Will there be a Clinton backlash?
It seems to me I'm hearing more anti-Clinton comments as I walk around in my daily life. I don't know if that's a result of the shift in tactics towards more attack or a response to her return to "inevitability," but I just feel it.
I have to wonder if at some point coming up towards Feb. 5 there's going to be a moment of national reconsideration.
Perhaps losing South Carolina might just be the best thing for her as she looks so strong in Florida.
(Completely anecdotal, so make of it what you will.)
I have to wonder if at some point coming up towards Feb. 5 there's going to be a moment of national reconsideration.
Perhaps losing South Carolina might just be the best thing for her as she looks so strong in Florida.
(Completely anecdotal, so make of it what you will.)
posted by mikevotes at
2:04 PM
11 Comments:
I think a lot of people, myself included, are seeing the Clintons use rhetorical attacks and tactics that seem more in line with Republican swiftboating than with the "higher standards" of Democrats claim to aspire.
You also have this weird thing with a former president aggressively attacking a fellow Democrat in an effort to get his wife, and by extension himself, back into the White House.
So not only have Bill and Hillary crossed the line, in the eyes of many Democrats, between hard-nosed politicking to swiftboating lies and innuendo, you also have this... weird (I'm sorry, I can't come up with a better word)... Billary the conjoined fraternal twin candidacy thing. It's all starting to feel a little surreal.
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-epm, at 2:23 PM
I'm really not trying to pass judgment myself, I'm just playing back what I'm hearing as I walk around.
Understand that this is coming from Houston, the only major city that votes Republican so it may be atypical, but I've been struck by some of the comments I've heard, specifically from women, that seem to strike a change from what they were saying a week ago..
I figure there's got to be some moment when her election looks inevitable that all those old (and new) negative reservations pop up.
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mikevotes, at 3:35 PM
Back in NH, when polls were saying she'd lose big time, she had that "human moment."Conventional wisdom is that she rode this wave of good will to victory in NH. Well those days are gone. Back is the cold, unlikable Hillary. (Not judging, just using the conventional vernacular.)
Is this what she needs to do right now in the primaries? I don't know. Maybe so, now that we're out of the diner and living-room stage of the campaign.
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-epm, at 4:44 PM
at our weekly italian-family dinner last evening, eaters ranged from 25 - 80 and all voiced a voting opinion...mostly conservative voting records and all sick and tired of BushCo but ALL unwilling to vote for Hillary simply due to the Clinton family-soap opera fatigue. Just can't stomach the idea of listening to Bill and his arrogance for 4 more years... Most didn't vote for for Bill but realized 90's were mostly prosperous...73 yr old woman stated she always wanted to vote for a woman for pres but would not for Hillary. Some said they will not vote at all if she is the nominee and all said they would vote for McCain over Hillary. I wonder just how often this is the actual case of anti-Hillary sentiment...just not wanting all the sh!t that comes with the Clinton package...
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Anonymous, at 5:57 PM
EPM, that's my thinking right now, that the figure they need the negative to get through Feb 5, then they'll have 6 months to try and make it back.
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Anon, That's my experience on a lesser scale, but again, with me it was among republican women and independnt lean republican, so, I don't know.
I just wonder as people start to look at a Clinton victory as a real possibility if they'll have that same moment of negativity.
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mikevotes, at 6:26 PM
I am starting to talk to more people about why they like or dislike Hillary because I am mystified. I don't have any good answers yet. But I will vote for Hillary over ANY of the Republican candidates and I know a lot of people who agree with that. I don't find her nearly as distasteful as you. In fact, all of the criticism based on "feelings" of dislike make me more sympathetic to her. She is probably my last choice (of Democrats) right now - I am a Kucinich supporter - but I feel compelled to speak up for her. (ps - I don't watch any tv so I am behind on the Clinton-Obama exchanges - give me time to catch up)
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Ptelea, at 9:30 PM
That's a very good point. I will vote for her over any of the likely Republicans, but let me make clear that I'm not talking about the general election here.
And, frankly, I don't find her that distasteful. In my mind, I am sure she would be a good president, but like I said before, she's already got my vote in the general.
The question I was posing here was whether this feedback I'm hearing in Texas is broader, and whether there is some wobbling towards her.
Your answer is no. Cool.
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mikevotes, at 10:20 PM
I'd agree that there is a lot of negativity toward Hilary and Bill even among Democrats. To me, it seems naive and self-destructive. Of course she plays hardball--she's a politician. So's Obama, and if he's not tough enough to handle the Clintons he's sure as heck not tough enough to handle Putin, Osama, or Ahmadinejad. His motives and tactics aren't any purer than hers (though they're still far purer than those of any Republican.)
Would I prefer that they both play nice? Yes, of course. But it's not going to happen, and it's the wrong standard on which to judge a candidate.
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Anonymous, at 1:02 AM
We need not relegate ourselves to the binary options of either play nice or scorched earth. Many people, apparently, see a line between tough, hard politics and deceitful politics. Others, apparently, do not.
I'm a little trouble that the defense of the Clintons' tactics are that they're on par with the viral, swiftboating tactics the Republicans use, and that, as Fox News would say, if Obama can't stand that heat how will he stand up to Putin. I dunno. Seems a little... slimy... to me. But that just one man's opinion.
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-epm, at 10:34 AM
Tom, Again, I think the majority of the Dems swing in for the general election, but the question is, is she damaging herself among independents and leaners?
....
EPM, Despite the furor, we're not at the Swiftboat level here. We're still in traditional politics.
I'd rather we didn't have it, but there it is.
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mikevotes, at 3:52 PM
Hilary probably is damaging herself to some degree. I think Obama is also damaging himself by being so quick to play the victim card.
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Anonymous, at 8:01 PM
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