Much Requested Insight Analysis from the View of the Proverbial Fly on the Wall
Sometimes You Just Hafta Be There. Today’s Fly on the Wall Intrigue: Hillary Clinton’s Special Planning Room
Ickes lowered the blinds in the parlor after peering out to observe anyone who might be lurking. Satisfied that all was clear, Harold turned to face the attendees at the day’s specially called meeting.
Hillary was aglow and Harold smiled. He knew she was looking forward to 2008 and he intended to make it happen for her.
In the far corner, Sid Blumenthal sat, his perpetual scowl still etched on his face during this, what should be a happy occasion. Dug deep into the folds of the massive couch, James Carville kept rubbing his bald head from nervous habit.
Of course, Hillary’s husband was in attendance, still paying no attention, at the moment of Harold’s glance Bill Clinton was mindlessly banging on the arm rest of the chair as if playing imaginary drums.
“I wanted Lockhart to be here…,” Harold began but stopped as Hillary held up her hand in a ‘stop’ motion.
“Joe didn’t do so good for Kerry,” Hillary explained. “So I’m not sure I’m going to include him in the campaign.”
Everyone in the room stood silent for some moments to let the thought sink in. With the exception of Carville, the attendees were utter devotees of the junior Senator from New York and all dreamed of the day she would be President and they would be situated in key and impressive positions on her staff. If she kicked Lockhart out so quickly they were concerned that they too could get the boot for whatever transgression Hillary thought they committed.
Harold took a deep breath and began again. “Okay, this is the time to begin our plan for the 2008 campaign. We all know it and we all have to follow a coordinated effort.”
Bill began drumming on the chair’s arm rest again and Hillary reached over the coffee table and slapped his hands.
In a low voice, almost a stage whisper, Hillary asked the group: “We doing pretty good with the ‘Jesus’ spin?” For a quick moment Sid lost his scowl and became animated.
“Yes!” he fairly shouted. “We got Pelosi to hold a press conference and she did great. She said Democrats have to address the nation more forcefully on moral issues, that the party has lost their compass …”
“I heard the press conference, Sid,” Hillary said in a dry and dismissive manner. Turning her body to address the rest of the group, she continued. “We’ve got to get the usual operatives on the talk shows, selling this message, embellishing it, dwelling on it. We’ve got to plant the notion in every American’s head that Bush and the Republicans are the ‘Jesus’ people.” At the word ‘Jesus’, Hillary used the index and middle fingers on both of her hands to bodily draw quotes in the air.
“I can’t stand this anymore,” Carville said, jumping out of the deep folds of the couch in irritation. “Hill, you know I love and admire you but you’re just plain dead wrong here. You try to become President on a campaign of slamming religious people you’re going to go down hard. Besides, that morality question at the exit polls was rigged and we all know it.”
“Of course it was rigged, Jim,” Sidney said in his best conciliatory tone. “We needed it to begin our campaign.”
“Jim, you’re a great spinmeister but you’re beginning to lose it here,” Harold interjected. It was well known that Carville thought Hillary’s campaign should take a different path. Soon enough, if he kept up his discontent, Hillary would give him the boot.
“We need to create a clear division between the candidates, whoever the Republicans nominate. Meanwhile, we’ve got four years to ramp it up. Beginning with the gay vote.”
All heads except Carville’s nodded affirmative in understanding.
“We’re going to have a problem with the black vote, too,” Bill said, pausing in his silent drumming of the arm rest. Hillary shot him a deadly look. Bill was in charge of the black vote. Hillary counted on that. “A lot of black folk are devout Christians. We could drive them to the other side.”
Suddenly Sidney jumped up, causing Carville to resume his seat and knocking over his drink in the process.
“Look, you people can run a campaign being all nicey-nice and sweet, train the candidate to echo the Republican opponent’s points, be lackluster and uninspiring. We know that the best political campaign has a bit of a nasty bite to it. It’s worked for us all these years. We used social security and scaring the old people effectively for quite a few years. The Republicans loving the wealthy gave us quite a bit of mileage.”
