hollow, they can vote for Hillary or McCain, as there will be no changes under either of them.
I am voting for change.

Yes, we can, with Obama.

A 72 year old white male, veteran, who has seen it all and who has voted for more women than men for my state''s political offices.

[vortecmax]

Dude, that Ralph Nader guy is captivating, I can''t wait until November...