Hillary, You've Jumped the Shark.

[bjarvis]

OK, I'm not a US citizen so I can't vote, even in primaries. And Maryland has already had their primary so it's too late for me anyway. But still...

Hillary, I liked you. Truly, I did. I think you've got the smarts and the experience to do a good job as US prez. This past week, however, you completely lost my support.

John McCain proposed a gasoline tax holiday. That alone should have given you a clue it's at best a suspect plan. Endorsing it was beyond stupid. How can you claim that McCain would just be more of the same failed policies while stealing his platform? You undercut your own campaign logic. Worse, it makes it look like you're incapable of original ideas. We also recognize that the window you propose will come & go before you ever get sworn into office. I know you can do better and I'm profoundly disappointed that you're not even trying.

You have at least a high school education: why aren't you using it? You know that cutting the gasoline tax will cause more problems than it fixes: it'll blast a $10 billion hole in the budget for which you have no plan to fix, the lost revenue will block your own small policies in the next fiscal cycle, it doesn't have any impact on supply while increasing demand and it undercuts the anything-but-oil parts of your energy policy proposals.

Where you really lost me though was your later comment that you were seeking to support Joe America and you don't care about "elite economists." Yes, the current president has a room temperature IQ and won't tolerate people smarter than him in his cabinet, but that's the formula for creating the current mess --the one you want to replace. Basing policy on an ill-informed whim rather than the informed advice of skilled professionals? You're supposed to be better than that.

WTF, Hillary? *sigh*

Comments

[qnetter]

Actually, she does have a plan to fix it -- with a windfall profits tax on the oil companies, which we ought to have anyway.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

but she's not saying that loud enough - nor does the profits tax on oil companies have any more accomplishable support than the tax holiday.

She's starting to stomp around the political stage like Veruca Salt... it's embarrassing.

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, 83% of the latest poll population thought she was wrong on this tax holiday - and for a change, the majority are right!

I smell desparation in this populist tactic. Even if she got her windfall tax, what would the oil companies do? Pass on the loss to consumers. The gas price would still rise, then when the holiday is over, bingo! Another big rise, hidden behind the message "it's just the tax stupid".

I'm particularly happy to see Obama say "Hey, we tried this previously in my state, and I voted for it - and that's why I KNOW it won't work".

I do worry thought that Obama's reasoned and common sense attitude and his reluctance to get annoyed in public will affect him in the polls. It seems 'the people' want loud, ill-informed leaders...

[qnetter]

The public clearly doesn't want pessimism (defined as "anything short of smiley optimism) or a focus on only long-term strategy to the exclusion of short-term band-aids. (Band-aids are not sufficient... but they ARE necessary.)

If this wasn't true, we would have had a second Carter term...

(Hillary isn't ill-informed as much as pragmatic -- or opportunist, if you prefer; she recognizes that Obama's "common sense" isn't common at all, and it's offputting to many -- again, we would have had President Stevenson were that not so.)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Paying for a tax break she can't implement with a tax windfall she can't deliver... I still hoped for better.

[qnetter]

Well she did say "cut ONLY if tax" -- and I'm of two minds on the whole thing. Well, one and a half.

Yes, it's pandering.

Yes, it's naive -- this is not the 40s through the 70s where we could expecty it not to just show up tomorrow as above-the-line costs.

On the other hand (partly), if it were to work, and were the oil companies not to raise prices by 18c a gallon to offset it, it would fall in the category of actually sounding like a Democratic senator.

Though I'd be happier if she'd actually introduce a bill to that effect, so Shrub would shoot it down and McCain would have to either vote for a corporate tax increase or vote against his own proposed cut.

(As for its effect on gasoline usage: probably negligible either way.)

[snowboardjoe.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear. This tax holiday is a sham. What a joke.

on the sidelines, the view isn't pretty

[redbearmark.livejournal.com]

Ironically, she has been doing a great job of running as a Republican of late. This is the Democrats one chance to get me on their side. I hope to have someone worthwhile to vote for in November.

It is interesting that so many of the states have early voting. So these last minute things that used to possibly change the votes, can be lost on those that cast their ballots two weeks ago. In North Carolina, at least 13% of the electorate have already voted.

But you always have your fail safe citizenship. You can always escape across the border.

My best to you and yours!

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

I have had suspicions of Hillary for a good long while. She's never come across as one who can make up her mind and stick with it for a while.

Part of her problem is that she's one of these wet thy finger, stick it in the air and see which way the wind blows and move in that direction politico. She does tend to pander to whatever floats her boat or something like that on what seems to be at times a daily basis so I really have never had much of a chance to figure out where she actually stands on issues.

And with all the negative campaigning she's been doing, it's further turned me off. I agree that this tax thing, even if McCain's loony idea is simply not gonna fly, at least not in the vain hopes both McCain and Clinton think it may.

Really, I would not touch McCain w/ a ten foot pole anyway.

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

This is where Hillary lost it for me. I was kinda going along that either Hillary or Obama would be fine until this.

When I saw that McCain proposed this tax holiday, I laughed. I figured that would be his death knell. Forgetting cost, why would anyone support people using more gas? My jaw dropped when I saw that Hillary supported it. What kinda morons would favor this? Then I saw the Red State map from 2004, and it dawned on me how outta touch I am. Thank god.

[volunqueer.livejournal.com]

Americans as a whole deserve the fucked up govt they elect - they largely don't educate themselves about the issues and vote on the basis of stupid criterea like "would you have a beer with this guy?"

BOTH parties are to blame for the problems we have, but citizens who vote blindly and then check out for 4 years without ever communicating with the President, or their elected legislators are also part of the problem.

Too many people vote that shouldn't.

Agreed

[rootbear.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes. I was very disappointed by the "elitist economist" remark, with it's implicit dismissal of professionalism for the sake of emotional appeal. Ms. Clinton knows better! She must surely know that this gas tax holiday is a shame, but she still endorses it. That's just lying.


Really, the logic is hardly different from those who promote Intelligent Design. Those "elitist scientists" have got it all wrong, but the ID folks can set you straight. I'm really tired of the anti-intellectualism in American society and it infuriated me to see Hillary exploit it so. I'm done with her.