2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHillary Clinton - Nowhere to go but down
No one on the planet is more famous.
Almost all of the potential opponents are unknowns
Her positions have changed somewhat but so has the country.
She seems to be using the same playbook of inevitability and
that surprises me.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)Ever since Perot ran in 1992, I've felt that there was an untapped energy out there.
Perot was a horribly imperfect candidate, but he was unencumbered, as Bernie is.
I understand the complexities of running counter to the forces of money in modern politics,
but I believe that if she had started with a campaign closer to the one that Bernie is running,
she would have had incredible power.
The only time in this election cycle that I have felt that she was speaking fully from the heart,
was when she was talking about voting rights.
She is playing it safe in all other ways, and running a conventional campaign.
She is playing prevent defense.
She would be better served by going on a hyper-attack on the Republicans.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,220 posts)Is that the best your meme generator could come up with? "Inevitability"?
virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)but that is the playbook that she is using.
Tarheel_Dem
(31,220 posts)Why does she need to do that? To sound like Bernie? You don't think the country is sick of the divisive crap we've seen over the past 7 years? We now have a paralyzed legislative body that can't do the simplest things because of deeply entrenched partisan ideology. Personally, I want someone who can return some semblance of normalcy to the process, and if that means working across the aisle, then so be it.
Bernie, IMHO, represents more of the partisan gridlock we've come to know. There are many of us ideologically caught between the extremes of Sanders & Cruz, and I'd say we represent that vast middle that everyone chases. Many parts of the country are hurting, and the executive branch cannot, and should not be expected to do all the heavy lifting. Knowing that the next POTUS is going to have deal with a Repuke House for at least the next two election cycles, I don't want to be fighting the same old fights from the past.
I want Clinton to tack as much to the left as she reasonably can without falling off the edge. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton, and I'm sure you will, but she certainly can't be dismissed as fringe, which is why she is doing so well in polling.
virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)Instead of deriding Bernie as being too liberal and living by polling data and focus groups, she needs to make a case for progressive policies, and convince Americans to vote for Democrats at all levels in all 50 states.
In other words, she needs to lead.
If there is one thing that President Obama proved conclusively, it is that no matter how hard you try to work with the current batch of Republicans in Congress, they will not cooperate.
If Bernie is "too extreme" and "too liberal", and we are then left with compromises made between a centrist President and an extreme right wing Congress, then we will have very conservative policies.
Polls indicate that the country is moving to the left, and the Democratic Party will certainly do so, with or without Hillary on board.
People are not sick of "divisive crap", they are tired of politicians unwilling to speak the truth.
Tarheel_Dem
(31,220 posts)Being fringe'y & extreme plays well with the Netroots. But not in the real world. If you want to hear your words coming out of Hillary's mouth, then you should probably throw your hat in the ring?
virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)Watch that nationwide lead evaporate.
latest NH poll 43 hillary 35 Bernie and they are still polling for Biden
Tarheel_Dem
(31,220 posts)virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)but there is always a first time for everything.
azmom
(5,208 posts)If not, why is she sounding like Sanders in her speeches?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)For you may pass them on your way down". You also have to be up to go down.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)There's loads of time.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)>>>Her positions have changed somewhat but so has the country. >>>>>
To see where the "country" is going. * THEN * she changes.
Let's remember: she's running for POTUS. It's a ......L E A D E R S H I P .....position.
Leadership.
We're voting ....in large part... for *j u d g e m e n t* .
Sanders had the JUDGEMENT to ... among many other things.... organize and lead a sit -n to protest U of Chi segregated housing policy.
In *1960* . (Yes, that's 1960.)
( Pause..... to let that sink in.)
Clinton... "Rodham"... whatever.... was, at that time , buffing up her creds to be a "Goldwater Girl." Hey they lost the country but they carried the DEEP Jim Crow South!
Ok, ok, .... her less fanatical adherents, allow: she was YOUNG. She didn't know any better.
She knows better NOW.
But does she *REALLY*?
Show me where she's been out front. Taken R I S K S.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)roguevalley
(40,656 posts)Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)I thought they ask which would the person being polled which candidate would likely vote for today if the election was today. Do you think Bernie knew about the name recognition before he entered the race?
I don't think this is what the polled people are thinking, they just may know more about Bernie than you think and this is the reason they prefer Hillary.
99Forever
(14,524 posts)She's earned them. And her supporters just keep right on exacerbating her negatives. Pricisely as she and they did 2008.