2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: evolution. i hear people scoff, about clinton daring to evolve. well... lol, i see [View all]Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)saying anyone "ruined the Democratic party" is as ridiculous as asserting Bill Clinton alone "saved" it, and only by triangulating in the style he is indisputably good at, can we continue to win elections.
I disagree with a lot of people, on a lot of things- like, a lot of people here have a list of reasons they're pissed at/disappointed in Obama, and while I agree with some of them, I think en masse he's done a good job and I firmly believe History will be far kinder to his record than it may appear now.
As for Bill Clinton- no one was a bigger, stronger defender of the guy and his administration at the time, than yours truly. And I still have mountains of respect for him and think he was a good President. But some of the decisions made during his tenure- DOMA, other culture war stuff, a massive expansion of the drug war, assorted economic decisions... have not aged so well.
And of course HRC is not her husband, however, she certainly seems to have learned the same lessons of political expediency, avoiding controversial stances, and triangulation that her husband is known for.
I've said before that leaving aside moral considerations on triangulation vis a vis potentially "controversial" or unpopular topics, I don't believe it is necessarily good politics, either, whatever the beltway conventional wisdom people -generally, 10 years behind reality- may think. What worked in 1992 might not be appropriate for 2016, same as what failed spectacularly in 1972 might not always be political kryptonite.
I believe the best chance we have next year is to run someone who is not afraid to lead, and by lead I mean actually take positions even if they may piss some people off.
Hillary very well could end up being that candidate. I mean it when I say I'm still undecided. Plenty of time to make up my mind.