Eight of 10 Republicans Agree.
Nearly 80% of New York state Republican county chiefs told Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro recently they want her to challenge Sen. Hillary Clinton in 2006. A letter signed by 46 of the GOP’s 62 county leaders urged Pirro to draw on “the passion and energy that has made you one of America’s top prosecutors” to run against Hillary next year. Pirro recently announced she would run for statewide office, although she hasn’t yet chosen between senator, governor, or attorney general. She implied that the letter and other measures of support could lead her to make a decision soon. “Their support and friendship will be a critical factor in my decision, which out of respect for them, I now expect to make sooner rather than later,” she said in a statement. One of Pirro’s friends, Mike Edelman, a GOP strategist from Westchester County, said, “You need a celebrity to run against a celebrity. There will be big bucks betting on this race from all over the country because everyone knows Hillary will be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008 if she survives this race.” Meanwhile, the letter is bad news for the only serious declared candidate, Ed Cox, whose campaign spokesman complained, “It’s inappropriate for [state Republican Party] Chairman Steve Minarik to be strong-arming the county chairmen into signing a letter like this.” He added, “If we have a primary, we are confident we will win that primary.”
South Carolina On Her Mind.
The nation’s first 2008 Democratic presidential straw poll was taken recently in South Carolina, and Hillary won quite handily, considering the location. She gathered 45 votes from Democrats in Richland County, the most Democratic in the state, besting South Carolina native John Edwards by nine votes. Hillary’s surprisingly strong popularity in the state bodes well for any 2008 bid for the Democratic nomination for the White House because South Carolina hosts an early presidential primary election. In addition to this straw poll, a Fox News poll showed that Hillary has the same favorability rating as President Bush—52%. The poll also showed that 44% of Democrats want Clinton to be the party’s next presidential nominee, compared to 17% for John Kerry and 13% for Edwards. In addition, the poll found that 38% are “enthusiastic” about former President Bill Clinton’s coming back to the White House as “first husband.”
Who’s Bipartisan Now?
Hillary joined with another possible 2008 presidential contender, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.), to introduce a new medical records bill. The unlikely twosome said their proposed legislation is necessary to expedite care and prevent life-threatening mistakes. Hillary’s teaming with Frist is just her latest venture with a Republican, although the Hill reports that she “has co-sponsored a smaller percentage of Republican bills than Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) and former Sen. John Edwards (D.-N.C.), two of her potential rivals for the Democratic presidential primary in 2008.” According to their analysis, during the 107th and 108th Congresses, Clinton “co-sponsored fewer Republican bills and amendments, as a percentage of total bills and amendments she co-sponsored, than either Kerry or Edwards.” During the new 109th session of Congress, she is on pace to continue that trend.
GOP Hates Kids.
During a recent tour of a children’s hospital, Hillary took off the gloves and blasted Republicans for wanting to reform Medicaid. Said Hill: “We are cutting Medicaid because the President and the Republican leadership will not, will not cut the tax cuts that are going to the richest Americans. People making more than $1 million a year are going to receive $32 billion in tax cuts. It is absolutely wrong.” She also mocked the GOP as “people who love to talk about how much they value families and value children,” but who want to cut government welfare programs. Hillary said it was disheartening “to see my country begin to retreat from our commitment to children.” “What do they spend their money on? Do they invest in their children? Do they invest in health care? Do they invest in the kind of priorities that will make our country better and take care of people that need it? ... What kind of country do you want to have? What kind of people do you want to be?”
