If You're Honest, You're A Republican?

Egalia over at Tennessee Guerilla Women has what must be the most contrived argument against an ad Obama is running on the radio in South Carolina. Apparently, Obama shouldn't be allowed to point out when Hillary Clinton is being dishonest, because the GOP might pick it up in the General....lets be clear, if Billary is the nominee, especially against Clinton, the NUMBER ONE issue is going to be honesty, versus political calculations and deceit...and if McCain can frame the debate as such, Hillary will lose, because she can't compete on that front. Here is the text of the "sinful" ad that Obama is running...

Obama: I’m Barack Obama, running for President and I approve this message.

Announcer: It’s what’s wrong with politics today. Hillary Clinton will say anything to get elected.

Now she’s making false attacks on Barack Obama.

The Washington Post says Clinton isn’t telling the truth. Obama “did not say that he liked the ideas of Republicans”

In fact, Obama’s led the fight to raise the minimum wage, close corporate tax loopholes and cut taxes for the middle class.

But it was Hillary Clinton, in an interview with Tom Brokaw, who quote “paid tribute” to Ronald Reagan’s economic and foreign policy.

She championed NAFTA – even though it has cost South Carolina thousands of jobs.

And worst of all, it was Hillary Clinton who voted for George Bush’s war in Iraq.

Hillary Clinton. She’ll say anything, and change nothing.

It’s time to turn the page.

Paid for by Obama for America.

He's absolutely right. First, the Clintons' (I say Clintons' because Bill says that Hillary was his co-captain in the White House) ran the Government under a conservative pretext. Welfare reform, privatization, telecom deregulation, and a host of other policies and programs, were straight out of the Ronald Reagan inspired "Contract with America" theme.

Is this a debate for the heart and soul of the Democratic party? Yes, but not over what policy direction we want to go in, because both Hillary and Obama are running on progressive platforms. The difference is, Hillary is insinuating that Obama will adopt "Republican ideas," which he asbolutely will not. The race for the heart and soul of the Democratic party comes down to whether we will chose honesty over dishonesty, consistency over political calculations, unity over division; in other words, Barack Obama vs Bill/Hillary Clinton.

See Also: Ed Shultz who tells it like it is.