Now more than ever, Democrats need Hillary Clinton | The Hill
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
by Douglas E. Schoen, opinion contributor - 07/03/22 9:00 AM ET The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill
Earlier this year, I co-authored a piece for The Wall Street Journal that argued that a perfect storm in the Democratic Party is making a once unfathomable scenario — a comeback for Hillary Clinton in 2024 — highly plausible.
Our reasoning was that President Biden's low approval rating, doubt about his capacity to run again, Vice President Harris's unpopularity, and the absence of another strong Democrat to lead the ticket have created a leadership vacuum within the party that only Clinton — as an experienced and politically savvy "change candidate" — can fill.
In light of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade— upending decades of precedent and revoking a constitutional right that American women have enjoyed for half a century — the case for Clinton's candidacy is even clearer.
Regardless of one's own political affiliation or opinion of Clinton, the country knows her as an experienced politician and a champion of women's rights. From her declaration at the United Nations in 1995 that "women's rights are human rights" to being the first woman nominated as a major party's candidate for president in 2016, she offers the exact type of leadership that the Democratic Party desperately needs.
Whether or not party leaders will admit it, Democrats know that they need to move on from Biden if they want to stay in the White House in 2024 and — even more importantly — have a fighting chance at building a sufficient enough majority in Congress to advance any element of their agenda going forward, including, and especially, codifying abortion rights.
Put another way, the stakes are simply too high for Democrats to remain on this slowly sinking ship.
Democrats are headed for a blowout loss in November, even worse than in 1994 and 2010 — the two worst midterm election years for the party in recent history — when they lost 53 and 63 seats, respectively, per Gallup's analysis of four key national mood indicators.
Indeed, Biden's approval rating is lower than both Obama's and Clinton's at the same points in their presidencies, and Americans in 2022 are less satisfied with the direction of the country, more negative about the economy and more disapproving of Congress.
Polls generally show Republicans with a lead of at least 2 or 3 points in the 2022 generic vote for Congress. This advantage would likely give the GOP a solid majority in the House — considering the favorable Republican rulings in redistricting litigation in key states as well as the likelihood that Republican turnout will be even higher than most pollsters are currently accounting for.
While Biden was the right person to defeat former President Trump in 2020, he is clearly not the right person to lead the Democratic Party going forward — as only 36 percent of Democrats believe that Biden gives them the best chance to win the presidency in 2024, per recent polling.
To be sure, Democrats' confidence in Biden will only decline further after the party experiences a shellacking in the midterm elections. These voters will be looking for a change candidate who is experienced, effective, savvy and committed to the issues they care most about — namely, women's rights and civil rights.
At that point, Clinton will have a unique opportunity to position herself as an experienced candidate capable of leading Democrats on a more successful path who will also fight — as she has done her entire career — for women's rights.
As John Ellis wrote this week, "The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade creates the opening for Hillary Clinton to get out of stealth mode and start down the path toward declaring her candidacy for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination."
Based on her latest public statements, it's clear that Clinton not only recognizes her position as a potential front-runner but also is setting up a process to gauge whether or not she should pursue the presidency once more.
Repositioning herself in the national spotlight, Clinton spoke this week at the Aspen Ideas Festival and bashed the overturning of Roe v. Wade as "the most arrogant misreading of history in law that you could ever find" and a decision that is "rolling the clock back on our civil rights, our human rights."
Moreover, in a separate interview earlier in the week, Clinton refused to rule out a 2024 run.
Aside from Clinton, the Democratic Party lacks any other rising stars who could take the torch from Biden — if he chooses not to run — and win in a general election. The most natural successor would be Harris. However, Harris is even more unpopular than Biden and would almost guarantee a Republican victory in 2024.
Further, Harris's response to Roebeing overturned missed the mark, as she was widely criticized for trying to make the case that abortion access will greatly impact America's sons.
Ultimately, Clinton is the only prominent Democrat with the experience, the campaign infrastructure, the political know-how and the proven track record who can win a general election.
As Fox News Channel's Juan Williams wrote earlier this week, "Democrats need a strong voice ready to fight to restore women's rights, now that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade. There's only one Hillary Clinton."
