Can Hillary win?

[babsbunny]

http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2007/06/can-hillary-win.html

MSNBC and McClatchy have conducted a new poll:

According to a new Mason-Dixon survey, given exclusively to NBC/MSNBC and McClatchy newspapers, Clinton is the only major presidential candidate -- either Democrat and Republican -- for whom a majority of likely general election voters say they would not consider voting. In addition, she's the only candidate who registers with a net-unfavorable rating.

[Vincardog]

1. No

[beyurslf]

2. Yes.

[Nederland]

Of course she can win

...but more than any other candidate, she has a lot of work ahead of her.

[xmas74]

3. I don't know what to think right now.

I live in Missouri which is a bellwether state. The big talk I've heard lately is about pure disgust of Republicans in general and the even bigger talk has been about-HRC. Men who, two years ago, were on the Clinton-bashing bandwagon are now seriously talking about voting for her.

Why would these men (and the ones I'm referring to are the dreaded "rednecks" and "hicks" that DU consistantly makes fun of on a near daily basis) openly support HRC? There are a few reasons, mainly out of hatred of our current leader and a hope of returning to the economy of the 90's. Quite a few have also stated that they hope for another health care plan. A few have said that if a plan is on the table they would switch their votes from (Republican candidate of choice) to her.

I don't know what's going on but they really are talking about her around here and the talk is much more accepting of a woman president than I ever expected.

[Buck Rabbit]

17. What I notice is that my freeperish in-laws and other Hilary bashers

I run into at work all begrudgingly characterize her as smart and tough. They don't like her, they used to despise her, but they will also now admit that electing a nitwit you would like to have a beer with is a terrible qualification for President. They also don't call her a radical liberal so much anymore so I think her centrist fence walking is working for her.

I have long thought she was unelectable, but I have shifted to the "maybe" she is electable column. Though she is still in the bottom tier of my favorites.

[xmas74]

19. She's not my favorite by any means

but I am quite intrigued by how public opinion is changing.

Every day she is becoming more and more electable.

[xkenx]

21. buck rabbit & xmas 74 are missing something.....we are not running against Bush.

By summer of 2008, the Rethug candidate will stake out a position far away from GWB. He will claim to return the Republican Party and the Presidency back to the standards of Ronald Reagan, tough on terror, fiscally responsible, blah, blah. And Republicans will return to their roots. After all they are Republicans; they'll never vote for a Dem. (particularly one they've hated) when they can vote for one of their own. 2008 is all about flipping some red states. BY definition, red states have more Rs than Ds. To flip any we must firmly hold our base, win Is, and make some inroads among Rs. Two male Viet Nam vets couldn't do it. How can Hillary do it, with her negatives so high, nearly half the country RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE won't vote for her. It's not about Bush; it's about the Rethug nominee. I ask the usual two questions of all Hillary supporters:
1. Can you name two red states Hillary can flip?
2. Can you explain exactly how she will flip them?

[Buck Rabbit]

24. I realize that. But it might be Fred Thompson

another personable bag of fluff like Bush and Reagan.

And I was reporting my observations of the change in tenure of my Hilary is the devil acquaintances on the right, not those on the left. Again I give her a maybe at best.

She might win Ohio. The GOP took a huge ass whooping in 2006 there.

[HughBeaumont]

27. She might win Ohio?

Er . . . no.

The reason the GOP took a huge ass whooping here had nothing to do with the people wanting someone like Hillary. They got routed because

a) Bob Taft was possibly the worst and definitely one of the most corrupt governors this state's ever had the misery of suffering under. Tapped as his successor was Mr. Corruption himself: Election-fixer extraordinaire and ultra-religious bag-o-nuts Ken Blackwell. The only people who supported him were the 29%er evangelicals, while the more moderate Christians, Republicans who wished to distance themselves from Bewsh (whom Blackwell was so closely linked to) and, well, pretty much the rest of the state identified with Ted Strickland. The combined legacy of Bewsh and Taft spelled doom for Blackwell, who really couldn't shake his past nor provide solutions to the GOP failures that has killed this state's progress. Strickland has already done more in 7 months than Bob Taft had done in 8 years.

b) After the Cabal usurped the 2002 election (and the subsequent disasters that folllowed), Ohioans in 2006 took a good hard look at the sniveling Bewsh rubberstamp Mike DeWine and wondered why the hell this ultra-right-wing, free-trader, pro-war intolerant joker ever got elected in the first place. Sherrod Brown, already a popular progressive congressman who had written a book called The Myths of Free Trade and a strong opponent of Bewsh's policies (save McCain's torture bill. SHAME, Senator. But one out of several dozen is still better than most) sported a populist pro-worker platform that proved to be too much for DeWine's business-as-usual politics to overcome. Not even DeWine's Southern Ohio conservative base could save him from the facts: his support of conservative supply-side economics doomed this state to failure, not to mention his continued support of all things Bewsh, including his increasingly unpopular war.

Despite all of this, Hillary Clinton is not exactly a favorite name around these parts for EITHER party. The Republicans hate her because, well, they hate all things Clinton, and the Democrats hate her because she went centrist and takes no strong progressive STAND on anything. On the other hand, there really isn't a Repuke candidate that could challenge a plant stand at this point, since Giuliani and McCain are the only household names among the bunch, and let's face it, those two suck. So at least she has THAT going for her, if nothing else.

