Thursday, November 29, 2007

Republicans accuse Hillary of planting questions at their debate



It's one thing to accuse Hillary of planting questions during the democratic debate. Even though that accusation is preposterous, at least it makes a little sense because a candidate would obviously want to receive soft ball questions to make themselves look good. But now they're actually trying to say she planted questions at the republican debate. I kid you not.

From Washingtimes.com:

Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr was named a co-chairman of Mrs. Clinton's National Military Veterans group this month, according to a campaign press release. He asked a question last night at the CNN-YouTube debate here, and after answers from candidates, debate host Anderson Cooper asked the general if he was satisfied with the answers.

The general then stood up and delivered what amounted to a two-minute speech, stopping only when the audience of 1,500 booed.

"American men and women in the military are professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians. For 42 years, I wore the army uniform on active duty, in the Reserve, and also for the state of California. I revealed I was a gay man after I retired," the general said.

If you were out working on the grassroots Hillary campaign like we were, you probably missed the republican debate last night. Fortunately we have Tivo. This was the CNN/Youtube debate where most of the questions to the candidates came from questions posted on Youtube from ordinary citizens all across the country. There were a wide array of questions - some silly, some serious, some downright ridiculous. One of the Youtube questions came from a retired general who happens to be gay. He raised a really important question about the failed "don't ask don't tell" policy. Essentially, his question was "why can't gays in the military be openly gay? Aren't we mature enough to accept different sexuality preferences?"

This was a very good question on an issue that has been kept under the radar for a few years, and it is refreshing to bring it back to the forefront. What was great about it though is that this is the one issue republicans are afraid of. They try to shy away from it any chance they get. They want to appeal to the conservative right by showing that they're against gay rights, but they don't want to appear to be homophobic and alienate those who sympathize with the gay movement. What was great about it though is that not only did the gay general submit his Youtube video, he was right there in the audience. It's pretty hard to tell a guy right to his face that he doesn't have the right to be open about his sexuality.

Now, as far as the allegation that he's a Hillary plant? He's the chairman of the National Military Veterans, which happens to be supported by Hillary Clinton. A retired general a member of an organization called "National Military Veterans"? I'm shocked I tell you, shocked.

Apparently we live in an age where we're not even allowed to be members of groups that support our cause. If we're to join any group, apparently we're to check every single member's background to make sure there could never be an argument for conflict of interest. This is an absolute disgrace, and it's pretty obvious that the Republicans are really stretching on this one.

At least somebody in the media actually gets it though, as evident by this headline: Gay YouTube General a Hillary Plant - So What?

I couldn't have said it better myself. Hillary's support is so wide and omnipresent, that it would be almost impossible to find someone that isn't tied to her campaign somehow. I could pick 5 random guys off the street and have them ask questions during a debate, and it's pretty likely that at least one of them would be a Hillary supporter. Face it folks: she's that popular. If you had her massive support, you wouldn't have to spend your time worry about her supporters. It's that simple.

For any of you out there that might be getting discouraged by all these bottom of the barrel tactics, I'd like to refer you back to the Grassroots Hillary Oath. We are going to win this folks, and there's nothing they can do to stop us.

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