General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm starting to feel bad for Hillary Supporters [View all]SheilaT
(23,156 posts)They have been saying to the rest of us: Sit down, shut up, and vote for Hillary because She's Inevitable.
Umm, she was inevitable in 2008. So why aren't we in the final years of her second term?
She is certainly entitled to run again. She is NOT entitled to inevitability. If she makes it through the primary season and is our nominee, then great. But please stop trying to shut down any and all challengers.
Oh, and the notion that She Is The Only One Who Can Possibly Win The General Election? That's pure fantasy. Plus, it overlooks various genuine drawbacks to her campaign.
In no special order:
1. Just because she's a woman. Excuse me? While I, a 66 year old woman, would truly love to see a woman President in my lifetime, please do not think that all women in this country will automatically vote for the very first woman who is a nominee for President. Lots of things come into play here. Not the least of which is that not all women will cross party lines to vote for the first female Presidential nominee. If you think they will, you are living under a large rock. There are plenty of people out there who won't vote for a Democrat. And there are plenty out there who sincerely don't think women belong in politics.
2. Her baggage. I have often heard it said that she's essentially bullet-proof because of the 2008 campaign. Are you out of your little tiny minds? Her baggage just gets heavier. Benghazi, which while truly a pile of horse shit, will come back to haunt her. Don't get me wrong. While I'm not a fan of Hillary's, I know that the Benghazi crap is truly crap, but don't think for a minute that it won't be brought up incessantly. Bill's infidelities. Shouldn't matter, I absolutely agree. But they will be brought up to suggest that she's unqualified to be President.
3. Her age. Possibly unfair, but it will be an issue nonetheless. She more than looks her age (unlike Elizabeth Warren, who alas is not running) and with women that hurts. More to the point, she seems old.
4. Her ties to the past. If we elect Hillary Clinton, we will have NOTHING new since her husband's administration. And we need new ideas and new people more than ever before.
5. Bill. He's the elephant in the room. He was, for the most part, a very good President. We had amazing prosperity and job growth while he was in office. He has various personal flaws, that ought not to matter but will absolutely be at the heart of the Republican campaign should Hillary be our nominee. More to the point, can we really believe he won't be running things if she's elected?
6. Change. Never forget that most voters don't pay very much attention to anything at all, let alone the issues that so exercise us. There is a very common sense out there that after two terms of one President, it's a good idea to elect the nominee of the other party. Dumb, I agree. But that's because a very large portion of voters are truly low-information voters. We here are high information voters, and we sometimes forget what the real world is about.