Party Poopers: Not All Democrats Are Sold On Hillary
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Hillary Clinton faces doubts from two different parts of the Democratic Party about her likely presidential run, even as she remains the overwhelming favorite to win the party's nomination.
A camp of liberals, particularly those aligned with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are worried Clinton will be unwilling to embrace some progressive ideas, like increasing Social Security benefits and breaking up large banks. Another group of Democrats, particularly strong backers of President Barack Obama during the 2008 primaries, say they are worried about the perception that Clinton's potential candidacy has become too much about achieving her long-sought goal of being elected president rather than her vision for leading the country.
"The moment Hillary announces, she has our nomination, and that's okay with me"
In interviews with 20 key Democratic activists, elected officials and state party leaders from across the country, there was almost uniform agreement that Clinton will be the party's nominee and that her campaign should be centered on making the economy work better for middle and low-income Americans. But party officials disagree both about what exact policies Clinton should advance and if she will be effective in advocating them.
"The thing that went wrong in 2007 was that the campaign got ahead of the rationale for it, and it became more about her than the country," said David Axelrod, Obama's former chief strategist. "I don't think she will make that mistake again, but there's the danger of that. She's been portrayed as the inevitable candidate and that's a trap. She has to scuffle through this every day."
Maria Teresa Kumar, who is president of Voto Latino, said party activists will press Clinton on her ties to Wall Street.
"We know where she is on women's issues, we know what she has said on immigration, the environment," said Kumar. "I think the challenge will be where is she when it comes to Wall Street. She and her husband are close to them through CGI [The Clinton Global Initiative.] Can she be tough on them? Can she close tax loopholes?"
For now, these doubts don't seem to pose a major threat to Clinton's path to the Democratic nomination. With Warren insisting that she won't run, other potential competitors - like former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley - lack Clinton's ability to raise money and lock down influential endorsements.
And if she does win the nomination, factors such as the state of the economy and Obama's approval rating next November, neither of which Clinton has much control over, may be as important as any of her campaign tactics in determining the winner of the general election.
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Party Poopers: Not All Democrats Are Sold On Hillary