Hillary Clinton In The Land of "If Only"

[Rubiconski2009]

The Houston Chronicle 5/04/08

As the Clinton campaign continues to grasp at straws for a reason to persuade the superdelegates that she would be a better candidate to run against John McCain in November, they have come up with their latest version of the "if only" strategy. But this time it appears she is making Barack Obama’s case stronger instead of her own.

From today’s New York Daily News:

"Obama owes his first-place standing to the millions of independents and Republicans who voted for him in states that allowed them to participate in the Democratic nominating contest, the News found.

Clinton would top Obama by more than 360,000 votes if only Democrats were counted, and the delegate race - which Obama leads by 135 - would likely be tighter."

Harold Ickes, a devoted Clinton Kool-Aid drinker, put it this way;

"For those superdelegates who are increasingly questioning pulling power in a general election, I think what this will do is reinforce the argument that she has a stronger base among broad Democratic constituencies that we need absolutely to win."

The article also mentions that "if only" Michigan and Florida were counted, Hillary’s lead would be more than 900,000.

Two weeks ago Hillary’s reasoning was that "if only" Democratic primaries were held under Republican winner-take-all rules, she would be the leader by virtue of her victories in the big states and Obama’s wins in smaller states.

Speaking of that, Mrs. Clinton has made a point that she wins the states that Democrats need in the fall, while Obama carries states that are going to vote Republican no matter what. In light of that argument it seems strange that she is fighting so hard for, and putting so much emphasis on, North Carolina and Indiana. A Democrat has not carried North Carolina in a presidential election since Carter in ‘76. Indiana has not gone into the Democratic column since Johnson in ‘64.

But I digress, back to the original premise of the argument that she has stronger support among Democrats. Doesn’t that make Obama’s point that he would be stronger in the general election because of his crossover appeal to Independents and Republicans? I think it would be a good idea for the Clinton campaign to drop this latest "if only" before the Obama people turn it around and use it as a weapon against Hillary.

Based on Sen. Clinton’s logic, I think Mitt Romney has an argument to the Republican Party. "If only" crossover Democrats and Independents had not been allowed to vote in Republican primaries, he would be the nominee instead of John McCain. Ah, the land of "if only", what a wonderful place.

Poor Hillary......if only :nopity:

She ran a campaign based on experience and the American public has repudiated her.

She came from way ahead to lose the nomination because her campaign based on experience was laughable.

[phrigndumass]

1. Hypothetical Hillary

[Cha]

2. Good post Rubiconski..

could we have some links, please:)

[Rubiconski2009]

4. chron.Commons

http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=desperado&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3AdesperadoPost%3A4429c439-36fa-4eb9-9367-61ad56756640

[Cha]

5. Thanks n/t

[cliffordu]

3. Kicked and recommended. That just about has it nailed.

:kick:

[Rubiconski2009]

6. If only I hadn't voted for that damn war....

[nyccitizen]

7. Last time I checked, Independent support and crossover votes won elections...

"If only" Democrats were allowed to vote, we'd never have Republican presidents.

[tammywammy]

8. recommended

[FrenchieCat]

9. If only the last Clinton administration hadn't

signed all of the bad ideas below:

THE RISE OF THE DLC

its mission was far more confrontational. With few resources, and taking heavy flak from the big guns of the Democratic left, the DLC proclaimed its intention, Mighty Mouse-style, to rescue the Democratic Party from the influence of 1960s-era activists and the AFL-CIO, to ease its identification with hot-button social issues, and, perhaps most centrally, to reinvent the party as one pledged to fiscal restraint, less government, and a pro business, pro-free market outlook.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/1/24/16457/4867

Hence the DLC via Bill Clinton's Presidency gave us among other things.......

NAFTA

Clinton Signs NAFTA
12/8/93"I do want to say, also, a special word of thanks to all the citizens who helped us -- the business leaders, the labor folks, the environmental people who came out and worked through this; many of them at great criticism, particularly in the environmental movement and some of the working people who helped it. And a group that was quite pivotal to our success that I want to acknowledge specifically are the small business people, many of whom got themselves organized and came forward and tried to help us. They made a real difference. " Bill Clinton at NAFTA signing Ceremony
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/120893-speech-b...

1996 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT

Clinton Signs The Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is the first major overhaul of telecommunications law in almost 62 years. The goal of this new law is to let anyone enter any communications business -- to let any communications business compete in any market against any other.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has the potential to change the way we work, live and learn. It will affect telephone service -- local and long distance, cable programming and other video services, broadcast services and services provided to schools.
http://www.fcc.gov/telecom.html

WELFARE REFORM ACT

1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
On August 22, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 Conference Report to accompany H.R. 3734, the controversial legislation which repeals the 60 year old social safety net for the poor and requires welfare recipients to work. The legislation is very much like H.R. 4, the previous welfare bill that the President vetoed at the urging of NOW and other advocacy organizations. And, like the previous bill, the President received severe criticism from community activists, women's rights, social service advocacy, labor, minority, and religious groups in embracing this Republican-led effort to change the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=1996_Welfare...

BANKING REFORM BILL

Clinton signs banking overhaul measure
November 12, 1999
The biggest change in the nation's banking system since the Great Depression became law Friday, when President Bill Clinton signed a measure overhauling federal rules governing the way financial institutions operate.

Congress passed the bipartisan measure November 5, opening the way for a blossoming of financial "supermarkets" selling loans, investments and insurance. Proponents had pushed the legislation in Congress for two decades, and Wall Street and the banking and insurance industries had poured millions of dollars into lobbying for it in the past few years.

"The world changes, and Congress and the laws have to change with it," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm (R-Texas), who has fought for years for the overhaul. Gramm said the bill would improve banking competition and stability.
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/11/12/banki...

DOMA

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- HR 3396 or Public Law No. 104-199 -- on 21 September 2000. It defines marriage as an act between heterosexuals and frees one state from being required to honor the same-sex marriage conducted in another state. As of this writing, 39 states have laws based on DOMA; 18 of those are amendments to the state constitution.

On Friday, September 20, prior to signing the Defense of Marriage Act, President Clinton released the following statement:

I have long opposed governmental recognition of same-gender marriages and this legislation is consistent with that position. The Act confirms the right of each state to determine its own policy with respect to same gender marriage and clarifies for purposes of federal law the operative meaning of the terms "marriage" and "spouse".
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/gaymarriage/a/DOMA.htm

CHINA TRADE DEAL

Clinton signs China trade bill
October 10, 2000
he measure is considered the most important U.S. trade legislation since passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. But it faced a long campaign of opposition from labor, human rights and conservative groups who wanted to retain the annual review of trade relations with China.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/10/10/... /

"Screw 'em," she told her husband. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them."
http://www.americablog.com/2008/04/hillary-clinton-on-w...

(ACTUAL LINKS AVAILABLE HERE: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5587196

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. And let us not forget,

the growth of registered independents and decline of Democratic party rolls mirrors the growth of influence of the DLC.

Those independents who are coming to the Democrats to vote for Obama are, in a large part, disaffected Democrats returning to the fold upon finding a candidate who espoouses Democratic values, rather than the DLC party line. With a successful 8 years of Obama, we might even keep them.