Dems Near Clinton Panic Mode

The Hil ^ | August 13, 2015

[Din Maker]

Democrats are worried that the furor over Hillary Clinton’s private email server will be prolonged and intensified after her sudden move to hand it to the FBI.

The Clinton campaign’s decision to give up the server and a thumb-drive containing back-up copies of emails left Democrats scratching their heads as to why the former secretary of State had resisted turning over the server for months.

Coupled with new polls that suggest Clinton is vulnerable, Democrats are nearing full-on panic mode.

“I’m not sure they completely understand the credibility they are losing, by the second,” said one Democratic strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “At some point this goes from being something you can rationalize away to something that becomes political cancer. And we are getting pretty close to the cancer stage, because this is starting to get ridiculous.”

“Look, this is a classic example of the cover-up being ten times worse than the so-called crime — though in this case there wasn't a crime,” said another progressive strategist.

“The culture of secrecy that has surrounded the Clintons — understandably in some cases — has now yielded a situation where she did something that wasn't necessary and looks nefarious.”

The former secretary of State remains the odds-on favorite the win the party’s presidential nomination. But the pattern seen in the email controversy — months of stonewalling followed by an eventual concession — has stoked worries about her flaws as a candidate.

The slew of unimpressive poll numbers is exacerbating the situation. Some have shown slippage against her main left-wing rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Others have indicated her losing swing states against possible Republican opponents. Still others have revealed continuing weakness in her ratings on trustworthiness and favorability.

Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic strategist who has worked with Clinton in the past but is not doing so in this campaign, argued that the general suspicion that the former secretary of State is concealing something is much more damaging than the specifics of the email matter.

“It’s hard to imagine Americans in the heartland wondering about whether Hillary Clinton gave up an email server or not,” he said. “But [it adds to] this constant battering she's taking, which is that people don’t trust her. It increases the feeling that something is not being told to them.”

Joe Trippi, who served as campaign manager for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential bid, concurred.

“The thing that’s hurt has been losing the ground she’s lost on trustworthiness and honesty. It’s on trust, not on the specifics of emails or anything like that,” he said.

A new Franklin Pierce University poll from New Hampshire on Tuesday showed Clinton losing to Sanders by seven percentage points in the Granite State. Another survey from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP), also released Tuesday, indicated Clinton getting the worse of hypothetical match-ups with four separate Republican opponents in the swing state of Iowa, which President Obama won in both 2008 and 2012.

The margins in all those polls were within the margins of error. But the same cannot be said of findings indicating voter skepticism about Clinton personally.

The PPP poll showed 52 percent of Iowans holding an unfavorable view of Clinton and only 38 percent holding a favorable view. In a Quinnipiac University poll released at the end of last month, a clear majority of voters nationwide said they did not consider the former secretary of State honest or trustworthy — 57 percent to 37 percent. It was only the latest finding that indicated deep trouble for Clinton on that issue.

Still, Clinton's most adamant supporters insist she has done nothing wrong.

“Everybody is just looking for a ‘gotcha’ moment,” said long-time Clinton loyalist Lanny Davis. “They're ignoring what the inspector general said, which is that there was not one single accusation of wrongdoing alleged against Hillary Clinton and her use of email.”

The Clinton campaign and its allies are also pushing back hard at their critics. The campaign’s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, sent a mass email to supporters Wednesday, warning that “you might hear some news over the next few days about Hillary Clinton's emails.”

The Palmieri email went on to assert that there was “a lot of misinformation” around the issue, that “Hillary has remained absolutely committed to cooperating” and that “this kind of nonsense comes with the territory of running for president.”

Separately, Media Matters for America — the liberal watchdog group founded by Clinton ally David Brock — sent out a statement under the subject-line “Myths and Facts about Hillary Clinton’s email.” The first fact it listed was that “none of the emails sent to Clinton were labeled as classified or top secret.”

But concerned Democrats keep coming back to the same question: Why did the Clinton campaign not simply hand over the private server when the controversy first erupted in March?

“It’s bizarre,” said the Democratic strategist. “Let me give you some simple strategic communications advice: Put everything out first, on your terms. If you wait, or you are forced to do it, you always lose and look bad…That is exactly what is happening here, and I find it inexplicable.”

Clinton’s problems are stoking speculation that another candidate could, even now, get into the Democratic race. The two most-often cited potential contenders are Vice President Biden and progressive icon Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Others suggested that Sanders could expand his support even further.

