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Clinton Tests Out Populist Approach
Washington Post ^ | 25 February 2008 | By Perry Bacon Jr. and Alec MacGillis

Posted on 02/25/2008 7:36:45 AM PST by shrinkermd

...PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 24 -- 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."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: hillary; persona; populism
I see at least two problems here.

First, she keeps changing her persona; this results in her not having a core or center that the electorate can identify and relate with. This is a common occurrence with candidates who are over-scripted and changed by virtue of a political consultant's belief.

The second problem is the very nature of the argument. Nietzche described two types of morality--master and slave.

Master morality has been noted at least since the time of Homer. These individuals (few in number) are proud, successful, dominating and glory in these attributes and see them as positives.

Slave morality is quite different. Here, the individual believes humility and lack of pride are the sine qua non of morality. Besides that these individuals see powerlessness, poverty and other characteristics as central in any moral discussion. Nietzche also pointed out that slave morality also has a central core of envy, resentment and a belief the rich and powerful should be pulled down. If not pulled down in this life, then punished in the afterlife.

In passing, Nietzche also believed the Christian listing of the seven deadly sins exemplified the values of slaves--the sins were pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. In this sense Christianity developed out of the lower classes--slaves and women.

The dirty little secret of politics is voters want a person with a master type of morality but expect their leaders to mask this in some way. One way is to join with the lower classes and punish those in the middle--Soros, Buffet and a host of others exemplify this approach.

1 posted on 02/25/2008 7:36:48 AM PST by shrinkermd
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To: shrinkermd

Businesses don’t pay taxes, people do.

Any one who reasons through this nonsense should realize taxes are an business expense either passed on to the consumer or if competing with a non-American business it will limit growth and/or competitiveness potentially driving that business out of the country or business.


2 posted on 02/25/2008 8:01:44 AM PST by PORD (People...Of Right Do)
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To: shrinkermd
Hillary Clinton stated Tuesday there will be no personal scandal caused by her husband if she's elected president. There goes the last of her support. First she lost the black vote, then she lost the youth vote, and now she has lost the comedians. -- -- Argus Hamilton
3 posted on 02/25/2008 9:00:28 AM PST by GOPJ (Do the editors of the L.A. Times realize that illegal immigration is, you know, illegal? Patterico)
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To: shrinkermd
...she keeps changing her persona...

That's because she knows to keep her real Marxist Paranoid Psycopathic self well-hidden. She chooses identities like she chooses which (ugh) pant suit to wear.

Luckily, she's not the sincere, convincing liar that is her impeached, disbarred and alleged husband.

4 posted on 02/25/2008 9:56:07 AM PST by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. W. Churchill)
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To: Seaplaner

Why don’t they go back to “The Hillary I Know” campaign? Let’s see Hillary softer side. This is at cross purposes with that isn’t it?


5 posted on 02/25/2008 11:43:27 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: shrinkermd

Hillary pays her STRATEGIST, Mark “Disgusting Pig” Penn 14 MILLION DOLLARS for THIS CAMPAIGN!!!!!!! He only has to create ONE job...HERS!


6 posted on 02/25/2008 1:02:52 PM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion.....The Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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