So, my random babbling earlier.
So, my random babbling earlier. I went to the local Hillary Clinton appearance. You were supposed to register online ahead of time, which I did, which it turns out means nothing. Whoever gets there first gets in, otherwise tough luck. Poor form, that, but apparently it is how these things work. The info ahead was doors open at 12, she speaks at 2. By 1, they were disallowing entrance. This included some of the press and some of the local personages of great importance.
The questionable optics of that seemed to be of interest to the organizers, however, so they actually got the fire commissioner over there and somehow managed to get everyone inside. Interesting side note to that is this was a venue with no seating and with so many people in it, it got very warm. It is reported this caused 2 people to pass out, but they are ok.
I have never gone to one of these before. Good grief. Never before have so many said so little while talking so much.Ok, clearly this happens all the time. Way too much pointless blather, although it was probably better than people getting restless while standing around for as much as 2 hours (after some of them had apparently stood outside for as much as 3 hours). Also, there is loud dance party music whenever there is not speaking. So many things that strike my cynic cord. It is possible being more naive might make me happier.
Anyway, she finally spoke around 2:30 pm after a 19 year-old RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) student with a chronic disease introduced her and spoke about why she supported Hillary. Cynic cord go twang.
Sec'y Clinton comes across less harshly and more genuinely in person. Apparently, she really did spend time in this area when she was a Senator, and made sure to mention the personal references that would mean nothing to a national audience, but were notable hereabouts. Also, apparently a housekeeper at the hotel she stayed at for these regular Senatorial visits gave her a farewell present of a tiny snowglobe with a bison in it. Which she has on her dresser to this very day.Twang, I mean sniff.
Clearly aiming as much of the speech at national campaign as at upcoming primary. Yay for more research funding, yay for paying attention to climate change, yay for de-emphasizing my reproductive capacity and health choices, yay for paying me the same thing as my externally genitalized, chromosomally lacking compatriots. Interesting lack of discussion on the financial system while talking up job creation.
Biggest smh moment of speech, though, was her plan to address making college debt not an issue. Partly, it is bringing back stuff that existed in the 90's (this is ok), partly it is making things that exist right now (like tying repayments to income) sound like something new that doesn't already exist (um, I guess people are uninformed about this?), partly it is basically saying you are still screwed and I will generously make sure that they can't stick you for the money for more than 20 years except for the part where it is almost impossible to meet the criteria for this so you could still be paying for this forever and your estate is still liable after you die because we aren't repealing that thing about you can never discharge student debt. There may be some parenthetical extending I did there to fill in what she didn't say.
She does give specifics, and that is important. Platitudes are insufficient at this juncture. Unfortunately, though, sometimes that shows just how much of a politician she really is.
For fun and to round out the experience, there were a few protesters outside. Terribly polite, actually. Some of them were confused and not related to the event, at all. Others predictably brought up Benghazi, e-mail, and other chestnuts. A few of them were entertainingly, uh, what's the PC way to say weird?
While waiting in line to enter, word was passed that Bernie Was Coming, and, indeed, he will be appearing at the University Arena on Monday. I am of two minds about going to that. The advantage of this last minute, sort of planned event was that it was a small venue, I could show up only an hour and a half beforehand and park a block away, and then leave within 15 minutes of it being over. There will be no such luck with the Bernie event. You will have to be there at least 3 hours ahead (and still might not get in), they are suggesting they will be even more obnoxious about security, so no food or water, they are saying they will somehow mostly not be allowing parking on the campus (which is insane), and the venue holds more than 6,000 people. Ugh.
P.S. I will not be going to the Trump rally at the big sports arena 2 days before the primary.
Lastly, it is verified that she does, indeed, like Beef on Weck, because it was later reported that after they left the rally, they went to Charlie the Butcher to get sandwiches for their whole team to eat while heading to the airport to fly to their next appearance this evening. Apparently, this is where she went to get them when she visited during Senate-time, so they know her and it's a thing. I will defer my opinion on the best Beef on Weck for a different post on local, er, culinary culture. However, moments of realness are appreciated.
Still haven't decided who I'm voting for.
The questionable optics of that seemed to be of interest to the organizers, however, so they actually got the fire commissioner over there and somehow managed to get everyone inside. Interesting side note to that is this was a venue with no seating and with so many people in it, it got very warm. It is reported this caused 2 people to pass out, but they are ok.
I have never gone to one of these before. Good grief. Never before have so many said so little while talking so much.Ok, clearly this happens all the time. Way too much pointless blather, although it was probably better than people getting restless while standing around for as much as 2 hours (after some of them had apparently stood outside for as much as 3 hours). Also, there is loud dance party music whenever there is not speaking. So many things that strike my cynic cord. It is possible being more naive might make me happier.
Anyway, she finally spoke around 2:30 pm after a 19 year-old RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) student with a chronic disease introduced her and spoke about why she supported Hillary. Cynic cord go twang.
Sec'y Clinton comes across less harshly and more genuinely in person. Apparently, she really did spend time in this area when she was a Senator, and made sure to mention the personal references that would mean nothing to a national audience, but were notable hereabouts. Also, apparently a housekeeper at the hotel she stayed at for these regular Senatorial visits gave her a farewell present of a tiny snowglobe with a bison in it. Which she has on her dresser to this very day.
Clearly aiming as much of the speech at national campaign as at upcoming primary. Yay for more research funding, yay for paying attention to climate change, yay for de-emphasizing my reproductive capacity and health choices, yay for paying me the same thing as my externally genitalized, chromosomally lacking compatriots. Interesting lack of discussion on the financial system while talking up job creation.
