TPM Election Central has a new mailer put out by the Hull for Senate Campaign errr…Clinton campaign:
The Obama campaign replied with Rich, Zorn, and I largely recycling the 2004 material.
The vapidness of the argument is explained when Rich quoted me on his post–essentially these same bills that he voted present on (as did Emil Jones and Lisa Madigan once she was in the Illinois Senate) are the ones that he killed singlehandedly as Committee Chair once the Dems took the Illinois Senate. It’s a bit bizarre to claim he’s ducking those votes when once he had the chance, he took the entire heat on the bills.
One theory is that Assistant Clinton Campaign Manager Mike Henry is having PTSD flashbacks to his role as Campaign Manger for Blair Hull as Clinton numbers implode in New Hampshire.
Though I think most of us can understand if she hit Bill at sometime in the past.
If HRC wants to stop Obama from getting the nomination she should quit the race ASAP. Obama will probably beat Edwards one-on-one, but there’s at least a chance Edwards can beat Obama.
If HRC loses NH, especially if it’s by a big margin (like the margin she lost by in Iowa), she really has no viable strategy.
The people know HRC. They have rendered a verdict. Dem voters would rather nominate a first-term African-American Senator who has never proven himself in a tough campaign, admits to using cocaine, hardly knows how to pass a bill and is a foreign policy lightweight than the battle-tested Hillary Rodham Clinton.
(If it wasn’t obvious, I was being snarky about Obama.)
Here’s Hillary’s problem. Democrats look at the last 7 years and see the ugly hyper-partisan tactics of the Bush administration and the Republicans nationally and are disgusted by it and are sick of it. Democrats have a choice whether they want someone mean enough to stand up to that shit or if they want someone who will completely change the game. They chose change.
Here’s where it gets worse for Hillary. Independents look at not just the Bush years, but also the acrimonious wars during the Clinton administration and they see 15 years of partisan bullshit and are really sick of it. They see someone willing to change how the game is played and they are coming out of the woodwork in support.
Now the Clinton campaign needs a plan B and because they just don’t recognize what they’re dealing with and why (which is tough to watch) they are using the same old playbook and going on the attack. They are reinforcing the worst elements of what voters are repudiating.