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May 20, 2008
Hillary Wins...But at What Cost?
As the bitter primary fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continues, one of the refrains pundits keep repeating is that no matter who ends up with the nomination, the Democratic party will join hands and unify behind the winner. Well, don't start singing "Kumbaya" anytime soon.
When Shannon de Rubens, a stay-at-home mom, wears her Hillary Rodham Clinton button, she expects to be harassed. A woman in Bellevue even pretended to spit on her once. That's all part of the game, when you're a Clinton backer in a land of Obama bumper stickers.If these numbers are any indication, there is some real acrimony in the Democratic party. Ace has his doubts about how long the bad feelings will last, but I'm beginning to wonder. What should be troubling the Obama campaign is not the anger among Clinton supporters, but who's angry and why. The Kentucky results show, again, that Obama cannot attract the key demographic of working-class white voters. As the Hot Air data shows, the Wright issue seems a likely sticking point."I hate to say it, but that sort of acrimony between strangers has been standard in this campaign, especially locally," said de Rubens, who lives in Issaquah and co-founded two grass-roots campaign groups, the Hillraisers, in the region with more than 100 members total.
If these voters don't trust Obama now, just wait until John McCain and a host of special interest groups put his 'bitterly clinging to guns and religion' soundbite on an endless loop. His elitism is likely to create a whole new generation of 'Reagan Democrats.' Still, two factors will make Obama hard to beat in the general election - one, the media is completely in the tank for the guy and is likely to airbrush his gaffes. Two, John McCain is the Republican nominee.
Imagine what the head-to-head polls would look like if the conservative base actually liked the GOP nominee. I hope McCain's campaign realizes that the 'I'm not Obama' and 'the Democrats are worse' arguments won't cut it. He's got to make a positive case for his candidacy by focusing on conservative themes and picking a conservative (hint: not Mike Huckabee) running mate.
The Democratic infighting gives the GOP a chance to win this year. Let's hope McCain is smart enough to reign in The Maverick™ and grab that opportunity.
Posted by slublog at May 20, 2008 09:08 PM
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Comments
Operation Chaos is working!
Posted by: Cheryl at May 21, 2008 06:15 PM
The divisions within the Democratic party are likely to last long past the election. While Clinton supporters (or Obama supporters, for that matter) may hold their noses and vote for the democratic candidate not of their choice in 2008, the memory of the prejudiceeach side feels they've experienced will remain and fester well into the next decade. It will cause suspicion, back-biting, and betrayal within the democratic ranks because both sides now believe that the other is not simply wrong, but morally offensive (just as they view republicans). This is the legacy of the liberals' policy of division along racial/gender/social lines and healing it will require them to do two things they inherently cannot do - 1) see themselves as Americans first and foremost, and 2) believe that people with opinions different than their own are not morally impaired.
Posted by: Neal5x5 at May 21, 2008 06:40 PM
Now Hillary supporters are getting an idea of how Bush supporters have been treated for the past 8 years.
Posted by: mpur at May 22, 2008 12:57 AM