Hillary Clinton Creeps to the Right
Wes Pruden, of the Washington Times, wrote today about Hillary Clinton's ongoing political transformation in the midst of continuing Democratic disarray:
The old bulls (and a superannuated heifer or two) occupied themselves this week by ganging up on the uppity colored girl from Alabama who doesn't understand that her proper place is one of eternal supplication for the largesse of liberals. They called her a liar, an ingrate and a deceiver, making pluperfect fools of themselves, while Hillary Clinton was showing everyone how she intends to seize Republican bread and conservative butter, stealing the Republican mantra of family, faith and freedom, even finally putting an end to the endless abortion war by winning it.
Hillary, in fact, is emerging as the bright light in a party of dim bulbs, a fading galaxy of has-beens reeking of halitosis and stale underwear. But for the reinvention of Mrs. Clinton, it was a week of Democratic public-relations hell. Thirteen of her Democratic colleagues in the Senate, including some of the party's most brittle icons, spent their days putting a face on the party that could take decades to erase: a gnarled old Ku Klux Klansman stumbling through a litany of lamentation for a day dead and gone, a puffy cut-and-run lady killer (so to speak) drowning (you might say) in nostalgia for what might have been, and the long-in-the-tooth prom queen, green eyes flashing with envy and rage, throwing tomatoes and eggs at Condi Rice and managing only to leave themselves exposed as pathetic jokes smeared with rotten yolks. Some Democrats tried to look away in embarrassment bordering on mortification. "If you feel Condoleezza Rice is not qualified to be secretary of state," Joe Lieberman told them in a voice burdened with rue and remorse, "then of course you must vote against her. But if you are — and I hate to use the word 'just' — but just upset about some of the things this administration has done in Iraq, but if you feel otherwise that what we are doing now is all we can do to make the situation better, then I appeal to you to vote for Dr. Rice." Most Democrats, including their leader, did just that, leaving the 13 soreheads seething in the shade of their own indifference to a very special moment in the nation's history.
...the Clintons, who know how to feel the public pulse as well as the public-opinion polls, have succeeded by staying far, far ahead of the dim bulbs. Hillary, a social-Gospel Methodist, knows the talk: "I, for one, respect those who believe with all their hearts and conscience that there are no circumstances under which any abortion should ever be available." This comes with breathtaking cynicism, of course; she wants to make abortion "never" but could not bring herself to ban partial-birth abortion, a procedure that gives Mafia hit men the willies. Hillary Clinton remains the most divisive figure in American politics. But she's also one of the smartest. We live in interesting times.
Those who are paying attention to Hillary have no doubt noticed that she's creeping steadily to the right. Apparently, she figures that no matter who the Republicans nominate in 2008, she'll be the only real choice available to liberals. That gives her plenty of room to maneuver toward conservatives, hoping to pick up some support from those who can't see through her opportunism. However, I think she's making a huge mistake common to Democrats of late. She seems to think that Republicans and conservatives in general have little intellect and no memory. I'd bet she's wrong, and if the Democrats make the mistake of nominating her in 2008, they'll be defeated yet again. How long is it going to take them to learn?
The old bulls (and a superannuated heifer or two) occupied themselves this week by ganging up on the uppity colored girl from Alabama who doesn't understand that her proper place is one of eternal supplication for the largesse of liberals. They called her a liar, an ingrate and a deceiver, making pluperfect fools of themselves, while Hillary Clinton was showing everyone how she intends to seize Republican bread and conservative butter, stealing the Republican mantra of family, faith and freedom, even finally putting an end to the endless abortion war by winning it.
Hillary, in fact, is emerging as the bright light in a party of dim bulbs, a fading galaxy of has-beens reeking of halitosis and stale underwear. But for the reinvention of Mrs. Clinton, it was a week of Democratic public-relations hell. Thirteen of her Democratic colleagues in the Senate, including some of the party's most brittle icons, spent their days putting a face on the party that could take decades to erase: a gnarled old Ku Klux Klansman stumbling through a litany of lamentation for a day dead and gone, a puffy cut-and-run lady killer (so to speak) drowning (you might say) in nostalgia for what might have been, and the long-in-the-tooth prom queen, green eyes flashing with envy and rage, throwing tomatoes and eggs at Condi Rice and managing only to leave themselves exposed as pathetic jokes smeared with rotten yolks. Some Democrats tried to look away in embarrassment bordering on mortification. "If you feel Condoleezza Rice is not qualified to be secretary of state," Joe Lieberman told them in a voice burdened with rue and remorse, "then of course you must vote against her. But if you are — and I hate to use the word 'just' — but just upset about some of the things this administration has done in Iraq, but if you feel otherwise that what we are doing now is all we can do to make the situation better, then I appeal to you to vote for Dr. Rice." Most Democrats, including their leader, did just that, leaving the 13 soreheads seething in the shade of their own indifference to a very special moment in the nation's history.
...the Clintons, who know how to feel the public pulse as well as the public-opinion polls, have succeeded by staying far, far ahead of the dim bulbs. Hillary, a social-Gospel Methodist, knows the talk: "I, for one, respect those who believe with all their hearts and conscience that there are no circumstances under which any abortion should ever be available." This comes with breathtaking cynicism, of course; she wants to make abortion "never" but could not bring herself to ban partial-birth abortion, a procedure that gives Mafia hit men the willies. Hillary Clinton remains the most divisive figure in American politics. But she's also one of the smartest. We live in interesting times.
Those who are paying attention to Hillary have no doubt noticed that she's creeping steadily to the right. Apparently, she figures that no matter who the Republicans nominate in 2008, she'll be the only real choice available to liberals. That gives her plenty of room to maneuver toward conservatives, hoping to pick up some support from those who can't see through her opportunism. However, I think she's making a huge mistake common to Democrats of late. She seems to think that Republicans and conservatives in general have little intellect and no memory. I'd bet she's wrong, and if the Democrats make the mistake of nominating her in 2008, they'll be defeated yet again. How long is it going to take them to learn?
1 Comments:
I have a hard time believing Hillary is going to be able to convince any conservative voter that she is a moderate.
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