Republicans don’t have much to run on this November. Donald Trump? Good for motivating part of their base, but as good or better at motivating the Democratic base. Their tax law? They tried to campaign on that one and came up with a big old nope. So their big plan is … yeah, it's Hillary Clinton. Again.
With control of Congress up for grabs this fall, the GOP's most powerful players are preparing to spend big on plans to feature Clinton as a central villain in attack ads against vulnerable Democrats nationwide. The strategy, which already has popped up in races in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Dakota, illustrates the resilience and political potency of Republican voters' antipathy for Clinton. As difficult as it's been for Democrats to move past the Clinton era, it may be even harder for Republicans. [...]
"I promise you that you'll continue to see it — Hillary Clinton starring in our paid media. She's a very powerful motivator," said Corry Bliss, who leads the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super political action committee ready to spend tens of millions of dollars to shape House races this fall. "It's about what she represents. What she represents, just like what Nancy Pelosi represents, is out-of-touch far-left liberal positions."
Hillary Clinton does not hold office. Hillary Clinton is not running for anything. She is not shaping the Democratic Party’s agenda. Oh, and she won the popular vote in 2016—but I guess that’s part of what pisses Republicans off so much about her. That and that other mysterious thing she has in common with Nancy Pelosi that gets under Republican skin.
There’s the Republican Party in a nutshell: Can’t run on their own major achievement, so they’re reaching back to someone irrelevant to 2018 because misogyny is their strongest play.