Robert Borosage, co-director of the liberal Campaign For America's Future, said that while Clinton remains “very popular amongst Democrats,” there remains an opening for another Democratic alternative to emerge.

“If Hillary continues to sink in the polls and is beleaguered by all of this stuff, there will be more and more interest in other candidates — including and not limited to Sanders,” Borosage said.

Charles Chamberlain, executive director of the progressive Democracy for America, said that liberals believe Republicans are amplifying the issue. Still, he argued that Sanders appears to be exciting the Democratic base more than Clinton.

“Sanders is holding huge events with big crowds and engaging in a two-way conversation with voters — these are things Clinton isn't doing,” Chamberlain said.

Even if Clinton is vulnerable, she remains the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination.

Trippi said another Democrat might well get into the race, but that beating Clinton was a very different proposition.

“I don’t think Joe Biden has given up on his desire to run for president and I’m sure there are others out there who want to get into this race. I just don’t see a path yet for how you get to the nomination,” he said.

Trippi also raised the issue of whether a more left-wing candidate such as Warren could end up making a Clinton coronation more likely, rather than less likely, given that she would almost certainly divide the progressive vote with Sanders.

“Why is he now going to bow and curtsy to Elizabeth Warren?” Trippi asked. “And if he isn’t going to move aside, doesn’t she actually divide that 30 or 40 percent?”

That leaves many Democrats in a painful place: believing that, in the end, Clinton will be the nominee but worrying that her vulnerabilities could negate the many advantages — from demographics to the electoral college map — that they believe the party nominee should enjoy.

The progressive strategist wondered “how much longer this drip, drip, drip” of controversy surrounding the emails would continue.

“There's a hesitance that emerges in terms of her trustworthiness,” the source said. “At some point, people will start to ask whether this hurts her electability in the general election.”

Sheinkopf insisted that, at a minimum, the Clinton campaign needed to set aside any set of complacency.

“There are no guarantees. The ship has to get righted. You need to deal with the email issue very differently, by tackling it head-on.”

How confident is he that such a direct approach will be adopted?

“Fifty-fifty, at best,” he replied.

[Din Maker]

A new Franklin Pierce University poll from New Hampshire on Tuesday showed Clinton losing to Sanders by seven percentage points in the Granite State.

She won NH in '08. After 23 years "justice" just might have finally caught up with the Clintons. If she loses her shot for the White House for the second time, they will need to put her on suicide watch.

[InterceptPoint]

Already Posted this morning

[Balding_Eagle]

She probably thinks she’s Donald Trump, and controversy will propel her up in the polls.

[jdsteel]

It will disappear into a black hole at the FBI and never be seen again.

[GoldenPup]

Democrats are worried that the furor over Hillary Clinton’s private email server will be prolonged and intensified after her sudden move to hand it to the FBI.

After it had been "SCRUBBED", edited, redacted, manipulated, and erased.
CORRUPT TO THE CORE!!

[Buffalo Bob]

They are not going to find anything of value. Once the Hildebeast goes on her “give you free sh*t tour”, her poll numbers will rise again...

[Lou L]

Just out of curiosity, which Dem would have the balls to approach Hil and say, “you need to either put a lid on this story, or step down as a candidate?”

[CIB-173RDABN]

“Look, this is a classic example of the cover-up being ten times worse than the so-called crime — though in this case there wasn’t a crime”

---

I am not an expert in security, but on the surface it would appear she committed a crime when she set up her own email server, and when she sent and received secret documents over this unauthorized and unsecured server. And lastly, when she admitted to deleting thousands of emails with just her word that there was nothing incriminating on any of those emails. People are prosecuted for destroying evidence so that is a crime.

I would be happy to have her day in court. Bring charges and let the court decide on her guilt or innocents same as any Republican politician in a race would have to face.

[PCPOET7]

theses thumb drives are a construction of Hillary Clintons. she has had months for an expert to go through get rid of anything to damaging to her career. but I think that she will find that she over thought it and made a big mistake. her problem is going to be that her e-mails that have been left and in some cases manufactured are not going to match the destinations they were sent to or where they were sent from. and when other search warrants are done on computers that these supposed e-mails were sent to or received everything is going to fall apart.

