Picking the Wrong Fight
Whenever I think of Hillary Clinton, I always think of what proper Victorian ladies were supposed to do whenever their husbands wanted to procreate: “Close your eyes and think of England.”
Not that I’m accusing Hillary of being frigid, mind you. For all I know, she’s got a Manhattan weekend retreat done up in chrome and black leather with a shower big enough for the Yankees’ entire bullpen. But the less said about that the better.
It’s just that whenever Hillary had to do or say or just put up with anything unpleasant, I figured she was the stoic type. How else could somebody stay married to Bill for 30-plus years? How else could she endure a “listening tour” in nearly-Red State upstate New York? How else could she call Robert Byrd or Trent Lott “my esteemed colleague”?
That’s what I thought right up until now:
Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday backed a rebel band of Senate Dems seeking to filibuster a vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito.
Democratic leaders had warned that filibuster efforts were going nowhere and would let President Bush score easy political points, but Clinton said, “I oppose his nomination and support efforts to block his confirmation.”
The Sam Alito vote is clearly a case where, to use an awful phrase, Hillary should just relax and enjoy the inevitable. The Democrats don’t have the votes to keep Alito off the court
As Ayn Rand would say, check your premises.
Any assumptions about HRC are either premature or naive.
At the same time, I think that this entire filbuster effort on the part of Kerry is part of an effort smoke-out Hillary and force her to admit she’s not the “moderate Democrat” she’s been pretending to be.
well, triangulating back to the center was nailing her a whopping 16%, so what the hell, run back to the left and fight Kerry for the Kos teat…
The farther this filibuster business goes, the more I am plagued by visions of a bus filled with leading Democrats speeding down the road towards a vast abyss, and Hillary, Kerry, Reid & company all fighting over control of the steering wheel…..to keep it pointed that way.
The longer they talk filibuster, the more cash they can raise. Not to be cynical, but dem or pub, they are still politicians – they still need cash – and they damn sure aren’t about to work for it.
Strange.
I’d like to know what Dick Morris makes of this.
It simply doesn’t fit “the plan”. No disrespect to the other theorists here, but I’m not satisfied. This is just so… unnecessary.
Assuming Hillary has convictions, she’s chosen a lousy time to display them.
Yes, well.
Assuming she does not have convictions, there’s something curious happening here, but at least the rest of her life remains understandable.
I think that Hilary has realized that no conservative, even a moderate one, will ever vote for her. Likewise with the Republicans…she has too much baggage from her “Fist-Lady” years…especially her attempt at nationalised healthcare…for us to listen to her anymore.
Thus, she’s given up trying to court the right, and has gone back to courting the base she thought was safe.
I still think she could be a formidable candidate in a general election. There are lots of independants that might vote for her based on: (1) what personality she manages to show, and (2) the fact that her name isn’t Bush, and people are tired of Republicans at the moment, but she needs to win the nomination first.
It seems pretty simple to me. The only people on either side who are getting excited about Alito are at the extremes. The only way the middle would become involved is if a filibuster were attempted, and had some chance of succeeding. As long it doesn’t have a chance in hell, then it’s safe for her to join the doomed Cause and impress her base with her commitment. There’s no political cost to her for opposing Alito and talking filibuster, so long as no filibuster takes place.
I would be willing to bet that over 70% of the adult population doesn’t know what a filibuster is. Of those that do know, probably less than 30% care about it in this case.
Hillary gains with the extreme left by this gesture and loses nothing to the majority of the voters who don’t know/don’t care about this game. If there were any doubt about the outcome (as mentioned above), yeah, it might mean something. In two weeks no one will remember anything about this stuff.
The moderate middle won’t notice. The left will and she still has a primary to win first, and cash to collect. This makes the left happy and doesn’t effect anyone else.
…Assuming Hillary has convictions…
If this were a more perfect world, she’d have convictions…for any number of crimes.
Truth is, unless the filibuster is successful, nobody but the hardcore Republican partisans will remember Hillary’s vote to filibuster. So it will have no net impact on the 2008 election.
Where Hillary’s vote WILL have an impact is when she appoints her first Supreme Court justice, assuming she wins in ’08. Having personally endorsed the filibuster option, she is giving the Republican party de facto veto power over any future Supreme Court nominees she wants to appoint. Slick.
Hillary will vote to filibuster, Kerry will vote to filibuster, and Biden will vote to filibuster.
They all are running for the 2008 nomination, and they all know they need to please the leftists to get it.
Hillary has a conviction: she wants to be President, and she thinks this will help her get the nomination. She’s probably right.
The House of Saud Must Be Destroyed!
Well Would You Look at That – Another Lawmaker Shows a Complete Misunderstanding of the Third Branch of Government
Hillary!TM decided to open her mouth today, joining the chorus of idiots who can’t count and support the filibuster of Alito. However, it’s her complete confusion about the role of the Supreme Court that I find the most disconcerting.
From…
Update: According to Jim Gerraty, the filibuster failed by a vote of 75 to 25. Apparently, the filibuster was only supported by those Dems contemplating a White House run.
“The longer they talk filibuster, the more cash they can raise.”
They had better raise some cash,or by Sept. they’ll maxing out their credit cards.
Damn, that’s unfair to suggest HRC’s involved with the whole Yankees’ bullpen.
She only likes Rivera.
Sean P wrote:
“Having personally endorsed the filibuster option, she is giving the Republican party de facto veto power over any future Supreme Court nominees she wants to appoint. Slick.”
Heh. You’re assuming that there’s a media establishment out there that would be willing to remind the general public about something that happened 3+ years before. Assuming there are MSM reporters out there whose memories go back that far, they damn sure wouldn’t ruin a chance to blast the Republicans by bringing up a fact that would be inconvenient for a HRC presidency.
ardsgaine:
What is this MSM you speak of? I think I remember reading about it in history somewhere :;
Opinion I consider almost fact: Hillary Clinton does not have a snow balls chance in Florida of winning anything that includes voters south of New York.
Aside from politics her speaches sound worse than nails down a chalk board. She speaks in monotone, shes often angry and not very likeable in general.
At the end of the day, 50+ million Americans are going to have to want Hilliary Rodham Clinton as their President, America’s first female President who would also be the commander and cheif of our armed forces in a time of war.
Am I crazy to say thats not a likely outcome or even close?
-The American Patrol
“Where Hillary’s vote WILL have an impact is when she appoints her first Supreme Court justice, assuming she wins in ’08. Having personally endorsed the filibuster option, she is giving the Republican party de facto veto power over any future Supreme Court nominees she wants to appoint. Slick.”
Except that she’ll probably appoint moderates anyway, so it wont matter.
I agree that this is a sop to the left, that really doesnt matter to the center (nor should it)
I note that Hillary has been outspoken, and quickly so, on Hamas, on Iran, and on other key WOT issues.
Moving to the center doesnt mean splitting the difference on every issue. It means identifying the key issues on which to break from the left, and the ones on which it makes sense to ally with them. I think shes doing a decent job of it. Still not sure shes the best candidate on grounds of baggage and style. But then Warner, Biden, Bayh remain options.
Speaking of rebel bands, look how Hillary’s getting involved in country music to help her in the South for ’08.