She says it herself, constantly, "I," "I," "I,"..........
That's what it's all about. Hillary. Hillary and some odd sense of entitlement. Any time there is a sense of entitlement to office, it is un-democratic. No one is entitled to any office, except when the voters say so.
Being and independent, I frankly don't give a damn if she tears the Democratic Party to shreds. The Rethugs have already imploded and I consider that a fine thing. The sooner we can get away from two party politics the better. That alone will loosen the grip of big money on our electoral process.
P.M. Carpanter
Unless Hillary Clinton has secretly contrived some sort of doomsday deliverance of not merely breathtaking but literally unimaginable genius, then today's primaries and beyond are not an exercise in democracy, but demolition.
Her party's structural stress is showing, and nearing the breaking point. Laughing in the face of deadly mathematical odds may lend Hillary the appearance of that old Clintonian determination, but it amuses and benefits only the opposition and journalists who love horse races.
But Hillary's party is no longer laughing. And it most definitely is not amused.
Of no surprise, of course, is that in making the Sunday talk-show rounds Barack Obama's more prominent supporters called for -- begged for -- Hillary's withdrawal at the crack of sunlight, March 5. Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition," Senator John Kerry said "Hillary Clinton has to win a big victory in both Ohio and Texas ... not just winning a little bit ... she’s got to win a very significant victory." Senator Dick Durbin, on Fox, was a bit more specific, defining Hillary's challenge as the need to score "extraordinary percentages" in all the remaining primaries just to catch up. And by "extraordinary" he meant insurmountable, even fantastical.
Then, revealing his and others' extraordinary frustration, Durbin said, simply, "I hope after Tuesday her decision is made on the basis of the unity of the party."
Adding that "I just think that D-Day is Tuesday," unaligned Gov. Bill Richardson said on "Face the Nation": "The concern that I have is the bickering that took place between those two very fine senators is going on too long." So much for his non-alignment.
But, Hillary's supporters say: Of course those guys would spew such unenlightened garbage, given that they're on the wrong side of "What-if?" history. What these Clintonites intentionally ignore, however, is that even their own guys have been out there, conceding the same. From chief Clinton supporter Bill, to past Clinton mouthpiece James Carville, to current co-chief Clinton strategist Harold Ickes, and most recently, the chiefest strategist of them all, Mark Penn, who now barely recalls having even visited the Clinton headquarters -- all have effectively bailed, pre-March 4. It seems they can add.
In rebuffing the Sunday choir of reason, Clinton's communications director Howard Wolfson did his duty on "This Week," "offer[ing] no hint ... that Mrs. Clinton was considering whether to drop out of the race if she did not win on Tuesday." Good boy. You snatched at least one more paycheck.
With no personal financial interest in extending the agony, however, was Hillary the next day, which would be yesterday. Speaking in Houston, she let loose a few words that surely horrified the true party faithful: "I think we’re going to do well tomorrow," she said. Well, that wasn't so bad. Whew. But then it came, the denial, the fantasy, the laughing against deadly mathematical odds: "Then it’s on to Pennsylvania and the states still ahead. I’m just getting warmed up."
One could almost hear Democratic hearts thudding on floors all across the land. She's kidding, right? Tell us she's kidding. Please.
And who knows? Maybe she was. There's no sense in demotivating supporters on primary eve, even when those primaries are essentially meaningless. What we do know, however, is that the GOP is praying harder than anyone that she was not, in fact, kidding.
Hardcore Republicans are now her biggest supporters, her most devoted boosters. Echoing the likes of predatory opportunists such as Rush Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan, Karl Rove also spoke Sunday on Fox for the right-wing "You-go-girl" crowd: "I think it's a mistake for [Obama's] campaign to be calling for her to drop out," he said, with laughably feigned indifference. "It’s up to the delegates at the convention to decide who wins and loses." Them, and snickering GOP strategists, I guess.
Naturally the GOP understands as well as objective Democratic strategists that Hillary's odds of success now stand at near absolute zero. Numbers are numbers, and they're furiously stubborn. You can move them around, shift them sideways and yank them up and down, but they'll still total what they total. God didn't play dice with universal mathematics, and He hasn't exempted Hillary's crunchers.
She's lost. And today is but a manic exercise in party demolition. Mrs. Clinton may indeed still score some victories, but if so they'll remain far short of the needed "extraordinary percentages" to shift the balance of overwhelming power and momentum that is Obama's. It was over yesterday, is over this morning, and will be just as over on the morning of March 5.
All Mrs. Clinton can accomplish now is the brutal strafing of party resources and desperately needed unity. That, and the provisioning of John McCain with the best of both worlds: providing him the resources he otherwise lacks to effectively diminish in the electorate's mind the Democratic Party's all-but-officially nominated nominee.
Some might say, Well, that's a Democrat for you, always self-serving. But in this case, there's no longer any self or cause to realistically serve. It's just monstrously blind demolition. True, the theatre of it all may be enjoyable, but its ultimate consequence might not be.
THE FIFTH COLUMNIST by P.M. Carpenter
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.
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