Clinton's 'Plantation' Remark Draws Fire

cnn.com ^ | 1/17/06 | unknown

[beyond the sea]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton drew criticism Tuesday for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech in which she told a mostly black audience at a Harlem church that Republican leaders have run the House "like a plantation" and the Bush administration will go down as "one of the worst" in U.S. history.

Responding to the speech, House Speaker Dennis Hastert called her remarks "a little bit over the top."

"I've never run a plantation before. I'm not even sure of what kind of association she's trying to make," said the speaker, a Republican from Illinois. "If she's trying to be racist, I think that's unfortunate, but I'm not going to comment any further on that."

One of Clinton's Republican congressional colleagues from New York, Rep. Peter King, said the senator "should be ashamed."

[beyond the sea]

Clinton's 'Plantation' Remark Draws Fire ---- is there a "squad" involved in this?

;-)

[Echo Talon]

Tonights AOL poll.

[digger48]

is there a "squad" involved in this?

Volunteering for duty.....SIR!!

[A Citizen Reporter]

I take it that's not a Zogby poll.......

[beyond the sea]

LOL.

[beyond the sea]

39% ......................yoi!

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[planetpatrol]

I just caught some video of that, words really dont do it justice. It was like she was acting and not doing a very good job with the role. Somebody like Sharpton or even Bill could have delivered that line with relish. Hillary came across like a high school teacher trying to work rap lyrics into her "welcome to algebra II" speech. It honestly stuns me that lines like this make it into the prepared remarks of one of the nation's most groomed politicians. Clearly there wasnt anyone on her staff with the brains or guts to tell her how bad it sounded beforehand.

[Echo Talon]

Nope that is the AOL poll from tonight.

[writer33]

Still, the 51% is all you need to know and that's with all the favorable news coverage she gets. Good numbers considering that, but after all a poll is a poll is a poll is a poll and that's all it is at the end of the day.

[DoNotDivide]

I'm really glad that Hitlery isn't as polished an idiot as her Impeached, Treasonous, Rapist ex-President Husband.

[Stellar Dendrite]

didn't clinton get 41% in 92 with the rest going to bush and perot?
lets _hope_ we have a strong candidate and no third party "independent" to siphon off votes


cmon.....mike pence!!!!

[roses of sharon]

I can't imagine George W Bush speaking this way in public about anyone at anytime.

[NathanDahlin]

I went to AOL just to vote in that poll. Methinks it needs a freeping.

(Courtesty of Cox and Forkum)

I just about threw up when she said that bit about how the Democratic party had done more for blacks than any other in history. Study history, stupid! The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln, a Republican. The Civil Rights act was passed by Republicans over the objections of southern democrats!

In fact, the entire Republican party was formed as a movement against slavery when both of the main political parties of the day refused to condemn it as part of their party platforms.

[beyond the sea]

I just caught some video of that, words really dont do it justice. It was like she was acting and not doing a very good job with the role

Yes, and the worst part was her endearing (I'm black too), "and you know what I'm talking about."

[writer33]

No, Clinton got 43% in 92 with the rest going to Bush and Perot.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

It was like she was acting and not doing a very good job with the role.

It was like she told her speech writer..."You've got to get the word 'plantation' in there, I don't care how, just get it in there - It'll be a zinger".

[beyond the sea]

Hillary came across like a high school teacher trying to work rap lyrics into her "welcome to algebra II" speech. ----

*****

Great line.

[harpo11]

I don't think anyone around her would dare tell the "most smartest woman in the universe" just how utterly tasteless her careless and dishonest remarks are.

After all Superior Mother Clinton knows all. At least tht is what her servant and slathering press guys tell us.

[SeaBiscuit]

Hellary has used that "plantation" remark before and just like the typical dimwit lib she likes to say, "you know" a lot.. hard to believe a Senator, let alone a Presidential candidate speaks like this.. and this is only a partial transcript!

This a an interview in 2004 with Soledad O'Brien.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0411/18/ltm.05.html

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(snip)

O'BRIEN: Another thing we were talking about in the news today, of course, is the House Republicans changing the rules to essentially inoculate Tom DeLay if, indeed, he is indicted.

No, don't laugh before I finish my question here. What do you make of that this morning? We're hearing lots from -- from Capitol Hill about this.

CLINTON: Well, I mean, what can I say? It's just so typical. I mean they're running the House of Representatives like a fiefdom with Tom DeLay as, you know, in charge of the plantation.

I think it's kind of a sad commentary. I don't think it's good for democracy. I don't think it's good for the Republican Party.

But again, I don't have a vote in the Republican Caucus in the House. They'll decide what they want to do.

But one would hope that they would not be so quick to change the rules when it affects their leader. They certainly wanted to apply the harshest of rules to Democratic leaders for so many years. I think we need to call a truce to all of this back and forth, and you know, let's have rules that apply to everybody. It's like the idea that some want to change the filibuster, which has been a time-honored tradition in the Senate.

You know, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And I think that we have an administration and Republican leadership that, you know, is very powerful. And power should be handled carefully in a democracy.

So, again, I don't have a vote in any of this, but I hope that, you know, more thoughtful minds prevail over what should be done going forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)