She's Still Doing It

[furrbear]

Asking Democrats to vote for her in the primary while already writing-off the state for November. She's reminding me of the HRC staffer telling me Texas is a lost cause as they ask me to make a donation.

From DailyKos:

Clinton:

I’d love to carry Texas, but it’s usually not in the electoral calculation for the Democratic nominee. Florida and Michigan are.

Of all the Clinton mistakes this cycle (and both sides have had plenty of them), this is the one that rankles the most. And really, it's been such a stupid and counterproductive narrative that I can't, for the life of me, fathom why they persist in using it.

Like every other state, Texas will feature more than just the presidential contest. As Texas political expert Paul Burka writes after analyzing the astonishing early turnout numbers (follow the link, you won't be disappointed):

These numbers have made me a believer. Rick Noriega could defeat John Cornyn. The Democrats can win a majority in the Texas House of Representatives. The consummate irony is that George W. Bush, who made Texas a Republican state on his way in to the presidency, may make it a Democratic state on his way out.

Sure, but only because we are likely to have a nominee that sees the value in building a 50-state party, rather than Clinton's repeated efforts to denigrate and minimize 2/3rds of the country.

With a Clinton nomination, Texas doesn't matter because it's not in her "electoral calculation". No one is suggesting Obama could win Texas, but his ground game plus the excitement he's generating across party lines could very well mean the difference between Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Rick Noriega in 2009.

No less astute a political observer than Texas Monthly's Paul Burka summed it up quite well:

Veteran political observers like me can roll our eyes over someone running for president on a platform of "Hope" and "Change," but nothing is so powerful as an idea, even a vague one, whose time has come. Obama is riding the whirlwind, and if he can make the moment last until November, it is going to sweep out the Republicans, even in Texas.

Emphasis mine. I made the same comment to a friend's post yesterday.

Comments

[hickbear.livejournal.com]

Bryon and I voted for Obama in the Tennessee primary, for a variety of reasons that I laid out in a reply to a friends-only post on darke's LJ. I really wonder, though, if part of Obama's success (as well as McCain's) is just complete Bush/Clinton Fatigue. Since I could first cast a ballot in 1980, for either President or Veep we've had Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush/Clinton, Clinton, Bush, and Bush. Hell, the Repubs have had either Bob Dole or one of the Bushes on every ticket since fucking 1976.

As I put it in Alex's journal: this will be the eighth presidential election where I could vote, and I'm damned fucking tired of having a Bush and/or Clinton somewhere on the ballot. For the first time in my adult life, I'd love to have a choice that didn't involve either of those two families. 28 years is quite enough, thankyouverymuch.

[furrbear.livejournal.com]

I added a bit from Paul Burka's blog entry. Already in early voting in TX, Dems are out-voting Reps 3 to 1. IN TEXAS!

[envirobear.livejournal.com]

Maybe...just MAYBE...there's hope for Texas afterall! *GRIN*

[allanh.livejournal.com]

When this contest started, I had a slight preference for Hillary over Obama. I horrified people by saying I didn't care which Democrat won the nomination, as long as it was one of those two.

At this point - especially with Nader entering the fray - it seems clear that (a) Obama is well on his way to winning the nomination, and (b) he has the best chance of beating McCain.

I know, I know ... I'm damning Obama with faint praise. If elected, he'll probably do a superb job. After seven years of putting up with Republicans, as long as Obama isn't one, I'll be happy.

[jayjaybear.livejournal.com]

Because Hillary doesn't care about growing the party. All she cares about is becoming President. It's ALL about her. It shows in pretty much everything she does and every speech she gives. "I'm going to do this" and "I'm going to do that." We (the People) are merely the means to put her in the White House.

Obama inspires. He talks TO us instead of AT us. His speeches are about US... "WE're going to do this" and "WE're going to do that" and "Yes, WE can" and "WE are the ones we're waiting for". He's mobilizing a huge following to come along with him and fix the damage that's been done to this country by Bush/Cheney and the Republicans, because it's OUR country.

THAT is the difference between Clinton and Obama.

[teddyb.livejournal.com]

I honestly think her advisers are her worst enemies, and her inability to act independently of them is the main reason I would rather see Obama as the Democratic nominee.

I really agree with that last part of your post. Americans are hungry for change, and Clinton just keeps feeding them "politics as usual".

[reb2.livejournal.com]

I have honestly lost respect for Hillary Clinton a long time ago.