Hillary in Small Town, USA
Amy McManus-Mikolajczyk
the5miks@linkny.com
Rightgrrl Contributor
August 21, 1999Paul Harvey named my home town on his radio show last week, something I’m proud of, actually. But the reason he mentioned it is notsomething I’m proud of, that being, Hillary Clinton’s visit to Hornell, New York.
Never heard of us? Neither had Paul Harvey or Hillary Clinton, until the first lady decided to go on her "listening" tour. As Mr. Harvey said, if you’re traveling north on Route 36 and want to stop here for a drink, make sure it’s not opening day of deer season, because everything is closed.
We are the epitome of "small," one hospital, one high school, one fire department, and not a lot of industry. Lots of churches, plenty of farmland and an extremely low crime rate. We are mostly middle class, hard-working, fairly conservative-minded people who are very passionate about our beliefs.
You’ll never hear an anchor on CNN say, "And the people of Hornell think that" and you’ll probably never see any of our signatures in the Wall Street Journal’s Op/Ed section, but we are still a part of New York State, a part of which Mrs. Clinton has absolutely no knowledge or understanding.
What Mrs. Clinton does know and understand is that she has an intense desire to achieve power and prestige by becoming an elected official, instead of merely the spouse of one. She chose this state because she has friends in high places here, namely Charles "Chuck" Schumer, our extremely liberal Senator who absolutely adores Hillary.
Why didn’t Mrs. Clinton return to her home state of Illinois? Or back to Arkansas?
Because she’s a smart woman. She knows they don’t want her there. She assumes that New York City’s largely Democratic population can overwhelm the rest of our votes should she run for Senator.
She is mistaken.
Ever wonder why Mrs. Clinton called it a "Listening Tour?" She chose those words very carefully.
You see, the people to whom she "listened" to were hand-picked. Our Democratic Mayor, a liberal school board member, the minister of a local African-American church, just to name a few. What a joy it must have been to be ooohed and ahhhed over; to be agreed with; to never be asked a question she didn’t want to answer or didn’t have the answers to.
What it comes down to is that if Mrs. Clinton was truly concerned about our state, she would have gone on a "Looking Tour."
And what would she have seen?
She would have seen unwed, pregnant teenagers on welfare, girls who have turned the safety net that we taxpayers have provided for them into a lifestyle of joblessness and idleness. She would have seen questionable behavior on our street corners, where 11 year olds can buy dope and condoms. She would have seen parents at the end of their rope after a stressful day, both working over 40 hours a week just to make ends meet; just to make sure Uncle Sam gets his "fair share."
For Hornell may be small, but we are not immune.
She would have seen the hundreds of cardboard signs and homemade placards saying, "Go Home, Hillary," and "Listen to This: We Don’t Want You Here."
She would have seen the over 200 protesters across from the building where she had her luncheon. Protestors carrying signs showing murdered babies and reading, "Hornell Is Pro-Life."
But no, Hillary Clinton went on a "Listening Tour," so that she (like her husband ) could always, in the end, say, "I don’t recall ever being told that, that’s not what I heard."
Open your eyes, Mrs. Clinton. Maybe you’ll start seeing.
Amy's home page: http://www.linkny.com/~the5miks
This article copyright © 1999 by Amy McManus-Mikolajczyk and may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of its author. All rights reserved.