Political Punch

Is there some reason that you do not refer to former Sen. Hayden with his title as a former elected official? He served in both the California Senate and the California State Assembly. Calling him simply a "former 60s radical" is ignorant and misleading.

I thought mr. tom was ailing?
it is true-ANY press is better than
NO press.
so someone dusted off mr. tom.
of the chicago seven-how many are still alive? Mr. tom, barbequeing bobby,
anyone else?

"obama has cnn.msnbc
mccain has fox
clinton-has everybody against her"
----Posted by: jgaw | Apr 27, 2008 1:08:50PM

==============

Ha,ha, ha...

CNN=Clinton News Network and Obama-hating Dobbs

FOX=Non-stop Obama hater and...Clinton lover! (For now.)

CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIR TERRY MCAULIFFE SPEAKING TO FOX NEWS ON APRIL 22: "Fair and balanced FOX."

PA Governor and HUGE Clinton backer Ed Rendell interview [3/31/08]: "FOX has done the fairest job, and remained the most objective of all the cable networks... you actually have done a very balanced job of reporting the news."

William Kristol in NYT, 4/28/08: "Hillary Clinton....a very impressive candidate."

Rush Limbaugh: Vote for Hillary! Operation Chaos!
======================

"moderation in all things
take the middle road
sen. clinton"
----Posted by: jgaw | Apr 27, 2008 1:08:50PM
-----------

Guffaw!
Pseudo-tough China comments, to the extent that her campaign's China policy adviser recently resigned in protest. Richard Baum resigned in light of what he called “grossly misguided accusations” made by Clinton about China. “As a lifelong Democrat, it saddens me that Sen. Clinton has chosen to take the low road in her effort to gain our party’s presidential nomination.”

Clinton said this on 4/22/08: "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran....In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally OBLITERATE them."
---------------

And this from HRC in 4/16/08 PA Debate:

“I think that we should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel. Of course I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur MASSIVE RETALIATION from the United States, but I would do the same with other countries in the region.”
------------
This drew incredulous reaction from many, including this one from nuclear deterrence theorist George E. Lowe, who wrote the book "The Age of Deterrence" and has won awards for his writing on nuclear deterrence:

"Who the HELL is she talking to? Whose IDEAS are these", Lowe asked me, rhetorically, "[Wesley] Clark didn't seem to know anything about this; he was blindsided. So where did these crazy, dangerous ideas come from? Look, I've been in this business for fifty years, I know nuclear deterrence. She had to have been talking to somebody like Doug Coe or his elite inner circle."

[NOTE: Coe is the head of the Washington-based Christian fundamentalist group 'The Family,' first covered at length in Jeff Sharlet's 2003 Harper's story 'Jesus Plus Nothing: Undercover Among America's Secret Theocrats.'"Book is out this May.]

It was conjecture, and Lowe would be the first to admit that, but he would also stick to his call pegging Clinton's "nuclear umbrella" as a fast track to global nuclear war.

Nuclear weapons can't be used as "umbrellas." That's nuts, an idea one would have expected from SAC head General Curtis LeMay, parodied in Dr. Strangelove. Today, one would expect it from a Neocon.

And this reaction from conservative David Books on MTP:
"I’m amazed…that it didn’t become a bigger issue. Because what it says, I think, to a lot of Americans, two Arab countries or two Middle Eastern countries get in a war and we’re going to get in the middle of it?..I don’t know why she would’ve said it, what policy thinking behind it was. It seems to me extremely perilous."
-------------

Add to that MANDATED health care....

So, moderation in all things and taking the middle road EXCLUDES Sen. Clinton!

As we look at Tom Haydn's 60's past

Don't worry.
Have some more Obama's secrets.

Does anyone know what happened to the Peter Paul lawsuits against the Clintons?

Chris,

Mutual funds in 401Ks do pay capital gains by the fund managers when they sell positions as they rearrange their portfolis. And, if investors in stocks that make up the mutual funds are going to pay more in taxes, that would discourage them investing in those stocks they will park their money elsewhere which indirectly affect stocks in funds. Chill out dude, Rev. Wright and Howard Dean are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic aka the Democrat Party. And the band played on...

Clinton, Obama, McCain....

Unless anyone of you are running for president, I suggest you all quit whining and choose.

