Boston Globe Opinion - Sanders would be a huge mistake

[LAS14]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/02/18/clinton-can-withstand-gop-attack-machine/Mw3Mo9wowxfaslFKHRXm4L/story.html?s_campaign=8315

By John Sasso February 18, 2016



Even with the New Hampshire primary behind us and the Nevada caucuses this
weekend, we are still just in the early days of one of the most fascinating, unpredictable presidential elections in generations. But it’s not too soon for Democratic voters to take seriously the fact that this process ultimately serves up a party nominee. A key part of that decision has to be which nominee can best compete with the Republicans to hold the White House?
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The 2004 Kerry campaign’s narrow loss remains a painful reminder of how that GOP attack machine can target a decorated war hero at his greatest point of strength — using totally false insinuations. In 1988, Governor Mike Dukakis, as law-abiding a man as you could find, was effectively smeared as coddling rapists and murderers. This year will likely see worse.

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And make no mistake: A Sanders nomination would offer the GOP a target-rich environment. His self-proclaimed socialism, his support for higher income taxes, his policy toward Iran, and his trillions in proposed new spending are ripe targets for attack — and distortion. Nor will the GOP attack machine limit itself to ruthless and unfair criticisms of Sanders’ policy prescriptions. It will go after the man himself — aiming to make him look weak, un-American, old, and incapable of dealing with a dangerous world.
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.After years of enduring extreme scrutiny, Hillary Clinton has convinced a majority of Americans that she has the intellect, stature, and temperament to do the job. She has faced up to — and successfully faced down — decades of right-wing assaults, many of them false. She is battle-tested. She doesn’t fold under pressure. Republicans won’t get away with running a “swift-boat” into her candidacy.

[FreakinDJ]

1. Opinions are like ....

just the facts ..

[whatchamacallit]

2. Wishful

and delusional.

[zappaman]

3. Depends on how you define "huge"

I think he could win a state or two...

[daleanime]

15. His chances of winning the GE....

are much better then Hillary's.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017331356

[Robbins]

4. champion of progressive causes my butt

yeah if you are top 1% she sure is a fighter

[FourScore]

38. HA!! This guy was hired by Cato Institute to HELP PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY!!

It is not surprising to find the Cato Institute in the midst of the swirl to privatize Social Security; there aren't many things government does that Cato doesn't think private markets can do better. In 1995, for Social Security's 60th anniversary, the Cato Institute began its "Project on Social Security Privatization," with a goal of raising $2 million to support a nationwide effort to raise public awareness of a crisis in the system, focusing on the Hill, the media, and public opinion. "We've already raised about half of what we expected to raise," says Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at Cato. "We're receiving support from the financial community, from the investment community, from the insurance community. We're receiving support from large employers concerned about payroll tax increases. And from foundations."

Cato's project is cochaired by Jose Pinera, the former labor minister of Chile who privatized that country's pension system, and William Shipman of State Street Global Advisors, an investment company. State Street itself is taking "a bold stance in favor of private investment options for Social Security revenues," according to its director for industry affairs, Lenny Glynn. To provide political advice, the bank has hired John Sasso, a Democratic consultant who used to be Michael Dukakis's top strategist. Cato's chief backers also include other banks, such as Bank of America, Citicorp, and Chase, as well as insurers and securities firms like Salomon Brothers.

http://prospect.org/article/biggest-deal-lobbying-take-social-security-private

[Fawke Em]

43. Well, there goes that opinion.

Into the trash heap.

Of course this ass thinks Bernie would be a huge mistake - for him and his rich buddies. Bernie will be great for the 99 percent.

[MrWendel]

5. This was the same paper...

that criticized Clintons speech in Harlem. Can't have it both ways Bernie Voters.

[Blue_Adept]

6. A single paper is made up of many voices

[MrWendel]

9. exactly...

very few are that balanced.

[PonyUp]

34. John Sasso, appointed by Bill Clinton to Fannie Mae's board of directors. n/t

[daleanime]

26. Pay attention, this is how it works....

when I agree with someone, I say so.

when I disagree with someone, I say so.

Agree on one topic does not mean that I will agree on all topics, the same applies to disagreements.

I do not throw some one 'under the bus' because I do not agree with them about a subject....unless I'm a Hillary supporter, then any sign of a possible disagreement means.....thump....

[merrily]

27. The Globe can't be right about a speech and wrong about an endorsement? Is that really your logic?

[DrDan]

61. sure they can . . . and attempt it daily

[Xipe Totec]

7. And, of course, HRC has no negatives and the Republicans love her

It would be a cinch for her to win the Presidency against the Donald.

[JudyM]

46. She is by far the more "target-rich environment." Nt

[GreatGazoo]

8. ...a gentle reminder that Fair Use of quoted material is limited to 4 paragraphs

They don't have to be 4 contiguous paragraphs (use an ellipses if they aren't) but the limit is four.

