Ray Malone's Commentary

Early on in her Senate career Hillary moved publicly to the center. That seems to say that Hillary and Bill were aware that a true leftist can not win the red states. So Hillary has been an example of moderation in her media appearances. However Hillary has voted with the left more frequently than a number of other Democrats. She has said one thing and voted another. That seems to say she has a strategy and she also has a controlling belief system.

The first question I ask, Is why and how did the Clintons lose control of the DNC? I noticed when campaign finance reform was passed, the Clintons removed as much fund raising from the DNC to 527s they controlled as possible. I reasoned the DNC would not be as important with out money to dispense. The Clintons could tolerate the far left in the form of Howard Dean taking over the DNC. But in retrospect that does not make sense for control freaks like the Clintons. It is more likely the Clintons lost control of the DNC because the party base wanted a true leftist like Howard Dean in control. . That is supported by the fact there has not been an instance where a Clinton voluntarily gave up control of anything of even minor value. The best conclusion is Dean got control of the DNC because the Clintons could not prevent it.

Howard Dean is no fan of the Clintons. He defines the Clintons as DINOs. Those of us who are not leftists need to consider the fact that the left wing of the Democratic party does not consider the Clintons to be true leftists. They see them as DINOs. It was Bill and Hillary Clinton who pushed the adoption of Welfare Reform. It was the Clintons who balanced the budget rather than increase wealth transfers from Republicans to Democrats. It was Bill Clinton who stole Newt Gingrich's contract with America and signed the bills that enacted most of it. To the true left Bill and Hillary are DINOs... Supposedly electable DINOs but DINOs never the less.

So what has happened since the Clinton administration? Gore has lost, and Kerry has lost. The left has lost the Senate and not regained the House. The left may be in the process of losing the Supreme Court. If you think the left is ticked .. then you are right. Stop in any Democratic county office and ask them what they think of Howard Dean. "About time we had a man like him in control!" is the usual answer. The left loves Dean. They are, I think, disappointed with the Clintons.

For the Democratic base the difference between Clinton, Gore and Kerry is only a matter of a minor degree. The base wants a true leftist. They bought into Kerry .. "Because he can win!". But Kerry lost. They are tired of electing DINOs that don't move the country left. They are even less happy about nominating DINOs that don't get elected. The Democratic base and state organizations want a true leftist candidate in 2008. They don't really believe Hillary is a true leftist.

The Democratic base is convinced that if they nominate a true leftist they can win. The left is adopting something similar to the Goldwater mantra of "Give us a choice not an echo." The left wants a true leftist as their 2008 candidate.

What is the proof? Watch what Bill and Hillary are doing. They are supporting the left and abandoning their centrist positions. They know that they can not win the presidency unless Hillary can get the Democratic nomination. And the winner of the Democratic primary will be someone the base supports.

Howard dean was selected by Democratic Party officials.. They control 20 percent of the votes in the Democratic Convention. Most Democratic party officials want a leftist candidate. Years ago members of the state party organizations were given 20 percent of the nominating convention votes to prevent the leftist base from selecting another McGovern. But the leftist base has taken over most of the state party organizations, and they will likely assist the far left in nominating a leftist.

So what will Hillary do? She will run and be re-elected to the senate. She will not announce her decision on the presidency until she sees how the wind is blowing. If it looks like she can not win the nomination with out going so far left she would lose the general she will sit 2008 out. I doubt a far leftist Democrat would do any better in 2008 than McGovern did in 1972. I doubt if Hillary has any intention of running and losing.

If a leftist Democrat goes down in massive defeat in 2008, then the party will look for a moderate to run in 2012.

Watch Hillary closely as 2008 gets closer. If she starts back toward the center, she, in my opinion, is not going to run. If she goes left she is going to run to the left to get the nomination and run to the center for the general election.

Watch Hillary, Kerry and others. Watch to see how far left they go... I think it is clear the left is in control of the party and makes up the majority of Democratic primary voters. They are not in a moderate mood.

Watch Hillary. Her actions will tell you what her polling shows the chances of a Democrat winning in 2008.