Beware the dreaded 'Clinton machine'

[Doondoo]

It is an odd article of faith among conservatives that Hillary Clinton is a sure-fire lock to win the Democratic presidential nomination. You can hardly turn on Fox News without hearing some pundit assure viewers that Clinton is the runaway favorite. But this belief says more about them than it does about her. The belief in her invincibility is a product of their deepest fears.

After all, it's not as though conservatives think that Clinton is a brilliant, natural politician. Nobody does — as a backslapper and as a public speaker, she's decidedly average. When they try to talk about why Clinton inevitably will roll over her primary competition, they usually invoke the dreaded "Clinton machine." A recent Wall Street Journal editorial, for instance, asserted that Clinton is the clear favorite but offered little evidence to support this other than the existence of "those Clinton legions — of fundraisers, union chiefs, party bosses, think tank operatives, media consultants."

........

Why do so many conservatives insist that she's a lock to get the nomination?

A few of them have a strong vested interest in the Hillary Clinton boogeyman. There's an enormous amount of money to be made in scaring the pants off of conservatives about Clinton. Last year, conservative pundit John Podhoretz published the fear-mongering screed "Can She Be Stopped?" "Hillary Rodham Clinton will become the next president of the United States unless you Republicans can find a way to stop her," he warned. I'm guessing the way of stopping her involved, among other things, buying Podhoretz's book.

The bigger factor, I think, is that conservatives are spooked by the Clintons. They had Bill Clinton on the ropes when they took control of Congress after the 1994 elections. He beat back their revolution. They had him again a few years later when they caught him with his pants down and made his misbehavior a theme of the 1998 midterm elections. Instead, Democrats won seats. In the Republican mind, there must have been some sort of Clinton voodoo at work. The public was on their side, they believe, yet through some sort of nefarious dark political art, he turned the tables on them.

The conservative hatred of the Clintons has always had around the edges a certain fear of the supernatural. A famous 1993 American Spectator cover story depicted Hillary Clinton as a witch. A witch is an object of hatred, of course, but also a creature with dark and frightening powers.


http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-chait25feb25,0,6903119.column?coll=la-opinion-center

[ShortnFiery]

1. Oh stop! IMO the entire Clinton mystique has played itself out.

No more "come back kid" but presently touring with Poppy while Hill's on a listening tour. <wink wink nudge nudge>

Every dog has it's day and this one loves to dine (big bucks for speaking tours) but no longer hunts. ;)

[MethuenProgressive]

2. It's been obvious the Right fears Hillary for years...

... and their very effective propaganda machine's message has creeped into the minds of many Democrats.

[aquart]

3. The Right fears WOMEN who seek power.

Democrats have husbands and wives.

Republicans have little women.

[ShortnFiery]

4. No Propaganda machine for I admired her when she was a Populist.

But not since she's gone haywire with all that deceitful "triangulation."

She is not what she was ... and neither is "The Big Dog." :thumbsdown:

I don't hate her but I don't want another "go along to get along" Democrat in the WH pushing the country ever more to the AUTHORITARIAN RIGHT. :scared:

[rocktivity]

5. The Rethugs want Hillary for the same reason why they wanted Kerry

They have the best chance of defeating her. They can't accuse Obama or Clark of being for the war because they're against it, Edwards has renounced his war vote, and she'd rather attack the other Dem candidates than them!

:headbang:
rocknation

[marmar]

8. That's my assumption....

They are almost laser-locked on her being the nominee, and we know that this group of vermin always has an agenda. I worry that they've got some vault of Clinton skeletons that they haven't opened yet.

[jwirr]

6. Bill and Hillary are experts at going directly to the party officials in

each state to consolidate votes while less experienced candidates work for the support of the people. Each candidate needs to understand that the primaries like the general election are a two-tiered machine.

[BeyondGeography]

7. The country needs to move on

Much as Clinton's supporters relish the thought of rubbing the Right's face in another 4-8 years of the people from Hope, is this really the healthiest thing for our Party and for the country? Before the Clinton crowd flames me, understand that I and everyone else on this board who support someone other than Hillary are just as opposed to the Right as you. But 2008 represents a chance for a fresh start, at least a fresher start than could be offered by the Clintons and the same old polarization, which the media so devoutly wishes for. Conflict and Clinton hatred will always trump substance for them. Billary is their perfect foil.

I support Obama among other reasons because I think he has the substance and the charisma to rise above the media shitstorm and make himself heard by the population. Naive? Perhaps. But we can always dream, and that's what elections tend to be about. There are plenty of substantive reasons to oppose Billary, mostly for her War on Terror chest-thumping, IWR supporting ways. But a big part of the problem is that the Clintons represent a return to the mosh pit, and many in this country don't want to go there.

[chefgirl]

9. You're so right

Too right in so many ways.

Let me just say, I'm not a Hillary hater, I'm a died in the wool RightWing hater. That's the number one reason I don't want Hillary to be the nominee, or the President, for that matter.

Lets not ever forget the shit the right wing put the country through during Bill Clinton's presidency. Is there anyone here who really wants to put up with all that again? Is there anyone here who thinks we wouldn't if Hillary were elected?

Lets move on and TRULY make a change in America. A Hillary Clinton presidency does not represent that change.

-chef-

[leomcgarrysghost]

10. I like Obama

He's selling hope and optimism. No offense to Hillary, but she isn't doing that so good as Obama is. I want to be hopeful and optimistic. I want to think things are gonna get better - Obama makes me think this.

[TahitiNut]

11. It's the implication of "inevitability" that sets my teeth on edge.

This presumption saturates the media as well as much of the discourse on DU. I think it probably gives rise to some resentment to the rank-and-file of the Democratic Party as well - as if they don't have a choice. This feeling of not having a choice is wearing mighty think, I think. Better late than never. The invasion of Iraq seemed "inevitable." The Republan control of Congress, even in the minority, not to mention the fascist control of the Republan Party, seems "inevitable." Even in rallying behind candidates on the "left," the rhetoric of "inevitability" has saturated the discourse on DU regarding Kucinich. So mighty seems the "inevitable" that many are inclined to look around and select a weak scapegoat for the frustrations. (At least that's how I view the exaggerated demonization of Nader/Greens.)

Too many people are willing to give up before we really invest a major effort, risking life and limb, that's commensurate to the conditions as we say we see them. Do we harbor doubts that things are not as we say they appear? Are we engaging in conscious hyperbole? When will we match our words with the requisite actions? Wallowing in a sense of helplessness and frustration isn't the answer.

[mdmc]

12. It is false hatred

In fact they are fine with her. They hate her, and she unifies their base. Rudy Ghouliani would divide their base.

The conservatives are fine with HRC. The corporations are fine with HRC. The DLC and the Dems are fine with HRC. Only the anti-war progressive liberals are not fine with her. And we (the anti-war progressive liberals) will deal with her.