WASHINGTON -- Over the past 24 hours, a number of voters in a not-insignificant number of states have received robocalls laying out just what a horrific mistake Democrats made in not electing Hillary Clinton as their nominee in 2008.
The call, sponsored by a mysterious organization "Run Hillary 2012," urges recipients to sign a petition encouraging the now secretary of state to run for the White House in 2012. In doing so, they promise a progressive utopia.
"America would be better off today if Hillary Clinton was our president," the script for the call says. "The Wall Street robber barons would be jailed, young people could afford college and find jobs and six million homeowners wouldn't face foreclosure. We need to change our course. Please sign our petition to draft Hillary Clinton for president."
The angst and regrets of diehard Clinton supporters are not new to Democratic politics. After the 2008 primary concluded, PUMAs (which originally stood for "Party Unity My Ass") sprouted up as both an ode to the former first lady and a collective effort at political denial. Over time, it became a whimper. Obama won over the vast majority of Clinton backers.
Since then, there has been no shortage of chatter about a Clinton resurgence. Buyer's remorse over Obama has fed some of it. But the main thrust hasn't centered on replacing the president with his one-time competitor, but rather putting Clinton in the vice president's slot. Even Clinton loyalists have found it all somewhat silly (save the Doug Schoen types).
And yet, there are clearly some people not willing to let go. According to Shaun Dakin, an anti-robocall advocate, Run Hillary 2012 has now made calls in New York, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Colorado. It appears to be the first formal 2012 campaign function undertaken by an ostensibly pro-Hillary group -- not counting the occasional fundraising email from a Clinton ally asking for money to help her retire her 2008 campaign debt.
Due to the fact that these calls are being placed in battleground states (with the exception of New York, Clinton's most recent home), recipients and observers have inferred nefarious motives. Guesses as to who the culprit is fall into one of two categories: dead-end Clinton backers or Republicans hoping to stir up some trouble.
So far, however, there is essentially no solid information about the group. Dakin notes that there is no "electronic trail." The website, RunHillary2012.net, has been registered by proxy, and the robocalls have no caller identification. There is no contact information to be culled either, and efforts by HuffPost to get on the organization's email or petition list have so far failed.