For the last several weeks, the chatter about a possible 3rd presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton has increased to a near fever pitch. The noise is so loud that is has Democratic Senators actually going on record to all but beg the failed 2016 Democratic nominee not to run.
The talk began to heat up after a Rasmussen survey released the first week in October showed a potential Clinton/Trump rematch would be “neck and neck” in the polls if she was currently in the presidential race.
That same week, Clinton said to PBS, “Maybe there does need to be a rematch. I mean, obviously I can beat him again.”
A couple of days after the Rasmussen poll was published, Trump needled Clinton by way of Twitter by suggesting she jump into the race at this late stage in order to “try and steal it away” from Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
Clinton responded by telling Trump not to “tempt” her, which fueled speculation among the punditocracy that maybe she was considering it after all:
The following day, Trump did it again:
Two weeks later, and you had eerily similar reports from the New York Times and the Washington Post that quoted unnamed sources close to Clinton stating she had not completely ruled out the idea of throwing her hat in the ring.
Then Philippe Reines, a confidant of Clinton’s, went on the record on Tucker Carlson’s show Wednesday by confirming she “has not” closed the door on the possibility of giving it another go.
Watch:
With all the talk and now an on-the-record confirmation that she hasn’t dismissed the idea, a number of Democratic Senators told Politico as politely as they could that Clinton should stay out of it:
“She’s done a great service to our country and public service, and I supported her wholeheartedly, but I believe it’s time for another nominee,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin.[…]“I don’t think it would be good for her,” said Montana Sen. Jon Tester. “She’s been through this war once. The Republicans have made a target out of her for 30 years and she’s still going to [be] that same target. I just think it would be tough.”“That would be a mistake,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. Asked to expound, he repeated: “That would be a mistake.”“Absolutely not,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).[…]“We have a lot of really fantastic candidates out there already. Let’s leave it at that,” said Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono.[…]“The field is somewhat set,” added Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), shaking his head when asked whether Clinton should reconsider. “I think we need to move forward.”
The article also quoted a few other Senators as saying in so many words that they don’t believe Clinton is giving serious thought to cranking up the Clinton campaign machine just a few short months before the first wave of caucuses and primaries.
But the message was clear: Hillary, we love ya, but … no. Just don’t do it.
Will she heed their message and shut down the rumors? Or will her unhinged desire for revenge against Trump for her 2016 loss supersede all rational thought?
Only one person can confirm one way or the other, and after nearly a month of frenzied discussion among the political chattering classes, she’s not saying a word about it other than “maybe there does need to be a rematch.”
What does that tell you?
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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