[LAS14]

23. Ah. I was wondering about that.

I'll edit it down.

[workinclasszero]

10. "And make no mistake: A Sanders nomination would offer the GOP a target-rich environment."

Understatement of the year.

[jeff47]

24. Because the FBI won't leak like a sieve if Clinton's the nominee. (nt)

[merrily]

28. As if a Hillary nomination would leave Republicans speechless or singing her praises. Please.

[book_worm]

11. the fact is that the media and the Republicans have not even begun yet to scrutinize

Bernie. Hillary has been attacked and scrutinized for years and that does take a toll on your favorability and it is one of Bernie's advantages that up to now they have not really began on him--either because they didn't take him seriously or because they really would like him to be the Democratic nominee because he would be the easiest to attack as a tax and spend liberal or in his case Socialist.

[oasis]

19. Exactly. nt

[jeff47]

25. So Clinton's campaign is utterly incompetent?

How come they can't use these super-easy attacks against Sanders?

[merrily]

31. THEY HAVE! He waves his arms, raises his voice, points his finger and was in a photo 50 years ago!1!

I honestly don't see how I can possibly vote for a candidate like that over someone who voted for the Iraq War.

(Great point, btw.)

[merrily]

29. False meme. Hillary has never been attacked as a Presidential candidate.

Attacking her as First Lady, or even SOS, was nothing compared to what she'd get as a nominee, especially one under FBI investigation.

[Fla Dem]

64. You seem to forget the attacks on her during her 2008 presidential campaign.

Early opposition from two sides[edit]


In February 2007 The Los Angeles Times reported that several anti-Clinton organizations, including Stop Her Now and Stop Hillary PAC, were preparing "swiftboating" style attacks against her, with venues to include a documentary film, numerous books, and websites.[1] A top Rudy Giuliani donor, Richard Collins, who has also supported George W. Bush for several years, was central in establishing "Stop Her Now."[2]

CNN reported that 320,000 users joined the Facebook group "Stop Hillary Clinton: (One Million Strong AGAINST Hillary)".[3] The news blog, The Politico gave the membership number as 418,000 members.[4] This group was the largest group for or against a presidential candidate on Facebook;[4] The Politico argued that this happened because "Clinton has had a polarizing effect."[4]
Former Bill Clinton fundraiser and ally David Geffen spoke out against Hillary Clinton in an interview with Maureen Dowd. Geffen stated that Clinton "was overproduced and overscripted." He also stated that, "I don't think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person [...] Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling."[5] The Clinton campaign responded by stating, "While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband. If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money. While Democrats should engage in a vigorous debate on the issues, there is no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Senator Obama's principal fundraiser."[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton_presidential_primary_campaign,_2008

[merrily]

67. No, I seem to forget that Hillary was the nominee in 2008.

[DrDan]

62. exactly - they are salivating at the opportunity to attack him - the attacks write themselves

[valerief]

12. No, we can't! No, we can't!

Anyone else tired of that message?

[Gregorian]

13. And then there's her transcripts.

Unless she discloses them before the general election, they'll eviscerate her, just like the article says.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Translations: We should let the Republicans dictate who our candidate should be.

[libtodeath]

21. That really is what it is saying.

Just sickening.

[merrily]

32. Great point.

[reformist2]

16. They emphasize how "risky" Sanders would be, but ignore Hillary's huge negative ratings.

They gloss over the much-reported and well-documented fact that the majority of Americans dislike Hillary. Unlike Bernie, she'll get very few independents, and will get almost zero "crossover" votes from Republicans.

[libtodeath]

17. Why should we bother to run a person the repukes wont like by the sounds.

I want someone they despise,it means Bernie is right.

[Flying Squirrel]

65. I don't want someone they despise, I want someone they fear.

They despise Hillary. They fear Bernie.

[blm]

18. GOP has a well-oiled propaganda machine pushing lies 24/7. EVERY Dem is a target no matter who we

Last edited Fri Feb 19, 2016, 04:07 PM - Edit history (1)

nominate, so everyone should vote in the primary for whoever they choose. I dislike these articles, even if they were written earnestly.

[Salviati]

59. Exactly.

I'm supposed to be afraid that the're going to call Bernie a Socialist? They call Obama a Socialist for chrissakes, they'd call Hillary a Socialist too. The republicans are so fast and loose with that word that I think it's lost all it's meaning except for the mush-minded fearbots that would never vote for a democrat anyway.

[Orsino]

20. "Surely, Comrade, you do not want Jones back?" n/t

[stillwaiting]

22. New Democrats have ALREADY lost Congress, most state governorships, and

most state legislatures.

And that's against an insane, reckless, and completely irresponsible Republican Party no less.

With Bernie, we might get back the Senate.

With Bernie, we rebuild a Democratic Party that works for the People and that the People can trust again. (if we continue the momentum after Bernie's election and I think we will).

