2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIt's sad watching Brock operatives on DU continue to work as smear merchants peddling a debunked lie
This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Autumn (a host of the 2016 Postmortem forum).
Rather than holding your candidate to account for launching a shameless and false fear & smear attack immediately before a major primary, you've decided to adopt the Goebbels "Big Lie" strategy. But hey, whatever it takes to win, right? Principle be damned. It's especially disgusting that not only is Clinton's claim a lie, but obscures her own record on the issue. Namely, she is smearing Sanders to deflect from the fact that she only voted in 2009 to save her big donors, not because of auto workers.
At FactCheck:
But at the time of the vote, it was by no means clear that Obama would use more than one-fifth of the $350 billion for an auto bailout. And most of the money still went for the bank bailouts that Sanders opposed.
So Clintons claim that her Jan. 15, 2009, vote was to save the auto industry is to be charitable quite a stretch.
https://www.factcheck.org/2016/03/factchecking-the-seventh-democratic-debate/
At Forbes:
Secretary Clinton is chastising Sanders in the Motor State for not voting for the bill that created the funding for an auto bailout. Except, it wasnt known that the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bill, designed to bail out Wall Street banks from their subprime mortgage loan debacle that was crashing the economy, would be used to rescue the auto industry at the time Senators Sanders and Clinton voted on it. Clinton voted yay. Sanders voted nay. It was President Bush who signed the bill into law.
Later, in December 2008, the Senate took up a separate bill that would have provided rescue funds specifically for the auto industry. That bill failed to get the 60-vote filibuster-proof minimum when Republicans balked at saving General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, in large part because they wanted to use the occasion to try and destroy the United Auto Workers union, which stood to benefit from a bailout by having their healthcare fund and pensions protected, and its interests prioritized over bond holders. Both Clinton and Sanders voted for this bill.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2016/03/07/clintons-charges-that-sanders-did-not-support-auto-rescue-is-wrong/#3d43f7c6582b
At the Washington Post:
"I voted to save the auto industry," she said. "He voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry. I think that is a pretty big difference."
What Clinton said is technically true, but it glosses over a lot of important nuance, including the fact that Sanders is actually on the record as supporting the auto bailout. He even voted for it.
Clinton clearly figures the auto bailout may prove to a big factor going into Tuesday's primary in Michigan and the one next week in Ohio, where both candidates are hoping to do well and where the auto industry is big. So it seems like she's willing to take the gamble that fact checkers may call her out for her tactic Sunday -- but that voters won't.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/03/07/the-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-debate-over-the-auto-bailout-explained/
In fact, here's Clinton talking about the bailout in 2008. Not one word about the auto industry.
Here is Clinton's actual statement about the bailout in 2008. Not one word about the auto industry.
The proposed intervention outlined today by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would be a watershed moment for our economy. I believe that such an intervention demands that we fundamentally alter the priorities and policies of our nation under the Bush administration that allowed this crisis to take place and escalate. Corporations that will benefit must be held accountable not only to large shareholders but also to the American people. And American taxpayers deserve to know that their money will not allow for a continuation of the status quo: short-term profit at the expense of long-term viability; obscene bonuses and golden parachutes regardless of performance; reckless risk taking that have placed the markets in so much jeopardy; rewards for those who foreclose on middle-class families and sell mortgages designed to fail to turn a profit; and outsourcing of good jobs to serve short-term stock prices instead of America's long-term economic health. The prevailing dynamic of corporate America, where the sole priority was the dividend, the inflated bonus and the quarterly earnings report, must give way to a new respect for the long-term prosperity of the American worker and the well-being of the middle class.
After eight years of failed policies and two years of an absentee administration our only option left may be an unprecedented government intervention into the private markets. The markets must be stabilized to stave off wider turmoil. Nevertheless, the urgency of this crisis does not mean that we should offer a blank check to financial institutions or the privileged few. Nor can we simply allow the administration to use the taxpayers like a "reset button." We cannot allow Wall Street to act without oversight by a vigilant SEC and administration and without regard for the American people, who will now have paid twice: in falling prey to a widening credit crisis, and in paying the bill to hopefully bring it to an end.
I will be examining the administration's proposal very closely to ensure that we do not approve a policy that may stabilize the markets in the short term without addressing the root problems facing middle-class families or the kinds of reckless gambling that was permitted for far too long by the administration. The Bush administration may have changed its tune once the crisis facing Main Street hit Wall Street. But we need to be sure that the American taxpayers asked to shoulder yet more risk and responsibility have a voice.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2008/09/clintons-bailout-statement-012058
In other words:
1) Clinton voted for the bailout as a bailout of Wall St., without any guarantee from the President that the money would be used for the auto industry. She didn't vote for it as an auto bailout. She voted for it as a Wall St. bailout, and is now trying to reframe her vote to save her biggest donors as her caring about auto workers.
