Republicans 4 Hillary!?! GOP launches risky venture in effort to energize party activists

[ariesgem]

WASHINGTON - Is the vast right-wing conspiracy trying to help Hillary Rodham Clinton win the Democratic nomination?

Leading her Democratic rivals by double digits in recent national polls, Clinton's campaign has benefited from several key factors over the past seven months: strong performances at debates, stumbles by rivals and solid fundraising. Recently, however, she's drawing a bounce from an unlikely source: conservative Republicans, whose fears of a Democratic takeover are forcing them to mount a risky venture.

Divided and discouraged by a GOP field they view as lackluster, they've concluded that the best way to energize party activists, hold the White House and, possibly, return to power on Capitol Hill, is to help Clinton secure the Democratic nod and become her party's most dominant voice.

This week, for example, a White House spokeswoman uncharacteristically fired back at Clinton for, of all things, running a campaign ad in Iowa that (gasp!) criticizes President Bush. "If you're a family that is struggling and you don't have health care, you are invisible to this president," Clinton says in the ad. "If you're a single mom trying to find affordable child care so you can go to work, you're invisible, too."

Spokeswoman Dana Perino took the bait, dubbing Clinton's ad "outrageous," "absurd" and "unconscionable."

In his interview last Saturday with the Wall Street Journal, outgoing White House adviser Karl Rove called Clinton "a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate," who is nonetheless likely to win the Democratic nod. Ever disciplined, Rove repeated his comments in media interviews throughout the week. "Any rational observer would have to say that Hillary Clinton is a prohibitive favorite to win the nomination," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. In an interview with the Politico, he explained why he believes Clinton will prevail. "She's strong and she's got the establishment of the Democratic Party, and she benefits from having relatively weak or inexperienced opponents."

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Other efforts by administration officials outside the political confines of the White House have also helped Clinton solidify support within her party's base. Last month, the Pentagon rebuked the senator after she requested an outline for withdrawing troops from Iraq. "Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq," Undersecretary for Defense Eric Edelman wrote in a highly publicized letter .

While Defense Secretary Robert Gates later apologized to Clinton, Edelman's move drew support from Vice President Cheney. "I thought it was a good letter," Cheney said.

In another recent move that both boosted Clinton and discredited her main rival, Bush dealt swiftly with an international situation Barack Obama created when the Illinois senator declared he'd send U.S. troops into Pakistan as president if he believed terrorists were being harbored there. The move cast doubt on Obama's suitability as a global leader while lending Clinton the air of credibility.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20298702/

[yellowcanine]

1. Heh. If that is their plan maybe they should talk to the New York Republicans.

The strategy of running against Hillary rather than getting a good candidate of their own didn't work out too well for them in the Senate race - and remember - Ghouliani bowed out of that one rather than run the risk of losing to Hillary.....

[Gman]

2. Dana Perino is such a drama queen