Hillary Clinton, Neocon Savior?

The neocons, deprived of a John McCain presidency, have latched onto a new potential female savior. No, it isn't Sarah Palin. It's Hillary Clinton. Two new pieces in the Weekly Standard make it clear that the neocons see Hillary as their best hope over the next four years. In "Hail Clinton," Michael Goldfarb, until recently a McCain campaign aide, blogs that "Clinton's a hawk. Not only did she vote to authorize the war in Iraq, she delivered her vote in style -- her floor speech on October 10, 2002, went so far as to connect Saddam to al Qaeda..."

There's more. Noemie Emery, in an online piece titled "The Great Right Hope?," muses that

"For the moment, Hillary Clinton will be the conservatives' Woman in Washington, more attuned to their concerns on these issues than to those of the get-the-troops-home-now wing of her party, a strange turn of events for a woman whose husband was impeached by Republicans just ten years ago, and whose ascent that party had dreaded since she went to the Senate two years after that."

Now, it's certainly possible that Clinton will be the neocon of the Obama administration, pushing it to the right. In this thinking, she would deal as ruthlessly with Vladimir Putin as she tried to dispose of Obama during the primaries. But if Clinton has shown anything during the campaign, when she morphed from establishment to working class candidate, she has an elastic sense of the possible. Whether she will become the standard-bearer of the interventionist wing of the Democratic party remains an open question. But as the neocons have discerned, it is a possibility and one that they welcome.

Comments

[Leda]

Why would Hillary want this post? It is a horrible job- with the Bush contract to remain in Iraq 3 more years. with terrorism on the rise and less than Zero $ to spend on endless wars. Inheriting a total nightmare. I think it bespeaks hostility from the obama camp to offer it.
Hey everyone look around- Obama's choices are Not that progressive. Some of us forgot to drink the koolaid.. you weren't actually expecting this Ronald Reagan fan to be that progressive were you?
Yes we're thrilled obama was elected... but let's be realistic. He is very centrist & that is what got him elected. .

[swkidder]

an elastic sense of the possible ... this is a lovely phrase and one we should all remember. We've been whiplashed for so long with "the elastic sense of the horrible, inevitable, and inescapable" that we tend to respond out of learned helplessness and not optimism. Every time I thought the Bush Administration could not do something "any worse" - he proved me wrong.
I like to think that Tuesday the 4th gave us an elastic sense of the possible. Our job is to stretch it as far as it will go in the moment, and never to lose sight of the fact that "inelasticity in a particular moment" is only true then ... ten minutes from now, a month from now, or a year from now ... it can be different. Keep pulling ...

[Pharos]

I posted a link to
http://voteview.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/who-is-more-liberal-senator-obama-or-senator-clinton/

in a comment to the article "Hillary Clinton, Neocon Savior?" by Jacob Heilbrunn. It showed up briefly and then was removed. I posted it again several times and it never showed up. Censoring a link to university research? It was accepted as a comment in other articles on HP.

[cemlo2]

Does she then change party, run for Senator in another State? Are you suggesting she challenge/undermine the Obama Administration?

It appears the Hillary camp and MSM Neocons are rattled.

[slowtono]

Dream on!! No, nope and forget that! What the Huff and Obama are seeking is to pull the Palin admiration Hillary's way. Sorry dudes Hillary is hate-ashberry grass and McGovern. She's no war monger and by the time we speak next year the Obama man will be deep into Afghanistan and Pakistan. The strong 47% will stand with Palin and wait all of this out. The media will have to wait for the crumbling tide and more damage control. Africa will be looming and the world events will not let anyone get more libby than bill Paid in full.

[Charidan]

First of all, Hillary did not lobby to be Sec of State. Obama asked her. The whole idea emanated from the Obama camp. Now she is being demonized all over again by the same people who endlessly attacked her during the primaries. If I were Hillary, I'll just turn down the job offer and try to achieve what she wants to do for the country from her senate seat. That way, she won't have to endure these undeserved persecution from these lifetime Clinton haters. I just have to wonder what horrible stuff has she done for the country or the Democratic party that she would earn these venom from these people. They call her ambitious, an accusation that would never be heaped on any male politician ever. Unbelievable!
Charidan

[jeanrenoir]

This piece is 100% on target. Hillary was the choice of the neocon fanatics for Likud within the Democratic Party. They were the rich diehards who refused to quit, and used "women" as their shield and excuse for waiting for something to "happen" to Obama. Lady de Rothschild's surreal instant defection to McCain because Obama was "an elitist" can only be explained by her being a fanatic for Likud who hated Obama for the same reasona all the other neocons of both parties hated him: A. they hadn't bought him with contributions, since he got unlimited money from the Net, and was thus, for the first time in modern presidential politics, a "dangerous" free agent regarding Israel and Middle East policy in general; and B. they feared Obama would actually talk with Iran, rather than bombing its nuclear facilities. This is the central issue for neocons, because they are determined that Iran MUST be bombed, and they are determined that an American president must do it, so he can shill for Likud with the American masses, and take the heat when the masses suddenly have to pay $10 for gas, and see the world economy destroyed before their eyes by this bombing. So now the plot is to get Hillary to control Iran policy, so it can still be "obliterated," as she announced so blithely that SHE would do in the debates. The neocon war on Iran would destroy Obama as their equally crazed war on Iraq destroyed Bush.

