Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop in Oakland on May 6 and a crowd of hundreds came out to see her. Oaklandsocialist went to talk with those who came out there. Clinton’s staffers tried to prevent us from speaking by following behind me and starting a chant of “I support Hillary!” but it didn’t work.
Here is a video of some of what people had to say. I have to apologize for the extremely poor camera work. I got so engrossed in talking with people that I didn’t pay enough attention to the camera.
One thing to note: Several people raised the specter of Donald Trump. “Would you rather have Trump?” many asked. We can see that this will be a theme of the Clinton campaign, and it shows how extremely unpopular even her campaign knows she is. Unlike Obama, neither Clinton nor Trump will be given that “honeymoon” period after they first take office. Obama is a gifted politician who was able to co-opt any protests. Clinton lacks that gift. (As for Trump, he will face a polarized population the second he takes office, if he should win.) Given this, and given that a new economic crisis is likely in the next four years (if not before) and even new (and unpopular wars), a Clinton presidency is likely to be one of the most repressive in many decades.
Categories: Oakland, United States, videos/documentaries
With the exception of the young woman from East Oakland who talked about the policies of Democrat/Mayor of Oakland Libby Shaaf, the rest of this crowd are despicable liberals, the very type who’s uncritical, arrogant and downright hostile defense of the Democrats, the union leadership in general and the rise of non profits as a replacement for building a mass movement have led to things being exactly the way they are. The majority of people in the line that I saw in the video were women, only saw a few men. I think that unfortunately part of their response to you was as a man, having a knee jerk “feminist” defense of HC. Wonder what it would have been like if I (a 61 year woman with gray hair), or a younger woman had been interviewing and making the same points.
yes, I got into quite a few pretty sharp debates. Incidentally, the great majority of the “minders” – those organizing the event – were men. I don’t think the response would have been much different if a woman had done those interviews.
Thank you for these interviews, and thank you, young mother from Oakland. Your children are most fortunate to have a parent who is thoughtful, compassionate, and not afraid to speak out.
Watching a parent there shut down the responses of her own child was one of the most sad and telling things I’ve ever seen.
Yes, that girl’s expression was priceless. Hopefully, she won’t forget this incident.
John, what are her odds against Bernie Sanders in California?
I think Sanders will win the majority of votes in California. That’s partly because it’s California and partly because those not registered as Democrats (“independents”) can vote in the Democratic primary. Sanders has won just about every primary where non-Democrats have voted in the Democratic primary. However, I think it will be “too little, too late”.