Senator Clinton, You've Made Your Point

Hillary Clinton would like to clarify where she stands on college students voting in Iowa:

In a jab at Obama’s efforts to encourage out-of-state students who attend college in Iowa to caucus, Clinton said the caucuses are only for people who live in this state.

“This is a process for Iowans. This needs to be all about Iowa, and people who live here, people who pay taxes here,” she told the Clear Lake crowd.

Yes, because college students don't pay taxes or otherwise contribute to their college towns whatsoever. We're all a bunch of free-loaders. I personally was unaware that the hundreds of dollars I've spent in New York sales tax over the last three and a half years didn't actually exist.

But don't worry students, she still cares deeply about the youth vote:

Senator Clinton has been working hard to engage the youth vote across the country and in Iowa. She hopes that all Iowa students who have made Iowa their permanent home participate in the caucus.

Note the use of the term "permanent home." Does that sound confusing to anyone else, like she's implying that Iowa students from out of state can't legally vote in the caucuses because they're not there "permanently"?

It's not as if this is a new tactic:

As a college student, you have the right to vote from the residence that you consider “home,” including your campus residence. While by law you are only allowed to register to vote from your “permanent” address, the term “permanent” is confusing for students. Students can register to vote where they live during school.

By and large, students vote in local elections without a problem. But sometimes, local elected officials or candidates will see students as a threat. They may try to suppress the student vote by giving students false or misleading information about their residency status, threatening students with loss of student aid, or even threatening prosecution for voter fraud.

Make no mistake...what Senator Clinton is attempting to do here is disenfranchisement, plain and simple.

Now, I don't like to use the other "d-word" lightly. But when you're backed into a corner, and so devoid of any new ideas or any reason why people should vote for you that you're reduced to creating strawmen and fake wedges in an attempt to get someone to vote for you, what other word should we call it? It's desperation, and the cracks in her "perfect campaign" are showing.

Senator, you've made your point and drawn your line in the sand. You've made it clear just how much you value the vote of someone like me. And you've just about helped me decide, once and for all, who I will be voting for in the primary.