If you are a supporter of Hillary Clinton as your first choice for President, you should read this article. I've always liked Hillary, and felt that she spent a decade or so being the punching bag of choice for Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. I always felt it was unfortunate and unfair. None-the-less, she's fallen into this roll. Often she's the target of irrational hatred. I've rarely seen someone so hated by people that cannot articulate an explanation of their hatred ("I just don't like her" isn't a reason, by-the-way). She has the experience to be President and (despite what she claims) it is little different than what Barrack Obama possesses. She claims the difference is that she's got the experience to handle the big bad Republicans, and she knows how to come out on top.
Her problem is that this is a bit of a rosy view of her history of fighting Republicans. Her history is less fighting them and more of being a lightening rod for their attack. being able to take a punch is different than connecting punches yourself (note i said CONNECTING, not throwing punches). While she may not deserve the grief she gets, it has forever made her a polarizing figure. High DIS-approval ratings don't make for big time victories. More to the point, the prevent coattails that can create a true mandate in the House and Senate (more on that in a the next post). Consider this, from the article above:
A lot of men don't like Hillary. A lot of men say they don't want to vote for Hillary--even Democratic men. The new L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll, released Dec. 28, shows that only 19 percent of Democratic men favor Clinton in upcoming caucuses and primaries - less than one in five.These are DEMOCRATS. This is why EVERY conservative commentator has spent at least a year talking up Hillary as unbeatable. they know she's the most beatable and that's exactly who they want to face. it is their best (only?) hope of winning this thing. The mock fearfulness they have is akin to Br'er Rabbit begging not to be thrown into the briar patch. It is exactly what they want. The viability of any Democrat polling at 19% among Democratic men should be seriously called into question.
3 comments:
Yeah, I've always struggled with this myself. I never liked her much either, but when I examine the reasons I'm convinced that it's some kind of unconscious sexism. A lot of people say she's "pushy" or "too aggressive" or "too calculating" but what it boils down to is that she's a WOMAN who's all of those things. Really, if she were a man I don't think she'd be so polarizing. And I struggle with that.
I heard her speak at a conference a couple of years ago, and I was FLOORED by how articulate, funny and engaging she is as a speaker. It really increased what I thought of her.
If she gets the nomination, I'm voting for her. We Democrats need to stick together if we're going to elect anyone. In other words, maybe we need to think more like Republicans and not squabble among ourselves over stupid things like, "she's pushy" or "I just don't like her."
Also, I'm concerned that Obama has no record and many people still don't know what he stands for, and really he's just a blank canvas on which we're all projecting our desires for the next president (I read that somewhere, so I can't take credit for the analogy).
Edwards I have a high admiration for, and would vote for in a heartbeat. But I fear he may not be electable because of the trial lawyer thing. I love trial lawyers, but I realize that the public perception is at odds with my perception based on my experience as a lawyer (and knowledge that trial lawyers serve a very important purpose in our society, especially when it comes to the poor and underrepresented in the legal system).
Ok, it's late and I'll stop rambling now.
I don't think that your analysis of Republican commentators consciously saying Clinton is unbeatable because she is beatable holds water. Sounds like a conspiracy theory.
I do believe that reaction to gender or race could be a factor should either Hillary or Barack be nominated. However, that reaction is double edged. I would vote for Hillary because she is a woman. I would vote for Barack because he is black. What I am saying is that I would vote for a symbol. I think a lot of other people would too. I want to see either the gender barrier or the race barrier broken this election. I think that we are very fortunate that either of these individuals would make a darn good president in addition to the symbollic value of electing them. (Did I just make any sense?)
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