Hindsight is 20/20…it’s nicer than saying, “I told you so.”
October 17, 2009
by Optixmom
|The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
An article by Chris Stirewalt regarding Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared in the conservative Washington Examiner. The title of the article is Disillusioned liberals yearn for Hillary Clinton. Stirewalt writes of 
how he realized just recently that statements Secretary Clinton made during her primary run for President of the United States were accurate and now they were coming back to haunt him. He admits that Secretary Clinton told the truth. (Wow, what a shocker.)She explained during her debates that then Senator Obama’s healthcare plan would leave out millions of Americans and she was telling the truth. He also had the epiphany that if she had won the Presidency that she would have actually gotten something done by now.(Another shocker. End of sarcasm.)
I am a life-long Republican, on the right side of moderate, and I knew way back in 2000 that Hillary Clinton meant business and would shake things up in the political arena…in a good way. I voted for her both times she ran for US Senator from NY. I was also a maxed out donor for her in the Primary. Why would a Pub want to vote for a Clinton, you ask? Because I had observed that throughout her life she had a strong work ethic and was a dedicated public servant to the people. There was a reason that many Republican Senators admired Hillary Clinton, she didn’t leverage her celebrity to move to the top of the heap; she got there because she worked hard for her constituents. She showed she was a quick study and was not a delicate flower. She could debate and hold her own with the best of the best. I was not alone as an Upstate, NY Republican in my admiration for Secretary Clinton, she was extremely popular with many devote Pubs.
Stirewalt’s article got me angry all over again. Just when I though I had worked through my disappointment that she did not garner the Democratic Nomination, this article made me relive the anger. If Liberals could have only understood what I knew that she was the real deal and what was truly needed to put our country back on track was someone who had experience, someone who had shown they could juggle difficult tasks and follow through on their promises, and definitely someone who had the backing of the majority of our high ranking military officials. I am glad that Stirewalt has had his epiphany but what makes me angry at him is the way he still has to diminish Secretary Clinton to her laugh and her choice of clothing. IF THE LIBERALS HAD NOT BOUGHT INTO THAT SEXIST CRAP THEN WE WOULDN’T BE IN THE MESS WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW!
If saying, “I told you so,” would make me feel any better I would be repeating it over and over again right now. But it doesn’t. Throwing things might.
Such excellent observations.
I will be passing this on over the next few days. Via Twitter, FB and Blogger.
Thanks!
SYD
what a delight to see republican and democrat women get over the devide and recognize the rue jewels our sex has.
Hillary Clinton is simply the best.
Great article, Optix. Your description of Hillary and her work ethic are spot on. I wish that some members of my former party (Dem) had possessed the insight about Hillary in 2008 that you, a Republican, obviously had. It’s gratifying to see some of them awakening from their Kool-Aid stupor.
Thanks for this excellent article.
Thank you, OM. Hillary was obviously the much better candidate. But the lying, in-the-bag MSM pushed the unqualified, ineligible Obama. Now everyone can see what a monumental mistake that was. Hope we have a chance to make things right in 2012!
I admit that one of my favorite guilty pleasures these days is reading the laments over what we could’ve had with Hillary from those who were suckered by Obama. But that pleasure is usually tinged with the bittersweet when the primary reason the person was suckered is sexism, and they still don’t realize it, or can’t bring themselves to admit it. It’s one thing when Gore Vidal admits Hillary had the goods and Obama never did, and goes onto say the girls do just fine when we give them a chance, but it’s completely different when a complete oaf like Stirewalt mentions in passing that Hillary was right all along about Obama having no clue how to come up with a workable universal healthcare system. How many sexist tropes did he sprinkle in that execrable piece stating the obvious that Hillary would’ve been better? There was the cackle thing, the pantsuit thing, the witch from Hansel and Gretel thing, and she ran a pathetic losing (although much more principled) campaign, and remind me why you couldn’t be bothered to vote for her even though she was obviously much better qualified to be president? It’s not just the liberals who bought the sexist crap. Give me Gore Vidal any day realizing that we needed someone who understood how things work, rather than someone whose greatest strength is pretty speeches devoid of substance. We needed someone who could kick ass and take names and could’ve had that person if it weren’t for the stupid sexist attitudes expressed by Stirewalt in that piece. And no, I’m never going to ‘get over’ what we could’ve had, especially when it becomes ever more painfully obvious that she was precisely what we need right now.
Optixmom Excellent article and I am so glad to see Republicans who like and respect Hillary.
I supported Hillary for a long time and I am one of those people who still believe she is going to be President. I am slowly getting over my anger at the way she was treated during the Primary. I have started to forgive but I will never forgive.
As an African American woman I always assumed that it would be easier for a woman to become President then an African American I expected racism and prepared myself for that but I was blindslided by sexism and it woke me up. All women need to stand up for other women even if you disagree with them politically we need to keep the males in both parties in check.
African Americans made sure that racism got moved to the back of the bus by protesting everytime racism reared its ulgy head and women have to do the same thing. No matter how small the slight women need to call out or its going to take 20 years before a woman is sworn in as President of the USA.
Excellent article, Optix! I feel the same way. And like Alex, I also hope we have a chance to set things right in 2012.
