The past few days, I have been sharing excerpts from my lengthy Vox Populi article on Hillary Clinton’s probable positions on most of
the issues likely to form the basis of the 2016 presidential campaign. Here is one final excerpt:
We can sum up Hillary Clinton’s probable platform in a few
words: On social and domestic issues not involving unions, she will follow
Elizabeth Warren’s lead, which should make progressives happy. On homeland
security, foreign policy, military policy and trade policy, she will continue
Obama’s initiatives in virtually every way, which is not such good news for the
left. Taken as a unity, these stands make Hillary Clinton a centrist looking
left, a contemporary version of Washington State’s long-time Senator, Henry
“Scoop” Jackson.
It’s quite possible that a majority of Democratic voters are
more progressive than Hillary, but Pew, Gallup and other polls suggest that a large
majority of Democrats and independents taken together pretty much agree with
Hillary on most things. Additionally, on domestic matters the gap between
Hillary and the most left-leaning of the 2016 crew of Republican stalwarts is
far greater than the difference between Hillary and the progressive edge of the
Democratic Party, which I define as New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio.
Over the course of the next 18 months, I’m sure that Hillary
Clinton will say many things that piss off progressives. She will particularly
disappoint the left on issues related to unions, defense, national security and
homeland security. But everything that every Republican running for president
will say will piss off progressives—and frighten us, too.
I didn’t write it in my Vox Populi article, but I feel strongly that it would be foolish for progressives to stay home in November or select a write-in candidate because of some antipathy to Hillary Clinton. The contrast between her views on Social Security, government programs for the poor, immigration, investment in infrastructure, taxation, gay marriage and abortion from those of every Republican is too vast for us to put our country at danger by not throwing our support behind Hillary, or just about any other Democratic candidate for that matter.
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