Hillary Clinton has the Democratic nomination for president. Now the hard part begins. She'll have to climb a mountain. A substantial number of Americans see her as the status quo in an election where the majority of them are clamouring for change. Tom Walkom writes:
When U.S. President Barack Obama called the former senator and secretary of state the most qualified presidential candidate ever, he wasn’t far off.When he noted on Wednesday night she was more qualified than both he and former president Bill Clinton had been when they first took office, he was absolutely correct. Compared to Hillary Clinton today, both men then were callow newcomers.But it’s worth noting that both Obama and Bill Clinton won. And they won in large part because they were new.
Victor Hugo wrote that there is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. If Americans think that Hillary's time has passed, she'll loose -- even if Donald Trump is a very bad idea. That's why the theme floating through Bill Clinton's biography of his wife was that she was the "best darned change maker" he knew:
Bill Clinton understands the problem, which is why in his speech to the convention Tuesday night he insisted on referring to his wife as a “change-maker.”In particular, he cited her role in passing a law to provide health insurance to poor children and her ability to winkle out federal funds for New York City after 9-11. He pointedly didn’t talk about her failure to get a more generalized health insurance reform though Congress.
Hillary's mountain isn't Everest. It's more like the Matterhorn. It can be scaled by a skilled politician. Donald Trump's approach to mountain climbing appears to be, if you generate enough hot hair, you can soar to the top.
So Hillary's task will be twofold. As she scales the mountain, she'll have to puncture Trump's balloon.
Image: en.wikipedia.org
14 comments:
She fails. Its not a genuine story. You do not go from Goldwater brat to the leader of the free world in no steps. Hillary like it or not epitomizes everthing wrong in this world.
Worms Roxamme worms. This is Hillar speak becasues she has no other voice. The electorate
will see this as phoney, cause it is.
Hillary's mountain is all ambition. Her vision is the status quo: more government-by-bribe that began when her hubby was in power. The only thing she plans on changing is who gets the bribes (herself prominently; apparently $100-million ain't enough; guess it never is.)
I think Hillary is much more dangerous than Trump. Hillary's banking regulations are written by corrupt bankers (when Bill let them write the regulations it produced the 2000s Bust Out and 2008 global derivatives meltdown.) Hillary's trade policies are written by rent-seeking corporate agglomerations (outsourcing jobs creates jobs!) Hillary's foreign policy is written by the military industrial complex (they pay by the bomb; a new Cold War with Russia is looking real tasty!)
Trump, at the very least, says he's opposed to outsourcing, banking deregulation and corrupt military intervention. I like it that he's pals with Putin. Clearly it would be a mistake to throw away the 25 years of peace the West has had with Russia.
If American progressives want a voice, Jill Stein will give them one. If Trump wins the presidency, he will put the economy in recession with reckless tax cuts which will provide a springboard for an Elizabeth Warren New Deal in 2020. If Hillary wins, the result will be a Republican revolution founded on 12 years of Democratic Great Recession with someone worse than Trump (like Ted Cruz.)
The establishment is hysterical over Trump because he opposes free trade. They've already counted the outsourcing profits from the TPP. What they haven't banked on is destroying the global economy with outsourcing (by destroying demand) which is what the TPP will accomplish (the final nail in the civilization coffin.)
-Bernie Orbust
.. seems a pretty fair anology .. though people still fall off or become ill on some seemingly very doable mountains with guides, fixed ropes and signs.. Its interesting that North Caolina's 'smoking gun' Omnibus Election Law was rejected Friday.. Its a fascinating example of how twisted the climb up the election mountain has become.
Coinidentally, I read this morning how Trump flunky Mike Pence spoke at the annual conservative ALEC convention.. praising it.. Its where legislators from across the USA mingle and meet with 'sponsors' - receive ideas and suggestion for new laws to be passed in respective states.. Kind of like the annual 'retreat' the late saint Jim Flaherty used to convene to service the pipeline from CEO's to the PMO.. and to Stephen Harper. Again we must stress how the term Omnibus Law enters the picture. We currently enjoy the electoral legacy of one Pierre Poilievre on behalf of his mentor Harper.. and the Fair Election Law jammed into action, funny how it resembles the pathway to election interference as enacted in North Carolina or Texas or Wisconsin..
I'm no fan of Hillary Clinton.. but the alternative of turning American Government inside out, upside down, shake and bake, sear on the BBQ and slather on lipstick, glue, hysteria, bullshit.. and serve to 'customers' is pretty damn freaky..