[Pandora1]

If this hypothesis is true, I don't know what planet these neocoms inhabit...she made abundantly clear that she, too, would withdraw from Iraq during the Primaries, and has supported Obama's stance on withdrawal in her active stumping for him throughout the Election process, from her concession and Convention speeches on through her more than 60 rallies on his behalf.

She'd be a great Secretary of State, and a good portion of what Obama stands for came out of her lips first, (remember when she supported "Universal Health Care for all" and he was still back in the dark ages for Universal Health Care for children only?) and most eloquently, for which he has thanked her repeatedly. In fact, he became such a wonderful candidate and will be a wonderful President in large part because of her influence over the past two years, and his own growth.

[jhamm1]

I couldn't agree more.

Clearly, staying true to one's previous articulateions to eliminate "politics as usual" shouldn't include sucking up to the forces of prior opposition, particularly when such gestures could spell disaster.

[davyB]

Until evidence to the contrary, I think this is an entirely plausible hypothesis. Clinton's feet ought to be held to the fire until it is demonstrated that she (they) won't sustain their popularity by enacting more "conservative" antisocial policy in the guise of Democratic centrism.

[ntmessage]

Preposterous theory.
Clinton is slightly to the Right of Obama today since Obama has moved a bit during the election process. To use the term neocon ignores a lifetime of work and trivializes how serious Clinton is as a Progressive Democrat, exactly what we need today. An exception is never the rule. Lookup PNAC to see what real neocons are all about. It aint Hillary.

As far as the Republicans and neocons today? Not only are they confused and desperate, they do not even know what hit em.

[MeetJohnDoe]

Senator Clinton is well to the left of Obama, who primaried as a timid centrist with a man-crush on ronny reagan.

Clinton Derangement Syndrome at work again, Demcrats eating their own.

[Wildofski]

MeetJohnDoe - time for you to change your screen name, do you think everybody forgot
you're a Republican troll just because we are still busy celebrating our victory over the forces of darkness (GOP-Greedy Old Pigs).

[Rule Of Law]

Bill Clinton signed into law the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which shielded the markets for derivatives from federal regulation. Do you really know what is causing this Depression we're headed into? Read up on this act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act before you call Bill a progressive.

[BenMurphyNYC]

Obama had Jim Leach, one of the architects, to speak at his convention and Mr. Leach is still working for President-Elect Obama. But I agree with you that was a bad bill, Clinton should not have signed it but it had been in the works for long before Clinton was president.

The first attempts repeal of Glass-Steagall began in the 1980's.

[ntmessage]

Of course I have read-up on every bill. This point is that the exception is not the rule. Anyone can find something. Overall he IS and WAS progressive. And that has what to do with Hillary or this post about necons?

[radicalcentrist44]

Many republicans wanted Hillary to be president even more than McCain.

[Pharos]

Do you have any data to support your assertion?

[Old-Surveyor]

Take it from me, thats the truth.

[NickJones]

Ann Coulter said during the primaries that, if asked, she'd campaign for Clinton, because (paraphrase) "Clinton is more conservative than McCain."

[Emlyn]

Because they were sure they could win with her as the nominee of the Dem Party.

[BruceNM]

I think Clinton is the WRONG candidate for SecState. Ok, I'm a Bill Richqrdson supporter, I admit it. But beyond that, Clinton is going to be needed in the Senate, if for nothing else then to fill Ted Kennedy's shoes. To take her out of the Senate is not a smart thing to do, particulqrly when there are other candidates for the SecStqte job.

[Gileo30]

I also think Senator Clinton is the wrong choice for Sectary of State.
The Clinton's have their own agenda.
Obama is batting 1000 so far.
He needed to dig down deep and come up with a winner.

[BenMurphyNYC]

While I was reading this I was reminded of every time a right-winger said Obama was supported by Palestinians or was pallin' around with terrorist. What the right-wingers were trying to do was imply connection where there was no connection.

Hillary is not a neo-con. Anyone who tries to link her intellectually to Bill Krystol or Dick Cheney does so at the expense of reason.

[lechatnoir]

She's a neolib, and that's just the flipside of the neocon coin, like Bliar.

[gabemill]

Absolutely correct, Ben....
I believe there may be better choices for SOS, but Hillary will serve, and serve well, should she be nominated........

[NickJones]

Ah, yes, but serve whom? See this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/10/bill-clinton-lunches-with_n_72063.html
Bill Clinton Lunches With Leader Of The "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy"

Or the full Newsweek article:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/69545
So Happy Together

[appleknocker]

She's not a neocon; she's merely a con.

[britethere]

Vote for war with floor speech to make a neo con happy....vote yea for Kyle Lieberman....would " obliterate" iran....Mccain has a lifetime of service and OPbama has a speech he gave in 2002. No wonder the GOP hacks love her.

[jhamm1]

No kidding.

Even if CLinton promises to behave herself overseas, who the hell in Iran is going to be willing to talk to us through outlet who already threatened to annihilate 70 million of its own people.

[Discomustachio]

Looks like we'll be going to war with Iran after all. Her and Baraks AIPAC buddies wouldn't have it any other way. Barack on his own maybe not. But the two of them together? Israels military, ie, the American military, will surely need to "stop this looming threat" from our 51st state.