Posted on 05/14/2006 7:04:19 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
New York Post columnist John Podhoretz is warning that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will win the 2008 presidential election unless Republicans start focusing now on a plan to defeat her.
"If you Republicans don't get real serious real fast, if you don't wise up and settle down and get focused, it will be Hillary up there on the podium taking the oath of office" in January 2009, he writes in his new book: "Can She Be Stopped?: Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President Unless ..."
Podhoretz says the answer to that question is yes -- and he offers the GOP a 10-point plan of action to expose Hillary as the far-left liberal that she truly is.
Smoke Her Out: "Republicans must now -- right now, this week, today -- declare [Hillary] the leader of the Democratic Party and insist that she become its primary voice and its primary spokesman." Enough "blather" from the likes of Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, argues Podhoretz, when Hillary is the real party leader. "On blogs and radio shows, in letters to the editor and op-eds in newspapers, and in communications with reporters, we should insist on 'hearing it from Hillary.'"
Make Her Vote: "One of the priorities of Republicans in the Senate should be to use their power to make her vote ... on matters of controversy where she would prefer to remain silent." Podhoretz urges the GOP to introduce Sense of the Senate resolutions on parental rights, gun control and eminent domain.
Make Her Criticize Tax Cuts: Podhoretz invokes Hillary's infamous 2004 quote, "For America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut [the Bush tax cuts] short ... We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." The comment is "pure gold for Republicans" he writes, urging the GOP to focus an ad campaign on Hillary's tax hikes if she wins the White House.
Talk Up Free Trade: One of the crown jewels of the Clinton economic program was the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]. But Hillary voted against a more modest proposal by President Bush for Central America - CAFTA. The vote against free trade indicates Hillary felt the need to tack left on the issue, contends Podhoretz. "There's a gap there. Toss her into it," he urges.
Talk a Lot About Health Care: "Clearly the Stop Hillary movement can't leave her alone on this matter," Podhoretz says. "If it makes her uncomfortable, her discomfort should only be enhanced" by having Republicans talking up market-oriented reform plans.
Suggest a Pullout from the U.N.: Podhoretz notes that Hillary "has a long record of institutional support for the United Nations." He says that in 2008 her GOP opponent should float the idea of creating a new international agency to replace the failed world body. "Would Hillary be prepared," he asks, "to defend the United Nations hotly? To argue forcefully that the United States cannot do without?"
Fight the Culture War, but with Delicacy: For all her traditional values talk during the coming campaign, says Podhoretz, Hillary "will have nonetheless handed her IOUs out to liberal groups who will expect her to deliver on their anti-traditionalist wishes once the election is over." Gay marriage will still be a hot-button issue that could put Clinton on the defensive, he says. But with the GOP unlikely to nominate another born-again Christian, Republicans will have to tread lightly.
Run a Reform Campaign: Podhoretz says Republicans must acknowledge that "things got messy" on the ethics front on their watch. For 2008, he says, the party "must commit itself to an agenda of reform."
Go Outside Washington for a Candidate: Podhoretz says the GOP would do well to look beyond the D.C. beltway for their next standard bearer. He doesn't like McCain, complaining that the GOP maverick "is a creature of Washington." He dismisses arguments that Condoleezza Rice could defeat Hillary, noting: "The presidency is not an entry-level job."
Nominate Rudy: "The events of September 11 are nearly five years in the past, and yet [Rudy] Giuliani remains the only American figure whose enhanced standing as a result of the attacks on America remains undiminished," writes Podhoretz. To get the nomination, the former New York City mayor will have to relinquish his pro-choice credentials and "declare himself opposed to abortion," he says.
Predicting Rudy will eventually come around on the issue, he notes: "If there's one thing Rudy Giuliani's political career demonstrates, it's that he's willing to commit to a controversial course for a higher purpose ... Defeating Hillary Clinton while becoming president himself - could there be any higher purpose?"
Number 11. Cheney/Rice 2008
Silver bullet?
11. Exorcism.
Number 13-Holy Water..
Not that a single one of these will even be attempted by Republicans until 2 months before Election Day 2008.
I'm told burning-at-the-stake can be quite effective...
14. Caltrops. They're hard on cloven hooves.
Sorry....had to do it =).
The single best way to avert a Hillary! presidency would be to push measures to prevent vote fraud particularly in big-electoral-vote states. Picture IDs would go a long way. The indelible blue finger dye would be helpful as well, but probably would be impossible to pass. The reason the rats fight vote fraud reform, particularly picture ID, tooth and nail is clear. Massive, well-organized vote fraud in blue states would be the most likely way for Hillary! to gain the presidency, IMHO.
The thought that monster would take the White House after screwing the pubbies and the American citizens scares the bejesus out of me.
Dick Cheney has stated on many occasions that he does not wish to become President of the United States.
~ Blue Jays ~
The author is right about this: Hillary Clinton is the Dems candidate for 2008, and she is currently running.
later read
NAFTA has been a disaster. All of the promises made by the pro-NAFTA crowd have failed to materialize, and nearly all of the warnings from the anti-NAFTA groups have been validated.
NAFTA increased illegal immigration. It has allowed unsafe trucks access to our highways, and has even set the stage to have money earmarked for US Interstate Highway construction and maintenence diverted to build highways in Mexico.
