So Hillary's probably running in 2008. No big news there.
There's been a growing wave of rumors (particularly in right wing venues, where she is an obsession) of her likely strategy. Peggy Noonan, Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, and Tony Blankley have recently referenced these plans.
The rumor is that she is planning to run to the right on border security and immigration control. Emphasize the risk of terrorists crossing the Mexican border, as well as the social/economic costs of unlimited illegal immigration.
The Clintons have historically won by dividing and conquering their opposition, and through "triangulation." She may sense there are some Bush voters who might switch sides on this issue. There is a lot of conservative anger of Bush's "guest worker" plan.
I think there is a broader platform, though, in terms of a "middle class" society, in which everybody is guaranteed a living wage that provides a comfortable living for a family. Basic laws of supply and demand don't allow for a living wage with unlimited supply of labor.
She can also cite border security and terrorism fears. For example, in the Boston area, there has been a growing wave of undocumented Middle Eastern immigrants, which is troubling to me, at least. And any terrorist could cross that unsecured Mexican border.
So what does she have to lose? Well, she risks losing Latino voters, although they have been drifting toward Bush already. But, there are a lot of anti-illegal Latino voters, as evidenced when 45% of Latinos voted for Proposition 200 in Arizona. She also may risk some liberal voters who are sympathetic to the plight of illegals. We obviously do need some immigrants to fill a lot of jobs.
But there may be a geographic calculus, as well. Hillary may have realized that she is going to have trouble with blue-collar Democrats (especially men), and hence in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and maybe Pennsylvania. So she is opening a new front in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, and perhaps North Carolina and Virginia, where large populations of illegal immigrants exist. And she's also throwing a bone to the blue-collar Democrats.
This could also be a head fake, in which she is encouraging dissent on the right so that a third-party challenger damages a Rove-backed, pro-amnesty GOP nominee in 2008.
Anyway, just some rumors, but interesting rumors. Anybody have thoughts?
Here are the relevant links:
Peggy Noonan, "Where Are They Now", 12/9/04
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110006000
Tony Blankley, "God Bless Hillary Clinton", 12/15/04
Blankley: "In the last few weeks the ever cold-blooded Miss Hillary has started to stake out a position to the right of the Republican Party. Just listen to her Pat Buchananesque defiance: '[I do] not think that we have protected our borders or our ports ... we can do more and we can do batter?I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants... Clearly we have to make some tough decisions as a country, and one of them ought to be coming up with a much better entry-and-exit system so that if we are going to let people in for... work...lets have system that keeps track of them... People have to stop employing illegal immigrants.'"
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20041214-090300-7903r.htm