[ClassWarfare2008]

4. No.

And that's exactly why the DLC wants her as a nominee. They win either way.

[saracat]

5. I would be afraid to take the chance.It isn't as though she is likable enough

to overcome the dislike.It is too bad.I would love a woman president!

[Herman Munster]

6. this happens every time on DU

any poll and the vast majority do that show her beating republicans and creaming her democratic opponents gets attacked for "name recognition" and "bad sampling or methodology" or just gets ignored as people close their eyes and hope it goes away.

Then an outlier poll like this shows up and it is an outlier...3 different polls in the last week show her beating ALL republicans!!!!

And what do you know? There is a frenzy at DU with people posting the same poll again and again.

It's pretty sad and pathetic actually. Desperate people clinging to false hope, well enjoy it. Hillary is going to win and you will end up looking foolish just like all the republicans who have underestimated her.

[xmas74]

9. I posted above

what the "rednecks" and "hicks" that everyone bashes on DU are saying and they are saying that HRC, out of all the candidates so far, has their vote right now. A few who always vote for Republicans have said if she can bring a viable health care plan out they will listen this time and change their vote for her.

I know in the farmland she has more votes than anyone would ever expect.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

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[snowbear]

12. Herman --- DU has more HRC supporters than any other major progressive site out there!

So I wouldn't blame ANYTHING on DU.

There are your hopes and wishes.

And then there's reality.

[earthlover]

18. Hillary is the new Death Star!

"Desperate people clinging to false hope, well enjoy it. Hillary is going to win and you will end up looking foolish just like all the republicans who have underestimated her".

She is inevitable. Opposition is futile. Be vanquished now before you look foolish. Submit. Submit. Hillary is inevitable.

Where is Obiwan when you need him?

[Demeter]

7. The Proper Question: Can Hillary Convince You To Support Her?

Answer--she hasn't even tried.

[Eagle_Eye]

8. Hillary will win going away

She has the experience in the Executive Branch.
She has the money.
She has the support.
The hatred for the republicans is stronger now than in 2006.
The republicans, aided by talk radio, just forced us to do absolutely nothing about the immigration problem. No solution, no progress, just a continuation of the problem is all the republicans have to offer.
Hillary can make things happen in congress, and will be elected by more than a 10% margin to do just that.

[clydefrand]

10. I believe she will win and is the most qualified of

all of the candidates on both sides. She has outshown the other candidates in each of the debates. I don't why there are those who say she is unlikeable. Can someone explain to me what she has done that is so dislikeable that is different from what the men candidates have done?

[ClassWarfare2008]

16. She has absolutely NO experience in the executive branch whatsoever.

Being married to someone doesn't qualify as "experience".

Furthermore, the last 40 years of history tells us that SENATORS DO NOT WIN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, so drop Hillary, as well as Obama and Edwards.

Technically, Richardson is the best qualified candidate currently running. And he's a sitting governor. Every President (of either party) since 1968 has either been a VP or a governor. Let me clarify that I am NOT endorsing him. He's considerably too far to the right in many ways for my tastes.

You want (Dog)Shit Romney for President?? Keep hyping Senators as "frontrunners". Especially three of them what have a total of 16 years between the lot of them.

And for the record, I like what Edwards says about economic issues (though he's still meeting with the nazi Bilderberger types for some reason, and that deeply troubles me.)

I think Obama has an excellent chance of becoming a great candidate down the road, but not 2008.

Hillary? Sorry... too much pandering to the right. Official position in DLC leadership. I simply cannot trust her to do what is right for this party or this country.

This country is in deep shit, and voters will be looking for someone to dig us out of the Hellhole that Chimp left us in (Iraq, economy, and otherwise). Do any of you honestly think they're going to entrust that duty to an inexperienced candidate??

[snowbear]

11. You answered your own question.

Clinton is the only major presidential candidate -- either Democrat and Republican -- for whom a majority of likely general election voters say they would not consider voting

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

13. She can win. But she won't win reelection n/t

[natrat]

14. why inteligent people don't recognize the fraud is beyond me

[MrSlayer]

15. The primary? Yes. The general? No.

Nominating Hillary Clinton would be suicide for us. Absolute suicide.

[snowbear]

23. That's exactly what we need! Someone who wins in the P ~but who goes down in flames in the G!! ..

Damn Slayer.. doesn't it seem like the heat is getting to a very small (but vocal) group of DU'ers?

Political suicide is RIGHT.

[tammywammy]

20. No, not in the general election

And hopefully she doesn't win the primary either.

[venable]

22. she can't win, and even if she could, she is, IMO, the worst candidate of them all

if she was the only electable candidate, I might support her because she's better than any republican by a very long shot -

but she is the worst candidate, in my opinion, both in terms of what she believes, and her electability. among the top three, even four or five, she is the least electable.

I really, really hope that the party wakes up and is not swayed by the last name that is so alluring to so many.

[calteacherguy]

25. Can elephants fly? nt

[illinoisprogressive]

26. her high unfavorables are troubling. They have not lowered since she announced.