Clinton: Americans are the "hardest working people in the world"

[ecstatic]

She can't be serious! Try going to a labor camp in China one day! Or a diamond mind in Africa! Sheesh... :eyes:

[dkf]

1. Her pandering is ridiculous. She makes me ill.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

29. Hillary you are not going to get many votes in Indiana saying that!

if you ever get there

[VolcanoJen]

2. Are you watching her on CNN?

She's in full-on "The Skies Will Open" mode. She's yammering on about "getting over it" in a clear dig at Obama's comments.

I wish she'd "get over" the fact that she's lost this primary campaign.

[Deja Q]

3. In the developed world, yeah.

[jefferson_dem]

4. She works hard at pandering and lying.

She can say whatever she wants - spin however fast - nobody is buying her bullshit anymore.

[MattP]

5. Talk about coverage

They have showed EVERY speech today of hers and no coverage of Obama at all.

[acrosstheuniverse]

9. I noticed that too

I AM SO FUCKING OUTRAGED THAT THIS COUNTRY IS BEING CONTROLLED SO MUCH BY THE FUCKING MEDIA.

[Diane R]

17. Sounds like they got a call from the Clinton camp complaining about criticism of her 'bitter' commen

[dsc]

6. Oh please

In the industrailized world we are by far, the hardest working.

[ecstatic]

14. Maybe, but then she should clarify. She was going on and on

with a bunch of patriotic crap. She sounds just like a Republican. We don't want false patriotism--we want real solutions and change!

[bhikkhu]

22. "Will Work for Food"

Does she mean those guys?

[mudesi]

25. What utter nonsense

Americans are by far the laziest, most apathetic, spoiled, ignorant, TV and drug addicted drones in the industrialized world. Or have you not noticed the way the GOP has won elections over the last 20 years? Or how easily they start wars?

Give me a break.

[dsc]

34. We by any measure work more

We work more hours per day, more days per week, and have a higher percentage of our adults working. That doesn't even count the fact our teens are more often working too.

[Mooney]

7. What a mountain of horseshit.

Hillary really needs to work on her pandering.

[rocktivity]

8. Who said they weren't?

And if so, why haven't they more to show for it--like when hubby was in charge?

:headbang:
rocknation

[2rth2pwr]

10. And Americans are the most productive.

[dkf]

11. Atrios: If Americans are truly the hardest working people in the world, isn't that actually a bad

thing?

http://atrios.blogspot.com/

[VolcanoJen]

28. I love Atrios' "deep thoughts."

Guess he was watching SeeEnnEnn too. :-)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

12. This is hard work:

Indian workers making manhole covers for Americans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/nyregion/26manhole.html?ex=1353733200&en=f19bceb9001440a5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[bigtree]

13. those lazy, bitter fucks

who do they think they are?

[ecstatic]

16. Americans are not lazy, but we sure are not the hardest working in the world

I'd venture that we're the most blessed in the world... at this time, anyway.

[VolcanoJen]

15. She had to fight to get where she is?

Ms. Inevitable really just said that?

[Tribetime]

18. especially government workers

[Vinca]

19. Had to change the channel. She makes me ill. nt

[ecstatic]

20. OK. I'm officially out for the count too. Now she's doing a lot of xenophobic

and anti-immigrant ranting. I'm done.

[City Lights]

46. I can't listen to her anymore. I change channels or hit mute.

Just like I do when Bush appears on my teevee.

[DBoon]

21. She is absolutely right about this

I believe hours worked per year in the USA is the highest of the entire developed world.

It is not secret that people have to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet.

It is no secret that we have the worst policies on vacation and time off in the industrialized world

She is stating a fact - granted she said "in the world" rather than qualifying by including the developed world.

For example:

Americans are the hardest working people in the industrialized world. According to research by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development (JPC-SED), Americans work more hours per year and take fewer vacations than their colleagues in Europe.

Specifically, Americans work nearly 2,000 hours a year on average, according to the report, and take only an average of 10.2 days of paid vacation a year. Plus, Americans only earn their vacations after an average of three years on the job, while workers in many European countries earn vacation immediately upon being hired.

