First, a little background on her operation. I won't go into the fundraising aspect--everyone knows that she can outspend any candidate, Democrat or Republican. Let's talk about her campaign operation--her ground game.
Her political operation is world-class and a model of effectiveness.
You want proof?
Well, everyone here got soooooo worried about evil genius Karl Rove's much ballyhooed 72-hour plan.
Newsflash: Karl Rove stole that model. Guess what the inspiration was?
That's right:
It's their version of Clintons' 2000 GOTV operation.
Here's what Rove himself had to say in advocating a new way of getting Republicans out to vote:
You see a reference on this chart to the Hillary plan. That is the turnout plan used by the Hillary Clinton for Senate campaign in 2000. It is arguably the prototype for an exhaustive grassroots campaign.
It has a 6 month timeline, all leading up to a crescendo on electionday. They organized their vote down to the block level, and used acombination of paid and volunteer staffers.
This is in marked contrast to the typical approach we use.
Clinton has had six years to fine tune, fund, and develop that organization for the national stage. The Republicans will have to counter 50 such ground operations, while being at a funding disadvantage.
But, what about her negatives? I bet those Republicans are just licking their chops at the prospect of facing her.
WRONG.
In GOP circles, the Democratic front-runner is seen as so strong, and the political climate for Republicans so hostile, that many influential voices -- including current and former lawmakers, and veterans of President Bush's campaigns -- have grown despairing. These partisans describe a political equivalent of the stages of grief, starting with denial, then resentment and ending with acceptance.
. . .
"If the conservative movement and Republicans don't understand how massive the Clinton coalition is, she will be the next president," former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said in an interview last week, after giving a private talk to GOP lawmakers. Clinton will win, he added, "if we don't use everything available to us and motivate our base, the people that believe in us."
Even some well-connected outside advisers to Bush said in interviews they essentially accept this analysis. These strategists are advising Republicans that it will be next to impossible to win the White House if Bush's popularity remains so low, and public disgust with the war so high. Beyond the polls,some said there are gaps between the organizational prowess of the Clinton operation and any of the Republicans currently competing for the nomination.
The comments are striking at several levels. The flagging conservative morale about beating Clinton comes at the same time many Democrats regard the New York senator as newly vulnerable because of the competition she faces from Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and skepticism she faces from activists opposed to the Iraq war. On the Republican side, there is a disconnect between grass-roots, red-state Republicans and the mostly Washington-based operatives who surround Bush. While conservative publishers and organizers have made a fortune off the loathing for Clinton among workaday Republicans, people around the president have always expressed a grudging respect for her wiles and willpower and have long warned that she would be a formidable national candidate.
Several top Republicans said the fears that Clinton could be a prohibitive favorite have contributed to overall blahs that activists feel about the GOP field. One presidential adviser said that Clinton dread was actually helping Republican leaders stomach candidates who might otherwise be unacceptable. "People are willing to sacrifice some of their ideological principles to win," the adviser said.
That's right, the GOP is dividing itself and screwing its base in the hope that they can beat Clinton.
Just as there was and is Clinton fatigue on our side, also there is Hating Clinton fatigue on their side. They can only get lathered up in outrage over one person for so long.
And they've spent all of their ammunition in attempts to destroy her husband.
So, no more whining about electability. Oppose her candidacy for the nomination on the merits of her stands and what kind of job she would do, but recognize what assets she does bring to the table.
Including demoralizing and terrifying the entire conservative movement.
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