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Molly Ivins endorses from heaven*
I live in Austin. This evening I was talking to my mother on the phone about the election and about which way Texas would go. She and my 77 year old father caucused for Obama in Colorado. We started talking, as we often do, about the late-great Molly Ivins, a Texas icon and one of my mother's and my shared heroines. Molly lost her battle with breast cancer this last year and her wit and clarity are dearly missed.
I said, "I bet Molly would have choice words for Hillary." I had no doubt what side Molly would be on. Like Obama she was a voice of sanity on Iraq from the beginning. And that gave me the incentive to google Molly Ivins and Clinton. This is the first article that popped up. It was written in January 2006, a year before Hillary or Obama had officially announced.
It is titled, "I will not support Hillary Clinton for president"
AUSTIN, Texas --- I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.This is my new battle cry, "Remember Molly Ivins and don't forget to thank Hillary for Iraq March 4th!"
Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.
The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.
If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.
* (Actually, I think Molly Ivins may have been an athiest, but that's beside the point).
Comments (28)
Wow. Thanks for sharing Ms. Ivin's searing indictment and insight.
The Obama phenomenon seems to me very much like the 1968 McCarthy phenomenon, of which I was an enthusiastic participant, sporting McCarthy flowers on each door of my '63 Volvo. I never did forgive RFK for jumping in after he saw the McCarthy movement was gaining traction.
February 17, 2008 10:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Molly always saw right through the bullshit but still retained her youthful idealism even after decades of covering the Texas Legislature.
I also found this blog, in which the blogger recounts that she'd asked Molly, before she died, whether Obama should run for president. Molly said, “Yes, he should run. He’s the only Democrat with any ‘Elvis’ to him.”
http://blog.niemanwatchdog.org/?p=190
February 17, 2008 11:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Say "Amen," Somebody.
And, thank you, S.L. for bringing us Molly's voice.
I really, really miss her. She'd have LOVED this election.
February 17, 2008 11:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
A friend of mine is married to a lovely woman who was a friend of Molly's. The lady was the real deal.
Miss ya, Molly...
February 18, 2008 12:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's a great article, I blogged on this a couple of weeks ago.
February 18, 2008 2:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
I remember reading this article when it was published. Molly was one of my favorite columnists. I had been thinking about this particular column last week, googled it, and I sent a link to the DLC.
In Molly's last column she declared we should each do something every day, even banging pots and pans in the streets, to end the war in Iraq. I think electing Obama would be a good start.
February 18, 2008 8:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Vonnegut, that late, great pseudo-science fiction writer, was a prominent atheist who could laugh about heaven:
So, if Molly is an atheist, I doubt she would have minded you referring to her as being up in heaven. (Dawkins might not be so forgiving, but that's a whole other story.)
February 18, 2008 8:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
The world is a little more boring without Molly Ivins around. Her wit and insight are sorely missed.
And I agree she'd get a good chuckle out of being located in heaven. She'd just call on down, "I was still right about Shrub!"
February 18, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
All I can say is.... Divine Intervention!
Thanks for finding this and posting it.
Additional evidence for the theory: WI had a terrible snow and rain and ice storm this weekend and Hillary (the latecomer who went to TX instead of WI one week ago... had to cancel events due to bad weather...)
Obviously Molly Ivins "knew" who not to vote for... but maybe got surprised after her demise...
♪♪♪
February 18, 2008 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why pretend who Molly Ivins would, should,
or could have nominated to run for president?
Okay?
Why not just go to the source? If there is
a question, perhaps there is an answer
waiting for you around the corner
Molly Ivins in her own words, or
the misrepresentation of Ivins by a political operative.
You decide.
Posted on Jul 24, 2006
By Molly Ivins
AUSTIN, Texas—Dear desperate Democrats:
Here’s what we do. We run Bill Moyers for president. I am serious as a stroke about this. It’s simple, cheap and effective, and it will move the entire spectrum of political discussion in this country. Moyers is the only public figure who can take the entire discussion and shove it toward moral clarity just by being there.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060724_molly_ivins_bill_moyers/
February 18, 2008 10:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, S.L., for reminding people that the MSM is not responsible for Hillary's current misfortunes. I've been scratching my head about "Hillary for President" since it was first bandied about. (Had she even left the White House when it began?) She was the presumptive candidate for a hell of a long time, and the news outlets went along with the narrative. When the storyline started drifting away from her script, she turned on the media with a vengeance. I'll give her this much - she sure knows how to keep her name in lights, even if that means setting it aflame.
