There is currently an article on Huffington Post entitled All Is Not Well In Hillaryland. This article lays out well why I fear a Hillary nomination, from the email issues, the hate from the right, the FOX propaganda machine and all the 'scandals' from Bill's presidency, being brought back up, whether true or not, ultimately makes Hillary a weak candidate in the general election. Follow below the squiggly for more.
It seems to me that Hillary's candidacy most closely compares to John Kerry's '04 campaign. Kerry didn't have nearly the 'dirt' that Hillary has for swiftboating purposes, yet he still lost to the worst president ever, continuing the disaster that was Goober W Bush. In another opinion piece from the Guardian Mary Dejevsky makes the case for why Hillary should bow out now:
Reality must be looked in the eye. Clinton is a hugely divisive figure, including within her own party â and not primarily because she is a woman. There is the clan question. What does it say about the meritocratic credentials of the United States that two of the most favoured candidates for 2016 are closely related to recent presidents? Neither is to blame but in my book, this alone would be a reason for both Clinton and Jeb Bush to leave the field. It is also a reason why they may not be electable.
Dejevsky goes on to say the 'scandals' during Bill's presidency, Whitewater, Rose Law Firm, the Foster suicide, etc. whether true or not, will be used by FOX to the fullest extent to tear her down. But mostly, there is plenty of more recent issues to provide FOX and right-wing radio ammunition:
Clintonâs chief liability, though, is the baggage she carries of her own. This includes the matter of that private email account she is claimed to have used professionally while secretary of state, and her handling of the murder of the US ambassador in Libya. The latter suggests a reluctance to accept ultimate responsibility, which is not a good recommendation for a president. The former suggests confusion about where to draw the line between the personal and the professional, a line more clearly drawn in US politics than here. Her explanations most recently to reporters in Iowa, where she talked about convenience that turned out âto be not so convenient remain unsatisfactory and high-handed.
I believe that most of the Republican candidates would fair as well as Bush did against Kerry. Most of the Republican candidates are certainly smarter than the Decider. And they have, or will have, all the money they need to buy up the airwaves to trash Hillary to the hilt. I think Hillary would be a good president, I just don't think she can get there.
The Case For Bernie
I have been following Bernie for more than a decade. His policy prescriptions align perfectly with my thinking on the issues. Some differences with Hillary are:
He opposes KXL, TPP, NAFTA, CAFTA, GAT; voted no on Iraq, twice; voted no on the Patriot Act. Wants to re-instate Glass-Steagall; supported by unions, not banks, publicly finance elections, scrap the social security income tax cap, apply financial transaction tax to pay for education, refinance student loan debt, deal with criminal/racial justice reform/de-militarize police; $15 per hour minimum wage. There are more, but you get the point. There is no wavering, poll testing, prevarication, triangulating, or waffling going on with Bernie. He says what he means, and means what he says. Even though his initials are BS, there's no BS!
Bernie is an honest politician. He has cross-over appeal Hillary can only dream about. Every Republican I have spoken to feel Bernie is honest, and several of them are going to vote for him. My first diary was all about my frustration with Obama back in 2011 and wishing we could have a real progressive like Bernie running a write-in campaign. (I know, lame, not possible), but still, Hillary, if she can get there, which I have serious doubts, would be more of the same half measure mediator and controlled by Wall Street that Obama has been.
Regarding Black Lives Matter: I was at Westlake Park last weekend and like most people there, I was pissed when Bernie did not get to speak. Some on the right have suggested that Bernie is weak because he did not stand his ground and get the mic back from the protesters. What was he supposed to do, punch them? That would have been campaign over. I have since re-evaluated and I think that this will only help Bernie's campaign. BLM is becoming an ally and Bernie is best suited to address their issues. Bernie takes a back seat to no one when it comes to civil rights. He is only lacking in name recognition in the minority communities and this will change as time goes on. Here's hoping Jesse Jackson endorses him this evening.
I truly believe the Republicans fear Bernie more than Hillary. Ann Coulter of all people has said as much. If there was any serious dirt on Bernie I'm sure that Hillary's and the Republican opposition research teams would have discovered this long ago. Bernie has been killing them with kindness and respect and just talking the issues. The MSM doesn't know how to handle someone who truly speaks truth to power.
Bernie would be a transformative president. Much like I had hoped for Obama. But when you are tied to Wall Street, there's only so much changing you can do. Hillary would be more of the same, if she can get there. Why would we want to take the chance of more status quo when we have a real opportunity at pulling the whole Overton window back to the left so we can implement Bernie's mainstream agenda?
The only way Bernie gets knocked out of the running is if the establishment opposition and media can come up with a Dean Scream kind of thing to irrevocably damage him. And we all know what happened the last time a progressive from Vermont got knocked out of the race. Let's not let Hillary be the next John Kerry. Vote Bernie for President. #FeelTheBern