What Do Republicans Do About Hillary?



What Do Republicans Do About Hillary?  Jay Cost writes for The Weekly Standard on 3/24/14 that the Republicans may not be ready for Hillary.  As he usually does, Mr. Cost cuts right to the point in a clear, uncluttered fashion.  His larger point is that the GOP has had three at bats with the Clintons and is currently standing at “O’fer”.  They need a new approach.  Now I am not totally convinced that Hillary will actually run for the Democratic nomination.  She will be at or near 70 years of age when the election is held and she is certainly still remembering the sting of defeat at the hands of the One.  At this point in that election cycle, she was riding the same celestial hype of coronation from the Dem establishment and the media at large and we all know how that turned out.    Could she stand a second defeat of that magnitude at this stage in her life?  She may not be able to resist the temptation, but then again…she may.  Even though she is an uber-liberal to the bone, she is ruthlessly pragmatic when it comes to politics.  For the sake of discussion, let us assume for the moment that she pursues and captures the Democratic nomination for President in the coming election.  Are the Republicans truly, as Mr. Cost would say, “not ready for Hillary”?

Money will not be an issue in the upcoming Presidential race.  There are more than enough idealist billionaires on both sides of the aisle to fund adequate campaigns.  The hardcore supporters on each side of the political aisle readily recognize that this will be a watershed national election.  The quest for Senate control will require huge expenditures from each party in down ticket races, so the field should be roughly level when it comes to dollars.  Hillary’s PAC “Ready for Hillary” will certainly give her a leg up on her competition, both Democrat and Republican; but that advantage will be rapidly diminished when the final two competitors are decided.  The bigger question is “who gives the Republicans the best chance for victory”?  Mr. Cost gives us several qualifiers for that person and they all make sense.  Who fits the bill? 

First, let us examine the possible chinks in Hillary’s armor. Experience tempered with success tends to diminish one’s capacity to dream; youth dreams easier than age.  Once one discovers the value of controlling that which you can and disregarding that which you can’t, it becomes abundantly clear that much more is within reach than ever seemed possible.  Hillary knows this.  Romney knew this.  This lack of this dreamer quality is transparent; it is the root of pragmatism.  The presence of this dreamer quality in a less-accomplished (and younger) individual is also apparent, and voters tend to like this.  Hillary’s age needs to be contrasted with a vibrantly young candidate; one whose youth is obvious both in appearance and speech.  Now the dreaming must be tempered with realism and experience, but more like a seasoning and not a blanket.  Hillary’s resume is thin gruel (what has she really ever accomplished?), but it looks good on paper.  The Republican’s youthful candidate must have something of note to stand on; they must be demonstrably competent.    When Hillary gets on the stage for the presidential debates, no amount of make-up will mask her physical age.  The Republicans must contrast this with a vision of youthful promise that can be taken seriously.  Per Mr. Cost, the younger candidate has won the popular vote in the last 6 elections.

There are at least five different issues that Hillary has never fully and adequately responded to.  Remember: Many voters will not remember all of these issues; many were too young to be paying attention at that time.

1.    HillaryCare.  This is the father of Obamacare and if anything, was more liberal in nature than what we have seen in Obamacare.  This was her child and that bond must be made apparent to all.

2.    TravelGate.  Perhaps more than any other action, this episode demonstrates Hillary’s ruthlessness.  Her complete and total disregard for the lives of seven people, who were destroyed by her accusations and commensurate legal bills, is unforgiveable and should never be forgotten. 

3.    Whitewater and Pork Futures.  Hillary and Bill’s record is replete with crony capitalism escapades and these are two of the most revealing.  Personal gain from political power is detested by the American voter and these stories need to be retold over and over.

4.    Russian Reset.  Hillary eagerly assumed control of the Obama administration’s affairs with Russia.  She and the One heaped scorn and disparagement on previous Administrations over their Russian foreign policy initiatives.  She gleefully embraced the Russian reset of the Obama administration and handed over the reset apparatus to the Russian official.   One statement sums up this effort by the One and Hillary…”The 1990’s called and they want their community organizer back”.

5.    BenghaziGate.  The jury is still out on this one, but it is hard to see how this can be anything but damning as far as SOS Hillary is concerned.  Further complicating her perceived guilt in the actual events is her shameless efforts at stonewalling and cover-up.

So, is Hillary as bullet-proof as the mainstream media and Dem supporters would have us believe?  It would be foolish to underestimate the ability and willingness of the MSM to carry Hillary’s water and attack her opponent.  But if the Republicans can manage to remember they have several issues that, taken in total, cast very serious doubts on the wisdom of having Hillary Clinton as President, they have a very good chance to win the White House.  They must avoid obsession with a single issue (did you notice I never mentioned “sex”?)  and expose Hillary on multiple fronts.  I would submit that if a reasonable adversarial approach is taken to Hillary, we may find that she is actually experiencing her high-water mark in popularity right now.

So, who best fits the role of Hillary opponent?  There is one person who fits Mr. Cost’s entire list of qualities except one…he is associated with WDC, though not too extensively due to his youth.  That candidate would be Marco Rubio.  He is youthful, accomplished, experienced with the presidential process, from a critical state in the political process, a clear visionary, and a person who can appeal to those of Hispanic origin in this country.  He is a dreamer and can tell a life story that is nothing short of inspiring.  He is a fiscal conservative that is not overly rigid in his social views.  Even though the GOP has little hope of claiming a significant percentage of the African-American vote, they must claim a significant portion of the Hispanic vote to harbor any hope of victory.  Team Mr. Rubio up with an intelligent, competent, and accomplished female (Kelly A. Ayotte anyone?) and you will have effectively parried the “war on women” strategy of the Democrats.   It is long way to the next presidential election, but as of today, it would look to me that a bet on Marco Rubio as our next president might be a decent proposition.