Clinton's Polarizing Path to Victory

[tabasco]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by mcar (a host of the General Discussion forum).

It’s going to be Hillary Clinton’s nomination. But it’s not going to be her party. It looks likely to be her election—but not so likely to be her government.

Tuesday’s vote in New York brings closer a high-risk outcome in November. A Trump nomination in Cleveland means large-scale Republican no-shows at the polls. In 1972, Democrats repelled by their party choice split their tickets, re-electing both Richard Nixon and a Democratic Congress. Ticket-splitting has become rarer since then. Disappointed partisans now stay home, and voters who stay home spread defeat all the way down the ticket.

Hillary Clinton, so often described as a weak candidate, may yet pull a handsome slew of wins into Congress behind her.

But those Democrats will know they owe their success not to the head of their ticket, but to the head of the other ticket. They won’t owe Clinton—and they will be keenly aware of the leftward surge of opinion inside their party that made Clinton’s nomination so arduous and protracted. Hillary Clinton has had to veer left on trade, crime, immigration, energy, charter schools, and tax increases to appease her party activist base. Won’t new Democratic senators feel they have to do the same? Won’t many want to? If Ted Strickland replaces Rob Portman in Ohio, if Russ Feingold defeats Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, if Mark Kirk and Kelly Ayotte and Pat Toomey go down—the emerging Senate will ratify Clinton’s tactical maneuvers in the campaign. And what if the House is lost to the GOP, too? That’s less likely, but not unimaginable.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/clinton-white-ethnic/479070/

[Buzz Clik]

1. You could write the same story about the four leading candidates with different logic for each.

HRC is the least polarizing of the bunch.

[stopbush]

2. Written by David Frum, Republican spin meister and pundit

That's what's being posted on DU these days as a critique of our nominee? Allowing a R to frame our candidates in the most-negative light imaginable?

You must be proud.

[tabasco]

7. Do you have any comments about the substance of the article?

Or just the author?

[HooptieWagon]

3. There's nearly zero chance of a Dem majority in the House.

Democratic Party has a pretty good chance to capture a narrow Senate majority, if the DNC doesn't blow it. DWS is doing her best to fuck it up, as she has in previous elections.

[Gamecock Lefty]

4. "Polarizing?" There you go again!

The opposition loves negative terminology.

I think those of us that support and vote for Hillary, and there are more of us than anybody else this election season, do not find her polarizing at all. Quite the opposite.

MSNBC was asking last night if Hillary wins the nomination what must she do to bring in Bernie supporters? I was yelling at my TV – “what the hell must Bernie do to win OUR support if he wins the nomination?” There are more of us he should be worried about.

It was fun, though, last night watching Jeff Weaver spin, spin, spin like a washing machine!

[farleftlib]

5. Her negatives are quite high already and climbing

She most certainly is polarizing and her lies and slander against her competitor
for the nomination only demonstrate the truth of that assertion.

[gratuitous]

8. You know, polarizing

Like, how Hillary Clinton insists on being a woman AND a Democrat. That just makes David Frum SOOOOO MAD! Why can't she be more like that nice Donald Trump? He gets along with all the right people. David Frum likes Donald Trump because of Trump's good sense in being a Republican (this election cycle) and his consistent possession of a Y chromosome, just like God. As that great philosopher Robert Palmer said, "The truth is irrefutable." It's simply irresistible.

[Arugula Latte]

13. She is polarizing. And the more people get to know her, the less they like her.

[VOX]

6. By David Frum? Are you serious?

It's come to this? An opinion piece by the right-wing ideologue who coined the term "axis of evil" for BushCo?

At the very least, please move this stuff to GD-P.

[11 Bravo]

9. IBTL

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. david frum was a political writer and advisor to GWB. he clearly has no reason to want to poison

the democratic base against their nominee. none at all. his is clearly an honest opinion.

[trumad]

11. Should be in GD-P

[VOX]

12. This mess is still in GD? Please move to GD-P!

P L E A S E.