July 28, 2016

Watch the 11-minute video — replete with Meryl Streep narration — that was supposed to be shown at the Democratic National Convention...

... until the Clinton campaign nixed it. But why?
The decision to cut the film at the last minute left some Democrats involved with the project scratching their heads. The source claimed that there were concerns by Clinton campaign operatives that the video presented too soft or too feminist a vision....

“While we’re all busy judging Hillary: her hairstyle; her wardrobe; whether she looks tired; if she’s talking too loud; she’s just quietly gone about the business of helping women all over the world,” Streep says, before invoking a litany of American women including Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Margaret Chase Smith, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, Maya Angelou, Delores Huerta, Geraldine Ferraro and her mother—all described as Hillary’s heroes. “In the end, Hillary did not realize her dream of becoming an astronaut. But, she did soar to a place no woman has gone before... Tonight we say thank you to all the women who would not take no for an answer: You dreamers and schemers, you rabble rousers and hell raisers, you petticoat abolitionists, you chain-smoking, pants wearing exhibitionists, you educators, agitators and aviators, you risk-takers, you rule breakers, you unlikely heroes.”
Probably the smoking.

ADDED:  "all the women who would not take no for an answer"... but doesn't no mean no?!

Also, I was thinking "pants wearing exhibitionists" might sound a little wrong and I googled the phrase. What came up was the kind of links I don't like to click on.

56 comments:

DAN said...

I think it was using the term "abolitionists." Too close.

mccullough said...

Hillary has the Meryl Streep vote locked up. Good move to scotch this video

traditionalguy said...

Hillary's anger obviously comes from her worthless Grandparents abandoning Hillary's illegitimate mother as an innocent little girl. Overcoming and forgiving that kind of ancestors is a really hard thing to do, and it is seldom accomplished.

That also explains Hillary's deep need for secrecy.

Bob Ellison said...

Male frogs who sometimes go female went unmentioned, too.

Rob said...

God, I don't have the stamina to watch an eleven-minute hagiography, but tell me, does it address Hillary's attempt to join the Marines? Also, is there anything in there about the dingo eating her baby?

Valentine Smith said...

No way. Unless someone can give back those 11 minutes.

Clyde said...

I think that Traditionalguy @ 5:22 nailed it. It's a huge window into Hillary's psyche and the obsessive money-grubbing for the Clinton Global Initiative.

Original Mike said...

I doubt I'll be able to stomach her speech tonight. I'm certainly not going to be able to watch her testimonial.

Bill said...

Hillary contains multitudes.

David Begley said...

So, so disappointed in Meryl. How could such a great talent have such horrible judgment?

Dear Meryl: Hillary is a criminal who hasn't yet been indicted. She's a massive failure in foreign policy. She will only make Americans poorer and less free.

readering said...

Maybe because they watched and realized that the Obama video last night was a waste of everyone's time. Sound judgment.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Tonight we say thank you to all the women who would not take no for an answer:

Well we know they don't have a problem when someone like Bill Clinton doesn't take no for an answer, so there's no double standard there...

Clyde said...

David Begley, there's a reason that actors, writers, musicians and artists tend to be left of center. They make their living off of manipulating feelings, and leftist politics tend to appeal to those who feel rather than think. The old saying is that if you're not a socialist at 20, you have no heart, and that if you're still a socialist at 40, you have no brain. Most people tend to become more realistic and less idealistic as they grow up. Older leftist types are simply victims of arrested development.

AlbertAnonymous said...

"Helping women all over the world"? WTF?

First, she should be helping AMERICANS and not just the female ones. Second, that's so blatantly false. Did she help the women of ANY middle eastern or Muslim country? Ever ? Did she help any women in any country? Please be specific...

YoungHegelian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
YoungHegelian said...

You dreamers and schemers, you rabble rousers and hell raisers,

Because there's nothing that says rabble rouser & hell raiser like a bachelor's from Wellesley followed by Yale Law. I bet they even let their boyfriends do shots out of their belly buttons, or something equally scandalous.

