Hillary Clinton and the audacity of political realism

[applegrove]

Hillary Clinton and the audacity of political realism

by Ezra Klein at Vox

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/28/10858464/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-political-realism

"SNIP..............


If Obama was surprised by his presidency's failure to change the tenor of American politics, Clinton probably wasn't. She had always been clear that Obamaism was, in her view, shot through with naiveté about the nature of both American politics and Republican opposition.

"I could stand up here and say, 'Let's just get everybody together, Let's get unified. The sky will open. The light will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing. And everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect,'" Clinton said in 2008. "Maybe I've just lived a little long, but I have no illusions about how hard this is going to be. You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear."

As the 2016 election came closer into view, Clinton looked more dominant than she had even in 2008 — her poll numbers were higher, her challengers weaker, her endorsements more impressive. Liberals, chastened by the disappointments of the Obama years, seemed to recognize Clinton's prescience. "It may be that coming out of this period, where Congress has been so obstinate, so difficult to move ... that people are looking for someone whose central skill is how to work the power structure," Larry Grisolano, a top Obama pollster, told Scheiber.

Or maybe not.



..............SNIP"

[Ed Suspicious]

1. We've come a long way in 8 years. Hope and change is now nope, no change.

She is leading the charge for killing enthusiasm for progressive ideas.

She is so fucking condescending.

[applegrove]

2. Tell us how you really feel.

[Ed Suspicious]

4. I just did. I always do.

[Bonobo]

3. Easy to confuse status quo-born complacency and lack of vision with "realism". nt

[DanTex]

14. And vice versa.

[Broward]

5. Hillary's "realism" will likely lead to compromising with Repubs

and moving the country further right.

[snagglepuss]

6. What bull crap! Spinning status quo,do not rock the boat mediocrity as audacious takes the cake.

[artislife]

7. Two elections in a row, H has been against HOPE. nt

[polly7]

8. In all seriousness, as a fellow Canadian ................ why would you not

hope to see the changes, especially in health-care - for people who ARE suffering. 29 million people who can't see a doctor for easily treated injury and illness that by being ignored could actually kill them, prevention, early diagnostics that could save lives, and on and on and on. I don't understand this at all.

[applegrove]

10. I would vote for Bernie if he were in Canada. I don't think he can win a general in the US.

Not against a Trump or a Cruz or a Rubio or Christie. That is why I support Hillary. Are you kidding? Of course I want to see Americans get a great health care system. But I weight that against a Republican possibly getting into power and cringe. They want to get rid of even medicare. The GOP wants a big die off of americans over the age of 0. What would that look like? How many would end up dead on the streets? We both are afraid of the same things. We just go about it differently.

[Armstead]

11. Democrats have been defeatist for 35 years. That's why we're in this fix

It's out own damn fault. We gave up fighting for things that are worth fighting for, and allowed our leaders to sell us out.


If people like the Clintons and the other DLC "Centrists" had not joined the GOP in demonizing basic liberalism, this country would not have moved so far to the right.People would have seen an alternative, and recognized that liberalism is good for them.

We keep doing that we'll keep getting the same results and continue our steady decline into Oligarchy and and a Big Banana Republic.

[polly7]

12. I absolutely think he'd beat any of them.

When people are hurting they're usually able to tell pretty easily who is going to be there to fight for them. And, his campaign has worked miracles wrt not taking corporate money and raising awareness that's so far got over 3 million contributions from individual people. Which other candidate do you think could even come close to that kind of support? Have you SEEN the support for him on social media and the huge crowds he gets? I have .......... pretty impressive. The GOP candidates imho are the worst, most useless bunch of bigoted dullards ever to grace a stage together - the American people are not stupid.

They also don't seem to want more war or rule by the rich - do you blame them for that??

[hollowdweller]

9. I hope Clinton if elected will do what Obama did not do.

I think Obama's failure to indict the GOP's regulatory fiscal and foreign policy policies for the situation of the country at the time was a major mistake that led to GOP control of the congress.

I hope Hillary as head of the country and party would both expose the GOP's policies for the failures they are, but to make sure that everyday people understand. She's certainly got the motivation to and probably the experience to do it.

[Armstead]

13. Ezrah is a smug little shit

[Z_California]

15. Sure glad FDR wasn't "realistic"