What is this about? Ezra Klein writes about this in the LATimes. The answer is simple. It is about turning her into the national boss of the Democratic Party. She would use her fundraising network to raise money for candidates and pick candidates in primaries. She would use her power in the Senate to control the debate to shape the message of the Democratic Party. This is a Newt-like ambition and vision.
Her husband failed to shape the party. He tried to tack to the center and the party rebelled after he left, starting with Gore’s populism in 2000. This would be a place from which they could shape their party. The question is whether they are more interested in the office of the President than the future of their party. That is what I failed to communicate the other day in my post on her future.
2 Comments
schirdo · August 23, 2006 at 3:40 PM
Seems a bit counter-productive. I think that part of Hillary’s draw, as with Rudy Giuliani, as a fundraiser and luminary, is the speculation about a run for the Presidency.
If she decides not to run in favor of becoming Senate Leader, will she still have the same cache or will she become an even more polarizing figure who does little to help anybody.
That of course is separate from the fact that the Clintons are only team players when the team is Team Clinton – the leader’s job is one where Clinton would have to share power – potentially with a Democrat president, and in Congress itself with the House Democrat leader. She would, at times be required to round up the troops for the Democrat Party even when the Democrat Party is not on the same page as Team Clinton. I don’t know if her ego would allow her to do that.
eyeon08.com » Hillary, high name id and familiarity, and running for President with a record · September 3, 2006 at 8:12 AM
[…] Today the Blogosphere is buzzing with the news that people are advising Hillary Clinton not to run for President. Some discuss her future as the Democrat’s Senate Leader. I have written earlier about some of this here and here. Why is she considering this? There are several theories: […]
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