If anyone of you are from Florida or Michigan... "I UNDERSTAND!"

Be sure you choose correctly...

I'm not one of these nut cases who believes that 9/11 was an inside job or anything like that, but I have to admit I was intrigued by the candidacy of Ron Paul. The mind-numbing uniformity of candidates for any high office these days is truly stultifying. There is no appreciable difference between Clinton and Obama, and McCain is just another rich white guy (not that I have anything against rich white guys) whose belief that government has the cure for whatever ails you differs little fundamentally from what the Democrats offer. You want real change? How about a smaller government that intrudes less on our personal lives and takes less out of our pockets. Now that would be REAL change.

I thought Tom Hayden was dead.

Hillary is just too plain negative and she has far too much baggage for the nation to herald her as someone with a fresh perspective. Ditto for McCain who spent most of his politicla life decrying the platforms he has now been forced to choose as the GOP nominee.

Obama is the only rational choice. It's is Obama's policies that will lead the nation. It is not the spiritual reckoning with Christ that was assisted by Wright nor is it the work of the charitable foundation board on which he served with Ayers.

America is great at finding distractions to problems. For once, make a generational change that will scream out we want better. We demand better.

Obama is a leader that we cand hol dup and who will restore the shine of America on the world stage once again.

Taking that chance is well worth it.

Look, as a conservative, excuse me; fascist, I don't see a dime's bit of difference between these two on policy matters.

The only question is; will the Dem's put forth a pathological liar or a fool who chooses to associate with the blame/hate America first crowd?

Either way... Are you kidding me? Is that the best the left in this country has to offer?

GOD help us all....

Attention America! We must not allow our nation to be divided by politicians seeking election or media outlets seeking “Hot” stories to gain advertising dollars.

Other than the indigenous people, all other Americans came from some other nation and brought with them a corresponding cultural influence. A casual observation would reflect English, Irish, Italian, Polish, French, Chinese, Spanish and yes African traditions interwoven into the fabric which is America. Our pre-American origins and traditions are as important too us as family history. We should not be required to abandon who we are nor should we seek to destroy the cultural heritage of other Americans.

The beauty of America is its diversity and the ability of this diverse population to love this country. What makes us unique as Americans is the flavoring we receive from exposure to this diversity. What make us strong is the ability of our citizens to rally in defense of the promise of our Constitution and our common interest.

As a nation we are faced with some of the greatest challenges in our history. To overcome these challenges we must unite our people. Do not be deceived… the real enemies of America are those that seek to weaken us using the age old “Divide and conquer” strategy. “United we stand…Divided we fall”.

OPERATION CHAOS!!!!!!!!

Couple of things...

1. Please don't cite a blog as "proof" of your view. Yes, computer keyboards lie still and let you write anything you want- and the same goes for blogs written by those with a personal view to push, regardless of how preposterous it may be...

2. If you find a blog or other source that intrigues you, please check other sources to confirm the information included within. That's called "research and verification", folks. It is what us pros do. If you can't find that confiration, then don't trust the info in the blog until you can...

3. Maybe it is just me, but why wouldn't we want a president who is willing to listen to and interact with people from all political views? Isn't gathering input from different sources before making a decision something we want a good leader to do? Would you rather have an adminsitration made up of one person belieivng the are the sole source of knowledge and them being surrounding by boot-licking yes-men lackeys? We've had that for the past 8 years and it hyasn't worked out so well...

OxyCon:

I agree with you wholehearted! And would add further; Hillary has not admitted to having "friendly relations" with any of those radicals either. It is the duty and responsibility of an attorney to represent his/her client to the fullest extend of the law. I don't hear of anyone of them being on the board of any company with her or raising funds for her campaign either!

tom hayden is michael corleone's attorney

And let us not forget her husband's commutation of Weather Underground Susan Rosenberg's sentence. She told Inside Edition she knew nothing about it but last week Newsday did an investatigation and found that claim to be suspect.

It was Jerry Nadler who asked Bill Clinton to help Rosenberg and it was Jerry Nadler was was working to get Hillary elected to the Senate in 2000.

America- where no trial is necessary- you're guilty by association.

Eyes wide 0pen?

Gaily frolicking.

Oh is this a contest about who has more 60's cred? PUHLEAZE. what did this generation do with those high ideals, well in the seventies they started to clean up the earth, in the 80's they made alot of junk bond $ so they could buy deloreans and blow the rest up their nose, in the 90's they continued to fight the 60's battle and both side showed their lack of morals. meanwhile their children are not voting based on 60's cred but on what ideals passed onto them where actually put into effect. we like John Edwards and we like Barak Obama. why? Barack does not say I will do the work for you instead we must all work to improve ours and others lives. we are looking forwards to John Edwards poverty tour.

Let's face it! Hillary is a lair. I voted for Bill Clinton twice, and at the end of his administration, there was money in the bank. Good ole GWB ate that up real fast!

Hillary can't be trusted! She could not beat McCain!

A vote for McCain means more wars in GWB's name.

Obama is the Democrat's best bet!

Stop trying to kill the messenger boys and girls. Tom Hayden had a decent run as a CA State Assemblyman and he has as much right to his opinions as any of us on this post!. Hillary Clinton is a liar flat out with no sugar-coating and she will change up her story the moment she seems to be in trouble. She has with her vaunted 35 years experience run the worst primary race campaign for someone who was the frontrunner that anyone can remember. Hayden has told the truth. I suspect given Hillary's supporters inability to acknowledge her out and out pandering and lying...she deserves them as her supporters and they deserve her as their candidate. But the outcome is going to be different this time folks...the rest of us are not willing the take the hit for your misguided commitment to a woman who would drop the lot of you today, if we offered her the nomination to do just that. Remember Hill supporters, you are simply a means to an end. The corporations own Mrs. Clinton lock stock and barrel.

I am 69 years old and was and still am a great admirer of Tom Hayden and his ex-wife Jane Fonda. I agree that Hillary, was probably what one would term a 'radical' in those days. Now she seems to be a factory girl from Indiana or Pennsylvania, i.e. any state that consists of heavy industry. Oh how the leopard changes its spots in Clinton's case. I just hope when all is said and done, someone will send the old gal through a car wash and remove the stripes and colors she has painted herself with in an attempt to be EVERYONE'S dream candidate.

I am 69 years old and was and still am a great admirer of Tom Hayden and his ex-wife Jane Fonda. I agree that Hillary, was probably what one would term a 'radical' in those days. Now she seems to be a factory girl from Indiana or Pennsylvania, i.e. any state that consists of heavy industry. Oh how the leopard changes its spots in Clinton's case. I just hope when all is said and done, someone will send the old gal through a car wash and remove the stripes and colors she has painted herself with in an attempt to be EVERYONE'S dream candidate.

This is the kind of ammunition the Obama camp needs against Hillary Clinton. The level of her hypocrisy is astounding and it paints her in a terrible light.

Someone this blind to her own past has no business leading the country into the future.

mark kraft,
check your elections
jane fonda endorsed obama for president.

why doesnt everyone understand that running for president is not about statesmanship but rather ego greed or insanity. I'm voting for Gore for VP. After all, with 8 years on the job experience, internet inventor and global warming saviour he has better credntials than all of them.

oh my, never thought i'd see the day 40 years later when ANYONE would listen to tom hayden on any subject. very few of us even listened to him way back when. he must be desperate for a little attention.

Funny how one of the commenters went off on "Hanoi" Jane Fonda... who, incidentally, Hillary Clinton supporter.

Last I heard, Ayers was just this guy who was once on the board of a quite respectable local Chicago charity along with Obama and about a dozen other people, and not an Obama supporter at all... whereas Hanoi Jane "hopes for a Hillary Clinton presidency" and donated $2000 to her campaign. She was even one of those people who donated to the Clintons in order to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom.

So, in what way isn't that a considerably closer friendship / financial partnership to Hillary?

Get back to me when Hayden discovers proof that Hillary constructed bombs, then detonated them in attacks against American institutions.
The far left in this country are truly despicable people. People like Hayden, Fonda and Ayers should go live in some South American banana Republic, They don't deserve a country like ours.

Tom Hayden has a good memory. But I do too. I was there in Chicago in '68 as well, only I was a campaigner for Gene McCarthy trying to stop the war by working within the political process, not in the streets trying to tear the country apart. I understood the frustration that so many of my friends and co-conspirators felt at that divisive time, but I was never very comfortable with confrontation for confrontations sake.

