Thought Experiment- Hillary Clinton in the MA Race Instead Of Coakley

[KittyWampus]

Personally, I think she would have had Brown whimpering for mercy within the first week of her campaign.

[JI7]

1. so would capuano who ran in the primary, don't know why "the base"

didn't come out to vote for him

[Recursion]

11. I worked my ass off for Khazei

I think he or Capuano would have run a ground game that would have destroyed Brown. But I may just be fooling myself.

[Captain Hilts]

15. They would have known not to accuse Shilling of being a Yanks fan. And spell 'Massachusetts' correct

[Recursion]

18. Oh, and don't forget "campaign" and not take a vacation. NT

[CoffinEd]

22. Nope...

You're not fooling yourself. I voted for Capuano and I think either he or Khazei would have smacked Brown's butt left and right. When Coakley won the primaries, I was bummed and not only because my man didn't win.

[Recursion]

24. 2 Years

I'll support either of them if they go for it again.

[CoffinEd]

28. You and me both!

And that is a promise.

[xultar]

2. Fuckin-a

[FreakinDJ]

3. That Gal Fights

[KingFlorez]

4. She would have chewed him up

We need tough, badass candidates, not stumblers.

[Radical Activist]

5. nasty attacks and tired, poll-tested slogans.

I'm not sure that's what people are looking for. That may be part of the problem. It didn't work for her in '08.

[KittyWampus]

7. It did in Massachusetts

[Captain Hilts]

12. Despite wall to wall campaigning by the Kennedys. But a competent Dem would have won this race.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Most Democrats would have done so. nt

[Recursion]

8. I've been trying to avoid saying this, but Coakley reminded me of Clinton

First off there's the physical resemblance, which is neither here nor there. But the way Coakley handled her campaign reminded me a lot of how Clinton handled her campaign against Obama.

[Captain Hilts]

10. Not fair to Clinton at all. nt

[Recursion]

14. Convince me of a difference

A candidate sees herself as the annointed winner of an election months before the actual voting and is beaten by an insurgent. Admittedly Clinton didn't literally take a Caribbean vacation (seriously, Coakley?), but she did fail to plan past Super Tuesday.

[Captain Hilts]

17. Clinton came close, Coakly didn't. nt

[Recursion]

23. The results were pretty similar; 5 points or so

I mean, Clinton cleaned Obama's clock in MA, but overall it was about 52/47.

And, seriously, can you honestly not see a comparison between Coakley's attempt at self-crowning and Clinton's?

[KittyWampus]

13. I don't think you were paying attention. Nothing similar. Clinton busted her butt

and made almost no gaffes.

[Recursion]

16. *cough*

I'm going to move on now, if that's the universe we're living in.

[ruggerson]

19. yes, they both have breasts

:eyes:

[Recursion]

21. And chin-length blonde hair and strong chins and high cheekbones

And they talk similarly. But, yeah, otherwise there's no resemblance.

[juajen]

30. And one is the most respected woman in the world. Get a grip! NT

[Beacool]

32. And the most popular politician in the country.

Yeah, she's exactly like Coakley.

:eyes:



:7

[Grand Taurean]

9. The public would have seen Brown for who he is

a reactionary neo-con who uses his pretty boy looks to mask who he really is.

[Ken Burch]

20. Would she have been able to establish Massachusetts residency in time?

(also, has anybody ever been elected senator from two different states?)

[juajen]

31. Come on, this is not a serious discussion. She would never

have run, though she would have won easily in Massachusetts.

[Ken Burch]

34. Agreed, she would have won easily.

Didn't know how serious the discussion was. But a practical question like that WOULD have come into play.

[wisteria]

25. She would have run a more energetic campaign, I will give her that. n/t

[Recursion]

26. What world are we living in?

Do you remember Clinton's campaign in February of 2008? Am I the only one who sees this? She did the exact same thing in that critical month that Coakley did in December of 2009: nothing.

[CoffinEd]

27. True...

But we had two candidates who I believe would have done the same thing had either one survived the primaries. Coakley had the name recognition and cash (more so the name recognition), which is why she prevailed in the primaries. But she lacked the campaigning experience and, more importantly, the will to win.

Capuano and Khazei lacked the name recognition in many parts of the state (similar to Scott Brown), but would have made themselves known between the time of the nomination and the election. And they would have fought Brown tooth and nail. This is my belief, and I hope that one or both men run again in 2012.

No offense to Hillary, but the wrong damn candidate went up against Brown. And I also read in a MA publication that he only entered the race to increase his visibility so that he could eventually run for a higher state position. He did not expect to win Kennedy's seat.

[Recursion]

29. Air game or ground game

Capuano is my representative. Love him. Khazei created City Year (which became Americorps). Love him.

Air game or ground game. Capuano would have used every single asset of the state's machine (the parts that DiMasi didn't destroy) and wrung Brown's neck. Honestly if there's a natural inheritor of the Kennedy mantle it's him.

Khazei had a grassroots organization that was absolutely amazing to see (enough to get him within a few points of Capuano and Coakley in the primary despite no experience in elected office, ever). He would have brought in OFA immediately, and also have wrung Brown's neck.

And, yes, Brown started this as a lark to improve his standing in the state house. Sigh.

[Metric System]

33. Yay, a Hillary-bashing thread! Just what we need right now... (not directed at the OP)

[Beacool]

35. They are the left's favorite whipping boy/girl.

When in doubt blame a Clinton for whatever ails the nation. A candidate loses a senate seat that was held by the Democrats since 1956 and it's Bill's fault????? It's not Coakley's fault, it's not the lousy economy, it's not the tin ear of those in the WH or the fact that the Republican ran a better campaign. Nope, no siree, somehow it's Clinton's fault.

:rofl: