Bloomberg's Mark Halperin says Hillary Clinton is "terrified of the Left," which may be partially true. She lost to an upstart Barack Obama who ran to her left in 2008, and the Democratic Party has taken a distinct lurch in that direction ever since. The Clintons are masters of triangulation and appealing to the center, but angering and alienating the lefty base is the only way Hillary could possibly imperil her clear path to the nomination:
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This 'base' fear helps explain Hillary's decision to channel Elizabeth Warren in Iowa (cough, cough, loud cough), and her brand new position on gay marriage. Pandering and posturing aside, though, this is a woman who will be her party's nominee, barring an unforeseen political earthquake. When I said that Hillary's announcement marked the "simultaneous commencement and conclusion" of the Democratic race, that wasn't just snark. She dwarfs the expected (or even potential) field in name recognition, she's unleashing a breathtaking fundraising juggernaut, and her polling lead over other potential candidates (including Joe Biden and Warren, neither of whom are likely to run) is nearly 50 percentage points. Five-zero. Team Hillary is so confident that they've reportedly discussed not participating in any primary debates, have begun considering running mates, and park in handicapped spaces with impunity. Noah Rothman notes that even those Democrats who've dared to challenge Hillary are
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Bonus content -- Here's my segment from yesterday, responding to Harry Reid's latest smear job:
Regardless of what happens in the 2016 elections, Harry Reid will no longer sit in the United States Senate when the dust settles. Since it's almost the weekend, I'll raise a glass to that.
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