Everyone seems to agree that Mark Penn is an inept moron:
Overhearing discussions about Clinton in the hallway outside the RNC meeting, Jorge Landivar, a Ron Paul-backing delegate to the 2012 Republican convention from Texas, chimed in: “All the polls say she will destroy anyone that we put up — it’s [f—ng] terrifying.” National polling from Quinnipiac University finds that Clinton, the most popular national political figure, would defeat New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 45 – 37 percent; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio 50 – 34 percent and Rep. Paul Ryan 50 – 38 percent.
Ron Kaufman, the RNC committeeman from Massachusetts and a senior Romney campaign advisor, acknowledged that Clinton looks as powerful as a sitting president. But he cautioned Republicans to remember how quickly the political winds can shift. “Right now she is the closest thing you’ll get to an incumbent in an open race,” said Kaufman, who served as George H. W. Bush’s White House political director. “But at this time in the cycle, Bush 41 was unbeatable.”
Indeed, Republicans here took some hope in Clinton’s stunning 2008 collapse, when her political machine seemed to fall apart under the pressure of Obama’s challenge. Some suggested she was ill-served by top advisors whom they hope will return to her side with unintended results. “I hope she picks Mark Penn”–her longtime pollster and close advisor–”to run her campaign again,” said one swing-state state chair who was loath to share his defeatist attitude publicly. “Because even some Republicans will give her a second chance.”
Finally, something everyone can agree on.
Well, someone had to ask Joan Walsh to please shut up, now.
I still can’t believe she wrote that.
She’s really worried about white people being treated like minorities are now? Really?
I’ll make a very safe prediction now. I will never be stopped by a cop for being white.
True story: I was likely once let off by a cop for being white. I was driving up to Grand Rapids for something. I pull into a parking lot, and a local officer goes and whips his car crossways in front of mine. He probably thought he had something until this fat white dude got out of his crappy Toyota. He asked for my license, looked at it, and went on his way, just like that.
Still not interested in her as President. But after Obama’s historic fuckup, she may be the only thing that can save the country from another term of GOP madness.
Goddamned depressing.
This is really interesting to me, and I think it will also be to future historians, how one part of the dem party sees Obama’s presidency as a “historic fuckup” and another part sees it as one of the most successful progressive presidencies since you-name-it: Johnson, Roosevelt,….
Who’s right?
It is my belief that the Democratic Party is going to get smoked in 2014 due to four simple and truthful words:
Obama cut Social Security.
Booman’s eloquent points about the state of play and why the President did what he did in order to shut off the sequester are fine and good. But they’re too in the weeds. The message for the GOP is simple. It’s easy. No one will care why or how. Just that Obama cut Social Security.
And that is why I call it a historic fuckup.
Lawrence O’Donnell made a decent case that it’s not so “historic.”
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/04/must-watch-tv-on-history-of-and-changes.html#disqus_thread
It still may have a negative effect in 2014 but I don’t think that’s certain because if the deal is enacted, the sequester goes away, an infrastructure bank is set up, and the ACA and pre-K for all kids will be funded.
If no deal is done and no revenues are added, the sequester continues and the ACA reforms will not be properly funded. If we could be sure the sequester won’t tank the economy going into 2014, I’d be more confident that offering chained CPI was disastrous politics. But with another Debt Limit debate around the corner and the GOTP’s proven recklessness, I’m not sure how this plays out.
Indeed. Bill Clinton and the Dems might have taxed Social Security benefits for some for the first time in ’93, but that was barely on the radar for why they lost in ’94. Chained CPI doesn’t even reach that level, much less the changes a Dem Congress enacted in 1983.
Unfortunately voters don’t show up for mid-term elections like they do for POTUS elections.
2012 voter turnout: 53.6%
2010 voter turnout: 37.8%
The turnout is similar tracking back for several elections.
“Progressive” blogs focusing mainly on POTUS elections aren’t doing much to improve feeble voter turnout– in both POTUS and mid-term elections.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html
Get a fucking grip. Jeebus, I’m so sick of emos.
It’s such a cop out to blame Hillary’s loss on her advisors. Yes, they sucked. But, she lost to a better candidate. Even if they change all the people around Hillary, she is still going to have her liabilities. She voted for the Iraq War and has never admitted it was a mistake. She has problems with telling the truth (Irish Peace Agreement, sniper fire in Bosnia, etc.). Unless she deals with her underlying issues, she is going to be beaten again by someone who is smart enough to exploit her weaknesses.
LOL…. I’ll never forget when Obama started to pull ahead of Hillary in the primary, using the phony “change” theme– Hillary stated “Hey, I’m for change, too!” (actually she isn’t, just like Obama isn’t).