I have great respect for Hillary and Bill Clinton because they have always worked within the system as well. They are both liberal people who understand that great change in politics demands skillful compromise. They are both appreciate the realities that face any administration that wishes to move the American government and electorate in a different direction.

I didn't fundamentally disagree with Tom and the rest of the signers of the SDS manifesto, the Port Huron Statement, some 40 years ago because I thought their goals were the same as mine, although their means were a bit more radical. I've watched as Tom mellowed in his later years - still on the far left, but solidly within the visible spectrum of political thought.

I don't think Hillary has mellowed. I still see her in the same light as when she came to Washington 16 years ago. What I think has happened to her is that she has learned how to play the game...and she plays it pretty well.

I haven't decided whether to support Hillary or Obama yet, (my favored candidate chose not to run) but I believe we will be well served by either.

Let's just get on with it and debate the issues.

COMMANDER GUY:

so Clinton was coddling commies while cavorting during the cold cold war.

Was she cavorting casually or carefully?

And, Sir.....ARE YOU BLOODY OUT OF YOUR MIND?

Don't like this tread EYES who may or may not be open?

Reap. Sow. Deal with it.

eyes ALLEGEDLY wide open

Its called McRezkoism among other things.

And this is a Baby you and your Friends HATCHED.

So enjoy, babe.

When will Hillary find her voice?

She's 60 and still doesn't know who the hell she is! Were her medical records released, and, if so, did it mention anything about bipolar disorder?

eyes which are ALLEGEDLY wide open say_

"well you can come out of the closet for now; their gone....... All those Russians are now rich fat cats."

Ya Babe, SOME of the Ruskies doing some serious robber barronism right now. Eventually they figured out the Coddling Communism didn't work so well.

Which goes back to Hills. Why was she coddling the Commies and their FAILED ideology in a time of war?

Everybody knows communism is a losing proposition, apparently it took Hills a little longer than everyone else.

And Ya I gotts the hate for the Commies. You I can agree to disagree, here. To each his/her own.

what kind of cavorting with communists did clinton do?

was it kind of a soft shoe cavorting?

or a Virginia reel type of cavorting?

enquiring people really want to know....

ps.

my REAL name is "MCcarthy"

We all know the difference is that he's a black man. When he's mentioned, black, african american is usually in there, rev wright, black liberationist theology which is all bogus crap to frame a false debate with the "hero" john mccain. She is allowed to associate with radicals because she has convinced the media that her story line of fall and comeback is better than real issues.

@Dan,

"Hillary worked for Walmart and was in attendance during meetings where Walmart executives blamed unions for all of America's problems. Walmart sells our country to China. Hillary's past shows she will continue selling American jobs to other countries."

It would be difficult to dislike Hillary more than I do but there are some additional qualifications I'd like to make regarding your comments.

Hillary may very well have gone along with Walmart's profit motives regarding US union labor v. China, but it wouldn't have worked had not so many Americans shopped there - including, I bet, lots of union members. If we the people would buy American we could have stopped this in it's infancy.

"How is Hayden 'smearing Clinton'? She DID those things."

This is Hayden's ham-headed attempt to red-bait Clinton, to confuse the story of Obama's long relationship with the rich-kid Weathermen.

Well, Obama's boy dinging Clinton for supporting Bobby Seale is particularly contemptible. If I didn't have to go cook supper, I'd track down HAYDEN's contemporary remarks on Bobby Seale.

Guess Obama only goes for rich WHITE radicals: Barry's FIRST foray into electoral politics was an attempt to unseat former Panther Bobbie Rush in Chicago. Obama lost, 2-to-1.

After that, Obama adopted the strategy he's still using, of bullying everybody else off the ballot.

"Sounds like Jane Fonda was her role model."

Don't know about THAT, but Jane Fonda was a culture hero to many young women, in those days. Thousands of women -- "girls", really --in the Berkeley/San Francisco area cut their Joan-Baez-lookalike hair to adopt the Fonda shag cut.

How is Hayden 'smearing Clinton'? She DID those things. He didn't make them up. If it reads like a 'smear', then she's in worse shape than anyone thought. It's too bad she's so divorced from the truth.