For this reason I see another analogy and its best described as sewer fishing. So rather than seeing the upcoming election from either candidate's view, see it from an electorate perspective, where they must fish for a President from the sewer that Politics & Political Parties has become. The analogy gains veracity if you shift to Canada & describe as fishing at a tailings pond. Again we the voters are being steered into a process & situation that positively stinks as partisan political animals, elected and unelected try to overwhelm democratic process. We, the voters somehow have allowed honest or objective media to be joined by shrill partisan lobbyists. Yes, if one can't recognize a toxic political lobbyist pretending to be responsible media.. you are their electoral oyster, ready to be data-cracked, consumed, canned and sold-out.. you're just a deep fried snack sold on the banks of the pond, sewer grate or septic tank during an 'election'
I'm just waiting for the 'snitch line' to get into play via Trump.. a wondrous red herring to alarm n attract the fearful vote ...
Many people fear Trump because he is unknown and had proven himself extremely unpredictable. But many people also fear Hillary because she is so well known and had proven herself extremely predictable.
Look, Owen, Hillary's basic problem is her dishonesty, poor judgment and apparent lack of integrity. She has herself to thank for the public's perception of her: just watch 13 minutes of her lying (available on YouTube). Then go watch "Clinton Cash". There are very serious allegations of extremely serious conflicts of interest, even if they were not illegal (Bill and Hillary are both clever lawyers), during her term as Secretary of State. The allegations are that the Clintons had used their political office and connections to significantly enrich themselves. The significant worry is that it will become worse if she becomes President.
Obama now claims that she is the most qualified for the office. That by itself is a stretch. Peter Mansbridge had pointed out on the National that the senior Bush actually had more political experience before becoming President. More importantly, however, many people distinctly remember that Obama himself had said that she would promise everything and do nothing to get elected. Those were code words suggesting that she was an equal opportunity opportunist. Fast forward 8 years, Obama's only priority is to preserve his legacy, and, clearly, she is the one to do it. Bernie would have taken the party and the country in an even more progressive direction. Thus Obama is betting that there are enough uniformed or gullible voters, and or fearful of Trump, out there.
Unfortunately it does looks like there are some good people out there who are so fearful that they are willing to convince themselves, and others, that there is no choice but to support "extremely careless, and corrupt" or end up with "extremely insane". However, since when has there been an election when there have not been important issues at stake? Clearly, if progressive or conservative voters convince themselves that the stakes are too high, and hold their noses to vote, then we will indeed end up with one of these two which the polls tell us are distrusted by almost 2 out of 3 voters.
Progressive voters do have a better choice: Jill Stein. Republican voters too have a better choice: Gary Johnson. If people refused to vote for either Trump or Hillary, the only way either one can win is by electoral fraud, albeit some would say is likely to happen too, judging from how the DNC and some in the media had apparently colluded to ensure that their favourite Wall St. Candidate beat the real progressive oneBernie. But at least the voters would not have themselves to blame if either one of these two end up with what is the most important political office not only in the nation,but the world as well.
You truly do see things through a glass darkly, Bernie.
You've articulated Hillary's challenge, Steve. If you're right, the world will have to deal with President Trump.
There is one glimmer of hope for our contemporary politics, salamander. That great partisan, Roger Ailes -- the head of Fox News -- is out. What goes around comes around.
Neither Stein nor Johnson have the votes to become president, Anon. That's the inconvenient truth.
"Neither Stein nor Johnson have the votes to become president, Anon. That's the inconvenient truth.'
The truth is that if we accept the above, then we are resigned to what one commentator above calls sewer fishing.
Jim Prentice had told Albertans to look in the mirror. They got angry and turfed him, but the inconvenient truth Prentice had told was that it was Albertans who had elected their corrupt PC governemnt, and for 42 years. The mistake Prentice had made was that he fooolishly reminded them who the real fools were.
Perhaps it's not the glass but what it's reflecting that's dark. I, myself, am a Utopian optimist. Hillary, at best, offers more fiddling while civilization burns.
Here's an inconvenient truth: Hillary supporters are now on the side of the Koch Bros and Margaret Wente. Hillary, the Goldwater Girl who supported Reaganomics 16 years before Reagan, has some on the right-wing fired up, at least.
-Bernie Orbust
That's unfair, Bernie. She started as a Goldwater girl because that was her father's take on the world. She's not the only person to grow up and reject his or her father's take on the world.
And if Trump gets elected, it will be clear who the real fools are, Anon. In another context, I wrote that when Ralph Nader was the third party candidate, they got George W. When George Wallace was the third party candidate, they got Nixon.
In so many ways America deserves a casino owner as president.
Which, given the rampant sanctimonious intellectualizing I've been encountering among the dedicated leftoid monoverse, I'm pretty sure America is going to get.
The United States is reeling in the aftermath of a casino economy, Dana. Donald Trump personifies that economy. If he wins, it will be obvious that Americans have learned nothing from the meltdown of 2008.
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