More About Hillary Moving Towards The Center
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General PoliticsThis time the LA times weighs in and takes a look at Hillary The Centrist.
She has taken up causes such as economic development and military overhaul that are nonpartisan or more centrist than her work in championing a national healthcare plan while her husband was president. She is teaming with local Republican officials and with some of the Senate’s most conservative members.Those efforts are beginning to pay off in New York. Her approval ratings have jumped significantly since she was elected in 2000 â€â€? even among Republicans. It is a sign that Clinton, one of the most polarizing political figures in America, has found a way to get a second look from New York voters.
“I hated her with a passion,” said John Perri, a Long Island businessman who heard Clinton speak last week at a country club in Woodbury, N.Y. “But I’ve come to respect her. She’s a lot more moderate now.”
Let’s just repeat that last quote. “I hated her with a passion, but I’ve come to respect her. She’s a lot more moderate now.”
I’ll say this here and now, if you open up your world view to both sides and give them equal respect (regardless of your party affiliation) you’re joining the majority of Americans who don’t have an “either you’re with us or against us” attitude. Hillary has acknowledged this and it’ll will serve her well in the coming years.
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August 8th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
I still don’t like her.
August 8th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Ironically, the REAL question with Hillary Clinton is very same one for Judge Roberts, and any other such SCOTUS nominee: Who and what will they be once in office.
With Judge Roberts, there is very little in the way of a substantive paper trail to document the man’s ideological history. With Hillary, on the other hand, it is her ideological history that is most disturbing to even moderates, of both parties. And her move to the center, all carefully orchestrated and well documented, is now raising suspicions among those on the vocal left… the ones who actually are the voice and face of the Democratic party (”… it’s our party, we paid for it!”).
It will be interesting to see if the move toward the center will hinder her quest for the nomination in 2008, even if it proves helpful with the voting public at large.
August 8th, 2005 at 5:22 pm
I’m probably in Bat One’s camp. It feels much too much like she’s only interested in putting on a pretty face long enough to get re-elected (or move to the White House), after which she can go back to her usual self. And her future intent feels telegraphed.
What’s her usual self? I once knew someone who knew the Clintons since 1972. His impression of Bill was that no matter what you believed, after five minutes of talking to him, you would believe he was on your side. His impression of Hillary was that she was haughty, and had no liking for anyone in the lower or middle classes. They were good people, sure; they served useful jobs, and they voted (for her, or for her husband). But friends with them? Don’t be silly.
August 8th, 2005 at 6:38 pm
Lets say Hillary gets elected on a centrist platform. Just how far from the center will the body politic allow her to stray?
Bill tried that for two years and got his head handed to him. I suspect that President Hillary would not make that mistake again.
August 8th, 2005 at 8:41 pm
Justin and Tom you are very naive.
Go to National Review Online and read the article by Deroy Murdock, (Aug. 8).
She is full of it, no if, ands or buts about it.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:39 pm
I find it interesting that you have to talk yourself into liking her “move” to moderation. Look at her voting record, not her speeches. She’s 100% liberal – always has been – always will be.
August 10th, 2005 at 2:31 am
If this is supposed to a move towards moderation, I’m certainly not convinced. My own research into her stated positions on her Senate page and her sponsorship record in the 109th Congress, 1st Session, suggests that she can’t seem to decide what kind of extremist she is. Just because one takes contrasting positions on different issues doesn’t mean those positions cancel each other out to form a centrist or a moderate. They’re still extreme, but different kinds of extremes. With Sen. Clinton I have yet to find a center. (I still need to build datasets of her past Senate sponsorship records, though, so I can see where she’s moved from)