Hillary tries to claim a Texas endorsement from the other side. (Part 1: the basic story and my reaction)

...and I am not talking about an endorsement from a Republican or someone who previously supported Obama. I mean "other side" as in "from the grave."

I found out about this late last night, and I have been so stunned since then that it has taken me this long to be able to write about it.

Hillary is running an ad in Texas--and she paid for the ad--that tries to show that Ann Richards would endorse Hillary.

I don't know whether to laugh or scream.

A little background...Ann Richards was a true Texas Democratic icon. In 1982, she became the first woman in over 50 years to win a statewide election when was voted as the State Treasurer. She was reelected to that office, and then in 1990, she became Governor of Texas. She gained national attention through her keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. That was the speech where she said "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels," and "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." Ann Richards died on September 13, 2006 from esophageal cancer.

So, anyway, here's a discussion of the ad, which you can see for your ownself here. The first half of the ad is a retrospective tribute to Ann Richards. And then the voiceover says the following:

So many women around Texas and around America are saying “Wish Ann was here, for us, and for Hillary."

Well, assuming that women everywhere are indeed saying "Wish Ann for here for Hillary," the facts are that Ann is not here, and she left this life before Hillary ever announced she was running for President. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means that Ann Richards never actually said she would support Hillary for President.

The ad then goes to a clip of Hillary saying the following:

I got a lot of advice from Ann about my hair...and she said "You know, really, you got to make up your mind. You either just have to do something that people forget about and pay no attention to, or you got to make a statement."

And that is the only thing in the ad which addresses anything Ann Richards said to or about Hillary. So after that clip, the voiceover comes back in:

Today Ann would be asking all of us to make a statement. She would be traveling to every small town and big city in Texas, urging us all to take a stand, be counted, to make a difference, to make history. This one’s for Texas. This one’s for our country. This one’s for Ann.

This ad is so desperate, so presumptuous, and in such bad taste.

That Hillary can conclude that advice about hair translates to an endorsement is ridiculous. I know of no evidence that Ann Richards did endorse even the idea of Hillary running for President, and this ad sure doesn't provide any. Instead, this ad follows the pattern of Hillary's arrogance as shown early on with her first national TV ad, in which she was acting like she already had won the nomination. This ad just presumes that since Ann Richards was a pioneering female politician that she would of course endorse Hillary. Forget the fact that many other trailblazing, prominent female politicians have not endorsed Hillary. Forget that Ann Richards died before Hillary declared her candidacy. Can't you see that Ann would oh so obviously endorse Hillary?

Listen, folks. Ann Richards was a true Texan, and Texans don't stand for anyone trying to tell us what we think. Ann Richards was never one to let anyone put words in her mouth or presume what she was thinking. And for Hillary Clinton to do so in this ad is just bullshit. Would Ann have endorsed Hillary? Maybe. Would she have endorsed Obama? Maybe. But we will never know because Ann's not here.

And speaking of being a Texan, I am damn proud to say that Ann Richards was a Texan and that I voted for her. This Hillary ad implies that Hillary is just like Ann Richards, and to that I say "Like hell she is!"

This ad is in such horribly bad taste. Anyone who needs an explanation as to why claiming to know what a dead person wanted without any proof as to that person's wishes while alive is in bad taste is an idiot. Or an asshole. Period.

Coming in Part 2--reactions by Ann Richards's children.