If Democrats want a chance at winning the presidency in 2024, Clinton is — now more than ever — their best chance.
Douglas E. Schoen is a political consultant who served as an adviser to former President Clinton and to the 2020 presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg.
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For some, a true nightmare.
For others, high comedy.
Maybe the third time will be the charm for Hillary.
She has already exhibited her remarkable skills at campaigning, I am sure she will do wonderful again.
Is it sad that Democrats may have to count on a two-time loser to salvage what is left of the party after the midterms this year?
At first glance I thought the article was satire. Then I took a closer look and discovered it was for real and some folks actually believe that stuff!
The Mean Awful Terrible Hillary Is Coming For Us!
RUN! HIDE THE CHILDREN! HORRORS! SHE LIVES!
High comedy indeed.
Poor Hillary.
Maybe she can win the nomination, I certainly don't see anyone in the Democratic Party standing out.
Maybe SHE can be the ONE to determine how long "temporary" is when talking about inflation.
Say, have you noticed the stock market lately?
I ask because you have stopped talking about how great Joe's economy is now. Is that maybe because it dawned on you that it sucks?
S & P off to the worst year since 1970.
Well done, Joe and Democrats, well done!!
"S & P off to the worst year since 1970."
Just another thing Joe can point to and say "I did that!".
He doesn't want to talk about Biden's economy any more.
After bragging for a year, all of a sudden the economy is something he won't mention.
Your picture of Hillary reminds me of when she attacked those poor women abused and assaulted by Bill. She was a monster to them!
Yeppers!
She was just another mean person belittling women.
Of course, this was before Democrats decided that all women should be believed all the time.
How convenient for the Clintons!
AAAHHH! MY EYES! I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING UGLY A FRIGHTENING !
One of here more attractive pictures.
She has endured a lot.
Clinton wedding guest, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
How can a candidate with lower approval than Biden's current standing be Democrats' best hope? A blithering buffoon beat Hillary Clinton.
There's been a tectonic shift in politics. Washington insiders don't have a chance. Democrats had better focus more attention on local and state politics if they want to be competitive. If anything, Biden has shown that Washington insiders aren't the answer because they're so out of touch with bread & butter issues that people care about.
No, Democrats are going to need a candidate that comes from the people rather than from inside the beltway. Clinton could doom the Democratic Party to obscurity. Democrats have a thin bench because the party has abandoned local and state politics.
So, we're not supposed to discuss Hillary Clinton on an article about Hillary Clinton?
please stay on topic
That is a perfect example of a "Whataboutism"...
Retread the wicked bitch of the east again. She is just as hated as she was before. She is just as condescending and nasty as she was before. She will be just as toxic as she was before. She will run just as stupid of a campaign as before. Fly over country hasn't forgotten her dissing them the last time.
Democrats are out of candidates and out of hope.
Keep in mind that Biden demonstrated that keeping a candidate off the campaign trail works. Biden campaigned more for the primaries than he did for the general election.
Fearmongering and hiding Biden from the public is how Biden won the election. Clinton excels at fearmongering. The question is whether or not Democrats can keep Clinton in the basement.
Biden has shown that Democrats don't care about the candidate as long as a Democrat is in the White House. Democrats really are that shallow. Democrats voted for a bumper sticker.
I googled the author of this op-ed to find out if he was an expert, or an insider, or just looking for a paycheck.
I wonder what kind of return the Ukrainian steel oligarch, Pinchuk, got on his $13.1 million dollar donation to the Clinton foundation or could be expecting to get in the future if she manages to attain the Oval office? Could there be a hefty bonus for Schoen as well?
Always follow the money.
Pretty safe to say Pinchuk squandered his money on a lost cause.
Pinchuk is in the steel industry in Ukraine. Biden has sent over $50 billion dollars to be distributed in Ukraine for various causes.
Do we actually know that Pinchuk hasn't been the recipient of millions of our tax dollars under the guise of helping Ukraine?
As far as I know there is no oversight or accountability of where our money is being used in Ukraine.
The Dems need Hillary like they need a case of black clap?