Are Democrats Just Masochists?
by
EarlyBird
03/06/2008, 4:06 PM #
Let's put aside the differences between another Clinton candidacy and an Obama one. Let's agree that each has their own merits and deficiencies, and that it is reasonable to prefer one over the other.
For argument's sake, let's just say that Hillary is the best for the job, will be "ready on Day One," can answer red phones at night, and is "vetted." Let's just pretend she really does have "35 years of experience," and something like legislative success.
But from a purely strategic sense, why in the world are Democrats going for Hillary? Don't they want to win the general election? And if so, don't they actually want Democratic policies to be enacted?
WHY would they go with the one Democrat among all Democrat who has perhaps THE highest negative rating among Republicans and independents, the two groups the Dem nominee is going to need to win the general? The polls clearly show this is a major deficit for Hillary. She will have a MUCH harder time getting elected than Obama.
HOW can Dems not see the appeal Obama has to Republicans and independents? Again, the polls clearly show he has this.
Let's say Hillary does get elected. Then what? Do we have to be reminded of what will happen the moment she does? It will be an immediate return to the '90s, where the ugliest partisanship prevailed; where the far right is re-energized (you may have noticed, but their grip has, mercifully, been slipping as of late); where all Clinton can do is manage her personal political power while the GOP runs the nation's agenda. It will be an endless Clinton Soap Opera.
Simply put: Clinton will not get the Democrat agenda through even if she gets elected. She's actually not a very good politician, and has puny legislative successes under her belt. Her big move, HillaryCare, went down in flames not because it was fundamentally flawed, but her tin ear, apolitical execution of it was.
Like Bill, she's more likely to end up having a very consevative presidency in spite of herself. (You wonder why Limbaugh and the right wing are telling their listeners to cross over in the Dem primaries and vote for Hillary? THINK PEOPLE!)
WHY are the Democrats so blind to what Obama can be? He truly has the ability to be the fully transformative president for their party, the Democrats' Reagan. He can create an army of Obama Republicans. He already has enormous appeal to them.
Yes, he does it with charm, likeability, charisma, freshness, great oratory. So what's so bad about that? Those are the tools in politics you need, especially on a national level, to move things in the direction you want.