Molly Ivins was one of the great populist political commentators of our time. Her down-home, unpretentious writing style, full of humorous Texas-isms, made her scathing criticisms of faux-Texan George W. Bush — for whom she coined the nickname "Shrub" — all the more credible in books like Bushwhacked.
Unfortunately, Molly died about a year ago after battling cancer for almost eight years. People now sometimes forget that before the Dubya years, Ivins also had some very funny and scathing criticisms of the Clinton administration, in books like You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You.
In January 2006, Molly Ivins published an essay entitled "I Will Not Support Hillary Clinton" in the Columbus Free Press. With the Ohio primaries coming up soon, they today republished that essay. Some excerpts:
I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Senator 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. ...
I listen to people like Rahm Emanuel superciliously explaining elementary politics to us clueless naifs outside the Beltway ("First, you have to win elections"). Can't you even read the damn polls? ...
Oh come on, people — get a grip on the concept of leadership. Look at this war — from the lies that led us into it, to the lies they continue to dump on us daily.
You sit there in Washington so frightened of the big, bad Republican machine you have no idea what people are thinking. ... If Democrats in Washington haven't got enough sense to OWN the issue of political reform, I give up on them entirely.
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