Ah, how society's ruling class winners love to pretend that there's nothing that animates their souls more than to be down with the struggle, man! Oh, well, the left has always been plagued by Blanquism.

Jon Ericson said...

Shine on, you crazy diamond!

Anonymous said...

What could anyone possibly see wrong in this gorgeous and moving video? Maybe Chief Wilma Mankiller was a bridge too far? Men will find offense, I suppose. A pity it was cut from tonight's presentation.

Anonymous said...

"First, she should be helping AMERICANS and not just the female ones."

Why ever shouldn't she have helped women? Women in other countries and even here in the US still have hurdles to jump, of course women will and should help one another. She did help men too, she was a champion for the first responders of 9/11 when she was in the Senate, many of those first responders were men.

rehajm said...

The answer lies with the demographics of the internal poll results.

She doesn't have a problem with the white mona vote.

rhhardin said...

Amelia Earhart

An overrated but famous aviator. Like John Denver as a singer.

Sally327 said...

I can see where the 60 and over crowd might think Hillary's some kind of feminist icon but I think younger women don't see her or her life as especially inspirational. Not unless you aspire to marry a man who cheats on you. A lot. That's the real message of her life. She wanted to be an astronaut and instead she settled for being the kind of woman who gives up her own dreams to go live where some man wants to live and do what he wants to do and then he doesn't even respect or care enough about her to keep it in his pants. And she never had the gumption to do anything about it.

rhhardin said...

Feminism changes first rate women into second rate men.

That would fit beautifully into the Hillary video.

Bay Area Guy said...

Team Pantsuit is frazzled by the Trump phenomenom....

bagoh20 said...

"schemers,... you rule breakers,...” I get that connection, but not much else.

She left out "Gypsies, tramps and thieves", ...

and carpet baggers.

Anonymous said...

Sally, she wanted to be an astronaut, but females weren allowed in those days, so she aspired to do something else with her life. Yes she had a husband who cheated on her and despite it she was a Senator, a Secretary of State, and now a candidate for the Presidency. May you accomplish only half of what she did, then you can consider yourself successful. And may your husband never cheat on you.

narciso said...

helping women, like in haiti or nigeria

https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/2016/07/28/hillary-clinton-obstructed-boko-haram-terror-designation-over-cia-doj-objections-as-clinton-allies-cashed-in/

Jon Ericson said...

Ah, Here's the time filler! #97
We want the sexy #55!

Jon Ericson said...

Google is messing with my avatar. Jerks.

Sebastian said...

Two scary things here: the notion that anyone thought it worth making, and the notion that anyone could be persuaded by it.

And what Albert said: even by Dem standards, the idea that this woman "helped women all over the world" is unusually obvious, totally vacuous BS. The only woman she's ever helped is Herself.

I couldn't watch Streep any longer than Hill herself, but might tune in for her doing the accent, the cackle, and the Munch face.

Jon Ericson said...

Martha Rae imposter.

Jupiter said...

HeideCruise said...

"Yes she had a husband who cheated on her and despite it she was a Senator, a Secretary of State, and now a candidate for the Presidency."

Um, Heide-with-an-e, if she had not married Bill Clinton, she would now be making a meager living handling all her friends' second divorces. Which is why she stayed married to the evil bastard.

Jupiter said...

rhhardin said...
"Amelia Earhart

An overrated but famous aviator. Like John Denver as a singer."

Actually, John Denver did a lot better as a singer than as an aviator.

Lance said...

Geraldine Ferraro?

Mary Beth said...

Actually, John Denver did a lot better as a singer than as an aviator.

Wow. True, but, wow.

I think he was a pretty good songwriter. And I like that he joined Alice Cooper and Dee Snider in testifying before the Senate about whether albums should have warning labels.

Jon Ericson said...

Steamed clams
steam

n.n said...

Too soft or too feminist

Throw another baby on the barbie, this narrative is done. Perhaps we should elect a Twilighter, or send her into the terrorists' nest. Better them than us.

Sally327 said...

Heide, she aspired to move to Arkansas, which is where Bill is from, and take the job he found for her and live in the house he bought and do what Bill wanted to do. There isn't anything wrong with those choices but they aren't the stuff of inspiration, women have been doing that since the beginning of time.

And to make all those choices worthwhile Bill flagrantly cheated on her with women who were sexier and better looking and more fun.

As someone upthread has already pointed out, she never would have been elected to anything without Bill. Again, nothing wrong with that, people trade on family connections all the time to get something. Let's just not pretend she was out there making it on her own, taking on life's challenges without a safety net, showing the rest of us women how to blaze challenging new paths to success.

I'm not running for President wanting people to believe I'm some glorious example of superior womanhood so my particular accomplishments, including how I keep my man happy, aren't really relevant are they?

Original Mike said...

Hillary will do for women what Obama has done for African-Americans.

Anonymous said...

Sally, you don't know what she aspired to do when she married Bill. We do however know full well what she did accomplish. Would you be the woman you are without your husband? Yes? Well she is too. I'm not disputing she was ill treated by husband. I admire her for what she accomplished despite that ill treatment. I'm not a woman who wants to tear down other women. When I feel they deserve my praise, I'm going to freely give it. You can do and think as you please.

dustbunny said...

The DNC must have read Scott Adams' blog about overselling the woman angle being a bad idea.

Fernandinande said...

"One sometimes gets the impression that the mere words
'Socialism' and 'Communism' draw towards them with magnetic force every
fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, 'Nature
Cure' quack, pacifist, and feminist in England." -- Orwell

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Hmmm, "replete."

Replete:garner :: utilize:problematic ?

Bob Boyd said...

"But why?"

They probably realized it could be seen as Hillary putting herself in that pantheon.
And she hasn't been elected yet. If she didn't become the first female President, would most people believe she has really earned a place in that company? Perhaps not.

Smilin' Jack said...

“In the end Hillary did not realize her dream of becoming an astronaut....
Don't give up your dream, Hillary! You could still become the first woman on Pluto! Talk about historic! Go for it!

Will Cate said...

Maybe they wised up and decided not to drain what little testosterone was left in the room.

Gahrie said...

Yes she had a husband who cheated on her and because of it she was a Senator, a Secretary of State, and now a candidate for the Presidency.

FTFY

jg said...

so the campaign leaked it so it will still get watched (but mostly to excite the intended audience rather than the nation as a whole). crafty.

southcentralpa said...

[Why did they not show the intro video?] She's such a poor public speaker that there's no way she wouldn't have been a let-down after the enormous build-up

tim in vermont said...

If you marry cleverly enough, you too can be a great woman!

Curious George said...

"HeideCruise said...
Sally, you don't know what she aspired to do when she married Bill. We do however know full well what she did accomplish. Would you be the woman you are without your husband? Yes? Well she is too. I'm not disputing she was ill treated by husband. I admire her for what she accomplished despite that ill treatment. I'm not a woman who wants to tear down other women. When I feel they deserve my praise, I'm going to freely give it. You can do and think as you please."

What do you think of Sarah Palin? Margaret Thatcher? Nikki Haley?

Curious George said...

Heidie, this out to clear it up:

http://www.dickmorris.com/hillary-bill-left-dick-morris-tv-lunch-alert/

Curious George said...

The reality about Hillary: In front of every "great woman" is a man clearing the path and dragging her fat gray wrinkled elephanat ass across the finish line.

Sammy Finkelman said...

I think maybe here never weas any intention of showing the video - that was just a placeholder in the program, so that Hillary's (live?) video after her nomination became official could be kept a surprise.

Kirk Parker said...

David Begley,

What ever gave you the idea the Steep had anything but horrible judgement? (Hint for the forgetful: Alar Scare.)


Althouse,

WTF is Amelia Earhart doing on that list? Airhead (and, ultimitely fatal*) poseur? How very Hillary-esque.

-----------------------------------------------
*Earhart was Kara Hultgreen before her time.

Kirk Parker said...

Curious George,

There's not the slightest hint of any of that in Margaret Thatcher's career.