The Clintons in the Popular Imagination

Below, DP wonders about what the perceived hatred of Hillary Clinton means for an election and if it even exists. I agree that conservatives by and large won’t vote for a Democrat. That’s why they’re conservatives – they disagree with what the Democratic Party wants to accomplish. They’d vote against Clinton just as they’d vote against Obama. What’s more interesting is that there’s this idea out there that Clinton goes beyond that general dislike into a new realm for conservatives.

However, there’s a hardcore 28% of the population that would vote Republican no matter what happened (incidentally, I would be very interested to know what this group consists of, demographically). I think this is a group that does have a frothing, irrational hatred for all things Clinton which runs deeper than their hatred for the Democratic Party per se. They would never actually vote for a Democrat, but the Clintons themselves really seem to get under their skin.

I always found it strange that the media hasn’t put the whole “Bush Derangement Syndrome” that was such a popular canard during the run-up to the Iraq War into more context. Rush Limbaugh started each show during the Clinton Presidency as “America Held Hostage: Day Whatever.” The 28 Percenter’s level of derangement isn’t even comparable.

I think there’s also a block of voters who generally vote Republican but are willing to say they disagree with what Bush has done. I think these people don’t dislike Clinton any more than they dislike any other Democrat. When it comes down to it, they’re going to vote Republican, but they’re willing to tell pollsters that they would consider voting for Obama (when he’s not the frontrunner). Once he’s the nominee, though, they start saying things like “less oratory, more details.” There has to be something wrong with Obama, or else they’d have to vote for him.

Electorally, I think this results in a couple of things. There’s a slightly larger group of people who vote Democratic on a regular basis, but I think there’s a higher percentage of Republicans who would never consider voting for a Democrat. Look at what happened with McCain: you had Rush Limbaugh talking about how McCain’s nomination would destroy the Republican Party. Well, now they’re all lined up behind McCain. But you don’t have the media talking about whether or not the Republican base will turn out in November the way you have them talking about the Clinton supporters!

Beyond that, I think it’s more important that the media is stuck with the idea that “people hate the Clintons,” despite Bill being very popular as an ex-president and Hillary being a very popular senator in her state. The media as a group was so scarred by the Republican gains in the early nineties, and especially the explosive rise of conservative media (especially in talk radio, but also Fox News) that they’ve gotten the anti-Clinton meme burrowed deep into their collective psyche. They don’t hate Clinton, but they love the idea of people hating Clinton. It’s an easy narrative to convey.

I think this is why Democrats are usually labeled “the most liberal X.” The media loves the idea of “bi-partisanship,” even if that usually presents itself as “Democrats giving in to Republicans,” which results in a further solidification of the perception of Democrats as being weak. The media classes have bent over backwards to not be perceived as being biased, so much so that it's created a negative perception of Democrats. They won’t call out Republicans for not being “bi-partisan,” (i.e., giving in) because that would imply that Republicans are wrong, which is a value judgment. But when Democrats are unwilling to “reach across the aisle,” they’re being strident, too liberal and, worst of all, partisan.