Winter storm warnings in northern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

(AP)  Forget Bill. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the
Democratic presidential leader, has become the Republican
candidates' favorite punching bag.
 

     Mitt Romney argues she would turn the United States into a "big
government, big taxation, welfare state." John McCain calls the
New York senator an irresponsible guardian of taxpayer dollars.
Rudy Giuliani claims she'd put the country "on defense against
terrorism." And all three lambast her on Iraq.

      At every turn, the leading GOP contenders are criticizing
Clinton even as they are entangled in their own turbulent race for
the Republican nomination.

      "They see her not only as the clear Democratic front-runner but
also as the most formidable potential opponent," said Joseph
Marbach, a Seton Hall University political science professor. Thus,
Marbach and others say, each is trying to prove he is the strongest
Republican to challenge Clinton in November 2008 - and damage her
in the process.

      The two-term New York senator leads the Democratic field but
faces fierce challenges from Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and
ex-Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. GOP candidates have harped
on them, too, but to a lesser extent.

      It's standard campaign fare for Republicans to castigate
Clinton's husband and his administration - and they still do. They
also have assailed her sporadically since 1992. Now, she is a White
House candidate in her own right, and as such, is increasingly in
the GOP candidates' crosshairs.

      "This gives them a way for their supporters to measure whether
they're tough enough to take her on in a general election," said
Ed Rollins, a Republican who was a White House political director
under President Reagan. Plus, Clinton-bashing is a surefire way for
Romney, McCain and Giuliani to energize the dispirited GOP base
that votes in primaries, he said.

      "She is hated by the core," Rollins said.

      Polls show Clinton is incredibly popular with Democrats but
extraordinarily unpopular with Republicans. Half the country views
her favorably and half unfavorably.

      Beating up on Clinton now also could pay dividends for
Republicans come next fall by driving up her already high
negatives, hampering her effort to win the primary and leaving her
wounded for the general election - or perhaps deprive her of the
nomination altogether.

      "They are trying to weaken her at the outset knowing she's the
one to beat," said Donna Brazile, a Democrat who ran Al Gore's
campaign in 2000. She doubted Republicans would succeed, adding
that Clinton has proven time and again "she can stand up to the
right-wing slime machine."

      Clinton spokesman Phil Singer dismissed the GOP onslaught,
saying, "Republicans are clearly nervous because they know that
Senator Clinton is the candidate with the strength and experience
to win the general election and become president."

      The White House got into the Clinton-criticizing act Thursday,
making fun of the couple for assailing Bush's decision to erase the
prison sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Clinton
himself commuted the sentences of 36 people and pardoned 140
people, many of them controversial, in the final hours of his
presidency.

      "I don't know what Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a
gigantic case of it," said Tony Snow, the presidential spokesman.

      Jabs at Clinton from those looking to succeed Bush guarantee
applause from the party faithful.

      In Los Angeles, McCain criticized her for backing $150 million
in projects he considered wasteful and unnecessary in wartime.
Earlier, at a debate in Manchester, N.H., the Arizona senator
needled her on Iraq, intoning: "When Senator Clinton says this is
Mr. Bush's war, President Bush's war," she is wrong.

      In Sioux City, Iowa, Romney claimed that Clinton would push the
country off course economically, militarily and socially, and he
cracked that her platform wouldn't get her elected in France. "Her
view is the old, classic, European caricature that we describe of
big government, big taxation, welfare state," said to former
Massachusetts governor.

      In a debate in Columbia, S.C., Giuliani argued that Clinton was
an apostle of big government. "The leading Democratic candidate
for president of the United States has said that the unfettered
free market is the most disastrous thing in modern America," the
former New York mayor said.

      And, the trio piled on when Clinton voted against a war-funding
bill. Giuliani said she had "gone from an anti-war position to an
anti-military, anti-troops position." McCain accused her of
embracing "the policy of surrender," while Romney claimed she
"abandons principle in favor of political positioning."


Gallery

Politics and Government News

Liz Sidoti

Author

Forget Bill. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the
Democratic presidential leader, has become the Republican
candidates' favorite punching bag.


Republican hopefuls take swipes at Clinton, trying to undercut the Democratic front-runner

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox