I see that Peter Beinart is stirring the pot over at The Atlantic, saying that no Democrats are emerging to challenge Hillary Clinton because they don’t want to get retaliated against by the vindictive Team Clinton. That may be part of it, but another part is that Clinton’s numbers are so strong among Democrats, including liberals, progressives, people of color, that it would require some pretty rough tactics to bring her back to Earth and make her beatable. If someone wants to run a genteel race against her just to push for some progressive issue or another, that really isn’t going to get it done.
For all I know, we will have our versions of Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes get in the race just to make a point, get some fame, and improve their career prospects and book sales. But an actual bona fide challenger who can plausibly convince big donors to give money? They’ll have to wield a meat cleaver. And that’s what would cause the vindictiveness more than any intrinsic ruthlessness on the Clintons’ part.
