Or not. After the crossroad in Philadelphia, we'll know.

"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."

–Longfellow, paraphrasing any number of Greek poets

Rather Than Campaign As Liberal Alternative To Trump, Clinton To Run As Smarter Republican



With Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, it appears the campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will directly appeal to moderate Republicans in order to win the general election, if she becomes the nominee.



The strategy will not only allow Clinton to be her authentic political self again, but it will also end the charade of moving to the left to appease supporters of her opponent, Bernie Sanders. It would also diminish any confusion over whether Clinton is anything more than a corporate Democrat, who progressives should approach with great skepticism and opposition.

Clinton Campaign to Republican Donors: Hillary Shares Your Values

The Problem: It's True.



Late last week, Politico reported that Clinton operatives have initiated efforts to "peel off establishment Republicans who might otherwise grudgingly support Trump," demonstrating their eagerness to win over big money donors previously wedded to the conservative establishment. ...



In doing so, her campaign is signaling to Republican donors that, as Ben White puts it, Hillary "represents your values better than Trump."



This is a striking admission — one that comes in the midst of an ongoing contest with an opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has questioned Clinton's commitment to progressive causes and has criticized her for caving under the temptations of corporate cash. ...



[A]fter a campaign season in which she shifted leftward on several issues to counter the message of her more progressive opponent, Clinton is pivoting back to the center — and perhaps further rightward.



The instructive point here, though, is not that Clinton would profess to share the values of Republican donors in order to garner their support. Rather, it is that she really does share their values.

Hillary runs away from Bernie: The presumptive Democratic nominee pays lip service to Sanders supporters and nothing more

Clinton has shown no interest in incorporating her opponent's platform.



With the prospect that Clinton will be attacked by both Trump and Sanders as the primary season continues, one wonders why she is not doing more to embrace his best ideas.



At a speech Friday in Oakland, California, Clinton said that she had better ideas than Sanders for cutting college tuition and health care costs. ... [M]ostly, she ignored Sanders’ ideas and focused on criticizing Trump. ...



[I]t is notable that Clinton has barely budged when it comes to adopting his ideas—unless they generally agreed on an issue and he forced her to be more specific, such as during their debates when she said she would not allow cuts to Social Security. But, as was the case in her Oakland speech on Friday, she stuck to her plan, in this case saying she would target low-income women for increased benefits before anyone else. In Oakland, she said his proposal for free tuition at state colleges and universities was not realistic given Republican governors who would not fund it, and said a better approach was making all student loans interest-free. ...

Our fate is not sealed yet (source; click to enlarge)

It seems that what I worried about here — " Will Clinton Attempt to Bring Sanders Supporters into the Democratic Fold? " — will happen, and not in a good way. Hillary Clinton is done with Sanders voters, the Party is done with Sanders voters, and that's that. I've always thought that the Clintons individually, and the Party establishment generally, hate the left. I'm now convinced of it.They're not just celebrating a still-not-won victory. They're dancing on a still-empty grave, without a drunken clue that somehow that's not smart. They must be mad. If they are, it would explain a lot.Three short bites for your reading pleasure.Hillary Clinton will run as a Republican Hillary Clinton is the best Republican in the race Hillary Clinton is done with Sanders voters There you have it: She's running as a Republican. She is a Republican. Sanders and his pals can pound sand. Ready to watch the result?In the quote above, "mad" means "doped on hubris." Clinton has decided to roll the dice with the nation's future and a madman at the gate. Almost the entire Democratic Establishment — the Party itself, nearly all of its Beltway infrastructure, their EMILY's List and HRC-type enablers, all of their MSNBC and CNN spokes-surrogates — are rollingdice with her. If she wins in July, this will not end well, no matter which way it goes.Is Trump the only crazed one in the race? Or has hubris captured its own candidate? We'll find out.Care to help Sanders end this on your terms before it ends itself on its own? He still can, you know. And thanks!GP

Labels: 2016 presidential race, Bernie Sanders, Gaius Publius, Hillary Clinton, Trump