This is the line of reasoning behind Republican support for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Take a look at these articles
ABCNews: Clinton Will Win Nomination, Lose Election
NYTimes: Vulnerable Democrats See Fates Tied to Clinton
HuffingtonPost: Are Republicans Really Scared of Hillary Clinton
NewsMax.com: Hillary Would Lose in 2008
The premise of these articles is that Hillary Clinton will win the nomination and then be decisively beaten in the general election. Let's look at the facts. Hillary Clinton is not likable: she has never had more than a 50% favorability rating during this race. Hillary Clinton is polarizing: everyone has an opinion on Clinton, positive or negative, and they are unlikely to change those opinions. Hillary Clinton is untrustworthy: polls have shown that people do not trust Hillary, even many of her own supporters. Hillary Clinton is wishy-washy: her position on the issues constantly changes, making it easy to poke holes in her campaign platform. Additionally, Hillary Clinton has enough dirt on her to make her candidacy a series of stumbles explaining away scandals and scandals. So with all of this baggage, why not support a Hillary Clinton nomination?Well, Karl Rove has written an article advising Republicans on how to defeat Hillary Clinton. In it, he advises them not to think that running against her will be slam dunk for the GOP. She is a clever adversary with vast resources and powerful supporters, all of which she will bring to bear if she wins the nomination. It is a good reality check for those conservatives thinking Senator Hillary Clinton will be an easy target in November 2008.
I think Senator Hillary Clinton is a power-hungry opportunist, who will do what ever it takes to seize and hold power. If given the power of the Presidency, she will radically change the course of this country. She will certainly raise taxes, making it near impossible to get rich, while bankrupting the middle class. She will implement socialized medicine and authorize the government takeover of the health care, which represents 1/7th of the U.S. economy. She will create policies that will put the oil companies out of business, and eliminate any energy independence we have left. Hillary Clinton will fill the bureaucracy with her socialist cronies, who will use their government posts to protect her, destroy her enemies, and prevent any reversal of her disastrous policies. She will nominate ultra-liberal judges to the appellate and supreme courts who will not hesitate to rewrite our constitution, interpret away our freedoms, and use foreign law and U.N. resolutions as a basis for their decisions. She will allow a flood of illegal immigrats from Mexico to radically change the demographics of America, and create a new underclass of government-dependent voters. And on and on. I've only scratched the surface on the disaster that will be her Presidency, not to mention the scandals First Husband Bill Clinton will create with his philandering. Her policies will literally destroy the American economy, eliminate the freedom that has made this country great, and sell America's time honored traditions for the advancement of her own power. This is Hillary Clinton.
Now, I do not even want Hillary Clinton in the Senate, not to mention to Presidency. So, why would I want her to be one breath away from winning the general election? Let's say she wins the nomination. What happens if the Republican candidate becomes involved in some scandal, or dies, or even just runs a poor campaign? What if current events change and tilt the election in favor of the Deomcrats? There are a million scenarios where Hillary Clinton could win. Not to mention all of her efforts to manufacture the scenarios I just described. And with a dutifully obedient media behind her (ahem... CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTimes, LATimes, etc...), she may pull it off. For me, it is simply too close for comfort.
But, she cannot win the Presidency if she does not win the nomination. That is why it is critical to defeat her now and to put an end to her presidential aspirations early. As Iowa approaches, it seems that this may be a possibility. The Republican candidates should brace for a bitter, dirty battle in 2008 with Senator Hillary Clinton. However, if possible, they should do their best to eliminate her as a candidate now. Republicans and conservatives nationwide should not be afraid of Senator Clinton, but should view her candidacy realistically and understand the threat it poses to America. They should then stop looking forward to the knock-down drag-out battle she would bring to the general election, but look forward to finally putting her brand of socialism on the shelf permanently, and as soon as possible.