The Commander Guy writes:
"Hillary Clinton Cavorted with Communists during a TIME OF WAR."

Actually, it was Tom HAYDEN, Obama's guy who's trying here to smear Clinton, who cavorted with communists. (Be fair. Or is that supposed to be a joke?)

Hillary Clinton Cavorted with Communists during a TIME OF WAR. This is truly sad.

And thought we knew everything about Hillary's unsavory past. But now this. What's next?

Man I hate Commies.

"Whatever Hillary claims to have known or not known about that pardon then, I wonder no one is asking if she approves of the pardon today."

Well, Rosenberg and Evans DID spend 16 years in PRISON. And the people who instigated it all, Ayers and Dohrn, protected by the Ayers' big $, didn't even face serious charges.

Wonder whether someone was standing by to supply Rosenberg and Evans with cushy academic positions, book contracts, and all that ... Maybe Ayers? Maybe Tom Hayden? :^)

Hillary's connections to the violent revolutionary left includes at least one of the members of the Weather Underground her husband pardoned.

In a September 6, 2001 online article of the Jewish World Review, David Horowitz has this to say about Hillary's connection with Linda Evans(one of the WU pardonees, she was caught in 1985 with 740 lbs of dynamite and had been sentenced to 40 years in prison):

"The agent of her mercy was New York congressman Jerry Nadler, one of President Clinton's staunchest defenders during the impeachment process and one of Sen. Clinton's chief supporters during her election bid. "

Whatever Hillary claims to have known or not known about that pardon then, I wonder no one is asking if she approves of the pardon today.

Another far-leftist defending Obama... trying to draw a correlation between Hillary's long-gone past and Obama's current compadres... thanks for reminding me once again why it's critical that Obama not become the Dem's nominee.

Belle Starr,

Yes, that is the Deval Patrick. However, the point of my post was the groudswell for him in response to attacks for his work as a criminal defense lawyer, like Clinton. Mass. Bar Assoc, Mass Assoc of Cout Appointed Attorneys, Boston Bar Association are made up of civil and crim. Defense attorneys and Republicans and Democrats. Yet, they came together to defend Patrick against the attacks on the legal profession.

It is one thing to be a lawyer, as guaranteed by the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and quite another thing to be a bomber, robber, anarchist, like Ayres.

TO Wake Up America and Just Musing. I hear you.

However, these people don't want to hear the truth, because it makes them look at themselves for wanting to vote those people back into office. They don't want a black man cleaning up the "mess" that Bush/Clinton/Clinton/ Bush/Bush left behind. How would that look to the American people, he was able to turn things around for the America, in a way they couldn't. If the Clinton's were allowed back into office, their scandal would most definitely disappear and they won't be held accountable. That's what is soooo sickening about this campaign. It's like their scandal doesn't exist. Why the superdelegates are allowing this contest to continue is beyond me, it's tearing the party apart and it's denigrating a man that only wanted to see that the American people have a better future. These so called analysts keep saying that Obama wants to speak to our enemies and it would give them the wrong idea. If we didn't act so arrogant all the time and spoke to these people about peace, maybe we would not be waiting for their next nuclear bomb to drop. Hillary is talking about pulverizing Iran, that's more of the Bush talk. I don't get these people, they are soooo ready to spill blood, they are no better the people we are fighting right now in Iraq.

MAGDA - Being Mentored by Pinko Communists during your formative years is not a Badge of Honor that one wears while hammering on your opponent for a far lessor evil.

LAURA writes:
"Obama was part of a 10 person anti-poverty charity board..."

That's just not quite right. Paper (or a computer keyboard) will lie still and let you write anything on it, but try to become informed about this, if you're putting any appreciable energy into believing the blarney of candidate Obama -- the years-long association among Ayers-Dohrn-Obama (and a huge chunk of corporate cash channeled through Ayers' father) was about "education", not "poverty".

Here, go read this (or put "Ayers Obama" into a search engine):

"Who Sent Obama?"
http://globallabor.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-sent-obama.html

The point of the matter is this, Obama is his own man, he is an adult with his own mind, AND in my opinion, the media is so hell bent on derailing his candidacy by trying to insinuate that he believes everything his pastor says, which even Huckabee, came out yesterday, and said "it would be a little bit presumptuous to ever assume” that a congregant agrees with everything a pastor says" AND Huckabee would know, HUCKABEE IS A BAPTIST MINISTER!!!