February 18, 2008 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
When Hillary ran for Senator, it was the first time I did not regret leaving upstate NY for another state! Such a relief not to vote for her then. A great relief tomorrow as well!
Molly Ivins would have risen to new heights this election season!
♪♪♪
February 18, 2008 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
"she sure knows how to keep her name in lights, even if that means setting it aflame."
Nice turn of phrase.
February 18, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for posting this. I would have loved to be able to read her take on this election and nomination process.
I miss Molly Ivins a lot. She had a knack for cutting straight through the bull____ and getting to the real point.
February 18, 2008 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
I posted that article here and in Huffingtonpost not long after the election began to heat up. It should be sent out as a mass mailer in TX.
February 18, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Molly Ivins has really been on my mind a lot during this primary season so thank you for posting that.
I know she would have been thrilled to see the record voter turnout, and in particular the number of young people getting involved, regardless of which candidate they support. One of her greatest pet peeves was voter apathy and detachment.
February 18, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Would Ivins have endorsed Hillary if she were running against Joe Lieberman? Context is important also. I do NOT think Obama is like Lieberman in any way. But he might have spoken out occasionally and more forcefully. I prefer Obama to Clinton, but allow me to wish for a better candidate than either of these two.
February 18, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
S.L.--
Fellow Austinite here. Thanks for the post. God, how we miss Molly.
Leebot, you're right, I believe she would have been thrilled and greatly relieved (as I am) to see the record voter turnout and the remarkable enthusiasm of our young 'uns.
We can ALL set aside our squabbling about which candidate gets the nomination and take pleasure in that.
February 18, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Molly Ivins also said, "Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention."
She got it right that time, too!
February 18, 2008 1:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
you don't have to be from Texas to miss and admire Molly Ivins
February 18, 2008 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hate to rain on your olympic presumptuousness, but nowhere in that article does Molly Ivins mention the name of The One. Nowhere. Not once. If you claim to respect the memory of Molly Ivins, the least you could do is kindly refrain of putting your own words into her mouth.
February 18, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hate to rain on your olympic presumptuousness, but I actually didn't say anywhere that she endorsed Obama, just that she stated unequivocally that she would NOT support Hillary. I guess I could have called the post "Molly Ivins endorses anybody-but-Hillary from heaven," but that wasn't as catchy.
February 18, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
And weighing in from hell is Lee Atwater, with a clever yet ornery endorsement of Hillary. But we don't have to pass along any thinking from that li'l devil, that's what we have James Carville for.
February 18, 2008 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. As much as I want the primary to be over and Obama to have won already, I think it is interesting and wonderful that this is the first national primary in my memory in which every part of the country really does matter (no matter what Mark Penn says).
I was reading a local Wisconsin newspaper reporting about Obama's plans to talk at the GM plant there. The comments on the website from people in this small town were angry--angry that Obama wasn't coming to their workplaces, to listen to them and to ask for their votes. I don't remember ever thinking "I won't vote for John Kerry, unless he makes his pitch directly to me." I think the voters do feel empowered this time around; I know I do. And I will thank Obama for that even if he doesn't win.
February 18, 2008 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
The "I agree" above was to laurajordan. I wasn't agreeing with myself. (darn comment system).
February 18, 2008 4:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL!! I know, right???
This is the FIRST primary I'll get to vote in where the nominee for president hasn't already been decided. How exciting is that??
And that comment about Wisconsin voters tickles me. We actually have people in states OTHER THAN Iowa and New Hampshire who are jealously vying for an opportunity to meet the candidates up close.
This is a good thing! I know everybody's nerves are getting frayed, but the reality is, we have an energized Democratic Party, and the enthusiasm and energy is spreading to more and more states. I can't help but think that's going to be an advantage going into the GE.
February 18, 2008 5:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's how you believe not whether you believe that counts.
February 18, 2008 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
See Molly Invins at her best in this excerpt from the film Dildo Diaries.
http://thememlingindex.com/texas_obscenity_laws.html
I beleive the Texas State Supreme Court just overturned much or all of Texas's Obscenity Statute discussed in this film.
February 18, 2008 6:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
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