Curse of the Clintons

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8563/

Curse of the Clintons
by Thomas Palley


Speaking the truth is discouraged in Washington DC. For journalists there is the fear that truth telling will mean not being invited back for the next press conference or another exclusive interview. For political insiders the fear is that speaking up will injure their careers by costing them political appointment. This dynamic has helped keep the lid on the curse of the Clintons.

From the start of the 2008 primary campaign many political experts have believed Hillary Clinton would have difficulty winning the general election even if she sailed through the primaries. This is because polls have consistently shown she has exceptionally high negative ratings, which matters enormously as it is very difficult to win-over people holding negative views. The best that can be done is persuading them not to vote.

If winning were difficult before, current conditions make a Clinton general election win even less likely. Her slick assist in letting the race genie out of the bottle has alienated African-Americans, and without their turnout a Democratic win is almost impossible.

snip//

In the 1990s, when Bill Clinton turned his back on progressive politics, many speculated Hillary was the real progressive among the two. The reality is both are cut from the same cloth, which is marked by unbridled ambition and desire for power for power’s sake.

Bill Clinton lied under oath during the Lewinsky investigation. Senator Clinton lied about being under fire in Bosnia. Bill Clinton abandoned unions and working families with his promotion of NAFTA, free trade with China, and the elimination of the right to welfare assistance in hard times. Senator Clinton initially endorsed this policy legacy, and only changed her tune when John Edwards’ call for real change started gaining traction. Bill Clinton’s middle name is “triangulation”. Senator Clinton shamelessly sought to profit from Barack Obama’s casual observations about the link between economic disenfranchisement and “guns and bible” politics. In doing so, she showed a willingness to keep alive right-wing conservatives’ major wedge issue just to damage her rival.

The cruelest irony concerns women and women’s rights. Many women champion Senator Clinton as a defender of women’s rights, including the right to an abortion. However, her ambition is increasingly jeopardizing that right. Mrs. Clinton cannot win in November, and her refusal to bow out has done damage to Senator Obama’s prospects. That sets up the conditions for a McCain victory, the price of which will be the Supreme Court.

Truth telling is difficult in Washington, and the truth is also often stranger than fiction. When it comes to the Clintons, the truth is they have become a curse for Democrats and not an asset.


Thomas Palley is founder of Economics for Democratic & Open Societies Project.

[LakeSamish706]

1. I think some of us have been saying these exact things here on DU...

maybe not all at one time, but in different posts we have said it all.

[Warpy]

2. Well, he's underestimating the party, as those

who are programmed to think of political parties as top down, march in lockstep propositions are wont to do. The truth is that the rank and file of the party are furious and would vote for Satan himself over any GOP.

As for Clinton, she's not the problem. Her organization is the problem, both within the party power structure and as a campaign organization. Their vision is limited and their style totally tone deaf.

Clinton and Obama have nearly identical voting records. The struggle between them doesn't represent an ideological struggle as much as an organizational one.

A defeat for Clinton is really the defeat of the DLC as the driving force of the Democratic Party.

[N4457S]

4. Fair Enough...

...but if you think Barack Obama is going to win Ohio and Pennsylvania, which are the two last places on Earth where I still hear the N word used on a daily basis, you're out of your mind.

[Warpy]

5. People who use that word

already vote GOP.

[N4457S]

7. You Know...

...you're mostly right, but I grew up there and a lot of those people are also very elderly blue collar types who watch Fox News and think it's gospel because they have flashy graphics (which are attractive to those with short attention spans) and good looking women as anchors.

Why is that important? Because those people vote. And they vote in huge numbers.

For that reason, Obama can't win Ohio or Pennsylvania, and Florida is already gone. He is therefore unelectable.

We needed Gore.

[lisa58]

13. If they watch fox they're not going to vote for Hillary either...

...Hillary had the PA state machine behind her and it will be behind Obama in the general if he wins the nomination. There are more democrats registered to vote this year in PA than republicans and no one likes the war and McCain knows nothing of the economy. I can see people staying home instead of voting for Obama - I know people in NJ that won't vote for him because he's black - but they don't like McCain either.

[notesdev]

8. Not too many

black neighborhoods near you, eh?

> which are the two last places on Earth where I still hear the N word used on a daily basis

Hell, I hear the N-word all the time; and every time I hear it, it's coming out of the mouth of a black person.

[RufusTFirefly]

6. Worth repeating

Warpy said

Clinton and Obama have nearly identical voting records. The struggle between them doesn't represent an ideological struggle as much as an organizational one.

A defeat for Clinton is really the defeat of the DLC as the driving force of the Democratic Party.

Nothing is quite so simple, of course, but Warpy gets to the heart of the matter.

[Demeter]

10. Which Would Be a Very Good Thing for the Party and the Nation

The DLC is an abomination. And Clinton has become a problem, and will continue to grow as a problem until facts on the ground stop her dead in the water.

Voting records of themselves are not the whole story. There is also what kind of issues come up for a vote, and the way they are addressed. Hillary wants to be a warmonger. That's the last thing we need.

[stellanoir]

3. This says it all

". . . unbridled ambition and desire for power for power’s sake. . . ?

K & R'd

[OhioChick]

9. K&R

:kick:

[GetTheRightVote]

11. For all of the above reasons, will never vote for HRC ever

She is not left enought for me, in fact appears to be to far right for this party or me.

[nichomachus]

12. The hope of the party is the new, young voters

which is why I am so surprised that they are mocked and ridiculed by the HRC supporters. Slap these voters in the face at your own peril -- it will give the GOP their long-awaited permanent majority.

[Joanne98]

14. K&R