She’d make a good president. She’s got the most experience of anyone running. I’m prepared to vote for her and do what I can to help her win. But, I think we should ask ourselves tough questions? Can she win? I’ll ask the question knowing that she leads the rest of the Democrats by enormous margins. She also leads each Republican candidate by healthy to wide margins in head-to-head polling. I know that all of these polls are too early to mean much. But, is there trouble on the horizon? Her unfavorable numbers are hovering around 50%. Can Democrats/progressives expect any candidate with negatives that high to win a general election? My gut tells me that HRC will have a harder time moving her favorability/unfavorability number because she is so well known; but, no one can be sure about that. As people start to see/hear more of the Republicans, people’s opinions of her may improve. Is she a great candidate? I think that she’s capable of being a good candidate but can we expect her to be a great candidate? She failed to make it through in 2008, despite the fact that she was the front runner. Stories (many of which I think are unfair) keep popping up, and it’s hurting her image (the numbers show it). Given how the media operates around the Clintons, this will not stop—ever. How much will this hurt her? Will she have a harder time than people think motivating the base? Sure, some people want a woman president and they will vote for her for that reason. However, is there skepticism among liberals/progressives about whether she’s really a progressive? On foreign policy and economic policy, is she a true progressive? Can she generate the turnout that will be necessary to win a close election? I know, many of the answers to these questions may depend on who the Republicans nominate. And, I’m sure some people will ask: “what’s the alternative for Democrats/progressives.” Fair points. But, I think it’s better to ask these questions now.
Hillary Clinton
Please share widely!
She completely blew up her lead last time, so I suppose it is best that she not have a serious primary this time around. On the other hand I can see this strategy blowing up in our face.
Her high unfavorable numbers mixed with her list of scandals from Benghazi to her emails to her donors and everything else makes her an easy target for juicy stories in the news. This will be an ugly campaign season. Like you I am also scared.
and the inference that therefore she couldn’t run the country well (a weird thing in American politics), I think many people were skeptical of having Bill Clinton hovering around the President. We’ll see if that thought moves again closer to the front of people’s minds as the election season progresses.
…that she has learned from the mistakes of her last “inevitable” campaign. I’m not sure I like the low-key strategy, however. She has my strong support.
She has a big rally planned for Roosevelt Island coming up, and her own press release says she idolizes FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt so it’s safe to assume she will be giving a fairly liberal speech.
I have serious concerns about the email scandal and the Clinton foundation, these are the kinds of things we would be killing a Republican over and the media will be relentless on. I really hope it’s just smoke and no fire.
Either way, in 2016 I will vote for Sanders in the primary with the assumption that I will be voting for Secretary Clinton in the fall.
Sanders has my primary vote locked up (barring something crazy like a Warren run). I can’t cast a vote for Clinton, though. She’ll be looking at 65% in MA in 2016, so I’ll pass or write-in. The scandals don’t really upset me much, although they don’t help. It’s the general arch of her career and her friends that keep me from voting for her. The potential makeup of her administration, especially on economic areas, is terrifying.
I think she’d be a terrible president. The main exception would be the 3-4 supreme court justices she would get to appoint. I think she’d fight hard for a strong legacy there and potentially get 2 great ones, ones capable of pushing the court and making good law, and then 1-2 pretty lame slightly left-of-center justices who would be reliable votes on 90% of cases.
If living in a close swing state, that would be enough to get my vote, but in MA, I don’t have to make that choice because, let’s be honest, our votes for president do not matter.