Dems Want Hillary Out!

Last week, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy made headlines by saying Hillary Clinton should bow out of the race right now because there is no change she can win.  This has never happened before.  As both the Clintons have pointed out, in 1992 Bill Clinton didn’t secure the Democratic nomination until June 2.

Steven Stark writes today, this argument “is, in truth, an argument virtually without precedent in modern political history.” He also drops some history on us:

• In 1988, Jesse Jackson took his hopeless campaign against winner Michael Dukakis all the way to the convention, often to great media praise.

• In 1980, Ted Kennedy carried his run against Jimmy Carter all the way to the convention, even though it was clear he had been routed.

• In 1976, Ronald Reagan contested the “inevitability” of Gerald Ford all the way to the convention. Few, then or since, have ever thought to criticize Reagan’s failure to step aside and let Ford assume the mantle.

• Also in 1976, three candidates — Mo Udall, Jerry Brown, and Frank Church — ran against Jimmy Carter all the way through the final primaries, even though Carter seemed more than likely to be the eventual nominee.

• Even in 1960, Lyndon Johnson and Adlai Stevenson fought the “certain” nomination of John F. Kennedy all the way to the convention floor.

So why the rush to get Clinton out?  This was supposed to be her nomination and she was the golden child in the Democratic party: the first woman elected President.  That all changed with the rise of Obama.

I’ve noticed the Democrats talk about doom and gloom often.  They do it with the economy, by constantly talking it down.  They use buzz words like recession and remind us that things are going to get scary without their help.  Democrats have done it on the Iraq War now for years.  Harry Reid has said the “war is lost.”  Others have said the surge hasn’t worked, etc.  Now, Democrats are talking doom and gloom about their national convention.  They are worried a rift between Clinton and Obama will open the door for a McCain Presidency because their convention will be 1968 all over again.  My take:  They are making it worse by constantly talking about it and the talk could do them in.