Part of the case for Hillary Clinton.

[pnwmom]

In 2016 I will support whoever wins the Democratic primary. But in the meantime, here are some reasons why I'd be very comfortable with Clinton as the nominee.

We know her from two decades in the public eye, and she's a solid, reliable progressive. IF -- and only if -- we can give her a more progressive Congress than the current one, she'll take it and run with it.

She was an excellent Secretary of State, helping PBO to recover U.S. stature in the world, after the disastrous reign of George Bush.

She was a progressive and effective Senator from New York.

She is a leader for women around the world. Many Americans take her for granted, having no idea how inspirational a figure she is world-wide.

She knows how to put a campaign organization together, and she knows how to learn from her mistakes. She will have an enthusiastic base, and plenty of financial backing. If she decides to run, she'll be able to take on anyone the Rethugs nominate.

[hrmjustin]

1. I voted for her three times and hope to vote for her again.

[Wilms]

2. Progressive?

Some of her positions are that, but I'm surprised by the use of the word in describing her.

GWB helped BHO by leaving the WH. The world went nuts with joy and relief...but drones and spying seem to have cooled the enthusiasm.

As SoS, Clinton was reported to have ordered spying on allies back in mid-2012.

She's all about H-1B Visas.

And she'll likely come complete with all the banksters we've come to know over the last two decades.

To me, the BEST two reasons to hire her as the next Prsident is that it would be awesome to have a woman in that office, and the right wing will lose it's mind. But those aren't good reasons.

[Whisp]

4. Clinton spies on UN.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-spying-un

A classified directive which appears to blur the line between diplomacy and spying was issued to US diplomats under Hillary Clinton's name in July 2009, demanding forensic technical details about the communications systems used by top UN officials, including passwords and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications.

==
This will be interesting to see -- how the very vocal anti-anything-NSA folks who also very vocally support Hillary Clinton.

[libdem4life]

13. Maybe the numbers by real organizations that do that kind of thing for a living.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251339946

The above post complete with real numbers and real statistics with real links. Inconvenient, for some, to be sure.

To me, the last reason to "hire her", as you say, is that she is a woman.

[mike_c]

3. I think you and I have different notions about "solid, dependable progressives...."

HRC is less progressive than Obama IMO, and any territory to the right of Obama is way too far right for me.

[pnwmom]

9. Mine is mostly based on their voting records in Congress.

What is yours based on?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251339946

[mike_c]

11. interesting-- again, I think we view them differently....

Looking at the liberalism scores calculated from voting records by a variety of organizations (ACLU, NARAL, NAACP, SEIU, League of Conservation Voters) for all U.S. Senators on FindTheData.com, Hillary Clinton received an 82%. Now, 82% sounds OK, but the mean score for ALL democratic party senators was 94%-- fully 12 percentage points higher than Clinton, and that includes scores like Tim Johnson (D- SD) 56% and Ben Nelson (D- NB) 66%. Barack Obama clocked in at 80%, so both Obama and Clinton are well to the right of the senate democratic mean, which is itself way to corporocentrist for my tastes. Diane Fienstein, whom I loath, was judged more liberal than senator Clinton, at 86%.

No way I'd call such a senator "progressive." She supported (with her vote) the IWR (and then voted repeatedly to keep funding the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan), the Patriot Act, NCLB, and confirmation of Condeleeza Rice as SecState. She cosponsored the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. I could go on, but I won't. I'm not here to bash HRC, but I will say that I'll never vote for her for national office, not even holding my nose.

[pnwmom]

12. The question isn't whether she is among the most liberal of liberals

in the Senate.

The question is whether she is a liberal relative to the mainstream voter, and she clearly is.

Sen. George McGovern was a liberal among liberals -- and he lost 49 states to Richard Nixon.

[mike_c]

14. well, you suggested that her voting record made her a "solid progressive...."

Empirical data seems not to support that assertion. Compared to the rest of the senate dems, she is solidly centrist, not at all progressive.

[pnwmom]

16. It does. Whether her vote was 90% on progressive issues or

80+ percent, that is a very solid score.

The average Senate Democrat is very liberal according to the measures both of us found. So being in the middle of that group still makes you liberal.

If our next President were to be elected by only very liberal Senate Democrats, then it might matter that she's not among the very most liberal.

But she has to be elected by the country as a whole, and on that much broader scale, she's clearly to the left of the average voter -- but hopefully not so far to the left that the real centrists and independents won't even consider her.

[tularetom]

5. Obama is most definitely not progressive and Clinton is less progressive than he is

There are others I'd prefer to see on the ticket than her.

At the moment I would not support her in a primary if there is a more progressive candidate running. I would still vote for her in a general election but I would not donate any money, place a sign on my lawn, whatever.

But it isn't even 2014 yet. Let alone 2016. A lot could change.

[pnwmom]

10. Why do you think she is less progressive,

when her voting record in the Senate was more progressive?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251339946

[tularetom]

19. Voting for Iraq War resolution is definitely not progressive

Involvement with "the Family" group of religious whack jobs in Washington is not progressive.

Support for the TPP is not progressive (I'm aware Obama supports it as well).

Collecting six figure fees for making speeches to Goldman Sachs banking thieves is very much not progressive.

I'm certainly not touting Obama as a paragon of progressivism. And I don't base my opinion solely on Senate voting records.

But on high profile issues like national defense and and bank regulation, she is far more in the pocket of the Pentagon and Wall Street than is Obama.

[davidpdx]

21. My opinion is pretty close to yours

I'd like to see a variety of candidates regardless of whether people say they can win. I would say I'd be highly unlikely to vote for her in the primary.

Then again the primary for Oregon is in May and most of the time the nomination is decided far in advance of that (2008 was the rare exception).

As you said, it all depends how things work out. I'm certainly not ready to say who I'll vote for nor be cowed into it by people who want to force their opinions down your throat. If I wanted that I'd go to church.

[Aaron8418]

6. she's the least progressive but i will support her compared to a rethug

[pnwmom]

7. She's the least progressive compared to who?

Welcome to DU!

[gopiscrap]

17. welcome to DU

[madrchsod]

8. she`ll be better than anything the rethugs will elect to run

but she`s not my pick to run.

[libdem4life]

15. Sometimes I wish there was a Democratic pledge...dislike the candidate all you like, but please,

please, please, do not share the angst and anguish with other voters, i.e. everyday, non-political junkies. Especially if you work local and state issues. If you can't say something decent, then keep it on DU or other appropriate venue.

Low information voters...that are still voting...may not get that you might end up voting for said candidate anyway, and decide to vote against them or stay at home. That is why many stay home anyway. Just a bunch of crooks...just sayin'

[blkmusclmachine]

18. Can't wait to see who the 3rd Party Candidate I'll be voting for in 2016 will be, in red red TX

Say NO! to HRC.

[Always Randy]

20. Greetings to you this evening Black Muscle Machine

You've made it quite emphatic about being against HRC----who do you want for a candidate?

[Sognefjord]

22. Vomiting noises in the alley.