Wow, I wonder how many other people are smelling this same cup of coffee now? I think we all knew this was going to happen, but it’s not as much fun as we’d hoped it would be to say, “I told you so.” Every time I think I’m not angry anymore, someone has an epiphany and I get so mad I could either spit or cry.
Great article, but sad story.
I’ve never wanted to re-live a year of my life like I want to re-live 2008.
I’m still too angry. I don’t care if anyone wakes up and realizes how stupid they were. Too little, too late. Their hatred for anything female condemned this nation and large chunks of the world. And not a single one of them will ever admit it. It’s a huge crippling issue with our species, and part of what’s going to roast us off this planet.
2008 burned me out like nothing else ever has. It made me wash my hands of my species. It woke me up to how worthy of contempt most women are, as well as men. It threw in my face that the stuff we’ve been fighting against really is just part of us as monkeys, and there is no getting past it. It illustrated to me that enjoying myself and providing for my mother are the two ONLY things in my life that count.
Forgiveness means nothing, and what good is forgetting? Am I supposed to “forget” that water runs downhill, too?
Still too angry, sorry …
Hillarysmygirl16—-thanks for your comments. It’s hard for some of us who are white to be able to have a perspective as good as yours about this racism/sexism axis. I still recall Copngresswoman Shirley Chisolm who ran for President who said that her gender limited her much more than her race.
My Mary Kay organization is composed of a third AA women (and a few men), and they were disgusted at how many times I was called racist starting in June of 2008 for speaking up about the sexism. They knew better about me.
Anna Belle who writes a bi-weekly piece for our blog about women’s history, says that there has been a history of competition between sexism and racism. Remedying racism has historically won out first before sexist issues were addressed.
I saw how conflicted many of my AA friends were deciding between Hillary and Obama. In the end, many of them told me that they would be unable to look their sons and nephews in the face if they hadn’t supported Obama.
I so wish that remedying sexism and racism wasn’t on a collision course!!!
And Janis—-I still haven’t gotten over it either. It has changed me as a person. It was a change none of us bargained for.
[...] After the endless 2009 mea culpa’s from those who chastised our devotion to Hillary, calling us “Clinton Dead-enders,” and now realize, um, sorry – we were right, what’s next? How many more articles do we need to read about disillusioned Democrats yearning for Hillary. [...]
[...] After the endless 2009 mea culpa’s from those who chastised our devotion to Hillary, calling us “Clinton Dead-enders,” and now realize, um, sorry – we were right, what’s next? How many more articles do we need to read about disillusioned Democrats yearning for Hillary. [...]
It warms my heart to hear others express so clearly my feelings from this past election. I still feel disallusioned, angry and broken-hearted because the very qualified woman was pushed aside for the guy with the thin resume. It wasn’t right and the fact that it wasn’t right seems to be proven correct on a daily basis by the current administration. I hope and pray that Hillary will give it another try, as I truly believe she is still the best “person” for the job of President of the United States.
What an excellent article! Thank you for the insights and astute reasoning–however hurtful it may be….
I still remember Barack’s studiously disgraceful ‘snub’ of HIllary while she was about to shake hands with him before Kennedy reached out to save the moment! And I cringe remembering how (then) Senator Barack O. on stage in N.Carolina (day after his ignominious debate with HIllary on ABC with Stephanopoulos where he shamefully lost the debate loud and clear) “flip-offing” Hillary by moving his midfinger and ‘scratching’ his cheek to the delight of his fan club!
Now
Periodically, Barack and his boys will feel ‘down’ and start launching attacks against Hillary to boost their declining appeal…
Who was the Athenian philosopher who said…”Karma’s a bitch”?….
What an excellent article! Thank you for the insights and astute reasoning–however hurtful it may be….
I still remember Barack’s studiously disgraceful ‘snub’ of HIllary while she was about to shake hands with him before Kennedy reached out to save the moment! And I cringe remembering how (then) Senator Barack O. on stage in N.Carolina (day after his ignominious debate with HIllary on ABC with Stephanopoulos where he shamefully lost the debate loud and clear) “flip-offing” Hillary like a pre-teen by moving his midfinger and ‘scratching’ his cheek to the delight of his fan club!
Now
Periodically, Barack and his boys will feel ‘down’ and start launching attacks against Hillary to boost their declining appeal…
Who was the Athenian philosopher who said…”Karma’s a bitch”?….
“In the end, many of them told me that they would
be unable to look their sons and nephews in the face if they hadn’t
supported Obama.”
And nobody cares about looking their daughters in the face. This is why I’m still so skeptical about this business about protecting our daughters, and ensuring women’s rights for our daughters, and what have you. If a woman has only daughters, then fine. She’s pro-them. If she has sons, then the sons usually take precedence. And if it’s her sons versus someone else’s daughters, then those girls can fall off a cliff face for all they care.
Women will always support the men of their tribe before anything else. And men will support men before women. This is not a recipe for achieving equality before the heat death of the universe.
I used to get so angry at people who used primate ethology arguments against feminis, but most of them are right. In any group of primates where the females are automaticaly of lower rank, the only creatures that females will attack are the females of another tribe. Always.
i could never understand how anyone would support obama over Hillary. This man is about to end our freedom, and nobody is aware. Sometimes you get what you deserve. I hope we survive these next 4 years. Hillary 2012
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