Are We Really Predicting Hillary Clinton #39;s 2016 Presidency Already?
Republicans cleaned up in the midterm elections, winning a majority of governorships and congressional seats. Even though Democrat Hillary Clinton wasn #39;t running, policy wonks can #39;t stop debating...
By: AJ+
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Are We Really Predicting Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidency Already? - Video
Republican Senator Rand Paul yesterday tied Hillary Clinton to Democratic losses in the midterm elections, tweeting with the hashtag HILLARYSLOSERS as an opening shot in the 2016 presidential contest.
The Republican National Committee and the Republican super-political action committee America Rising echoed the Kentucky senators line of attack, which centered on blaming Clinton for the defeat of Democratic senators for whom she campaigned. The message: Voters rejected Clinton.
The sharpened focus on Clinton raises the question of whether her stock went up or down after the Nov. 4 elections. And its a sign that Republicans want to draw her out so they can test her reflexes at a time when Democrats are divided over whether she should jump into the race now or wait until next year.
Early shots across the bow test whether she really has improved as a candidate, Republican strategist Mary Matalin said. They also allow Republicans to assess her response mechanism if she responds, see what role former President Bill Clinton takes on in defending her, invigorate potential primary challengers and tie her to President Barack Obama, for whom distancing herself for a 2016 run is mandatory, Matalin said.
Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesman, declined to comment.
Clinton appeared on behalf of five losing Democratic Senate candidates, in Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia and Iowa, and at least three victors, in New Hampshire, Michigan and Minnesota. Several Democratic operatives said Clintons stops for Democratic candidates in the final weeks of the campaign showcased her loyalty and will help her unify the party behind her for 2016.
Hillary Clinton worked for Democrats across the country because she believes in an allinclusive Democratic Party, said Adrienne Elrod, communications director for the pro-Clinton super-PAC Correct the Record. Hillary Clintons commitment to support, strengthen and grow our Democratic Party was clear as she made 45 midterm-related political stops where she stood with Democrats and shared her vision of what our nation needs for the future.
Democrats lost at least seven seats in the midterm elections, including contested races in the presidential battlegrounds of Iowa and Colorado.
Clinton should draw two main conclusions from the results, according to a Democratic strategist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the former secretary of state at a time when she is laying low.
First, this strategist said, Democrats were defending tough turf that they might not need to win the 2016 election. Outside of Iowa and Colorado, Democratic Senate candidates lost in Republican-heavy states, places like South Dakota and Montana that Clinton wouldnt need to win the White House.
Clinton
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By Anne Gearan
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- The Republican takeover of the Senate could be good news for at least one Democrat: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton campaigned hard this fall for Democrats and spent much of her time trying to preserve a Democratic majority in the Senate -- an effort that failed dramatically in Tuesday's GOP midterm rout.
But many Democratic strategists said the switch to Republican control may have a silver lining for Clinton, helping her better define herself as she shapes a potential 2016 presidential campaign. By providing a convenient foil for her and other Democrats, a GOP-run Congress would make it less imperative for Clinton to highlight her differences with President Barack Obama, these strategists said.
Obama's damaged, lame-duck condition also makes Clinton the strongest Democrat left standing.
A Republican Senate is likely to "spend a lot of time trying to repeal some of the progress made in the Obama administration," Democratic strategist Erik Smith said.
"That would be a great situation for her, because she could both make the case against the Republicans while currying favor with the Obama base."
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Why the GOP takeover may help Hillary Clinton
By Jeremy Diamond, CNN
updated 8:15 AM EST, Thu November 6, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- If presumptive Democratic 2016 front-runner Hillary Clinton decides not to run, at least one party strategist and CNN contributor thinks the Democrats' presidential bench isn't that deep.
"No one," said Paul Begala, a longtime Clinton ally, when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper if there were other party leaders who could lead the party in 2016. "No one."
While Republicans have a full bench of presidential hopefuls, Begala, who worked for President Bill Clinton and was an early Hillary Clinton supporter in 2008, said Clinton is the Democrats' best and perhaps only hope to capture the White House in 2016.
"It's not fair," Begala said. "There are impressive people who I think could be good presidents, but they don't have I think the electoral prospects that Hillary does."
Vice President Joe Biden has said he'll consider a run for the presidency after sitting in the No. 2 spot for six years, and parts of the party's progressive wing is clamoring for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to run.
CNN political commentator Van Jones, who served in the Obama administration, said Clinton hasn't yet proven that she can excite the Democratic base.
"We have to have a nominee that can excite our base and I don't know if Hillary Clinton can do that," Jones said. "I know one person can, it's Elizabeth Warren."
Continued here:
Begala: Dem 2016 bench is Clinton or zip
Hillary Clinton in Cedar Rapids
Hillary Clinton visits Cedar Rapids to support Bruce Braley.
By: Loras CollegeTV
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Hillary Clinton in Cedar Rapids - Video