Posted on 03/31/2005 5:50:58 PM PST by Libloather
HILLARY IS CONSPICUOUS BY HER ABSENCE IN DEBATE
Thu Mar 31, 5:19 AM ET
BY DEBORAH ORIN
INSIDE WASHINGTON
AS THE nation bitterly debates the Terri Schiavo case, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has tried to stay above the fray, refusing to take sides and staying as quiet as possible.
Some strategists say that's smart as she revs up for a 2008 presidential race and helps her move to the center just like her very public push to reach out to right-to-lifers on abortion. Others say it's a big blunder.
Democratic strategist David Doak says Clinton (D-N.Y.) is wise to stay out. "The big mistake is to look like you're trying to gain political advantage off of somebody's death," he says.
But another senior Democratic strategist said ducking the issue is a mistake because voters expect a presidential contender to lead.
"It plays into this sense that she is very political and calculating. If you're a leader, you stand up for what you believe and people respect you even if they don't agree. That's why John McCain is so popular," this strategist says.
Insiders say the strategy on the Schiavo case among Senate Democrats crafted by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) was to deliberately finesse the issue by having a voice vote on the issue so no individual senator would have to take a stand.
Clinton refuses to say if she'd have voted yes or no on the measure inviting federal courts to enter the case, and instead issued a noncommittal statement saying the courts should "do what they do best" and decide Schiavo's fate.
Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway said Clinton "missed a chance to show her softer side" by siding with Schiavo's parents and urging that she be kept alive, as Jesse Jackson and some black and Latino Democrats did.
Several Democrats said that given the nature of Democratic primary voters, Clinton couldn't risk backing Schiavo's parents, and that her only alternative was to join Democratic chairman Howard Dean and oppose any government intervention. Maybe. But Iowa is a pivotal state not just in the Democratic primaries but in the general election — and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin ardently sided with Schiavo's parents.
Was that what she was doing when the Moanica story hit? Or the perjury story? Or the impeachment story? Or the rape story?
Looks like just another duck-n-cover...
Actually, she's doing what many people, including some on FR, wished of DC, and that was to stay out of Florida.
/sarcasm
Like Bubba, she has to see the way the wind is gonna blow.
If Terri had just got some head bobbing therapy history would be different
She can't say anything 'cause she weighed in on this type issue in 1993 with her heathcare task force.
This has been an unfortunate, but effective way to get F'n Kerry and Swillary to shut the Hell for a couple of weeks.
So much for her short-lived dalliance with that 'Old Time Religion/Traditional Values' she was posturing with in the aftermath of the last election.
hellary loves bubba as much as michael schiavo loved Terri
Actually, I thought she might be plotting how to do away with Bubba next time he gets sick.
Precisely. Her handlers are playing it right... IMHO, she will weigh public opinion, see what happens and then make a move.
"missed a chance to show her softer side"
Logically impossible. There's no evidence that she has such a side, or she'd have uncloaked it once a while.
I can never forget Hillary Clinton saying that she was not like Tammy Wynette, "some little ole woman" standing by her man. Hillary really made a fool of herself that day, for she had to go on and lived down the Monica scandal, and even make a bigger fool of herself. I could never say that she has good jugement, for she is a bit of an idiot.
Hillary: Pull Plug On Patients Like Terri
Newsmax ^ | 3-28-2005 | Carl Limbacher & Newsmax Staff
Posted on 03/28/2005 10:56:15 AM EST by Pendragon_6
Since the Terri Schiavo case began to dominate the headlines ten days ago, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has gone into virtual hiding - refusing to show up for last Sunday's vote on congressional intervention and offering no public comment on the case in the intervening eight days.
But in Sept. 1993, while appearing before Congress to sell her ill-fated health care reform plan, Mrs. Clinton suggested that she wanted to make it easier to deny long term care to patients like Schiavo who have little chance of recovery.
"I think there should be a discussion in this country about what is appropriate care . . . with more thought and more concern about both the human and the economic cost," she told the Senate Finance Committee. Referring to her own health care plan, Hillary explained:
"If we do this health care reform right [we can] create the kind of security we're talking about so that people will know that they're not being denied treatment for any reason other than it is not appropriate, it will not enhance or save the quality of life."
Mrs. Clinton hinted that she thought that even patients who were not necessarily terminally ill should be denied life-saving treatment
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1372309/posts
Ping me if you want to be on the NOC (Nuclear Option Committee) list for Judicial Activism to carry the fight forward.
"Actually, she's doing what many people, including some on FR, wished of DC, and that was to stay out of Florida."
Bullshit. She's waiting to see what the polls say when it all comes out in the wash. Regardless of what a vast minority on FR wish.
It was murder. Best not to discuss that, correct, Hillary!
Triangulation (part deux)
She's a coward who didn't dare take a stand.
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