And last but not least, there was widespread censorship during the runup to the NAFTA vote.
Podwhoretze has shown himself to by just another untrustworthy source.
Make her give an unscripted press conference?
If we are going to nominate someone with marital infidelity problems, we might as well have Newt.
Why not take a shopping list of positions on the issues and find someone who matches the criteria? It seems so simple.
Pro RKBA.
Pro life
Pro GWOT
Pro secure borders
Pro heterosexual marriage
Pro domestic energy development (oil, coal, nuclear, and alternatives)
Anti big Government (pro size reduction)
Anti illegal alien invasion
Military service a plus.
Rudy might play well in Neew Yawk, but he won't get off the ground in the heartland, especially over guns.
He could have 100 sure-fire suggestions, but if Bush fails to do what's right on this matter of the illegals, it wouldn't make a bit of difference. Your choices for President will be Hilary or Vicente Fox. Bush has screwed it up that bad.
Rudy Giuliani would really need to get over his silly gun-grabbing mindset for Republicans to get behind him...and I don't think that's possible. He might have done a passable job as mayor for the City of New York but he wouldn't be able to "scale" to doing the Big Job.
~ Blue Jays ~
If the republicans ignore border security and the illegal Alien problem then they will be paving the way for Hillary as president because there own base will stay home on election day. So one way to stop Hillary is to take care of this problem.
make her touch a bible or maybe a cross....
Yep. That "great sucking sound" was not just from the oval office...
"Dick Cheney has stated on many occasions that he does not wish to become President of the United States."
no shiite. LOL
and when you hit your knees tonight you should pray that he'll change his mind before January 2008... 'cause there's nobody out there that's better qualified for the job!
Any anti 2-nd Amendment Republican is a DEMOCRAT and needs to be voted out of office.
You're completely correct on your assessment and we're in 100% agreement.
~ Blue Jays ~
Pity the RNC could care less about voter fraud..
You are absolutely right. NAFTA was a lie from start to finish. They told us it was about Free Trade to TRICK us into supporting it, but it was really about opening the floodgates of migration from South of the Border, and other disagreeable things too.
Hillary's biggest problem is that she is not attractive, either in personality or appearance. That will hurt her even when she is successful in hiding her political views. I just don't see soccer moms and other swing voters who tend to be influenced by appearances voting for the whiny old hag, especially if the GOP runs someone with any kind charisma.
Cheney's political career will end no later than 1/20/09
It could end before that....in the interest of the Party.
But it will not end after that date.Period.
Imho, taking the cost of health care and putting it on anyone but the consumer is what has allowed that cost to increase the way it has, and more government edicts (HIPAA) only contribute to the expense.
If more people had been paying either out-of pocket or picking up the tab for their insurance all along, they would not have been blissfully insulated from the magnitude of the cost increases.
Vice President Cheney could be doing the greatest job in the world (and he is) but many voters would be unnerved by his unfortunate cardiac condition once they were standing in the voting booth.
~ Blue Jays ~
Again, when you hit your knees tonight you should pray that Cheney will change his mind before January 2008... 'cause there's nobody out there that's better qualified for the job!
Cheney is in better shape than JFK & FDR were when they were in office...and that's why I partnered him with Rice...Rice is the nail in the coffin for Clinton.
Neither her physical ugliness nor her unlikability will hurt her,just as it didn't hurt Mrs Thatcher for 10+ years.
The prime question is...is there a single state that Bush won in '04 that she could win in '08?
Only if the Congress goes Democrat in November and stays that way under a Rudy presidency.
I haven't seen any evidence of Rudy being a gun-grabber (I'm open to reading any evidence he is), but I think he's a good leader. However, he won't be the nominee because of his marital problems.
At this point I can't see who the nominee might be. George Allen is popular with a certain group, and I'm open to him, but he doesn't seem to have much appeal beyond that core group.
If McCain were the nominee, he would win. While I like certain things about him, and i hate saying this about a vet, he does seem pretty unhinged at times, and too in love with the press at all times.
At this point, I don't see anyone who can beat Hillary who can also get through the primaries. But it's still early, and eventually Hillary may fall victim to the one thing she can't control the way she controls her press availability: People are just sick of her.
Of course, my standing theory is she will be defeated because every straight male in the country will vote against her.
Are you really a fan of Vice President Cheney or are you simply being contrarian? Do you really think he would have the best chance of winning the election?
~ Blue Jays ~
I know ONE way.
She could easily win Ohio and that would be all she would need. Bush carried Ohio by only a couple hundred thousand votes and the GOP nominee will carry the stigma of the Bush Administration around his neck. I predict she could win Louisiana, post-Katrina, as well and depending on who the GOP nominated, Florida.
/sorry for the bad joke
"Do you really think he would have the best chance of winning the election?"
I said what I think...nobody out there better qualified
if you have someone; post him/her
Both Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain are gun-grabbers of the highest order. I'll see what I can find in terms of public statements and legislation supported. Rest assured, if you're into guns you shouldn't be behind either one of these two characters.
~ Blue Jays ~
A time released barf alert...
Were Hillary! to run unopposed in the primaries and national election, she would still have an uphill battle.
Rudy's reputation precedes him, even as far away as Australia.
OK, well good luck with that.
~ Blue Jays ~
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