For example, the French work 1,656 hours a year and earn 25 to 30 days of paid vacation a year. The only industrialized country that even approaches American’s work ethic is Japan. The Japanese average 1,889 hours of work a year (111 fewer than US workers), but they earn an average of 17.5 days of paid vacation a year.

http://www.socrates.com/freeContent/Marketing/Newsletters/0904Rankings.aspx

We even work harder than the Japanese!!!

on edit : If we work so damn hard, why isn't our standard of living better? Why do countries where people work less live longer, have better quality healthcare, better access to education, etc.?

[bhikkhu]

23. Exactly...

[Cha]

27. That's a nice fucking change for hilary to "state facts"

"Handy Guide to Hillary Clinton's Bosnian Lie: The Faux Heroine of Tuzla
Hillary, The Faux Heroine of Tuzla"



<lots more>
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

"Female Bosnian Vet Accuses Hillary of Valor Theft"
http://pennsylvaniaprogressive.typepad.com/my_weblog/20 ...

A veteran of Bosnia who was at the event in Tuzla where Hillary Clinton falsely claimed to have landed under sniper fire is accusing the Senator of theft of valor. As General Walter L. Stewart Jr. of the Pennsylvania National Guard said earlier today on a conference call, soldiers who actually have been in war zones and performed under fire deeply despise those who falsely claim such valor. They feel this way because it attempts to cheapen or make less, their real and actual valor.

The General pointed out "this wasn't an emergency resupply mission to the Alamo. If there had been any danger that mission wouldn't have landed."

Common sense tells us the First Lady and Chelsea would never have been put in harms way by our military. Hillary's tale of bravery and valor, because it was false, is finding resentment among those who actually did serve and Tammi K. (nee Jann) Hertherington who was at Tuzla when Senator Clinton landed is one. Here is her story.

Dear Sir,

I feel compelled to write to you in regards to Senator Clinton’s remarks regarding her visit to Bosnia."

<more>
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

"Why Hillary’s Lies are Important"

- March 24, 2008, 9:53PM
Hillary Clinton has been caught in a series of lies and misrepresentations during the primary campaign. To some of her supporters, these lies may seem trivial and insignificant and even politics-as-usual. However, please consider the serious impact of these lies by placing them in the context of the past seven years of the Bush Administration and the legacy of expanded executive power that he leaves behind. In particular, consider the dangerous message that the Clinton campaign sends by employing similar tactics to achieve her political goals.

1. The Florida and Michigan Primaries / The Delegate Count
Hillary agreed to honor the DNC’s decision to strip Florida and Michigan of its delegates after their primaries were moved up into January in express violation of the DNC rules. She did not change her position on the validity of these primaries until she found herself unexpectedly behind in the delegate count and desperately needed to claim the delegates that she had won in these unsanctioned contests. As her chances of winning the nomination became increasingly slim in recent weeks, we have been presented with threatening and desperate lines of reasoning for why these primary results should count as is. At the same time, Clinton and her surrogates continue to propose different metrics for determining who should win the nomination even though there is and has been a clearly defined process in place for several decades.

Please think about the implications of changing election rules after the fact. We have suffered through at least one stolen presidential election and the manipulation of untold numbers of Congressional and state elections through various vote tampering and voter intimidation schemes used by the Republicans and their allies. The American people (and especially Democratic voters) have lost faith in the integrity of the election process. The Clinton strategy to continually change the rules for determining the Democratic Party nominee sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to increasingly un-Democratic elections in the future if it is allowed to succeed. If anything, we need more transparency and methods of accountability in our elections in order to repair the damage done in recent years and to restore our confidence in the Government.

2. The Bosnia Fabrication / Exaggerated Experience Claims
Hillary fabricated a story about a dangerous, life-risking visit to Bosnia in order to gain stature as an experienced negotiator in international conflicts and war. While this type of embellishment can seem almost comical, it represents a willingness to distort reality in order to influence the public perception. This is the same type of distortion that the Bush administration used to justify the war in Iraq, although the magnitude of the lie is certainly on a different scale. The Bush administration falsified reports, cherry-picked intelligence, used unreliable sources, and employed fear-mongering tactics to convince the American public that our safety was at risk and as such, you were either with us or with the terrorists. The lies used by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are impeachable offenses and should be condemned by all Americans. Sadly, the Clinton campaign seems to have shown a shocking willingness to employ the same tactics to create a more favorable reality and to rely on divide-and-conquer rhetoric to weaken opposition. Her attempts to frighten the American people by conjuring up 3 AM phone calls are bad enough, but her vote of confidence in John McCain over Barack Obama should be seen as treason against the Democratic Party.

