Florida is Zimbabwe?! Hillary Clinton and Godwin's law

OK.

I understand that there's a difference of opinion about whether MI and FL should count.  But comparing the situation in FL to ... Zimbabwe?

Hillary Clinton compared the plight of Zimbabweans in their recent fraudulent election to the uncounted votes of Michigan and Florida voters saying it is wrong when "people go through the motions of an election only to have them discarded and disregarded."

"We're seeing that right now in Zimbabwe," Clinton explained. "Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people," Clinton told the crowd of senior citizens at a retirement community in south Florida.

Let this one roll over your mind for a bit and then sink in.  Politics always leads to spinning, but this is special.  

Uh.  Robert Mugabe has run a brutal dictatorship for at least the past 20-odd years and been charged with the murder of political opponents.  I'm pretty sure he didn't sit down with Tsvangirai and broker an agreement ahead of time not to count the votes, and that Tsvangirai didn't give interviews saying he wouldn't campaign.

As a technical matter, this isn't a violation of Godwin's law, but it's about as close as you can come without going there, so maybe we need a corollary.  

And of course, it doesn't stop there.  The other day Sen. Clinton made a comparison between counting the votes and freeing the slaves.  If there isn't already a corollary to Godwin's law for bogus comparisons to slavery there really ought to be.  



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Re: Florida is Zimbabwe?! Hillary Clinton and God (2.00 / 1)

yeah I can't help but shake my head when she tries to compare FL/MI to the civil rights movement, or the 2000 election, or Zimbabwe?

especially at the same time she is saying we in caucus states aren't democratic? or she has no problems saying hey those people in MI who wanted to vote for Obama don't matter because he took his name off the ballot?

I just roll my eyes.


Obama said, as Bill beamed. "Thank you, President Clinton."
by TruthMatters on Thu May 22, 2008 at 09:33:42 AM EST

There's a lot of that going around. (none / 0)

If you look at the press coverage of all of this, no one is buying these arguments. The phrase "magic math" crops up regularly. At this point she is just embarrassing herself and making it harder for us to move on to the general.


"Mom, baseball, apple pie, and a unified Democratic juggernaut."
by Purplepeople on Thu May 22, 2008 at 09:48:41 AM EST

She's simply trying to undermine the (none / 0)

process and the presumptive nominee so that he'll lose. If she can't play no one can.

This sort of rhetoric is not only false and outrageous it's pathetic.


John McCain on social security.
by heresjohnny on Thu May 22, 2008 at 09:49:51 AM EST

Re: She's simply trying to undermine the (none / 0)

That's exactly what she's doing! It's a pretty underhanded passive-aggressive effort to sabotage Obama's electability while trying to *appear* as if she is all "rah rah" for the party and democracy itself (which she isn't). What I think is most troubling that no one else seems to have pointed out, is that she is almost giving out a permission slip to her supporters to vote Republican if she doesn't get her way.

"If Democrats send the message that we don't fully value your votes, we know Senator McCain and the Republicans will be more than happy to have them. The Republicans will make a simple and compelling argument: why should FL and MI voters trust the Democratic party look out for you when they won't even listen to you?"


Implicit within that argument is the assumption that Democrats actually will vote Republican if MI/FL isn't resolved in a "fair" manner (of course "fair" meaning exactly the way SHE wants). Moreover, she goes even a step further to provide a justification for such a defection, essentially saying "I'll totally understand if you don't vote Democrat if we get robbed." This is SO far over the line I can't believe it. But it does confirm what I concluded a long time ago; despite what she may say about supporting the Democratic nominee in the fall, the reality is she WILL tear down the party to get what she wants.
by Rhizomorph on Thu May 22, 2008 at 11:21:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Florida is Zimbabwe?! Hillary Clinton and God (none / 0)

She might want to also compare it to Obama's Uncle or Cousin Ralia Odinga - who Obama campaigned for - and who tried to overthrow the Kenyan gov't.....

THAT would make a far more interesting story....


by nikkid on Thu May 22, 2008 at 10:18:23 AM EST

Re: Florida / Zimbabwe (none / 0)

Such comparisons border on insanity.

Jon Stewart is gonna have a field day.


by xdem on Thu May 22, 2008 at 10:30:15 AM EST

hillary has gone out of her way to embarrass... (none / 0)

florida.  this according to one of her florida supporters.

the good thing about hillary's tactics in florida is that it is making people take a long, hard look at barack and he comes across much more favorably...


"This is the time for resolve and steady leadership" -- Barack Obama
by bored now on Thu May 22, 2008 at 10:40:59 AM EST

It's melodrama (none / 0)

While I support Clinton, this kind of languages is just silly. She should tone it down.


by Mayor McCheese on Thu May 22, 2008 at 10:52:25 AM EST


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