Clinton Aides Attacks Obama For Opposing Mandatory Minimum Sentences

[ariesgem]

As the new Democratic frontrunner, Barack Obama now faces the prospect of severe and hostile vetting from his primary opponents. Upon her arrival in New Hampshire this morning, Hillary Clinton signaled that she intends to play on Obama's as yet unexploited political weaknesses: "Who will be able to stand up to the Republican attack machine?" she asked at an appearance in Nashua.

Hillary's aides point to Obama's extremely progressive record as a community organizer, state senator and candidate for Congress, his alliances with "left-wing" intellectuals in Chicago's Hyde Park community, and his liberal voting record on criminal defendants' rights as subjects for examination.

Along the same lines, ABC reported that Clinton aides gave the network various examples, of Obama's controversial stands. The aides cited Obama's past assertion that he would support ending mandatory minimum sentences for federal crimes, pointing to a 2004 statement at an NAACP-sponsored debate: "Mandatory minimums take too much discretion away from judges."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/04/hillary-hits-obama-for-op_n_79918.html

on edit: made correction to header

[lvx35]

1. Exactly how many people make up Hillary Clinton? Seriously.

I keep seeing these headlines on DU telling me about the things Hillary said, and when I click the link I find she didn't say the things, it was somebody in her campaign.

[Nick_Irving]

10. CLINTON AND OBAMA

Attention Democrat Voters: Who's Electable?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNdQUVA5JHs

[earthlover]

2. So Obama will be outed as a progressive by Hillary!

Maybe if he just had triangulated everything....

This is so typical Hillary. If she can't find any dirt on Obama she will accuse him of being a progressive and find all those progressive stands he has taken. Think of it. She is acting as if being a progressive is something wrong.

She is not good for the party.

[donheld]

3. May Hillary limit sentences starting now

May she only use 2 sentences a day then shut the fuck up!

[bluestateguy]

4. We have enough people in prison in this country

We have the highest prison population in the world--and that includes third world and tinpot dictatorships.

[Egnever]

5. Is this woman trying to lose?

its just amazing.

[90-percent]

6. Geeez

Don't mandatory minimum sentences just kind of totally suck? (Although the extreme variation of sentences the old way was problematic, also) Did she get some big money from the prison industrial complex. We are the most incarcerated nation in the world due to the erroneous thinking about the criminal justice system! Mass criminalization is a stupid way to run a country!

If that is indeed her position, and it sounds like it's a dubious source, then Edwards it is, for me at least!

-90% Jimmy

[Hippo_Tron]

7. I was under the impression that Hillary also opposed racist mandatory minimum sentencing

Glad to see that I didn't make the mistake of supporting her.

[bowens43]

8. Clinton is a power hungry ass.

[musicblind]

9. idk

I like Clinton but have to say that Obama is making sense here about the mandatory minimum sentencing. Though I also don't believe that EVERYONE associated with Hillary really "speaks for her", but what a silly thing to attack someone on. I think Obama has the right idea on this particular issue.

[BeyondGeography]

11. He's going to free the Negros!

How low can you go, Clintons? Black voters are listening.

[CarbonDate]

12. Ha, ha.

They can go pretty fucking low. Maybe we just never noticed in the past because their targets were usually Republicans. Part of the reason Republicans hate them so much is because they play just as dirty as the Repugs do, and Repugs aren't used to that.

We'll see if it works this time around.