[LS]

Yeah, duh! I have had a secret clearance. I know you cannot take ANYTHING in ANY FORM “home” or out of its secured facility. It’s utterly ridiculous that she’s not in jail. I might let a very low level staffer get away with this after being fired, but not anyone in any place of authority.

[LS]

Worse for the Dems, they have no one. Sanders? Yeah, he can draw the "Ferguson 5000," but no real voters.

Biden? Joke of jokes.

Warren? Already back on the reservation.

That's why I said last year that anyone not named Bush will win this for the Republicans, so it's important that we put someone in who can effect CHANGE and not just a Kasich or Walker.

[nathanbedford]

Hillary shares characteristics with the Donald:

Both have elements of a house of cards about their campaigns. Hillary is the front runner because she is the front runner and Trump is the front runner because he is charismatic. Both are vulnerable to some small child saying, the Emperor has no clothes. By any reasonable analysis, Hillary has an appalling resume of failure and corruption. She is prima facie guilty of serious crimes surrounding her record-keeping as Secretary of State. Donald Trump has a mixed resume of success and corruption including crony capitalism, property acquisition by eminent domain, bankruptcy of many of his companies while he prospered. Hillary is an authentic committed leftist, a former acolyte of Saul Alinsky himself. Trump has no coherent, consistent political philosophy beyond what strikes his fancy today. Hillary seeks power as a narcissist who is arrogant enough to believe that she should have power over the lives of others because she is smarter than others and has special insights into the truth about the way the world should be organized. Trump seeks power as a narcissist who believes he sees solutions that no one else sees or or refuse to see because they are corrupt. Hillary is an unappealing, offputting woman whose claim to the office consists in large part of the accident of her genitalia. Trump is appealing and at the same time offputting, his claim to the office consists in large part to his charisma and unerring indictments of the elite.

I am drawing more and more to the conclusion that Hillary will not be nominated, sadly because I believe she would be beat. I have never thought Donald Trump would be nominated and his service to conservatism by pointing out the issues of immigration, trade, and elitism are real but not imperishable. On the Democrat side, their most dangerous candidate would probably be Jim Webb but the Democrats will likely not find him radical enough. On the Republican side, our most effective candidate will be the most conservative candidate, Ted Cruz.

[Sacajaweau]

I'm gonna make a big guess. She will feign a mini stroke very shortly.

Her campaign is ridiculous. We're in the 21st century and she's still playing the 1960's womens card. Where are all the crowds?

The only thing she did do was raise a LOT of wall street money which she can donate to her favorite charity (hmmmm) if she withdraws.

I believe the party let her get into the race and raise that money to placate her after scre**** her with their "clean, articulate, black, man".

[FreeAtlanta]

“there wasn’t a crime”

They keep saying that phrase. I don’t it means what they think it means.

[Stosh]

“. . . left Democrats scratching their heads as to why the former secretary of State had resisted turning over the server for months.”

I don’t see why; all they needed was a little patience, and eventually the server and the flashdrive would have shown up in the Book Room on the third floor of the White House once the statute of limitations had run out.

[Din Maker]

Just out of curiosity, which Dem would have the balls to approach Hil and say, “you need to either put a lid on this story, or step down as a candidate?”

Valerie Jarrett, Jim Webb and possibly Joe Biden. (Betcha a cup of coffee, or a beer, ol' Joe gets in the race.)

[TornadoAlley3]

It will be prolonged. The judge gave the state department until Jan 2016 to turn over all emails.

[EQAndyBuzz]

““Look, this is a classic example of the cover-up being ten times worse than the so-called crime — though in this case there wasn’t a crime,” said another progressive strategist.”

Definitely mental illness reflected here. What happened to Petraeus is all the precedent Congress needs to charge Hillary.

I like the idea of a stroke. It would show a relapse of when she hit her head and give her an honorable out. I am going a different way. She will be pardoned by Obama and with the MSM in tow, the campaign will announce this is water under the bridge and continue the campaign.

I truly believe the MSM truly believes that they can rescue Hillary, save her campaign and vault her into the White House.

Which leads me to one conclusion. It’s not Hillary, or Obama or any leftwinger that needs to be taken down. It is the propaganda apparatus of the DNC that needs to be destroyed.

[struggle]

I hope this turns into a Grey Davis style implosion.

[FreeAtlanta]

It seems like she could be charged with espionage.

What did she sell to foreign governmental? She got huge payments from them via the Clinton foundation and massive speaking fees for her and her husband.