Why Hillary Terrifies the GOP

Hillary Clinton hasn't said whether or not she will seek a presidential bid in 2016, but Republicans are already panicking. (Chad McKenna, AFLCIO / Flickr / Creative Commons)

Good old-fashioned misogyny just doesn’t play the way it used to

BY Sady Doyle, In These Times

Over the course of 30 years, the GOP has become practiced, versatile and expert at trashing Hillary Clinton. But suddenly, those moves just aren't working anymore.

“Hillary Clinton—the name alone strikes dread in the heart of freedom loving Americans.” So reads the opening line of the “About” section on the website of The Hillary Project PAC. And whether or not we are all, in fact, filled with “dread” when we think about the former secretary of state, the Hillary Project certainly seems to be: The website bills itself as “the only thing standing between Hillary and the White House.” The fine folks behind The Hillary Project—they include Republican operative Christopher M. Marston, who just stepped down in the face of blowback—are convinced that a 2016 Clinton run is not only likely, but inevitable. They're also convinced that as it stands now, if she runs, she will win.

They're not alone. On August 3, the Daily Beast ran an article by conservative writer (and campaign advertising expert) Myra Adams, listing "16 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Will Win 2016." Adams cites “a great social movement to elect the first Madame President,” a “toxic punch of media bias that the Republican presidential candidate will be forced to drink,” and the fact that Clinton—like just about anyone who runs for President—will have lots of money for her campaign. All of this, in Adams' view, adds up to certain victory.

Clicking over to an only slightly more out-there sector of the Internet, you can find the Stop Hillary PAC, which proclaims that “the American way of life is under attack and Hillary Clinton is the liberal standard-bearer,” and which characterizes itself as “committed to saving America from this destructive far-left, liberal cancer that's trying to transform America.” Clicking on the “team” section reveals the political oncologists in question to be a series of beatifically grinning white men, including Colorado legislator Ted Harvey, whose biography reads like an enthusiastic, slightly confused teenager’s summary of the plot of Star Wars. (“When, thankfully by the grace of God, the conservative movement led by Ronald Reagan, took control of the White House and saved a nation and a world that was lost and without hope.” This is Ted's idea of a sentence.)

(More here.)