Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Hillary the Not-So-Inevitable
For the past year, I’ve predicted Hillary won’t be the Democratic nominee; I still doubt she’ll even run. As the Lion of Tuzla fumbles through her book tour, it’s easier to see the evidence for that counter-intuitive claim.
Yes, Hillary has mountains of cash, a ruthless political machine, ubiquitous name recognition, and a mostly loving press. She is “inevitable,” although less so than she was in 2008. But these vast advantages still aren’t enough to overcome Hillary’s fundamental flaw: she’s a horrible candidate.
Horrible doesn’t quite cover it. Hillary is an atrocious, contemptible, dreadful, execrable, ghastly, heinous, insufferable, lousy, piteous, repellent, rueful, shoddy, unholy, woeful and wretched candidate. And she’s a terrible liar.
Bill Clinton wrapped ill-considered policies and lousy behavior with a back-slapping bonhomie that remains hard not to like. Even those who fought him for decades leave a personal meeting with grudging admiration.
Hillary is the anti-Bill, sucking the life out of every room with her joyless laugh, frosty demeanor, tinny voice and tinnier ear.
Whether she “don’t feel no ways tahrred,” pleads poverty from her Georgetown and Chappaqua compounds, or wonders what difference it makes that al Qaeda sacked an American consulate on 9/11, the more America sees of Hillary, the less we like her.
As national Democrats relearn this fact, expect to see panic at the DNC and sharp elbows from second-tier liberals.
Published in General
Agreed, I’ve said the same thing for a while. Hillary had her chance. She’ll be the “anyone but” this election season (if she runs), only the Democrats will find someone else.
My money’s on Cuomo with the Native-American-in-Chief as an outside bet.
I’m nowhere near writing Hillary off yet, given the ability (and willingness) of the press to carry even the most grating Socialist fat-cats on their shoulders if their politics are “right.”
But assuming 2016 is no more Hillary’s turn than 2008 was – who would this leave the Dems with? Biden will be ~700 in 2016; Warren is waaaay out on the Left but then, so was Obama.
Personally I’d like to see Bernie Sanders run. It wouldn’t meet the diversity requirements, but if he put Sherrod Brown on the ticket it would mark a long-overdue return to wild-haired old white guys running the show.
Jon writes: “Horrible doesn’t quite cover it. Hillary is an atrocious, contemptible, dreadful, execrable, ghastly, heinous, insufferable, lousy, piteous, repellent, rueful, shoddy, unholy, woeful and wretched candidate. And she’s a terrible liar.”
But other than that, she’s Hillary. The fawning bootlickers of the MSM will have to get over their infatuation with her before we are free of another Clinton candidacy.
She’s looking old and tired and, dare I say it, fat on TV these days. She’s definitely all those things. And to stay in her fake marriage all these years tells you how ruthless she will be.
Boy did you see her in that blue dress the other day?
Does anyone see a resemblance to Pat of SNL in that picture?
I actually thought it was Dr. Evil’s body with Hillary’s St. Bernard head on it.
From Jon: “For the past year, I’ve predicted Hillary won’t be the Democratic nominee; I still doubt she’ll even run.”
I’m not convinced she’s going to run either, and no doubt many Democrats will resent her if she does. There must be dozens of ambitious Dems who wish the Clintons would just take their political machine and leave the country to make room for them. Now, they have the Obama machine to deal with.
One question I’d like to ask: Do we want Hillary to be the Democrat nominee, or someone else?
What, Jon? No Lollipop Guild. If I wasn’t at an airport with lousy wifi…
That picture reminded me of a Batman nemesis.
All true. And all overcome by the fact that she’s a woman. And a Democrat. The media will carry her water like they’re bailing the Titanic (barring entry of a preferred Democrat candidate). And Americans will vote for her because, “it’s time for a woman president.” (as heard on Hugh Hewitt’s show last night).
And, uh, Hard Choices? She’s running.
I fully expect Elizabeth Warren to be the nominee. Woman? Check. (Visual inspection of photographs and hearsay.) Minority? Check. (1/512th American Indian by her own declaration.) Extreme Left Progressive? Check. (Just listen to her.)
She’s got everything the leftist media love.
Jon, please spare us the nuance. There’s really no need to sugarcoat it! What about self-righteous, condescending, dishonest, monotone, sexist, and just plain boring?
Okay, I guess I’m sugarcoating a bit, too.
Can you imagine a State of the Union from Hillary? You’d need a pillow strapped to your forehead to protect from concussion when you lose consciousness and pitch forward.
Hillary Clinton is missing a likeability gene. She is inauthentic and a poor retail politician. The Democrats want to make income inequality a major plank of their program. Would Hilary as a candidate be believable on this topic? Bill could do it, Hillary can’t. I think the Democrats may be looking forward to their own friction between their base (pro Warren) and their establishment (pro Hillary). Hillary will have a difficult time bridging those differences. I think there is a 50-50 chance she will not run. If she does run and is nominated, I think she can be beaten.
By whom?Just wondering.
There are too many moving parts here to look too far over the horizon. What hasn’t been mentioned above is what a thug she is. If you take a look at Nuclear Football carrier Buzz Patterson’s book Dereliction of Duty, you see a Hillary who wielded her “influence” in the White House like a Mafia don. Junior staff weren’t allowed in the halls when she passed by, she treated the White House military like dirt and even demanded (unsuccessfully, iirc) that Marine One to turn around half-way to Air Force One because she had forgotten her favorite pair of sunglasses.
And not being a good retail politician is not necessarily a drawback. Obama’s campaigns and Administration are terrible at the retail level. It’s always from Mt. Olympus. Even when he talks to an individual, he doesn’t seem to connect and stays in Big Ideas mode.
So she’ll have tons of money, wields a club mercilessly, and – if nominated – will ride the “All Opposition To Hillary Is Sexist” meme with great skill. But on the other hand, she’s…icky.
It’s too early to really know, but my choices right now would be Scott Walker and Rick Perry.
If I’m betting, she’s running. What’s the point of having such an atrocious book written for you if you’re not? The MSM will carry her water (bold prediction there) and if history is any gauge, the Republican nominee will hire the worst campaign consultants who will counsel him not to attack her to harshly for fear of appearing ungentlemanly while the Democrat attack machine will go into overdrive portraying their opponent as a racist, misogynistic sexist who wants to give cancer to the uninsured. The Obama coalition barely holds together and we’ll get another eight years of decline as the Republican party morphs into a facsimile of the British Tories.
OTOH, maybe not.
The nominee? No. But as Hillary’s Veep? Hmmmmm . . .