Hillary Clinton Likely to Be Focus of Upcoming Democratic Debate
By Jim Malone
Washington
15 November 2007
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Senator Hillary Clinton is expected to be the focus of attention Thursday when the Democratic presidential contenders take part in a debate in Las Vegas, Nevada. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
Clinton heads into the debate leading in public opinion polls, but facing intensified criticism from her Democratic rivals.
At a recent Democratic dinner in the early contest state of Iowa, former Senator John Edwards raised questions about Senator Clinton’s credibility.
“You are in a place to judge who is trustworthy, who is honest, who is sincere,” he said.
Clinton has been on the defensive since the last Democratic debate two weeks ago. Clinton was asked about a plan to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants in New York. At first she seemed to support the idea, then backed away from it. Clinton’s campaign now says she opposes the proposal, which was eventually dropped by New York’s governor.
In addition to questioning her credibility, Clinton’s rivals have also seized on public opinion surveys that suggest she is the most polarizing contender in the presidential race, liked and disliked by voters in roughly equal numbers.
Senator Barack Obama, who is running second to Clinton in national polls, openly questioned whether she is the strongest Democratic candidate for president on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“I believe that it is going to be harder for her to win because I think a lot of voters go in with some preconceptions about her that are going to be very difficult to overcome,” he said.
But the intensified attacks seem to have done little damage to Clinton in the polls. She leads nationally among Democrats and in the early primary state of New Hampshire. Clinton, Obama and Edwards are in a close race in Iowa, which kicks off the presidential selection process on January 3.
During a recent speech in Iowa, Clinton urged Democrats to focus their rhetorical fire on Republicans, and not each other.
“We should be turning up the heat on the Republicans! They deserve all the heat we can give them!” she said.
In the Republican race, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani holds his lead in the latest national polls. But former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney continues to lead in the early contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire over Giuliani, Senator John McCain, former Senator Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:49 am
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November 16th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Mark my words, the “heat” Hillary does not want to feel is that she will face from Mike Huckabee in the General Election.
Mike Huckabee’s ardent support ( http://snipurl.com/fthuckabeeonirs) for the FairTax sets him apart from all other viable presidential candidates. The FairTax Act of 2007 (HR 25 / S 1025) ( http://snipurl.com/irsgone ) represents a prospective power shift of massive proportions in America. It lays out a practical ideal of voluntary tax payment, based on a substantial level of taxpayer choice that the plan affords. Since FairTax untaxes basic necessities (up to socially-accepted levels of poverty-level spending), what is taxed is marginal, and/or desired or preferred, on a broader base of retail products and services. This is to say that the taxpayer may, under the FairTax, choose to purchase used products and avoid paying the tax. And, to the extent desired, the taxpayer may choose to self-perform certain services rather than pay for them. This will stimulate do-it-yourself education, improve citizens’ self-reliance; indeed the FairTax represents the possibility of ushering in a new “can-do citizen psychology” that would accrue to greater demands for government accountability - truly, a cultural sea change.
Government is the “necessary glue” that enables the social fabric to cohere. It does this by effecting “rules” that ostensibly provide members with equitable access to wealth and resources. It also must provide ostensibly equitable enforcement of those rules in order to mitigate threats to the social fabric. It is unrealistic to believe that the structures of a national government can be supported on donations, thus the need for taxes. Naysayers love to characterize anything purporting to be a “fair tax” as an oxymoron - but it is not true. The idea of fairness has to do with equitable sharing in the cost by all members who depend upon the social fabric for food, shelter, clothing and post-necessity economic enterprise. And, because of the shift of power from politicians and special interests under an enacted FairTax, the elected will find it more difficult to both enlarge government, and implement any dual system of taxation. FairTax strategist, Dennis Calabrese, discusses how the FairTax repeals the income tax ( http://snipurl.com/repealsinctax ), how it does away with the IRS ( http://snipurl.com/doesawaywithirs ), and how it addresses other aspects ( http://snipurl.com/ftvideofaqs ) of frequent concern to skeptics.
The FairTax has a much greater opportunity for success to operate as a “self-regulating” mechanism because of increased visibility. One finds that the current system, ostensibly regulated by the Internal Revenue Code, is in fact poorly regulated because of continually increasing complexity (the effect of “tax favors” from politicians, through lobbyists, to favored corporations and other special interests) stemming from the desire by those holding government position to steer public behavior using tax code “carrots.” We have seen how 100 years of this type of behavior has eroded the Nation’s currency and the purchasing power of working family incomes. “Visionist,” Tom Frey believes the current tax system will soon simply collapse ( http://snipurl.com/incometaxcollapse ); and economist Laurence Kotlikoff heralds that - short of enactment of FairTax (or an otherwise unlikely change in spending habits) - the U.S. will shortly facing an irrevocable economic breakdown ( http://snipurl.com/meltdowninprogress ). (Kotlikoff believes that passage of the FairTax can stave off the economic ruin we’re facing, but would be surprised to see it happen.)
Frey and Kotlikoff may be right on both counts, and we may not be able to successfully evoke change; but shall we not try?
Mike Huckabee believes we should. ( http://snipr.com/scrapthecode )
(Permission granted to republish, in whole or part. -Ian)