[merrily]

33. Worst losses since 1928--and that was only 2014. Before that, there was 2010.

So they double down on Third Way.

[stillwaiting]

36. They will always do that. Unless we show them the door.

A political revolution is the only way to end the current political machinations within the Democratic Party.

[merrily]

37. I agree. "The left has nowhere else to go" has to stop being their answer.

[mikehiggins]

30. Regarding the omnipotent GOPuke attack machine

Has anyone noticed what has happened over the last decade or so?

How many people are happy?

How many are satisified?

How many think they've been fucked over by Wall Street and others?

How many give a rats ass over labels like "socialist"?

THe world has "evolved", to coin a phrase, and YUGE amounts of people are waiting to give the finger to those who have done just that to them.

And there is the Internet to bypass the control the MSM has over information.

So, all of you who have so little faith in the American people, what do you care about the doomed campaign of Bernie Sanders? He obviously can't win so why worry? Just go about your business until the next crash.

Shalom, dudes

[merrily]

35. In recent years, the Globe has been lousy at the newspaper business. Why should I take its word

about who would make the best President, which is not even its field?

Besides, a lot of Boston and Massachusetts pols endorsed Hillary and I'm guessing that had some influence on the Globe as well.


Finally, I've never met anyone who votes based on a newspaper endorsement. In my entire life, I considered an endorsement once. It was a small race for a way down ticket office where I'd never heard of either candidate. I'd barely heard of the office. I called my state rep's office to see if he had a recommendation. He did and I followed it. He's doing time in federal prison now, where way too many speakers of the house of the Massachusetts legislature have been.

[NurseJackie]

39. I could not agree more.

[LondonReign2]

40. Ah, the electibility argument

Unfortunately for this argument, the current polling data show Bernie doing better than Hillary against every single potential Repub nominee. Hillary is distrusted by vast numbers of the electorate, she isn't going to be able to overcome that.

[LAS14]

42. Exactly

Electability. The article points out that Bernie's negatives haven't bee targeted yet. They will be. This is the USA. We don't elect socialists. I'm not against socialists. I think the scandinavian countries are wonderful, but we don't have their history. We have ours.

[LondonReign2]

44. Kinda like we don't elect black Presidents, eh? Or Catholics (before JFK).

[LAS14]

47. Way different.

We had enormous numbers of Catholics and blacks in the population and enormous numbers of people for whom those characteristics were not a problem. That is not true with socialism.

We don't have the luxury of ignoring this.

[LAS14]

41. A lot of these responses...

... sound like the man who decided to cross the road in front of a moving tractor trailor because the man had the green light.

The stakes are too high to ignore John Sasso's point. There's not much more the Republicans can aim at Hillary. And a point he didn't make... likeability does not equal electability. That's why it's a separate question.

[Bucky]

45. They make an important point. Cause no WAY would the Republicans call Clinton a socialist

[Fred75]

48. Not True

The only thing Republicans can go after Bernie is to say his figures on his platform are wrong.

[Armstead]

49. The man who led President Kerry and President Dukakis to Victory?

Slugline to that article

John Sasso was John Kerry’s general election manager at the Democratic National Committee in 2004 and manager of Michael Dukakis’s presidential campaign in 1988.

[SunSeeker]

50. K & R

[SoLeftIAmRight]

51. Hillary Clinton has convinced a majority of Americans that she has the intellect, stature, and tempe

I smell something.

[deutsey]

54. Sasso goes way back with the Clintons

[SoLeftIAmRight]

55. The same is true with most all the ":hit" piece writers.

We have a huge mountain to climb and I am happy about the progress.

[livetohike]

52. K&R

[californiabernin]

53. Another opinion based on no objective data whatsoever

Yeah, let's just ignore what the voters are saying in all those silly polls.

[LAS14]

66. The point is that CURRENT polls...

... don't tell us what will happen in the future when the GOP has a go at the nominee. The op-ed is making the point that what will cause significant damage to Bernie hasn't happened yet.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110750359

[liberal_at_heart]

56. recycling memes I see. Keep up. Today's meme is that Bernie is an Independent which

40% of Americans are by the way.

[mhatrw]

57. Sanders can fight back on CORRUPTION, INCOME INEQUALITY & GREED!

Sanders will easily be able paint all the Repuke distortions as the product of rich Repuke contributors desperately trying to maintain a rigged system that benefits only them because this will be the obvious TRUTH.

Clinton can NOT fight their attacks this way because she is one of them.

[McCamy Taylor]

58. Exactly why so many Republicans are crossing primary lines to vote for Sanders.

[DrDan]

60. spot-on

[DesertRat]

63. k&r

[Warren DeMontague]

68. Like how in 2004 we ran the electable guy and won, and in '08 we nominated the guy

That the conventional wisdom yubnubs all said it would be INSANE to nominate, never mind his huge crowds and inspirational campaign... And we lost.




Oh, wait.