2) Clinton is intentionally distorting the record in hopes that MI voters won't find out in time (or ever) that she lied. In fact, after being corrected by multiple outlets in the MSM, her campaign continued to peddle this lie on its Twitter account last night.
3) Some users here, rather than owning up to this falsehood, are continuing to push it, because they apparently lack any sense of shame or decency.
riversedge
(80,810 posts)the banks and the auto industry. Simple as that.
bobbobbins01
(1,681 posts)tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)His ideological purity is coming back to haunt him.
EndElectoral
(4,213 posts)An interesting dilemma, except that isn't what happened.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2016/03/07/clintons-charges-that-sanders-did-not-support-auto-rescue-is-wrong/#6e390a9a582b
The TARP vote preceded the auto bailout and was not part of the vote.
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]A 90% chance of rain means the same as a 10% chance:
It might rain and it might not.[/center][/font][hr]
timmymoff
(1,947 posts)haunts the Hillary supporters. Apparently they feel selling us out is a wonderful idea through free trade, private prisons, regime change, fracking, if I didn't know better by the policies she supported or recently "evolved" towards, I'd say she was GOP. I know that isn't the case because she gets to put a D behind her name regardless of her far right stances. I certainly hope America doesn't only get a choice between far right and fairly right, because that is how it is looking. When Americans are given a chance to vote for a republican or a democrat who acts like a republican they always choose the former. This is why she will struggle in the general, she is maxed out with supporters, Bernie can continue growing his support. Sure wish the democrats had more than one progressive running, but they don't, we only have sanders if we want a progressive.
Mufaddal
(1,021 posts)But you can't credibly make a demonstrably false claim once it's been demonstrated false.
If you have an actual response to the content that directly belies your point, I'd love to hear it. (Note: that would require actually reading it.) If not, the only other reason for you to post a reply would be trolling, in which case I'd suggest you find a more productive use of your time.
think
(11,641 posts)This was book written by the Inspector General who over saw the TARP program.
by Neil Barofsky
In telling of his stranger-than-fiction baptism into the corrupted ways of Washington, Barofsky offers an irrefutable indictment, from an insider of the Bush & Obama administrations, of the mishandling of the $700 billion TARP bailout fund. In behind-the-scenes detail, he shows the extreme degree to which government officials bent over backward to serve the interests of Wall Street firms at the expense of the public& at the expense of effective financial reform. During the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Barofsky gave up his job as a prosecutor in the US Attorneys Office in NYC, where he'd convicted drug kingpins, Wall Street executives & mortgage fraud perpetrators, to become the special inspector general in charge of oversight of bailout money spending. From the first his efforts to protect against fraud & to hold big banks accountable for how they spent taxpayer money were met with outright hostility from Treasury officials in charge of the bailouts.
Barofsky discloses how, in serving banking interests, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner & his team worked with Wall Street executives to design programs to would funnel vast amounts of taxpayer money to their firms & would have allowed them to game the markets & make huge profits with almost no risk or accountability, while repeatedly fighting efforts to put the necessary fraud protections in place. His investigations also uncovered abject mismanagement of the bailout of insurance giant AIG & Geithners decision to allow the payment of millions of dollars in bonuses & that the Obama administrations TARP Czar lobbied for the executives to retain their high pay....
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15737379-bailout
No one is claiming that nothing should have been done to help after the meltdown. But what is being claimed is what was done wasn't the right thing to do.
TM99
(8,352 posts)a politician with a history of honesty, consistency, and congruency is twisted into 'ideological purity'.
I guess it is the only way to make sense of your own candidate's history of lies, incongruencies, and flip floping style pandering.
Simple as that!
dchill
(42,660 posts)dchill
(42,660 posts)You are 200% against purity. You love Hillary. We get it.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)If that were the case you should attack the MAJORITY of Democrats who were so "pure" they would not compromise with the GOP in 2008 on labor concessions that would have allowed the original auto bailout to go through.;
They made a judgement on principle -- the right judgement -- not to use the Auto bailouit to gut unions.
Put that meme to rest.
Dr. Strange
(26,058 posts)it probably seems like purity to those who don't (or whose candidate doesn't) have principles.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)EndElectoral
(4,213 posts)MrWendel
(1,881 posts)share the space with operatives for Tad Davine.
Mufaddal
(1,021 posts)
kgnu_fan
(3,021 posts)BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)Makes this place much more tolerable.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Merryland
(1,134 posts)FlatBaroque
(3,160 posts)The queen liar has a keyboard army of many liars on DU.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)of thousands of voters that they can never vote for Hillary Clinton, in any election, for any office,
Not even the office of Dogcatcher.
BlueMTexpat
(15,690 posts)is winning the popular vote then?
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)BlueMTexpat
(15,690 posts)what makes you think that Bernie - who has fewer votes than Hillary - can win?
As it happens, you are actually wrong about Hillary being behind ANYONE - at least per the actual popular votes that have been cast and recorded to date.
Here are the current standings in popular votes cast:
Clinton 4,180,853
Trump 3,596,310
Cruz 2,994,245
Sanders 2,659,254
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_vote_count.html
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/republican_vote_count.html
AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)Just like the Iraq War. It is all the reasons I don't like this and I'm going to hold them accountable but regrettably I have to vote for it.
"And American taxpayers deserve to know that their money will not allow for a continuation of the status quo: short-term profit at the expense of long-term viability; obscene bonuses and golden parachutes regardless of performance."
So what has Hillary done since that vote to ensure Wall Street didn't go right back to obscene bonuses and golden parachutes regardless of performance? Maybe that's what she lectures them on when gives $225,000 speeches. Release the transcripts and let us see what she said to them.
dchill
(42,660 posts)BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)$20 million? $50 million?
dchill
(42,660 posts)BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)living in a $10.5 million 5000+ square foot Manhattan apartment is pretty obscene. That would be Chelsea Clinton and her husband. It's even more obscene when Chelsea says she has never been able to bring herself to care about money.
BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)If Hillary thinks $225K is reasonable for a one hour speech, I would think an annual bonus would have to be many multiples of that to rise to the level of obscenity, even considering that others aren't as entitled and worthy as she is.
dchill
(42,660 posts)I'm so selfish. I think that if I think it's obscene, everyone else would, too.
BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)as the economy was collapsing and the TBTF bank he worked for was being bailed out:
"My bonus is going to be shit this year, maybe $200,000."
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]A 90% chance of rain means the same as a 10% chance:
It might rain and it might not.[/center][/font][hr]
dchill
(42,660 posts)AgingAmerican
(12,958 posts)For the obscene money she makes for mysterious secret speeches to banks...
ConsiderThis_2016
(274 posts)BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)So they could have cheaper labor and shifts operating around the clock.
BlueMTexpat
(15,690 posts)"Brock operatives" "smear merchants" "debunked lie"
The National Enquirer may have an opening for you.
Mufaddal
(1,021 posts)Saviolo
(3,321 posts)That they haven't worn out that rolling on the floor laughing smiley. That seems to be the only response to anything said against Hillary/for Bernie.
MFM008
(20,042 posts)for my support of HRC. I want my damn money.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)ConsiderThis_2016
(274 posts)Honesty is more important to some then others, that's reality! Makes ya wonder when you walk past so many of these people each day. Human evolution will take care of the problem sooner or later... always has.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)she can do this stuff and it'll work because the truth requires some thought and most people would rather go with a sound byte
lastone
(588 posts)And will continue to see these same attacks, just like she did against Obama, until it is plainly evident she can not win. Then to save whatever power she'll still yield she will bow out. She's a pathetic politician, any one not seeing this is delusional.
Geronimoe
(1,539 posts)It is Bill and Hillary who rammed NAFTA and deregulating banks through Congress. As a result there was a giant sucking sound of jobs and auto factories leaving the Michigan and the US.
Are Michiganders suffering from amnesia not to remember who signed NAFTA.
zappaman
(20,627 posts)bigtree
(94,261 posts)...how the hell did he imagine the automakers were going to be bailed out? By a dead Senate bill?
You fucking don't get to claim that you supported the bailout if you voted AGAINST the bill that delivered the money!
Utter bullshit. Sanders gets ZERO credit for voting for a bill that didn't deliver squat.
Operate that, soon to be invisible op.
dchill
(42,660 posts)Laughing Mirror
(4,185 posts)The careful language of the competent lawyer, creating a falsehoodto win the case. Banking on no one noticing the deception. As if everybody in the room is a moron and hangs on every word as gospel truth.
Duppers
(28,469 posts)Tweet link to this post.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)And Clinton lets it happen.
No More Clintons Ever!
Mufaddal
(1,021 posts)in the event that she wins the primary.
More evidence of her incredible foresight. You know, just like Iraq.
jalan48
(14,914 posts)It's an end in itself for her.
Coincidence
(98 posts)If Bernie pulled even a fraction of the sleazy crap that the Clinton campaign is now solely relying on, not only would I absolutely not support him, I have little doubt that the vast majority of Sanders followers would concur because his honesty and integrity is his appeal. Hillary Clinton fans look, feel, and act convincingly like conservatives, and considering they are all in for a dishonest, corporatist, neocon war hawk it's hard to find a distinction.
Autumn
(48,962 posts)Disruptive meta-discussion is forbidden.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=about&forum=1251
Trust Buster
(7,299 posts)But I'll tell you this, David Brock authored the best book on the corruption of the Right wing in this country that I've ever read. It's entitled "Blinded by the Right". I would highly suggest that every Democrat read his book.
