2008 was a horrible year for Hillary Clinton. She was widely expected to win the Democratic nomination and become the first female president. Barack Obama pulled a huge upset on Clinton and not only beat her for the Democratic nomination, but won the presidential race.
In 2016, it seems as if nothing can stop Hillary from winning the Democratic nomination. But if the election were today, she would be tied with Donald Trump, the likely nominee for the Republican party. The Hill has the news.
“Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are statistically tied in the latest hypothetical match-up as the Republican front-runner escalates his attacks against the leading Democrat. When 1000 likely voters nation-wide were asked who they would support if the presidential election were held today, 37 percent said Clinton while 36 percent said Trump, according to the Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.”
As The Hill explains, the poll’s margin of error is 3 percentage points, meaning Clinton and Trump are in a statistical dead heat. Even more significant is the fact that Donald Trump is rising very fast. Most recent hypothetical polls had showed him far behind Hillary Clinton in the general election. It’s quite possible that 2016 could be another huge disappointment for Hillary.
Mrs. Clinton has faced a huge backlash lately over being racially insensitive in her efforts to pander to minorities. Exhibit A: Hillary Clinton’s Kwanzaa tweet and Avatar. It has been deleted, but not before the Washington Examinerwas able to report on the backlash.
” A number of African-American social media users pushed back against Hillary Clinton’s attempt to reach black voters with a Kwanzaa Twitter avatar. ‘Wishing everyone the best this Kwanzaa. To all celebrating — Bill and I send you our warmest wishes. -H,’ Clinton tweeted on Saturday night.”
The Washington Examiner added that Hillary changed her Twitter logo to a red, black, and green image of her campaign’s “H” logo that was made to look like a kinara, which is a candle holder for Kwanzaa celebrations. The backlash against Clinton was swift.
“Yo, @HilaryClinton is so disprespectful,” tweeted Kayla Reed.
“Dean @HillaryClinton after #NotMyAbuela comes your #Kwanzaa fail. That’s what happens when all your staffers look just like you. #shame,” tweeted Jalina Porter.
Even the Daily Beast , a site that has catered to Clinton for the past year, calls her actions “tone-deaf racial pandering.”
“The Democratic frontrunner needs to show she really gets what black and Hispanic voters want—and that doesn’t mean giving your Twitter feed a Kwanzaa makeover,” says writer Barrett Holmes Pitner.
The article makes the point that something like this hurts Clinton more than it would a Republican candidate, since the party is trying to appeal to a primarily White electorate. It also says that Clinton needs to draw the line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.
The Mashable , another site that has been mostly favorable to Clinton, describes the backlash Clinton received last week when trying to appeal to Latinos .
“ Hillary Clinton ‘s campaign is facing backlash online over a post aimed at Spanish-speaking voters. ‘7 ways Hillary Clinton is just like your abuela,’ or grandmother, reads a new post on the Clinton campaign’s website.”
The post shows a photo of Clinton and former president Bill Clinton holding their granddaughter, Charlotte, and declares the Democratic presidential candidate isn’t afraid to talk about the importance of “el respeto,” which means “respect” in English. Clinton’s post shows her pandering in the most obvious way, using quotes from “La Raza” and posing with stars like Marc Anthony — as if he represents all Latinos. Once again, the backlash was very swift.
What a stupid idea– Hillary Clinton’s campaign website posted a list of “7 ways Hillary Clinton is just like… https://t.co/F1cQF0DqS8
— DrV (@DrVasquezHealth) December 24, 2015
At least now, people can’t easily say liberals are hypocritical about whom they criticize. Hillary Clinton’s intentions may have been good, but her actions are hurting her cause more than helping it.
[Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images]