I have a prediction on who will become the Democratic Party’s nominee next fall and it’s not the odds on favorite, already coronated former first lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Democrats’ nominee will be the seventy-eight year old self-described “progressive socialist” senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. Yes, I know that sounds crazy - as I’ve been told by the few friends I’ve shared this with - but I sincerely believe this. Forget all the talk after her Benghazi hearing appearance and that she had the “best week of her campaign” and that it’s smooth sailing from here until the convention because Clinton skillfully evaded answering questions about her role in the Libyan embassy’s security and the role a anti Muslim video played in the Embassy attack. Hillary Clinton still has three fundamental problems going forward; her private email server and her emails; the trustworthiness and likability factor and the Obama Administration.
Conservative activists make a huge mistake in my opinion if they believe that Benghazi in of itself is enough to take Hillary down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m appalled by the loss of life of four Americans and the lies we were told in the aftermath by Hillary and this Administration to cover it up. Unfortunately, with Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s gaffe suggesting the investigation and hearings were strictly a political undertaking, it undercut the credibility of the special committee in a major way. That’s just a fact regardless which side of the political aisle you identify with. The hidden diamond that was unearthed during the investigation was that Clinton had her own private, unsecured email server in her basement - or in a bathroom closet in Colorado - and was conducting official secretary of state business on it. A federal judge has ordered a monthly release of her emails that I believe will cut and destroy her campaign with a thousand unyielding cuts. For example, in one of her emails she wrote to her daughter on the night of the Benghazi attacks clearly stating this was a terror attack and not a spontaneous demonstration fueled by an anti-Muslim video. This brings up the question trustworthiness.
A poll released back in August by Quinnipiac found that 51% of voters have an unfavorable impression of Mrs. Clinton - her worst score ever on that measure. The poll also found that 61% of voters say she is not honest and trustworthy - another record low. That is up from 57% in a July Quinnipiac poll that said she is not honest and trustworthy. The most damaging revelation to come out of this poll was when voters were asked what was the first thing to come to mind when asked about Hillary and “liar” was their preferred word. She’s also not gaining support among Millennials. An NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll released on Friday showed socialist Bernie Sanders receiving 48 percent of support from young voters between the ages of 18-29, compared to Clinton’s 33 percent. And just last week, Black Lives Matter demonstrators interrupted her remarks at historic Clark Atlanta University. BLM seems to have redirected their ire away from Bernie Sanders and are now directing it towards Clinton. Bill and Hillary have the same last name but that’s where the similarity ends in terms of their respective political skills. She’s just not as well received as Bill and probably never will be.
Hillary’s third problem is the Obama Administration. What, the Obama Administration? Yes, there is still bad blood left over from the 2008 campaign between Hillary (Bill too) and Barack - and at this level - political grudges no matter how slight aren’t easily forgotten. Don’t be fooled by the President’s “team of rivals” Machiavellian maneuver when he put Hillary in the cabinet at the beginning of his term. There's still no love loss between them. As President Lyndon Johnson once famously said, “It’s probably better to have someone inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in” and that I believe was the President’s motivation to appoint her secretary of state. Just last month, someone within the FBI leaked to FOX News that the former secretary of state may have violated sections of the Espionage Act which dictates the handling of classified and sensitive government information by government employees. The same act that former four star general and CIA director David Pretraeus was convicted of violating when he sent classified documents to his biographer who we later found out was his mistress.
FBI director James Comey testified before Congress last month that he was following the email investigation “very closely” and was being “briefed regularly.” The information leaked to FOX News is information I believe wouldn’t have been leaked unless it was approved at the highest levels of government like say the FBI director’s boss the attorney general or the attorney general’s boss, the President. These three fundamental problems; her private email server and her emails; the trustworthiness and likability factor and the Obama Administration will make Hillary’s climb to the nomination a steep climb no matter how much her adoring media and campaign surrogates want to say otherwise. Bernie has the support of the Democratic grassroots, and at this stage of the game, it will be too late for a savior to swoop in and save the day when Hillary begins to falter. If the grassroots believes the Democratic Establishment is trying to steal the nomination away from Bernie and give it to a weakened Hillary, you could have what happened at the Democrat's 1968 convention in Chicago happen at their 2016 convention in Philadelphia.
