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Cher,
Madonna, Oprah... and now Hillary!?
They are all strong-willed, intelligent women and, if you
include friendship with Steven Speilberg, they are all of the
Hollywood ilk. Yet we know that one of these names doesn't fit. The
first three have a variety of accomplishments to their credit and are
highly successful entertainers, the fourth is...
Hillary, at any rate, just won a senatorial campaign. That
counts for something, right? Prior
to the 1992 Presidential elections, Hillary was Hillary Rodham,
grudgingly she became Hillary Rodham-Clinton.
At the outset of her Listening tour of New York State she
devolved to just plain Hillary. A
savvy campaign decision that paid off big time. In
an effort to capitalize on her fame without highlighting her marriage,
her last name was hidden from sight. Her committee was established as
Friends of Hillary, her adds always concluded with “Vote for
Hillary”, her campaign signs simply read Hillary. If not for election legalities that required her last name on
the voting ballot, she might very well have trounced Lazio with an
even more impressive showing. Hillary
did not really run a "Clintonesque" campaign, sure there
were lies, treachery, glad-handling, negative campaigning and all the
rest, but at the end of the day she won as Hillary. Sure, Lazio tried
to answer in kind and ran national adds to cash-in on the "I Hate
Hillary" money, but his I’m
The Real New Yorker slogan grew tired and tiresome quickly.
After all, at least half of those living in New York are not from
New York.
Lazio's record as a Congressman, was distorted by Hillary, but
he failed to highlight his many accomplishments. Lazio's ultimate
failure was in hiring campaign consultants with a streak of nominal
successes and breathtaking failures and, like Hillary, they too were
not from New York.. He
was a leader and a rising star within the GOP, but all he and his
overpaid, unproductive campaign consultants could think to run on was
campaign finance reform. Yet,
the majority of the public could not even begin to describe Soft Money
much less explain its function and use.
What's more, in New York corporate donations are perfectly
legal and loved by both parties.
Lazio needed to raise a small fortune and needed to speak to
the voting public, instead his grossly over-valued consultants had him
whining over campaign finance minutia while Hillary controlled the
playing field. Campaign finance reform is, after all, the same stupid
campaign strategy that sunk John McCain. Rick
Lazio, after all, can't be as stupid as his campaign consultants made
him seem. It takes more
than just money to beat a 16year incumbent.
Yet, come the senate race, he was beaten be a name.
A name that, upon slight reflection, carries with it more
baggage than Joan Collin's on Safari: Fraud, deception, conspiracy,
lying, abuse of power, fiddling with the judicial process, and a host
of other legal and aesthetic offenses. Yet Lazio lost. Whoever
runs against Hillary the next time around ought to consider taking a
page out of the Hillary playbook.
Rick! might not have done the trick, but surely they can find
another one-name-candidate to knock out the wicked witch of
healthcare. If only the GOP could find a fellow named Chad... The
voters of New York are getting exactly what they deserve.
© Paul Conroy, 2001 Today's featured
columns: View expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Political USA.
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