Hillary Clinton: March 2007 Archives
It looks like the yankees are sticking together. It looks like New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine will endorse New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
The governor is expected to join congressman Rob Andrews and other New Jersey democrats in Elizabeth, NJ to announce their endorsement for Senator Clinton on Monday.
Things are looking up for Clinton as she hopes to become the first US female president. California voters put Hillary on top in the state's first official poll followed by Barak Obama and John Edwards. Another New Yorker, Rudy Guiliani, is the pick among California republicans.
"Hi. I'm Phil. I did it. And I'm proud of it."
That's how Phil de Vellis revealed himself on the liberal blog, "The Huffington Post," as he admitted that he created this ad blasting democratic presidential front runner Hillary Clinton. de Vellis added that he did it to show "that the future of American politics rests in the hands of ordinary citizens."
"I made the "Vote Different" ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process," wrote de Vellis. "There are thousands of other people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it--by people of all political persuasions--will follow."
In the ad, de Vellis blasted Hillary Clinton and encouraged viewers to vote for Barak Obama. The sticky part is that de Vellis works for a consulting firm hired by the Obama campaign, and neither Obama nor members of his campaign authorized the ad.
de Vellis admitted he would support Clinton if she won the democratic primary.
"I recognize that this ad is not [Obama's] style of politics," de Vellis continued. "I also believe that Senator Clinton is a great public servant, and if she should win the nomination, I would support her and wish her all the best."
His 15 minutes of YouTube fame have cost Phil his job.
On Wednesday, Blue State Digital issued a statement saying de Vellis had been fired for violating a company policy barring "outside political work or commentary on behalf of our clients..." de Vellis said he had left the company voluntarily "so as not to harm them, even by implication."
Phil said he created the ad in his apartment using his own equipment.
It's a factor that politicians and strategest have never had to consider. YouTube is already taking its place in the 2008 Presidential election as the first "viral attack" has taken place. The target: democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It's a "mash-up" of Ridley Scott's 1984 Super Bowl commercial that portrayed IBM as an Orwellian Big Brother and introduced Apple's Macintosh as the bright new vanguard of computing and Hillary's video blog from her site.
The clip, titled "Vote Different" and posted on YouTube on March 5, is one of the most watched on the video-sharing site. On Monday it had more than 500,000 views. By yesterday, after a day of mainstream media attention, it had passed a million, with text comments and video responses pouring in. Online pundits agree that it's a brilliant piece of agitprop, expertly produced.
No one seems to know who posted the blog, and Barak Obama's campaign says they weren't invovled.
The backstory: It was first posted on March 5 by someone calling themselves ParkRidge47 -- Clinton was born in 1947 and raised in Park Ridge, Ill. -- on YouTube. The poster has never come forward to take credit, and has been heard from only at the techpresident.com Web site, after editor Micah Sifry wrote to ask how it all happened.
This is just the beginning of the voice behind the internet in this 2008 election. Maybe it will get more voters involved?
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton told the Human Rights Campaign in an unplublicized speech that she wants a partnership with gays if elected president.
Clinton also said she opposes the ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy pertaining to gays in the military that was instituted during Mr. Clinton's presidency. Before that, gays were stictly prohibited from serving in the military at all.
This is the first effort from any Democratic presidential candidate to reach out to the LGBT community. Republican contender Rudy Guiliani, on the other hand, openly supports gay marriage.
Get more Gay & Lesbian News while you're here at GaySocialites.com
Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barak Obama were both in Alabama this weekend hoping to build speed for their presidential bids by gaining the support of black southern voters.
The democratic candidates were in Alabama to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Selma voting rights march, that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. On that day in 1965, police attacked over 500 protesters with tear gas and batons as they marched from Selma to Montgomery to enforce Gov. George Wallace's ban on such demonstrations.
Both Clinton and Obama gave thanks to the bloody march on Selma saying without that pivotal moment in history, they wouldn't be campaigning today.
Obama talked about his African father who visited America and met his white mother whose ancestors once owned slaved.
"They looked at each other and they decided, 'We know that, in the world as it has been, it might not be possible for us to get together and have a child, but something is stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across the bridge. And so they got together, and Barack Obama Jr. was born," he told the crowd. "So don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma, Alabama," Obama added. "Don't tell me I'm not coming home when I come to Selma, Alabama. I'm here because somebody marched for our freedom. I'm here because y'all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of this."
Senator Clinton, the democratic front-runner, took the stage a few moments later and recognized Obama and the other minority opponents as she too gave thanks to Selma, AL.
"The Voting Rights Act gave more Americans from every corner of our nation the chance to live out their dreams. And it is the gift that keeps on giving," Clinton said. "Today it is giving Sen. Obama the chance to run for president of the United States. And by its logic and spirit, it is giving the same chance to Gov. Bill Richardson, a Hispanic, and, yes, it is giving me that chance, too." She added, "I know where my chance came from, and I am grateful to all of you who gave it to me."
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), one of the leaders of the Selma march, said the competition for black voters between the senators is "a very difficult position to be in, but it's a good position to be in." "We have choices," Lewis added.
With still over a year and a half left until the presidential election, the democrats are hoping to look like a unified team while presenting many options to take back the White House in 2008.
