Almost 18 months have passed since Hillary Clinton lost the presidency. She holds no position of power in government. And she is not expected to run for office again.
Yet Clinton is starring in the Republican Party's 2018 midterm strategy.
With control of Congress up for grabs this fall, the GOP's most powerful players are preparing to spend big on plans to feature Clinton as a central villain in attack ads against vulnerable Democrats nationwide. The strategy, which already has popped up in races in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Dakota, illustrates the resilience and political potency of Republican voters' antipathy for Clinton. As difficult as it's been for Democrats to move past the Clinton era, it may be even harder for Republicans.
"STOP HILLARY. STOP PELOSI. STOP LAMB," read pamphlets circulated during the special election in Pennsylvania earlier this year. Lamb won the election, despite the flood of attack ads.
That's just a taste of what's to come as the November elections grow closer, say those who control the GOP's strategy in the first midterm elections of Donald Trump's presidency.
"I promise you that you'll continue to see it — Hillary Clinton starring in our paid media. She's a very powerful motivator," said Corry Bliss . . .
Critics suggest the strategy reeks of desperation, if not sexism. But with no Democrat to attack in the White House for the first time in nearly a decade, Republicans are betting big that the ghost of Clinton will serve them well in 2018. Saddled with Trump's poor approval ratings, they may have little choice.
A Clinton spokesman declined to respond to requests for comment.
A former Clinton staffer, Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson, dismissed the Republican strategy as an act of desperation. Gallup reported this week that Trump's job approval is 39 percent, virtually the same as Clinton's.
"Their obsession with her is evidence that they have nothing to run on, and they're scared of running with the president," Ferguson said. "It reminds me of the guy at the office who goes to the water cooler, and all he does is boast about his high school football championships."
http://myconnection.cox.com/article/politics/8bceec28-4642-11e8-997e-5459fb59f6ec/