In an open letter to Hillary Clinton in his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Hillary, This Is Why Democrats Are Still Struggling," David Brooks begins by saying:
"Donald Trump has presented you with an amazing opportunity to become a world historical figure! If you crush him in this election, you could create a new Democratic majority and reduce the G.O.P. to an ever-declining rump of ethnic nationalism. On the other hand, if you fail to beat Trump, you will go down as America’s most hapless political loser and be vilified forever for enabling an era of American Putinism."
Indeed, Hillary should be worried. As reported by CNN yesterday, Trump is now leading Clinton by five percentage points in a four-way matchup, and by three percentage points when matched head-to-head.
Brooks's conclusion:
"Imagine if you displayed honest self-appraisal and even moments of remorse. You’d have the world rooting for you, not against you."
Honest self-appraisal and remorse from Hillary, a narcissist who, like Trump (although perhaps not on the same order of magnitude), is consumed with feelings of entitlement? David, you cannot expect this from Hillary, as evidenced by her refusal to come to terms with FBI Director Comey's conclusions.
The world would be rooting for Hillary and not against her? Sorry, David, but it's too late. Maybe if she had flown into Dallas immediately after the massacre earlier this month (remember how she claimed to have flown into Bosnia under sniper fire), but instead she cancelled all campaign events.
Heck, Hillary has gone more than 200 days without a news conference. Honest self-appraisal simply isn't in the cards.
David Brooks must think it is 1992.
ReplyDelete"...With just one word, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia proved to anyone who bothered to pay attention that the Democratic Party is no longer the traditional safe haven of the American Jew.
Speaking in Philadelphia at an pre-Democratic National Convention event sponsored by a group from the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the House Armed Services Committee member compared the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria to “termites,” according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Outraged, Sara Z. told JewishPress.com that anti-Semitism in the American Democratic Party is growing by leaps and bounds.
In an exclusive interview, Sara (who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal from neighbors) said the phenomenon is “similar to the rising anti-Semitism in Britain’s Labour Party.” She said it has destroyed a party where Jews once felt welcomed — and that she could see that day coming for Democrats in the U.S., maybe sooner than they realized. “Perhaps Senator Hank Johnson has forgotten history, or is this another way to echo Adolf Hitler’s sentiments? In 1938 the anti-Semitic rhetoric was that Jews were “vermin,” she said.
“In 2016, we are now “termites.” It seems like nothing changes. In the era of ‘Black Lives Matter’ it seems that once again, the Jews are the world’s scapegoats, the disposable ones,” she continued. ..."
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/exclusive-senator-calling-jews-termites-in-judea-samaria-reminds-jewish-voter-of-hitlers-vermin/2016/07/26/
I had not yet read this by W. McGurn when I wrote Brooks must think it is 1992 (or that this is NOT the same Democratic Party - read the platform - no more Dem fiscal conservative after 'Obamacare'):
Deletehttp://www.wsj.com/articles/mrs-clinton-v-mr-clinton-1469489209
"...in some ways the entire Democratic convention is a repudiation of all things Bill.
Start with the platform. Now, it’s true that platforms are not binding, but they give a good sense of how parties and candidates see themselves. Notwithstanding the “lock her up” chants from Bernie supporters here in Philly, Mr. Sanders says of the prevailing draft that “we now have the most-progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.”
It’s hard to recall these days, but Bill Clinton’s 1992 platform and presidency were once thought to deliver the Democratic Party from precisely this kind of thinking. Back then, Mr. Clinton was the face of the “New Democrat” who aimed to persuade the American people Democrats had changed from the McGovern days and could be trusted on values, the economy and national security.
In 1992, the party of Bill Clinton called business a “noble endeavor.” Its platform sounded downright Paul Ryanish, listing its “first priority” as “broad-based, non-inflationary economic growth and the opportunity that flows from it.” And it declared its opposition to “the adoption of new programs and new spending without new thinking.” ..."