The press has also been trying so very hard to convey a big lie which is that Obama had a relationship with Ayers, HE DID NOT!!! He was invited BY THE OUTGOING SENATOR OF ILLINOIS to Ayers house for a fundraiser. How is that a relationship?!
Obama was part of a 10 person anti-poverty charity board, a board which also had doctors on it, city government officials on it, college professors on it, as well as business people on it. This anti-poverty charity board met only 4 times a year by the way, YET the press is trying so hard to falsely convey that Obama had a relationship with this man, because they happened to be on the same charity board with 8 other people. Should Obama have shirked off his responsibilty to the poor people in his state, should he have decided that the poor people of Chicago's needs were not important. Obama got into government specifically to help the poor people he saw everyday in Chicago, the poor people he say all over the state of Illinois, was Obama supposed to just shirked off his duties to the citizens of his state. Then you know what people would have been saying, they would have been saying that Obama does not care about poor people.

you do not read comments by sen. clinton supporters saying obama and michelle are unfit to live. and the biggest frauds on the earth. and do not be further fooled-there is plenty to say about the obamas-many of us try to stay on the fact that he is not ready to gov. this country. but the guy is fit to live.
why don't you obama supporters take a page out of that fake uniter above the fray play book of his and try to stick with attacking sen.clinton on the issues and talk about how she and obama differ.

Commander Guy,

1968!!!

Everybody who fought for civil rights back then was probably labeled a communist.

countallthevotes writes:
"[Hayden's] former fellow radical David Horowitz ... "

Ah, was Horowitz ever REALLY a "radical"? Who knows? As for Hayden, maybe it was all those prosperous-if-pointless years in the California Legislature, or all the wives, or who knows what -- but Hayden's prose style AND politics seem to have degenerated.

"This thread reminds me of the election of Governor Patrick of Massachusetts."

Oh, yeah: Axelrod's "Obama" prototype, the guy whose "just words" speeches (written by God-knows-who) the tender candidate got caught recycling -- black, Harvard Law, "post-partisan" blablabla, now in trouble in Massachusetts for siding with casinos.

Belle Starr,

Here is a snippet on Hayden:

"As his former fellow radical David Horowitz recalled:

Hayden and I were deadly serious about our revolutionary agendas.
During the Vietnam War, Tom traveled many times to North Vietnam,
Czechoslovakia and Paris to meet communist North Vietnamese and Viet
Cong leaders. He came back from Hanoi proclaiming he had seen "rice
roots democracy at work." (…) Hayden offered tips on conducting
psychological warfare against the U.S. He arranged trips to Hanoi for
Americans perceived as friendly to the Communists and blocked entry
to those seen as unfriendly, like the sociologist Christopher Jencks.
He attacked as "propaganda' stories of torture and labeled American
POWs returning home with such stories as "liars."

And Hayden's "revolutionary" activities were not confined to
traitorous oversees excursions:

On the domestic front, Hayden advocated urban rebellions and called
for the creation of "guerrilla focos" to resist police and other law
enforcement agencies. For a while he led a Berkeley commune called
the "Red Family," whose "Minister of Defense" trained commune members
at firing ranges and instructed high school students in the use of
explosives. He was also an outspoken supporter of the violence-prone
Black Panther Party."

IMHO, he was not interested in defending the CONSTITUTION. He was interested in destroying it.

Mary writes:
"Tom Hayden needs to keep quiet, he has no shame."

And his prose style's nothing to write home about, either. Maybe it's the false-consciousness factor.

This thread reminds me of the election of Governor Patrick of Massachusetts. He was attcked for his legal work in defense of someone convicted of rape and someone accused of murder. The Republican opponent was rabid with inflammatory ads. Note, John Adams defended the British prosecuted in the Boston Massacre. Here is an excerpt from the Boston Globe:

They are the pinstriped professionals the public loves to hate, the butt of cocktail party jokes, the easy targets who rank near car salesmen and telemarketers on most people's lovability scale.

And in this year's gubernatorial campaign, their calling -- defending the accused -- has become fodder for a fusillade of Republican attacks against the Democratic nominee, Deval L. Patrick , who wrote letters on behalf of a convicted rapist and defended an admitted cop killer.

