After the Pennsylvania primary yesterday, a larger debate became even more prominent. It comes down to this: there are two paradigms of thought with a demarcation line that seems to be growing and hardening just as powerfully as the rift between Clinton and Obama supporters:
1. This seemingly endless, below-the-belt battle between Obama and Clinton is breaking the Dem’s once smooth path to the White House.
2. This fight between Obama and Clinton is good for the party.
In terms of the latter, some justify it by laying claim to the record turn-out of newly registered blues. In fact, on Monday, March 24th, (the cut-off day for Pennsylvania residents to register to vote in the Primary), the Democratic Party enrollment surged past the 4 million mark. No political party in the history of the state has ever risen above this level. In terms of the General Election, this means the DNC and Obama (I mean, uh… the chosen candidate whoever that may end up being) will have access to a record breaking vault of voters to both raise funds from and mobilize support against McCain. There is some truth to this argument.
On the other hand, this vault of voters is becoming more and more polarized with each new day of this Primary. Take yesterday’s results from Pennsylvania that hailed Clinton the winner because she garnered 9.2%more of the vote. The truth? She didn’t win at all. McCain did. While Clinton and Obama were battling it out, McCain sailed through with 43% of Clinton supporters saying they’d stay home or vote for McCain if Obama won the nomination.
Proponents of the second theory come back with the notion that these 43% of emotional voters are simply hot-headed, in the moment. Once the crowd fills into the General Election arena, people will calm down and start to make sense.
Will they? Do you actually have that much faith in the American people as being rational? The same mass public that buys Jessica Simpson records and has turned Michael Bay into one of the most successful film directors of all time?? Stephen Hawking recently gave a lecture for NASA’s 50th anniversary. It was about intelligent life out there in the universe. He joked that it wasn’t yet clear to him whether we’ve actually found intelligent life here on earth.
I’m not saying that the American people are stupid. I’m just saying that they’re really, really dumb (but not you, dear reader… of course not you…).
Another argument in favor of theory two is that this negative rampage emanating from camp Hillary is hardening Obama to what will come his way from the Right. It’s cleaning house, toughening him up, getting everything out in the open so that the attacks in the General Election become old news. There is some truth to this, sure.
But, the reality is that this negative fear-mongering is chipping away at his personae of being a candidate ready to take on McCain. This is what Clinton aims at when she picks up where Giuliani and Rove left off and puts 9/11 and Osama bin Laden in her advertisements. She’s playing the fear card, she’s doing the GOP’s work for them. And these fearful images can last a long time in the minds of voters.
Now let’s take a closer look at what this fear element entails for the General Election. Bush played this card against Kerry in 2004, and it worked like a charm. And to all appearances, it seems to be doing the trick for Hillary as well. But, what it’s also doing for her is smearing the reputation of the Democratic Party. Hear me out. When Bush used fear in 2004, Bill Clinton responded by saying that, as a Clinton rule of politics, when given the choice between fear and hope, always vote hope:
However, now it’s utterly clear that the one rule of Clinton politics that outweighs this “hope vs. fear” tenant is: say whatever the hell you want in order to get elected, irregardless of truth. The proof is Hillary’s use of fear whenever possible. 3 AM. Even mentioning the name “Farrakhan” out of nowhere in the last Pennsylvania debate. Scare the white man. Never mind the fact that Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. Bush, Cheney, and Rove helped to make this “say whatever fear-based untruth it takes” style a major character trait of the Republican Party. The Clintons are now adding it to the litany of Democratic Party traits. And this waters down our party going into the General Election.
Some are claiming that this is nothing new to the Clintons. Maybe there’s some truth to that. But, when it’s the Clinton’s turning this toxicity back on the very party they are trying to raise up, it’s debilitating. It guts the party soul-less.
The math is against Hillary. She cannot reach Obama through the popular vote or the pledged delegates. So, she’s buying time. She’s stretching this out as long as she can. Hoping to chip away at his ability to go toe-to-toe with McCain in the General Election. Eyeing Super Delegates. Using old-school political tricks that distract us from issues that matter every step of the way. Insofar as she’s successful at doing that (and in terms of the Penn vote yesterday, she does indeed seem to be doing something to this end), she’s doing the dirty work of the GOP and not only helping herself (albeit for what may ultimately be futility considering the math), but she’s also helping McCain.
My thought?
Hillary Clinton is tripping the Democratic Party just yards from the goal line.
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