Beltway Boys, please STFU about Hillary Clinton. Climb back in your time machine and return to 2014.
I am not necessarily against the idea of Hillary running in 2016. I'm neutral on her, but I deeply resent the effort on the part of conservative network news hosts to put the Hillary doll on the table and slap her around while ignoring the fact that we have an election which does not involve Hillary Clinton or her husband in 2014.
I resent the fact that people like Rand Paul are allowed to rewrite history by holding Hillary Clinton responsible for her husband's dalliances. That's prehistoric and predictably evil.
I resent the fact that PrioritiesUSA, a SuperPAC that supported Dems in 2012 is sitting out the midterms to focus on Hillary 2016, too.
I resent the fact that we have to work so damned hard to hold the same ground during midterms because the "mainstream media" ignores their significance and impact until after the damage is done.
But mostly, I resent the idea that Republicans should have a big brawl during primary season before the midterms and suck up all the press while pundits presume Hillary's coronation, because she has somehow earned that right.
Could we possibly have a discussion about today's realities and ignore 2016 speculation? Also, could any discussions of Hillary Clinton focus on Hillary and not who likes her, who endorses her, or what her husband did 15 years ago?
No. Here's a sampling from today:
MTP:
Senator Rand Paul. I'm back here with the roundtable, Mike Needham, conservative lobbyist with Heritage Action. So here's the question I think we have to resolve, which is how does Hillary Clinton position herself as something other than a default establishment choice with a complicated past? And members of your own party are saying, "We're not going to let the past be forgotten."
Because yes, of course the dude responsible for shutting down the government and his libertarian pal Rand Paul are total voices of authority on the Clintons. Right?
KARL: We have two members of congress here who have never made the cut on American Idol, but they've got the golden ticket to our roundtable. And lots to talk about today, including a surprise this morning -- did the Republicans favorite general just endorse Hillary Clinton?
Yes, that's right. The disgraced general who had to step down because of an extramarital affair endorsing Hillary Clinton is somehow news that not only excites but surprises Jon Karl. No subliminal messaging there, eh?
State of the Nation with Candy Crowley:
CROWLEY: Back with Cornell Belcher, A.B. Stoddard, and Ana Navarro. I recovered anyway. I want to move on to Rand Paul. He is on a roll lately. He has taken on -- he (ph) was asked a question and in response to a question about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, he basically said, look, the president was -- you know, this (ph) was predatory behavior. And now kind of doubled down on it and said this Sunday, listen, if you gave money to Bill Clinton, you should take it back because this guy is a predator. Then last night Rand Paul is in a Republican crowd in Houston, and he talks about Benghazi and Hillary Clinton. Here is what he said.
Yes, Candy, of course. Painting Hillary Clinton with Bill Clinton's brush is somehow being "on a roll." And because Rand Paul said it a whole bunch of times we're supposed to care?
I don't really care about whether Hillary runs in 2016, though I'm pretty annoyed about the fact that it appears Democrats seem to be poised to follow the pundits straight through another disastrous midterm while dreaming of Madam President. (Yes, YOU, PrioritiesUSA.)
We have a Senate to defend and a House to challenge in 2014, which they seem to have forgotten happens 2 years ahead of 2016. What we do not need right is the shiny pie in the sky in 2016 right now.
You know who would push back on this nonsense? Progressives, who care about things like the social safety net, immigration reform, and income inequality. Which network will be the first to step up?
