Hillary is going to fight to the death
A few weeks ago, I read this excellent column by Peggy Noonan discussing the fact that Senator Clinton, unlike most politicians, doesn’t seem to know how to lose gracefully. It was an intriguing prospect, and one that seems confirmed by the news today that, despite losing ten primary and caucus votes in a row, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has established a special website dedicated to their effort to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations at the Democratic convention.
Jake Tapper, presently of ABC News, broke the story on his blog this morning, and is unreservedly critical of Mrs. Clinton for taking this path.
Clinton’s own senior adviser, Harold Ickes, voted as a member of the DNC committee to not recognize these two state delegations because they violated the rules of the primary scheduling process. Now as a Clinton campaign representative he’s making the case that they should count…
There’s a difference between pressuring/lobbying/strongly suggesting that superdelegates follow the will of regular delegates — that ultimately will be decided by each individual superdelegate — and trying to change the rules of the nominating process…
More and more, this reminds me of the Florida recount.
Don’t like the rules? Change the rules.
Count every vote — except the ones for the other guy.”
I agree with Tapper. The DNC vote to strip Michigan and Florida of their convention votes was nearly unanimous. The move was supported by a broad cross section of the Democratic party’s core constituencies. And, most importantly, it was the right decision. Without sanctions like this, the nominating process would continue to shift earlier and earlier as states jockey for position — and attention.
But Clinton’s move also gives us an interesting insight into her psyche, and it’s a significant one as we the people evaluate our choices for President. Do we want a President who knows how to compromise? To argue effectively for principle while giving ground when necessary for the good of the nation? Who will follow and respect the law, even the ones he or she doesn’t like?
I’ve never thought that Mrs. Clinton had the temperament to be President. But should she proceed in forcing a pitched parliamentary battle from a position of weakness, I think even her most zealous supporters will have to reevaluate their views of her.
Jim: Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and Clintons have to fight on, endlessly, long past the point of common sense, oblivious to their own long-term interest, the good of their party, the good of their country. It’s who they are. Think of the Lewinsky scandal.
Concede? Give up? Come on, Mike Huckabee’s still in the race, when he’s not giving speeches on tropical islands. Why should she give up her lifelong dream because Obama’s been on a hot streak, mostly in a bunch of states her campaign foolishly thought wouldn’t matter? Obama’s not gonna win this through regular delegates. It’s most likely going to go to the superdelegates, and if she has to bribe, cajole, intimidate, arm-twist, and mob-tactic her way to victory in that kind of a contest, so be it. This is the Clintons. They didn’t quit with Gennifer Flowers, with the draft dodging, with the “I didn’t inhale,” with Paula Jones, with Whitewater. When Kathleen Willey described Bill groping her on 60 Minutes, did they give up? No! When Juanita Broderick told Lisa Myers of NBC News of Bill Clinton sexually assaulting her in Little Rock decades ago, did they give up? No! Missing billing records? Ha! Innappropriate use of FBI files? Big deal! Chinese money going to Clinton’s 1996 run? Yawn! Johnny Chung? Charlie Trie? Questions about her $1,000 investment into a $100,000 profit on cattle futures? Marc Rich’s pardon?
After all of that, you expect her to give up just because Obama’s getting more votes?
The Clintons are like a Terminator. You can’t negotiate with them, they feel no remorse, they feel no empathy, they never stop.
I never wish death upon political enemies. But if the Clintons die, they will come back as ambitious, power-hungry, zombies seeking higher office. (Zombie Bill will argue that only the living are limited to two terms.)
Hillary’s dream of being the first woman president cannot simply lie down quietly and pass from this earth. A stake must be driven into her ambition’s heart, and it must be buried at a crossroads like the old legends of slaying a vampire.