The GOP attack plan for Hillary Clinton

[babylonsister]

The GOP attack plan for Hillary Clinton

If Clinton beats the odds and wins the Democratic nomination, Republicans will say she stole it. And then they'll try to give voters a 1990s flashback.

By Mike Madden


March 26, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- There was a time when simply hearing the phrase "Hillary Clinton" was enough to drive conservative Republicans more than a little mad. Think of former GOP Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, shooting pumpkins in his backyard to prove Vince Foster was murdered by White House hit men. Or the $50 million Whitewater investigation, which dragged the country through six years of political turmoil but never produced enough evidence to file criminal charges. Or former Sen. Trent Lott, musing publicly that "maybe lightning will strike" Clinton before she could be sworn in to the Senate in 2001.

Of course, these days, with the delegate math in the Democratic presidential race tilted heavily in Barack Obama's favor, Clinton has drifted out of the GOP cross hairs. Republicans are digging deep into Obama's past now, ready to chip away at any warm feelings about him voters may still retain after a bruising primary. But a Clinton nomination, while a long shot, is still a possibility, and it wouldn't necessarily disappoint the people the woman herself dubbed, 10 years ago, the "vast right-wing conspiracy." The script for a John McCain-Hillary Clinton race is already written. The Republicans have been reading from it for more than a decade. All it would require for the 2008 contest is a little updating. Hint: They may never have to utter the word "Whitewater."

Republicans look at Obama and see someone who would be open to attacks because voters don't know him well enough. So do Clinton aides, who repeat over and over again on their daily press conference calls that Obama hasn't been vetted the way she has. But even in politics, there is such a thing as overexposure. Clinton may have precisely the opposite problem that Obama has.

"Hillary's very polarizing," one Republican consultant said. "There's no middle ground there." For 16 years, Clinton has been at the dead center of some of the country's most strident political battles, and most people seem to either love her or hate her. Stretching back a decade, her favorable ratings among voters nationwide have wobbled between the high 40s and the high 50s, while her unfavorable rating has hovered in the 40s since 2000. Republicans don't have much distance to cover to push that unfavorable figure above 50. Asked where Clinton might be vulnerable in the general election, GOP pollster Glen Bolger joked, "With voters."

Though many Democrats like and respect Clinton as a role model, an effective legislator and a fighter against a relentless GOP onslaught, the image Republicans would want in voters' minds this fall if she wins the nomination is far more sinister. They'll say Clinton will do or say anything to win, and that she can't be trusted (also, she'll raise your taxes). McCain's campaign will call her a liberal and paint her support for ending the war in Iraq as a surrender to terrorists (the same strategy they'd use against Obama). Clinton's problem is that many voters already see her in a negative light; there isn't much work Republicans would have to do to put her there.

more...

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/03/26/hillary/

[jgraz]

1. Unlike Clinton, Obama has shown far more class than the Rethugs will against her

Hillary isn't even close to being vetted for the General Election. In fact, if this is how she responds to simply being behind -- wild-eyed rants, fake tears and lies about her resume -- there's no way she'll be able to hold up against a full-on Repug attack.

Obama, on the other hand, has already survived far nastier campaigning than the Repugs had planned for him. At last report, they were still confused as to how to use his race against him. Lucky for them, Hillary drew them a road map. The problem is, she's already driven any race-baiting strategy into the ground -- along with experience questions, ethics questions, patriotism questions, etc, etc, etc.

What is left for the Rethugs to throw at Obama that he hasn't already seen many times over?

[Benhurst]

2. "Obama, on the other hand, has already survived far

nastier campaigning than the Repugs had planned for him."

You can't be serious. Wait until Rove gets started. You ain't seen nothing yet.

They have both been struggling in the minor leagues. Come Fall, it'll be the majors-- and both are extremely vulnerable, even without Rove's helping hand.

[jgraz]

4. It won't have the same strength when coming from the Rethugs

The truly damaging part of Hillary's desperate grasp at power is that her attacks are coming from an alleged fellow Democrat. McCain couldn't broach the race topic without being called out as a typical black-hating Repug. But the Clintons -- as always -- can cloak themselves in the Democratic party and say the most outrageous things they want.

[Benhurst]

5. And you think the Republicans won't? Does "Swiftboating" ring a bell?

As the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz said, "Why, this little party has just begun." Rove will make the Clintons look like representatives from the Welcome Wagon.

[Clear Blue Sky]

3. She has to win the nomination first...