Meet a Hill Clinton supporter
In our own Capitol Hill version of equal time, here is a conversation we had with another convention hopeful. You've heard from a Capitol Hill Obama-ite -- now hear from Hong Chhuor, a Clinton delegation candidate who makes his home on Capitol Hill.
CHS: You're a candidate to be a Washington state delegate from Capitol Hill's district at the national convention. Briefly (18 words or less, please), tell us how the process works and how you are planning to conquer your rivals.
Hong: In Washington this year, we’re using a caucus system. Basically, you have to campaign your way to the National Convention (in Denver for 2008) through every step of the way from precinct à legislative district à congressional district à National Convention. The Democratic party awards state delegates based on proportion of popular votes won vs. the Republican Party’s winner take all. There’s no tried and true formula to getting elected as a delegate, but it sure helps if you’re motivated, outgoing and a good public speaker and can convince people to vote for you.
CHS: What's with the whole male/female delegate thing? How does that work on Capitol Hill?
Hong: It’s just the rules…at the precinct level, there was no male/female quota. However, starting at the Legislative District level (LD), a 50/50 proportion of male to female delegates must be upheld…same all the way up through the National Convention. Not quite sure what you mean with regards to how “it works” on Capitol Hill.
CHS: You're also getting involved in the Capitol Hill Community Council http://chcc.wikidot.com -- would Hillary approve?
Hong: Of course! She’s all about making everybody’s voice heard and what better model than a community council that strives to be inclusive and take into account/respect the community’s voice? The other thing is that she is big on making this happen through increased participation and involvement from everyday people, which is the same thing we are striving for with the CHCC. When she was First Lady, she spent a lot of time addressing social justice/poverty issues for populations that were generally ignored by governments. She traveled through villages (China) one by one and brought her findings to conferences/forums to share with other leaders (like the U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995). I think that Capitol Hill, with its highly mobile population of renters doesn’t have a strong and unified voice with which to engage our elected leaders and consequently, is less equipped than other neighborhoods to pressure the city government to take its interests into account with the same level of consideration.
CHS: We're the we'll vote for anybody younger than 72 kind of people. Basically, we don't really care if it's Obama or Clinton. But we meet a lot of people on Capitol Hill who d and we would like to be able to spot them in advance so we can not say things that set them off on 30-minute diatribes because, like we said, we don't care as long as it's a Dem. So, how can we spot a Capitol Hill Clinton person by sight?
Hong: Well, if you believe what the statistics and political analysts are saying, Obama supporters are generally younger, 18-34, better educated, inexperienced/new but ambitious voters and often from ethnic/racial minorities. Capitol Hill is TEEMING with people in this demographic. On the other hand, Clinton supporters are generally Caucasian, older, less-educated, lower income, blue-collar workers and female. If you saw me walking down the street, you would think that I’m a likely candidate for an Obama supporter; obviously, I’m not. Thus, I would caution against making any kind of assumptions about people and who they support based on appearance. I will tell you however, that Barack Obama enjoys overwhelming support among Capitol Hillites based on what I’ve seen at the precinct and legislative district caucuses. Personally, I think they’re just trying to be cool and quite frankly, typically Seattle.
CHS: Are there bars or coffeeshops where you might be more likely to find these people?
Hong: As it has been a while since I’ve gone on a tour of the bars and coffee shops in our neighborhood, this isn’t something I could really comment on to a significant extent...
CHS: Ok, here's your last chance. Tell us why Clinton is the best candidate for -- specifically -- Capitol Hill.
Hong: I am confident that Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for a place like Capitol Hill because she goes easily to the core of a problem. I believe she is able to see both sides of an issue and is good at sorting out conflicts. She’s tough and she’s smart. She is pushing for measures that are very much address the general concerns of Capitol Hill residents (healthcare, women’s/LGBT/minority rights, economic security, foreign policy). The trouble is, so is Barack Obama.
The thing that sets them apart is that Clinton is able to provide actionable steps and a concrete plan on how to achieve goals that are measurable and realistic. She is empathetic to the everyday problems that people face. Whereas Barack Obama’s approach of “change we can believe in,” “hope” and “building bridges” is highly commendable, the fact is that his approach inherently colors his policy recommendations at every level – Hillary wants mandatory healthcare, his plan is optional. Hillary openly embraces proactive measures to increase women’s & LGBT rights, Obama agrees that they are good things but stops short of endorsing measures to incorporate everybody as equal citizens with equal rights. Clinton understands that all hell would break loose in Iraq and Afghanistan if we were to pull out tomorrow, yet Obama pushes for the withdrawal of our troops immediately. Hillary understands that we must address taxation in our country in a way that doesn’t harm the disadvantaged, Barack wants to push for measures that would put more pressure on the middle class (uniform capital gains/dividends tax increases for everybody, regardless of whether your portfolio is $10,000 or $10 million). In all accounts, he appears to be either non-committal or slightly idealistic about the complexities of an issue.
How does all of this relate to Capitol Hill? This requires going back to the amorphous nature of the Capitol Hill Community. In order for Barack Obama’s approach to work, you have to have people who are committed to his vision. People need to make the decision to engage each other in dialogue and agree to move forward together towards a common goal. I would love to see this happen on Capitol Hill because I believe it is the most sustainable and effective way to bring about change. However, this requires long term commitment and stability, more than we typically see on Capitol Hill. Hillary’s approach also welcomes popular participation, but she is not afraid to take a stand, move through all the muck and make things actually happen. Not to be critical of my fellow community members, but I feel that many of us are apathetic and disillusioned because we’ve been pretty much left to ourselves/ignored by our leaders and therefore are more prone to inaction and disinterest than anything. I say this time and time again, Capitol Hill used to be a center of culture & commerce, but that was when there was larger proportion of community-minded residents who dared to take ownership of what was going on in their neighborhood.
CHS: Thanks Hong. Check out Hong on Facebook if you want to get in touch and, of course, http://www.hillaryclinton.com/ for more on her campaign.
