Insiders: Hillary Clinton Dogged By TRUST DEFICIT And Her Last Name
A New Hampshire Democrat put it more succinctly: “Voting for Hillary Clinton is an act of duty, not of passion.”
Hillary Clinton is sliding in the polls against Bernie Sanders, and the insiders who make up The POLITICO Caucus have the diagnosis:
Voters don’t trust her, and she doesn’t represent the change some Democrats want. The Caucus members – an influential panel of the leading operatives, strategists and activists in the four early-nominating states, were asked to evaluate Clinton’s greatest vulnerabilities and given four choices: Honesty and trust, the dynastic nature of her candidacy and a struggle to represent change, her economic policies and ties to Wall Street, or her foreign policies and since-renounced support for the Iraq War.
Their responses offered a revealing look at why Clinton is struggling, particularly in Iowa and New Hampshire, as the Democratic presidential hopefuls gather Sunday night in Charleston for the fourth in their series of primary debates.
Economic and foreign policy issues barely registered, but Democratic insiders were split evenly between honesty and trust and
Clinton’s inability to be a change agent.
“People feel she is not genuine,” said one Nevada Democrat.
“There is a ceiling to Hillary’s support, much like I think there is a ceiling to [Donald] Trump's support,” another Nevada Democrat said. “No matter what Hillary does she will always have 40 percent of the electorate who fundamentally doesn't trust her. That doesn't mean she is dead in the water, it just means we have to tear the other side down. Thankfully the other side is giving us plenty of ammo to do just that in a general election setting.”
Others said the Clinton name and how long she has been on the public stage is leading voters to look elsewhere.
“You look at how Jeb Bush has floundered, and it's hard not to get the feeling that voters don't want to be unpacking baggage from the last two decades -- even though Jeb and Hillary are the most qualified nominees either party could choose,” a New Hampshire Democrat said. “They say history repeats itself, but I think there's a good chunk of people out there who would prefer a little more time in between the repetitions.”
“I'm beginning to think that Hillary's problem is that she came onto the public scene just a little too early,” another Nevada Democrat added. “She was pegged as too strong and ambitious at a time when that still wasn't an acceptable public persona for a woman amongst a significant portion of the population. A younger female politician with the same skills, ambition, and accomplishment would not face the same level of character assassination that Hillary has faced.”
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Her low marks on honesty and her long time on the public stage have a similar effect, insiders said: Though Clinton is leading in the national polls,
Democrats are more enthusiastic about Sanders’ candidacy.
“Her biggest problem is that she does not excite new voters,” an Iowa Democrat said. “It's become obvious that the route to the White House relies on exciting new voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. Obama did it in 2008, and Bernie and [Donald] Trump are doing it now. My worry is that Clinton will win but will not be able to mobilize new voters to turn out and work hard for her.”
cont'
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/hillary-clinton-trust-name-217866
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