This is more of a rant than a diary. Mea culpa.
I'm writing this because I just saw yet another article where the idea of Hillary Clinton running for president in 2008 was floated.
http://www.salon.com/...
And I am getting more and more nervous. Hillary Clinton might actually run for President. And she might actually get the nomination.
And if she does, she will lose. Why? Below the fold.
Because
a) there is a large enough chunk of our population who register to vote simply to vote against ANY woman.
b) to have a president, we need to win a majority. Therefore we need someone who will get at least SOME votes from Republicans.
And with the possible exception of Ted Kennedy, there is no one currently in politics who even comes close to the the amount of pure hatred, that conservatives have for Hillary Clinton.
Picture Ann Coulter running for the mayor of San Francisco, and you'd get a small picture of the level of hatred she inspires.
c) By 2008, If the Democrats float a viable candidate that they don't hate, Republicans might actually vote for a Democrat. As things are looking now, the Republican brand is going down and will continue until the GOP actually gets in step with it's supposed conservative values - which means effectively never.
And there is only one way to ruin this - put forth the one candidate that Republicans will not vote for. Who will cause more conservative voters to register and vote against them, than anyone else. You know who I'm talking about.
So, what will be the result if she does run? More Republicans in the White House for another four years. Gaming intelligence. Screwing up world diplomacy. Scaring the crap out of the masses with bogeymen to keep them form thinking about the hand reaching in their pocket. More conservative corporatocracy, more ignoring of global warming, more coziness with defense contractors, more assaults on Roe V. Wade and sensible sex education. More kowtowing to a fanatical Christian base. More cronyism, more cruel budget cuts for the poor and welfare for the rich. More dismantling of the EPA, the FDA, housing, any part of the New Deal they can get their hands on, FEMA, and the basic infrastructure of this country.
Why do they hate Hillary so much? There's something about her simple existence that has just chapped the conservative ass from day one. That's just how it is. And we here in the reality-based community, have an obligation to take reality into our plans.
We're talking about survival here, for all that we stand for, and for our country and even our world. Sometimes survival really is a choice between lesser evils.
It would be great to have a woman president. But that's a luxury right now. What we really need is to do exactly everything that it takes to get the Republicans out of office.
Let Hillary run for Vice President. Let her first be governor somewhere, and prove to the troglodytes among our nation that she can handle executive power.
Just like Nader's independent candidacy in 2000 and 2004, it's an okay idea at just the wrong time.
And just like Dean said to Nader, "When the house is on fire, you don't rearrange the furniture."