Biggest smh moment of speech, though, was her plan to address making college debt not an issue. Partly, it is bringing back stuff that existed in the 90's (this is ok), partly it is making things that exist right now (like tying repayments to income) sound like something new that doesn't already exist (um, I guess people are uninformed about this?), partly it is basically saying you are still screwed and I will generously make sure that they can't stick you for the money for more than 20 years except for the part where it is almost impossible to meet the criteria for this so you could still be paying for this forever and your estate is still liable after you die because we aren't repealing that thing about you can never discharge student debt. There may be some parenthetical extending I did there to fill in what she didn't say.
She does give specifics, and that is important. Platitudes are insufficient at this juncture. Unfortunately, though, sometimes that shows just how much of a politician she really is.
For fun and to round out the experience, there were a few protesters outside. Terribly polite, actually. Some of them were confused and not related to the event, at all. Others predictably brought up Benghazi, e-mail, and other chestnuts. A few of them were entertainingly, uh, what's the PC way to say weird?
While waiting in line to enter, word was passed that Bernie Was Coming, and, indeed, he will be appearing at the University Arena on Monday. I am of two minds about going to that. The advantage of this last minute, sort of planned event was that it was a small venue, I could show up only an hour and a half beforehand and park a block away, and then leave within 15 minutes of it being over. There will be no such luck with the Bernie event. You will have to be there at least 3 hours ahead (and still might not get in), they are suggesting they will be even more obnoxious about security, so no food or water, they are saying they will somehow mostly not be allowing parking on the campus (which is insane), and the venue holds more than 6,000 people. Ugh.
P.S. I will not be going to the Trump rally at the big sports arena 2 days before the primary.
Lastly, it is verified that she does, indeed, like Beef on Weck, because it was later reported that after they left the rally, they went to Charlie the Butcher to get sandwiches for their whole team to eat while heading to the airport to fly to their next appearance this evening. Apparently, this is where she went to get them when she visited during Senate-time, so they know her and it's a thing. I will defer my opinion on the best Beef on Weck for a different post on local, er, culinary culture. However, moments of realness are appreciated.
Still haven't decided who I'm voting for.
I wish that Kasich was enough of a threat in NY that I could suggest you do what I did and vote on the R side, but that work really be a nothing vote.
ReplyDeleteWell, he's pretty much definitely not coming here in his NY visits. Also, it's a closed primary, which is the only reason I registered with any political party, at all.
ReplyDeleteI went to a Bill Clinton rally out on the U of M quad back in '92, and it was the same sort of thing: waiting around for what seemed like forever, then a lot of argle bargle from local pols (that I neither knew nor cared about), before finally the Big Dog graced us with his words of wisdom.
ReplyDeleteRe: your estate liable for tuition debt after you die: that's true of all debt, isn't it? Kind of the point of there being a legal entity "estate of", sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteThe tuition debt specific wrinkle I keep hearing about is that bankruptcy doesn't discharge it. (Which, incidentally, is true here in nl as well, you're just not as likely to end up with more than 20k worth)
Certain things do disappear with your death. Part of the no bankruptcy thing, which you are correct is the main bit, is that the debt can never go away including if you die. What's stupid about what she said for anyone who's paying attention and has had to deal with the way the system really works is that she is effectively offering nothing different from now, although she's specific about it.
ReplyDeleteWhereas Sanders wants to go back to the low/no tuition status that most/all state universities and colleges had well into the 1980's, at least. The rest of his student debt proposals aren't terribly different from hers. Tuition dropping to $2000/yr from $20,000/yr would immediately and significantly decrease the student debt burden.
What she did say/imply, but again, you'd have to know what she was talking about to understand it, is that the vast majority of governors are now Republican, and it has been a Republican trend as governors since the 80's to gut and privatize state universities and colleges. Which is a critical reason for the rapid and significant increase in costs to the public and students. Public schools were supposed to be a manageable alternative to private schools. Not so much anymore. And her point was basically that she's not going to use the Presidency to get Republican state governors to support public education (at the University/College level). Meanwhile, she's all for supporting early education and teachers. Which is great, but Sanders is also correct that a 2-4 year college degree is now the equivalent of a high school degree in terms of employability.
So besides her proposals being non-proposals, she's really not supporting students and their families when it comes to accessing higher education under the current conditions.
Your last paragraph kinda summarizes most of Sec. Clinton's proposals for reform - lots of details about hesitant proposals for reform that won't significantly reverse the plunge into the abyss most Americans are hurtling down, or the consequences of when that anger and desperation boil over. Palliative therapy for terminal problems, in a real sense. Still, palliative care and a little more time before the collapse, is better than the rapid descent Cruz/Trump are offering.
ReplyDeletePersonally, my hope is that - if she manages to survive the general election - Sec. Clinton's presidency will finally and completely discredit her brand of neo-liberalism - the attempt to split the difference, policy wise, between corporate profits and common good. That many of her supporters today will realize that their lives and their futures were not going to be saved by the tepid reforms she has offered and likely will implement. Will come to understand that a politician with loyalties split between them and Wall Street, will not ultimately serve them well. And that Sec. Clinton's supporters today will be more receptive to real reform, behind a candidate more polished and developed than Sen. Sanders.
Sen. Sanders has demonstrated that there is tremendous hunger for real reform, even if Sen. Sanders wasn't a strong enough candidate to take full advantage of it. I'm certain there's a lot of ambitious politicians in the Democratic party who are taking note of just how close Sen. Sanders got to defeating a supposedly unstoppable candidate. I expect over the next four years many will seize the opportunity to position themselves on the opposite side of Clinton from Wall Street. And in four years, seek to ride building populist anger to challenge Pres. Clinton in a heavily contested 2020 Democratic primary.
There are so many ways that can go wrong - Trump and Cruz are already demonstrating the mounting danger of large, desperate crowds. But I think it that scenario above is among our last hopes for pulling out of the doomed road we set out on in 2000.