We! The People Webzine: The Hillary Illusion by Anthony Wade

The Hillary Illusion

by Anthony Wade
February 19, 2007

I have sat on this story for a couple of years now; waiting until it was close enough to the 2008 elections to have the relevance necessary for progressives to truly take notice. For some this may come as a shock but it is a necessary dialogue that must be had, before it is too late. The country has come too far in the 2006 elections to watch another four years be flushed away in the White House. Everybody needs to take a deep breath, sit down and realize right now that Hillary Clinton cannot win in 2008.

I started to think about this immediately following the 2004 elections. Fox News was in full celebratory mode, ignoring the blatant voter fraud, when I noticed that they had a segment to actually discuss the viability of a 2008 Hillary run. What ensued made me very curious. They proceeded to talk Hillary up. Newt Gingrich was brought in as an expert and he proceeded to fawn over Hillary and how credible a candidate she is; and remember, this is four years before 2008. I thought to myself, why would Fox News go to such great lengths to gush over a woman I knew they hated? The answer was simple, they knew she could not possibly win a general election, thus she made the perfect candidate for the GOP, and thus for Fox News.

I could talk about the fact that she has a horrible position on the number one topic for the 2008 election, the war in Iraq. It is becoming evident that she is trying to undo her votes and her previous positions. The more she tries to the more she simply sounds like she is not being forthcoming. I can hear the chants of flip flop already. But the cold hard truth is that the actual campaign topics are not really relevant in this case because most have made their minds up about Hillary already.

The truth is that there are portions of this country that are not ready to vote for a woman, let alone this woman. I say that despite the fact that I personally do not dislike Hillary Clinton. I think she has done a very credible job as my Senator and often catches too much grief she does not deserve. That aside, she is also the most polarizing woman in politics. Most people either love her or they hate her. But love her or hate her nearly everyone has already made their mind up about her. A candidate like Obama or Edwards, people still will give a chance to get to know. Not so with Hillary. Make no mistake, she can win the primaries, but in a general election, she would start the GOP with 200-230 electoral votes. Then the Republican Party can concentrate their vast efforts and fortunes on those small handful of swing states and overwhelm her.

Too much doom and gloom you think? Ask yourself in all seriousness what states will not elect a woman, and then move into those that have a natural anti-Hillary slant. What are you left with? Not too many my friends. More importantly, start paying close attention to what the corporate media says about her. Listen not only to Fox News pump life into her candidacy, but your typical shills like Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough. Ask yourself why people you know full well can't stand her are being so supportive of her candidacy? Start paying close attention to who is fueling the "Hillary is the front-runner" talk. Who is downplaying her competition? Obama gets "accidentally" called Osama, but Hillary is afforded the attention and credibility usually reserved for the other party. You watch as the primaries unfold. If there is someone stepping up to challenge Hillary, do not be surprised to see that person get the Howard Dean treatment from the corporate media. The machine is speaking very loudly about what they want and it is more important then ever to ask why, when the machine speaks so loudly and forcefully. There are reasons America; and there is too much at stake.

The past six years have been nothing short of horrific in this country. A GOP led executive branch has seen horrors untold, death and war without end, and an erosion of our civil liberties. The rich have become richer while the middle class have been squeezed into the working poor. Medical insurance has become a luxury millions upon millions of Americans simply can no longer afford. The environment has been raped and global warming is progressing rapidly. Education has been eroded as well and New Orleans remains in ruins. The war continues and if the GOP has anything to say about it, the war will go on for decades with Iran and Syria on deck. America finally woke up in 2006 and voted the party that has perpetrated this upon us out of office. Make no mistake about it America, the next goal for the GOP is to recapture the White House in 2008, by any means necessary. If they can, then the wars will continue and more importantly to republicans, the unfair tax cuts will continue as our country is plunged into further debt so the elite can pad their bank accounts. That is what is at stake for them. That is what is at stake for us.

In their pursuit of continuing their American nightmare, the GOP has had a two-pronged attack since as far back as the moment George W. Bush stole another election in 2004. One, they needed to sort out their own candidate issues, and they have plenty. McCain continues to shoot himself in the foot over this war and Rudy's stance on social wedge issues would fracture the party's base. The second angle though has been to try and assist the Democratic Party with picking their candidate. They wisely decided early on to push Hillary. They have offered no resistance to her candidacy through the primary process and if anything have tried to assist her. Why America? Because they know that she cannot win. It gives me no joy to say it but it is better now to recognize the game before we get to November 2008 and hear about how the democrats elected an unelectable candidate. To hear about how Hillary is so polarizing and how there are parts of the country that are just not ready to elect a woman, let alone that woman. To hear about how the country is going to look after another four years of republican rule.

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Anthony Wade, a contributing writer to opednews.com, is dedicated to educating the populace to the lies and abuses of the government. He is a 39-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.

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