Now, the lawyers of Massachusetts are fighting back.

Horrified to see Patrick, a fellow member of the bar, pilloried for the convicts he has defended, litigators, prosecutors, and defense lawyers are rushing to defend the candidate -- and the nobility of their profession.

The Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorneys is circulating a memo calling Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey's attacks an assault on the Constitution. The presidents of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association have penned an opinion piece noting that John Adams defended the British troops accused of murdering patriots at the Boston Massacre. And tomorrow , Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the leading trade publication in the state, will endorse Patrick for governor, the first time it has backed a candidate for political office in its 34-year history.

Lawyers say that Healey's targeting of their profession has become the main topic of conversation in wood-paneled offices and district court lobbies from Pittsfield to Provincetown.

``There are a lot of angry lawyers out there," said David L. Yas , editor and publisher of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

The source of the ire: two ads from the Healey campaign that highlight Patrick's legal work. One takes aim at Patrick's defense of Carl Ray Songer , an escaped convict who murdered a state trooper on a Florida highway in 1973. As a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1985, Patrick argued successfully that Songer was not able to present evidence of his character and education in court, and Songer's death sentence was reduced to life in prison.

``While lawyers have a right to defend admitted cop killers, do we really want one as our governor?" the ad asks.

The other ad spotlights Patrick's efforts, as a lawyer in private practice, to support the parole petition of Benjamin LaGuer , who was convicted in 1984 of binding his 59-year-old neighbor with a telephone cord and raping her.

``What kind of person defends a brutal rapist?" the ad asks.

Yas said lawyers ``regard these ads as misinformed, distasteful, and insulting and in some ways they might even be disingenuous."

. . .

One thing we should keep in mind is that the Clintons are in this election for their own financial gain, not for the good of the party, not for the good of the country. Unlike Jimmy Carter or Al Gore, upon leaving the office, Bill chose to become a lobbyist for China, Qatar, Canada, Colombia promoting trade deals that ship american jobs overseas. The Cintons made $109 millions. Now the want to go back to the White House by all means necessary to use the power of the presidency to continue to enrich themselves.

Tom Hayden needs to keep quiet, he has no shame. He betrayed the wife, Jane Fonda who financially supported him and his politics all of those years. Now, I guess he needs attention. There is a lot of difference between a lawyer defending an individualo who expouses a particular political philosophy, no matter how wrong and an individual who actually set off bombs to kill people and cause anarchy.

In late sixties, early seventies fighting for civil rights seems pretty gutsy to me.

Representing Black Panthers in still (de facto) segregated America ....

I hate all the campaigns tactics. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to play the way our opponent allows us to. Maybe she would stick back only to the issues if she didn't have to explain to her voters that those e-mails e.g. about her health plan are false. And attacks like that happen in every single state!!!

Hilary Clinton has now become one of the same old time politicians who will do everything she can to take anyone down. Bill Clinton had a softer side to him. Hilary does not. She is known for being very vindictive. I know she attempts to portray she is interested. I don't think so - I have read and researched lots. I find her very scarey!! Just my opinion!!

I have read about all of these same facts. And sadly they are true. I live here in California and remember well those years. The antiwar movement was strong here in San Francisco Bay Area. I was never involved, but demonstrations were all over. I was a new college graduate from midwest and was quite shocked. Communist labels were applied quickly. Whether justified or not, I am not sure. FBI was coming down hard. Many labels were probably unjustified and FBI ruined people rampantly. I believe we now refer to it as "McCarthy
Style." Everyone today agrees Vietnam war was big mistake.

During those days young Hilary Clinton did become involved. Yes she did work for this radically labeled law firm located here in San Francisco or Oakland. The Hilary Clinton of today has become a very vindictive Senator displaying everything she once despised. She also worked for Goldwater who supported segregation. Seems she has changed sides a few times in finding herself.

