Is Hillary A Moderate?
Newsday’s Raymond Keating doesn’t think so. Here’s his proof:
In the end, much of the New Democrat philosophy was the old Democrat philosophy spruced up with the rhetoric of moderation. Is that also the case with Sen. Clinton’s so-called move to the center? Well, it certainly is hard to detect any centrism in her overall Senate voting record. Each year, for example, she has scored 95 percent with the left-wing Americans for Democratic Action.
But let’s focus on four key Senate votes that presented opportunities for Democrats to flash their moderate side.
In October 2002, 29 Senate Democrats voted for the Iraq war resolution. Clinton was one of those 29, and while subsequently critical of how President George W. Bush has handled the war, she has not backed away from her vote. Score one for moderation.
This stand is easy to understand when you know that Hillary would get annihilated in a general election if she wasn’t steady on this issue. If she wasn’t resolute in public about this issue, she’d be wide open to general election criticism.
Next came a vote on banning partial-birth abortions in 2003. Clinton made a splash earlier this year by calling abortion a “sad, even tragic choice.” Nonetheless, she could not bring herself to vote to stop the particularly horrific practice known as partial-birth abortion, although 17 of her fellow Democrats in the Senate did. Score one against moderation (and life).
For all her concilliatory talk, including her “calling abortion a “sad, even tragic choice”, Hillary’s still all hat and no cattle. Talk is cheap, Hillary. Actions prove what you genuinely think about this issue. Thus far, there haven’t been any actions.
While her husband generally grasps the benefits of free trade, noting in his speech “trade lifts people out of poverty”, Sen. Clinton opposed the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement this past June. Ten Senate Democrats voted for it. Another blow against Hillary’s moderation.
CAFTA was smart legislation and she’s on the wrong side of that issue. This isn’t accidental. The reality is that Hillary couldn’t vote for CAFTA because of her pro-war stance.
Let me explain: The kook base of the Democratic Party, led by Cindy Sheehan and Howard Dean, is livid about her pro-war votes. Hillary has to appease them by agreeing with them on practically everthing else if she doesn’t want to lose that section of her base.
Finally, there was the confirmation vote in September for John Roberts as U.S. Supreme Court chief justice. With Roberts’ powerful intellect, obvious mastery of the law and sound temperament, only an ideologue could have voted against him. Twenty-two Democrats gave a thumbs-up for Roberts, including some big-name liberals such as Christopher Dodd (CT) and Jay Rockefeller (WVA). Hillary Clinton voted against Roberts.
This is the vote that most proves that following the Lunatic Left’s ideology isn’t just something she did but that it’s who she really is. As I just told a friend in talking about this vote, Roe v. Wade isn’t just a court ruling to the Lunatic Left; it’s their religion. This is Hillary’s bowing at the altar of Roe v. Wade.
She didn’t vote against Roberts because she admiteed disagreeing with anything Chief Justice Roberts said but because she couldn’t vote for anyone who’d put any restrictions on Roe v. Wade.
One key vote and some occasional centrist talk do not make a moderate. Just as Bill Clinton the New Democrat was more about political posturing than policy reality, Hillary Clinton’s move to the center lacks credibility. It is simply Clintonian.
This is a great summary by Mr. Keating. When you strip all the fluff and nonsense and doubletalk from Hillary, she’s just another Norteastern liberal who worships at the altar of Roe v. Wade.
Cross-posted at BoxerWatch
November 15th, 2005 at 10:08 am
Also, her overall voting record remains solidly liberal, 90%+ from liberal groups and ~10% from conservative ones. When the LA Times ran a similar “Is She A Moderate?” story this summer, we summarized some of those ratings here.