3. NAFTA
Hillary lied about her position on NAFTA and used her lies in a calculated way to influence the Ohio primary. Recently released White House documents confirm that Hillary had been an active proponent of NAFTA prior to its passage, and she has continued to support it publicly in her speeches and memoir. However, while campaigning in Ohio, she claimed to have been privately against NAFTA during the Clinton presidency and believes that it should be rewritten to protect American jobs and workers. This type of maneuvering is reminiscent of the behind-closed-doors policy-making that the Bush administration has used during the past seven years. Specifically, Bush and Cheney have made policy decisions without providing transparency to Congress or the public, and President Bush has repeatedly ignored the rule of law by issuing signing statements and disregarding the parts of the laws that he doesn’t agree with. If we cannot trust Hillary to be truthful about her positions on critical legislative issues now, how can we trust that she will be truthful as president?

These are just three examples that illustrate the concerns we should have with a candidate who demonstrates a sense of entitlement to the nomination and is willing to lie, misrepresent, threaten, and divide in order to obtain the nomination. President Bush and the neoconservative movement have greatly harmed this country by the creation of an imperial-like presidency. This election is not just about whether a Democrat or Republican wins but if the checks and balances are restored to the three branches of government. The framers of the Constitution were in such fear of an imperial president that mechanisms for impeachment are prominently and explicitly included in the Constitution. If Hillary Clinton is willing to use lies and deceit to win the Democratic nomination, what assurances do we have that she will not continue to use them once she is president?
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/why-h ...

<snip>

"Her response to being caught lying to a military audience, when she invented a story about being under sniper fire in Bosnia, was to say it wasn't surprising she got some things wrong, seeing how she spoke millions of words every day. What a magnificent idea, that if you say lots of words some of them are bound to be fantastic lies. So if you listen carefully to horse-racing commentators they say things like "And it's Teddy's Boy still leading three furlongs out as they come up to the fourth last fence with Nip and Tuck two lengths behind by the way I fought a tiger once, punched it clean out and they're all safely over."

<lots more>
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article3 ...

[VolcanoJen]

30. Ha!!

You're linking to my picture from my blog. :-)

tavernwench.blogspot.com

[Cha]

36. I saved it..is that okay?

It's very useful for demonstrating hilary's lies. :(

So you're the tavernwench? :)

[VolcanoJen]

39. It's awesome!!!

I like this one, too:



Yeah, I'm the Wench! :-)

[Cha]

44. Thanks, Wench!

That's very "1000 words"esque descriptive.. This faux outrage at some Americans being bitter is making me pissed.

elton john calls us misogynists 'cause hilary's losing and we're suppose to lap it up but Obama speaks the truth and the hilary squads start wearing Purple Bandaids.

[pdxmom]

32. That's not working harder, that's working longer. There is no metric

to measure who works harder.

[Hieronymus]

41. Absolutely right, Americans work longer and have a far inferior lifestyle to

those in the EU.

[Joe Chi Minh]

24. Were it true, NAFTA would have contributed mightily to it, so it's nothing

for Hillary to shmooze about.

[Kber]

26. Meaning we have less paid vacation, sick time, and leave time

than in other developed countries. Meaning we work longer hours? Meaning we are more likely to need second or third jobs to support our families?

[crankychatter]

31. I know those undocumented nightstockers at Walmart are grateful

... after being locked in.

Grateful, that Clinton's giving them a big "job well done."

[Texas Hill Country]

33. actually, among industrialized countries, we are generally considered to be so...

even Japan considers us harder working than they are.


We have less days off and more hours per week than Japan. When I was living over there, I would hear comments all the time about how crazy we were.


Quite a change from the 80's, huh?

[Zachstar]

35. Not by a longshot Clinton NOT BY A LONGSHOT!!!

Again Clinton you prove that you have no idea what is going on outside of America.