I am waiting to see what the Bill and Hilary Clinton's arrangement with Richard Mellon Scaife of Pennsylvania plays out to be. Don't forget Richard Scaife is the one behind financing the take down of President Bill Clinton. Scaife's right wing newspaper endorsing Hilary Clinton for 2008 Pennsylvania Primary was shocking. Scaife is member of a powerful Republican group that takes care of things and gets people into office. Destroys people. Just gets it done. And done secretly behind the scenes. Voters we need to keep our eyes open. I do know in Pennsylvania some pretty dirty underground tricks were played. One thing they did was send flyers to all unions to disperse "red alert" Barack Obama associates with terrorists and ad directed them to FBI site. Pretty blatant campaign abuse! And released just before election voting. Good chance these were sent to many more people as well.

William Ayers connection is slim and nothing. Events mentioned happened 40 years ago. Barack Obama was youngster at that time. Have checked everything else as well.

Hilary Clinton has become a person who seems to not follow rules and will lie rampantly.

The Clintons are the most insincere people to ever live in America.

The Clintons will do anything and say anything.

Hillary worked for Walmart and was in attendance during meetings where Walmart executives blamed unions for all of America's problems. Walmart sells our country to China. Hillary's past shows she will continue selling American jobs to other countries.

Hillary was quoted in the 1990's as telling Bill to "screm them" when talking about southern Democrats, now she wants Democrats in North Carolina and West Virginia to vote for her.

Hillary voted for the Iraq war. She had the opportunity to read the report before voting, but did not. She still has not apologized for that mistake.

Hillary voted for the bankruptcy legislation in 2001. This legislation has given hundreds of millions of dollars to loan companies, including the wonderful mortgage companies that lied about loan terms and have been evicting Americans.

Look at Hillary's top three campaign staff.
Maggie Williams is on the board for a top mortgage company involved in foreclosures.
Wolfson's company is working for Colombia.
Penn's company was working for Colombia before he was caught meeting with them.
A top Hillary fundraiser (worked with Canada under Bill Clinton) was caught telling Canada to ignore what Hillary said about NAFTA.

Doesn't the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whom Hillary attacks today, represent the very essence of the black radicals Hillary was associating with in those days? And isn't the Hillary of today becoming the same kind of guilt-by-association insinuator as the Richard Nixon she worked to impeach?"

I HAVE HEARD HILLARY PROBABLY ONCE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT JEREMIAH WRIGHT. I HAVE NEVER HEARD HER PROCLAIM OBAMA'S guilt-by-association. IT IS THE MEDIA- BOTH ONLINE AND ON CABLE TV THAT KEEPS REV. WRIGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT. THANK YOU!

Hillary has NO moral fiber and it's about time people are exposing her for the absolute shape-shifting hypocrite that she is!!!
BTW, she has a BLACK voting problem. She has so totally repulsed the black people of this country that she can't possibly regain their trust--and vote.
And no Dem president has been elected without their support.
I'm an older white woman and I would NEVER vote for her.
The country is so used to being cynical and apathetic that they don't quite know what to do when a visionary and all-inclusive politician comes along--Obama (except to mistrust him and stomp on him, which is essentially like stomping on themselves). That's what I hate most about this country.
We mistrust hope and spirit and empathy.I suppose because it's so rare.
But I ultimately trust in the people to come around.
Yes, we can.

sorry jgsaw I'm not going to feel sorry for somebody with a 100 million dollar income who thinks she is just folks. The fact of the matter is, HRC stood and did nothing regarding wal-mart, and if you think that associating her with the wal-mart of the present due to that past association, then you must be outraged about how she would like to call Obama a terrorist sympathizer for the ayers thing.
She is caving, she is desperate, and she has now gotten to the point where she will gladly rip this country apart with her extremism in order to win a nomination that would all but promise a defeat in February. Make no mistake, more people will turn out to vote against HRC than Obama, and more people will turn out to vote FOR Obama than support McCain. All that aside it is not only a matter of electability. She is now running on many of the same policies of the current Bush Whitehouse. Not leaving Iraq, pre-emptive strike on Iran. No social security plan beyond a committee. Health insurance instead of health care. Already working to send jobs to Columbia via NAFTA, No education plan, commitment to send US troops to defend middle east countries. No plan for Afghanistan or to get Bin Laden.

Does McCain still call Asians gooks in private?

Thank god for Tom Hayden and his wife exposing Hillary's radical past and thus her hypocritical stance today towards Obama. She is so full of it!
More, we need more people like Tom Hayden to come out and stop her in her tracks!