“But those talking points are old and used up,” Ickes jumped in to take up Sidney’s cause. “We need to pit the fanatical religious against the more ‘normal’ folk.” Harold used his own fingers to make body quotes on the word ‘normal’ that the group would catch his drift.
“Jesus,” Carville shouted then almost smiled at the word he used to express his exasperation. “The way vast majority of the people who voted for Bush are NOT religious fanatics. In fact, most of them were those ‘normal’ people that you refer to. I see this whole thing as backfiring.”
“And you see the Democratic party out of power for the next thirty years,” Sidney said dryly. “If Hillary doesn’t pull it out for us in 2008 there’s not much going for the party for quite a few years after this. Besides, Jim, you’re not listening to the plan.”
“I’ve been listening to your plans. You’re going to push the homosexual wedge to the limit. I don’t have a problem with this per se. But 11 states voted down homosexual marriage by a margin of 8 to 1. The sentiment that caused this negative reaction isn’t going to dissipate in four years.”
“Cheney’s got a lesbian daughter,” Hillary said, quietly but with a tone that brooked no nonsense. “We got that out there during this campaign. Almost every American knows a homosexual person in some position in their lives. Maybe a family member, a work colleague. We’ve got four years to use these people to our best advantage. And most Americans are against banning abortion, Jim. You know that. Again, we’ve got four years to hone this into an abject fear that the Republicans are going to make that happen. The whole issue is a campaign windfall for us.”
“The Republicans aren’t going to anything on the abortion issue. They know the polls as well as we do. In four years if we keep hammering on the abortion issue and the Republicans have done nothing to make it illegal, it’s going to be a non-issue. Simple as that.”
“It took quite a while for Roe vs. Wade to overturn anti-abortion laws,” Hillary responded in that dry, commanding voice. “Four years is a perfect time to spin every action by the Repubs in that direction as a march toward back alley abortions and women bleeding to death from hack abortionists. It’s a good plan, Jim, and we’re sticking to it.”
Carville buried himself again deep into the folds in the couch and remained silent. Hillary had spoken and Hillary was queen.
After giving Carville a solid glare, Hillary turned to the other attendees. “Bill, the majority in the black population who don’t want to see abortion banned is the same as the white. As for the homosexuality issue, well we don’t want to see gay marriages either. It isn’t about what we really want to happen. It’s about GETTING ELECTED!” Hillary paused a moment after this summarizing comment. “After we get elected,” Hillary said a bit quieter, “we do what we want.”
Everyone in the room was quiet for several minutes. Even Bill stopped playing drums on the arm rest.
“You have to create a difference, give the electorate a REASON to choose you over the other guy. This is especially important if I’m running against Condi. Two women running against each other? It’s important that I be distinguished as the woman who wants to keep the daughters from quack abortionists and the one who wants the gay sons to have the same freedoms as the straight ones. The only way we’re going to make that distinguishment is for us to begin a carefully crafted campaign to paint the Repubs as the fanatical religious zealots. Not unlike the fanatic Muslims I might add.”
“Sid, get Estrich, Panetta, even Howard Dean…get them ready with the talking points. Fine tune it for them, show them the correct nuance. But get them out there on the talk show circuit and let’s begin building this smoke screen.”
The remainder of the meeting was spent on small talk and dealing with mundane issues. Blumenthal’s eyes shone with the challenge and bright days ahead. He was at his finest and whatever it took, he would get his beloved Hillary elected.
TOMORROW: Doug Giles-the guest editorialist will leave you rolling in the aisles as he lists the ignoble host of questionable Kerry supporters and how they did NOT succeed. The cartoon for tomorrow presents the Perfect Example of Old Media hypocrisy on the so-called Bush Mandate; Also Gossip and Speculation that will twist your head. Bill Maher into phone sex?
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