[izquierdista]

37. Yes, but what KIND of work?

Telemarketing, reviewing health insurance claims (multiple people doing multiple "reviews"); security guards at multiple locations looking for liquids, aerosols, and other dangerous items; contractors writing proposals on how they will subcontract out a job to subcontractors who will hire further subs; independent businessmen signing up other 'distributors' so that they can build their network and be further "upchain" in the commission structure.

Yes, Americans work hard for long hours producing little of value -- that type of productivity is done by the automated machines.

[JBoy]

38. Same thing George Bush said in 2005:

(About a woman working 3 jobs to support her family):

"Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that."

[backscatter712]

40. You beat me to it.

[rucky]

42. How uniquely American of us. n/t

[chantalle]

43. That comment is offensive to other nations

Every nation has very hard workers, and it can't be measured who works harder. Maybe we are the most effective, due to our technological advances, but "hardest" working, is in doubt.

[WeCanWorkItOut]

45. Clinton has the right idea. In fact, we're overworked, that's one reason for our diabetes epidemic.

We are obliged to spend too much time at the desk, behind the wheel,
on the assembly line . . . .
Not enough time for vacations, adventure, slow food.

Thanks to DBoon and others for such useful information.

[Garbo 2004]

47. A tad too reminiscent of Bush's reponse to woman who had to work 3 jobs to support her family. n/t

[mod mom]

48. They are hard working because policies such as NAFTA and most favorable trading w China

has forced them to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. This has severely hurt American families, who spend less time with their children.

A great big thanks to Bill Clinton for enacting these policies. :sarcasm:

Hillary Clinton has made statements unequivocally trumpeting NAFTA as the greatest thing since sliced bread. The Buffalo News reports that back in 1998, Clinton attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and thanked praised corporations for mounting "a very effective business effort in the U.S. on behalf of NAFTA." Yes, you read that right: She traveled to Davos to thank corporate interests for their campaign ramming NAFTA through Congress.

On November 1, 1996, United Press International reported that on a trip to Brownsville, Texas, Clinton "touted the president's support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying it would reap widespread benefits in the region."

The Associated Press followed up the next day noting that Hillary Clinton touted the fact that "the president would continue to support economic growth in South Texas through initiatives such as the North American Free Trade Agreement."

In her memoir, Clinton wrote, "Senator Dole was genuinely interested in health care reform but wanted to run for president in 1996. He couldn't hand incumbent Bill Clinton any more legislative victories, particularly after Bill's successes on the budget, the Brady bill and NAFTA."

-snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/hillary-clinton-pretends-_b_86747.html



Clinton to renew Normal Trade Relations with China



June 2, 1999
Web posted at: 4:51 p.m. EDT (2051 GMT)


WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 2) -- President Bill Clinton will notify Congress Thursday that he is renewing China's most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status -- now known as Normal Trade Relations (NTR) -- for another year, CNN has confirmed.

MFN/NTR status offers low tariffs and treats countries as normal trading partners.

The formal notification, required by the Thursday deadline, is expected to trigger a major debate in the House and Senate due to allegations of Chinese espionage against the U.S. and other recent diplomatic tensions, including charges China tried to influence the 1996 presidential election with illegal campaign contributions.

One of the first speak out against Clinton decision, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), derided the president for making the decision near the 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

-snip

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/06/02/china.mfn/



Clinton Proposes Renewing China's Most-Favored Trade Status

Congressional reaction mixed amidst larger China policy issues


WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 3) -- President Bill Clinton on Wednesday proposed renewing most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status for China, saying it was "clearly in our nation's interest" as he urged Congress to support the request.

-snip

House Speaker Newt Gingrich welcomed Clinton's recommendation for renewing MFN status for China, and vowed to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure that China receives it from Congress.

Gingrich, joined by Reps. Bill Archer (R-Texas) and Philip Crane (R-Ill.), made his comments in a letter to Clinton.

-snip

House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt issued a statement Wednesday opposing Clinton's plan to extend China's trading status for another year.

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/06/03/china.trade/

[Chisox08]

49. If Americans are the "hardest working people in the world"

then why are all of our jobs going overseas? Do to Bill's NAFTA that Hillary supported.