"SHAME ON YOU"

I don't know for whom I'm going to vote. I'm interested in the political process, but I'm not convinced that anyone running is actually in the race for the good of the country. To be honest, I think all of them are probably in the race for self aggrandizement. Further, I suspect this entire race is about the pursuit of power strictly for power and not for what power might be able to do to help the citizens, the country and the world. There's a bit of the cynic in me when it comes to politics.

However, yesterday I observed Hillary Clinton shout "Shame on you, Barack Obama". She went on to accuse him of using the tactics of Karl Rove. The "Shame on you" comment immediately cause me to think "What has he done?" . "Is he beating his children?" Good Heavens, what has the man done?

Well, turns out that part of the "Shame on You" comment related to him or his staff putting out a flyer about her support of NAFTA.

I'm not an Obama supporter, but I can tell you that back in the 1990's when he was working as a community organizer on the streets in Chicago he had a burr up his butt about NAFTA and NAFTA like bills and all the efforts of Congress to pass them.. I don't know him personally, I've never met him, and I haven't donated money. But, back in the day I was aware of a young upstart Harvard educated black lawyer working on the streets of Chicago with the unemployed and the homeless. Back in the day, I was working in Illinois. He had a burr up his butt about NAFTA and all such efforts to develop trade agreements to unbolt the machines from the floors and ship them overseas--leaving American's unemployed, unable to make their house payments, and unable to afford health care.

Hillary Clinton has been touting her 35 years of experience and counting her time as the wife of President Clinton as "experience". I'm sure being married to Slick Willie was quite an experience. And, I doubt that she could have stopped him from signing the NAFTA agreement. But, while it was in the Congress and when he signed it she did not speak out against it. The reality is that she has been running for President and basically claiming credit for everything her husband did. She calls it "experience". She's been hanging onto his coat tails for this entire election period. She's even written about NAFTA in a book where she said it was one of their great triumphs. Well, folks it was not a triumph for the working and middle class. They lost their jobs, their houses, and their health care. This was not helpful to a large segment of America.

He told the truth about her support of NAFTA. If she didn't support it, she should have spoken up before her husband signed it.

Now the other issue she was upset about is the healthcare plan. In truth, I can't tell their health care plans apart. And, neither of them are going to work because Congress and the Insurance Industry will block both of them. The only difference I can see between the two plans is that her plan says it's going to stiffly fine people (apparently by garnishing their wages) if they don't voluntarily buy health insurance. Right, that's really going to help people. Many people can't make their house payments as it is right now. Let's garnish their wages and increase the foreclosure rate.

Now the one thing he did where she might have a right to kick him is he did not go into detail in the flyer about the steps she's proposing to lower the cost of health insurance. Truth is the steps she proposing to lower the cost of health insurance are a mirror of his. Or, his are a mirror of hers. He did go into detail about how he is going to lower the cost of health insurance. It would have been more chivalrous if he had mentioned that their proposals are identical in terms of attempting to lower the cost of health insurance. But, why should he spend his money to advertise for her? It's politics folks! He's not auditioning for a Knight at the Round Table.

So, on this health care issue we can probably say "Shame on You" for not being chivalrous. But, on this NAFTA issue, she was in on it. She didn't speak up before the bill was signed. She didn't speak up while it was in the Congress. And, she's been running on Bill's coattails for over a year claiming her time as his wife as "experience". She has no right to complain about Obama telling the truth. If anything, it's "SHAME ON YOU, HILLARY". Shame on you for not standing up before NAFTA was signed.