Republicans have every right to be afraid of Hillary Clinton.
On a good number of issues, Clinton has taken position that have been decidedly to the right of modern Republicans struggling to rediscover what we’re trying to conserve as conservatives: war hawk, pro-marriage, former Goldwater Girl and darling of the DLC moderates. How many serious thinkers on the right would willingly trade the last seven years for a Clinton presidency vs. an Obama presidency?
Between Obamacare and the state of the economy, there’s little question that we’d be better off, and perhaps see a return to the Gingrich-era co-operation between the executive and legislative branch, as opposed to the run-em-over approach Obama has chosen by way of ruling and reigning through executive decree.
But I digress. Clinton’s 2016 run might be sewn up for the Democratic nomination, but all the numbers are showing that — much like John McCain in 2008 — America isn’t ready for Hillary at all. In fact, they’re tired of Democrats according to the WaPo:
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are all neck-and-neck with the Democratic frontrunner in a new poll of Virginia voters from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University. Only against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker does Clinton lead by more than four percentage points. Bush leads her by two points in the poll.
The results show a downward slide for Clinton since the university’s last poll of the swing state in February, when she bested all her likely rivals.
The poll consisted of regular landline voters, so one could quibble that we have a distinctive difference between younger and more mobile supporters vs. older voters. Yet what’s most troubling for Clinton is the same fact that befuddles most known candidates for public office — once known and the media gets to work, you are either loved or hated:
The former secretary of state is both liked and disliked more than any other contender from either party, with a 44 percent favorability and 52 percent unfavorability rating. Only Vice President Biden is as well-known, and he is viewed less favorably, with 35 percent positive and 57 percent negative responses. More than half of voters say they don’t know O’Malley or Walker. A third don’t know Webb, who left office in 2013; those that do are evenly split.
That last factor is shocking to me… though Jim Webb was very much an understated Senator in Virginia (again, once known and the media gets to work…)
Still, 44/52 fav-unfav ratings are shockingly bad for a candidate with Hillary’s name ID. Moreover, to see that virtually all of the frontrunners are polling either neck and neck or ahead of Clinton in Virginia is almost a “generic plus” sort of poll, meaning that on the generic ballot, should Republicans continue to maintain an R+1 or R+3 environment, variations on the Republican ticket are only helping to enhance that lead among candidates barely introduced to the electorate.
Of course, the race is early. Clinton has a lot of work to do among her progressive wing to convince them she really has abandoned her earlier positions on marriage, is distancing herself from a foreign policy she lead as Secretary of State under Obama, and is focusing on something — anything — that will galvanize Democrats come November 2016 while not ticking off the honorable middle in the process. Frankly, America has seen enough hope and change.
Meanwhile, Republicans not only have a 20+ year opposition file on Clinton, but her stint as Secretary of State is pockmarked with the mistakes of the Obama Administration: failed relations with Russia, civil war in the Donbass region of Ukraine, NATO on the brink, Greece lurching towards an exit from the EU, Syria torn in three, northern Iraq in the hands of ISIL, the war in Afghanistan unfinished, the “pivot to Asia” looking more like a 360 back to Europe, relations with Israel at their lowest point since Suez 1956.
…and remember Benghazi.
The question remains as to whether or not Republicans will create a ticket that can unite the loyal opposition. Taking a page from our friends across the pond, a Conservative-LibDem alliance has worked against Labour. The advantage for Republicans is that we must run on a ticket. Bush/Paul ’16 would be very interesting against say, a Clinton/Webb ’16 candidacy (though it would prove to be a bloody mess). Truth be told, I’d pay good money to see Webb and Paul debate the issues of the day… but that’s another matter.
